The Greatest Global Challenge: The Challenge of Strategic Involvement

by Steve Beirn, Global Ministries Pastor of Calvary Church

Over the years, our missions leadership has moved our church from being involved in missions to being strategically involved in missions.

There was a time when North American churches could move in a variety of directions through their cross-cultural families or partnerships to help make a significant difference. However, the context of global ministry has rapidly changed, especially in the last 10-15 years. Geopolitical changes might cause us to rethink the deployment of resources. Doors open and close all the time. The maturity of the global south should move us from lead player to role player. The areas of our globe where the church is weak or non-existent are gradually shrinking.

The implications of this are enormous as we assess areas of greatest spiritual need. These issues and others help us understand that we can’t continue to do missions in the same way that we did even 10 years ago.

Missions today is not just a matter of indiscriminately going to ministry areas that invite us or need us. It is going to ministry areas that need us most. Today’s world requires a more calculated, intentional ministry approach so as to maximize usefulness and help address the remaining unfinished task in the middle of new global dynamics. In the end, it means developing ministry priorities that cause us to help make disciples where there are none. And when you have ministry priorities, you need a large missions education effort to explain those priorities.

Whenever you recalibrate your ministry approach, some people will be left disappointed. Certain favorite ministry choices may no longer receive the same amount of attention or funding. In order to stay focused, we have had to say no to a wide variety of ministry possibilities. Sometimes, those receiving the bad news have challenged such decisions. They assume that if we were better informed we would immediately agree with them. Pushback can be a challenge.

Somehow we all need to move beyond subjective and personal decision-making. We need to keep our eyes on the harvest and take the gospel to people who have yet to have one adequate explanation of the good news. My challenge is to possess a clear rationale for why we do what we do and inform people of our new ministry dynamics, while thoughtfully shepherding those who are disappointed when we can’t move in their preferred ministry direction.

Two questions for reflection:

1. How would you describe your church’s relationship to the remaining unfinished task?
2. If every single local church in the world modeled the global ministry efforts of your church, would the Great Commission be completed?