The Missions Team is charged with missions training in the church. This includes a wide scope of training opportunities throughout the ministries of the church and across the many opportunities. In general, missions training is simply educating, ministry skills and vision development aimed at instilling a passion for world missions to the highest level of commitment each participant is capable. For most people in your congregation, it will simply be awareness training about world missions, missionary biographies, the task of church planting, awareness of unreached people groups, and a solid grasp of the Gospel. Some will be involved more directly in missions mobilization and leadership. A few, we trust, will sense the irrepressible desire to serve in cross-cultural fields themselves.

Training and orientation may start at the top, with the pastor/s and staff. Exposing them to the biblical truth and priority of God’s heart for the nations is foundational to missions getting into their thought processes, prayers, and planning, as they go about the execution of their responsibilities.

The Missions Team itself must train and orient its members for effective and knowledgeable service to the congregation. Some members of the missions team may become specialists in specific types of ministry or opportunities or training.

Certainly, Short Term Missions team leaders, organizers, and participants should have fairly intensive and significant training as part of their experience.

The congregation can and should be exposed to missions training on a variety of levels, equipping them for effective world Christian participation in the Great Commission, as well as different issues facing missions and missionaries today.

Last but not least, anyone seeking to be a missionary candidate requires a high level of interest, guidance, counsel, mentoring and both formal and informal training in order to complete their journey of growth to the field. Doing so usually requires a more extensive and organized program of activity, observation, skill building, and character development in very practical ways within the local church’s supervision and tutelage.

We trust that each of these training challenges will energize your church and produce abundant spiritual and practical fruit in your church, and ultimately on the mission field.