Missions Sunday School

Start with Doxology (Phil Lead)

Brief Prayer (Jacob)

(Matt) Transition: Today we will be doing a panel for Sunday school based off of the recent Cross Conference that a few members of our church were able to attend, and discuss its implications for the life of the church.

Cross Conference Recap (10 minutes tops)

What is Cross Con and what was the main theme this year? (Jacob)

Cross conference is simply a conference where multiple speakers preach through a theme for the conference with the emphasis focused on the Great commission given to the church of Jesus Christ. They have panels, breakout sessions, and many organizations present at the conference to aid any of the attenders in their understanding of what the Great Commission is and how we ought to carry it out amongst all the nations of the world.

Undefeated. God is and will always be undefeated and will continue to prevail against Satan.

You can access all the main sessions, panels, and testimonies from the conference at crosscon.com and click on past conferences tab at the top. Highly recommend it.

What was the most impactful part of the conference for both of us? (Both Phil and Jacob)

The way that the local church is the means and the end of making disciples. Since it is the pillar and the buttress of the truth and the gates of hell will not prevail against the church of Jesus Christ.

The way that John Piper spends his time

The emphasis they placed on God’s glory being our motivator to make disciples

Also the importance on reading good biographies

For Jacob - Just how crucial the whole church is to the tasks of missions. The Word proclaimed faithfully, the people of God going and making mature disciples, the raising up, affirming, sending, and caring for sent missionaries.

The awesome power and plan of God to redeem a people from all nations, tribes, and tongues and NOTHING can stop Him.

How many people were there (2.5x the amount of the one I went to 4 years ago).

Would anyone else who went to Cross Con like to share a takeaway that was helpful for them?

(Matt) Transition: Cross conference obviously had a focused emphasis on overseas missions, but it also severely emphasized the task that every believer has for making disciples of all nations wherever they find themselves. This leads us to our next set of questions…

The Great Commission (10-12 minutes)

What is our primary task as believers? (Jacob)

To be disciple makers of all nations, and our secondary task as a believer is the job in which God has given us to carry out our primary task. This could look like using our jobs to proclaim the gospel in strategic ways, and also using the funds in which our jobs provide to support the work of the local church and the planting of churches in all nations.

What role does the local church play in making disciples? (Philip)

The local church is the center for making disciples. We must not seek to make disciples outside of the local church, for the local church is the pillar and buttress of the truth. The members of the local church are called to gather frequently and scatter for the sake of the gospel. We pray and long for more and more gospel proclamations even here at Trinity church for we desire for God to save more. For the church receives the believer, baptizes them, teaches them all that Christ has commanded, and protects the sheep from wandering from the truth.

What role does prayer play in making disciples? (Jacob)

God calls us to depend upon him for the sake of giving growth. We scatter seed and water it, with the hopes of it growing, but yet it is not us who gives the growth. God does. So he calls us to pray fervently for the gospel to go forth so that many can give praise for his marvelous work. Luke 10, 1 Cor. 3:6-8

So we pray for laborers to not only go, but that their work would be fruitful. Our part as a sending church is to be serious in prayer for them and the people they are reaching.  Ephesians 6:19, Colossians 4:3, 2 Thessalonians 3:1

“I believe it will only be known on the last day how much has been accomplished in overseas missions by the prayers of earnest believers at home.” James. O Fraser

“The history of missions is the history of answered prayer.” Samuel Zwemer

“God’s work, done God’s way, will never lack God’s supply.” Hudson Taylor

How can we seek to be disciple makers right now? (Philip)

We can look who God has placed us around. Naturally, are there unbelievers in which you find yourself near. Either at work, maybe at home with unbelieving kids, or even friends or family who are not believers. Start there. Consider how you can intentionally relate to these people with the hopes of sharing the gospel with them, maybe even reading the Bible alongside them, and inviting them to church to experience the love of the local church, which we only have because Christ first loved us.

Join clubs in strategic spots in Dayton where you know unbelievers will be.

What are some good ways to share the gospel?  (Philip and Jacob)

Three circles method

And we would also encourage reading through one of the Gospels with an unbeliever and watch the Spirit work through the Word

(Matt) Transition: While Jesus calls us to make disciples here and now, he also calls each of us to be disciple makers of all nations in one way or another. Either as goers or senders.

Missions Plug (15 minutes)

Share some facts about lost people in the world (Jacob)

Churches are spending approximately 99% of their missions resources in places that are already reached with the Gospel. Put another way, churches are spending approximately 1% of our missions resources among the 3 billion people in 7,000 people groups who haven’t heard the Gospel. The world population is approximately 7.75 billion people, and 3 billion of those people—about 40%—are considered unreached. Or, to state it in terms of people groups, over 7,000 of the world’s 17,000 people groups are classified as unreached. In terms of missionaries sent out, approximately 400,000 Christians are classified as missionaries. Someone is considered a missionary (for the sake of these statistics) if they have moved somewhere else for the spread of the Gospel. Out of those 400,000 only 11–12,000—about 3%—are going to unreached people. That doesn’t mean that those who serve among reached peoples are not worth honoring, but surely more than 3% of missionaries in the church should go to the over 3 billion people who never hear the Gospel.

What is unreached vs. reached? (Jacob)

Unreached peoples and places are those among whom Christ is largely unknown and the church is relatively insufficient to make Christ known in its broader population without outside help.

It’s common for unreached peoples to be defined as ethnolinguistic groups in which the number of evangelical Christians is less than 2%.

Why does it matter that we make a special effort to go to the unreached? (Philip)

In order to carry out the Great Commission that was given to every disciple of Jesus, we must consider all 195 nations, and not just nations, but all 17,000 people groups and 7100 languages. We are called to go and make disciples everywhere and should emphasize where there currently is little to no gospel witness, or the gospel has never reached the people at all and they have no access to it because the Scriptures are not translated in their language.

What role does the local church play in missions? (Philip)

The local church is central in missions because it is what the missionary is seeking to build by God’s marvelous grace. As the missionary is sent from their local church to another place, they must also be involved with a local church on the field wherever they find themselves, even if that be where there are no churches. They ought to covenant together as a team if they are in a place with no local churches. This is for the health and protection of the missionary. Missionaries never stop being disciples of Jesus Christ. They too need to do the one anothering that we see all throughout the NT.

Also as missionaries share the gospel, and Lord-willing see unbelievers come to Christ in faith, and be baptized out of obedience, and then brought into the church to be taught everything that Christ had commanded them. The local church with its eldership and members, disciples its people, and protects its people from the schemes of the evil one.

What is Trinity currently working on when it comes to missions? (Jacob)

This year, and you will hear a bit more about this during the member’s meeting next week, we are focusing on building a foundation for faithful, Lord willing, fruitful long term missions work. This looks like creating missions documents, building a sending pipeline for those aspiring to be long term missionaries, resourcing and educating our body, fostering great partnerships with missions organizations, other local churches, and missionaries on the field.

In what ways does Trinity plan to train and equip missionaries in this missionary pipeline? (Philip)

Though this may look different for each person and the times may vary, we desire to counsel, educate, and affirm each person before the church considers supporting and sending him/her to the mission field. Our ultimate desire is not to send the perfect missionary. It is to send biblically qualified global workers in character, conviction and competency and affirmed by the church. The best thing that Trinity can do is to invest well into our future missionaries so they are ready for long term faithful, fruitful missionary service.

Character - elder/deacon biblically qualified person and pursuit of holiness

Competency - evangelism, discipleship, serving and being served by the body. Is this person doing the work of a disciple where they currently are? Aviation does not lead to transformation.

Convictions- do they understand what the task of a missionary is and Lord-willing how to carry out that task.

How can Trinity be involved in taking care of the missionaries they send? (Jacob)

Lord willing, as this pipeline is created and a go, we want every missionary to have an advocate group. A group of 4-5 people who specifically seek to check-in and care for the missionary as they are serving overseas. Does not negate the supporting work of the local church at large, but we want to be intentional in the work of caring for our missionaries.

How much does it cost to send a missionary? (Philip)

$60,000 a year (global average), $5,000 a month, $1,154 a week, $164 a day

These amounts are global averages that factor in a wide range of variables such as single personnel versus married, family size, type of schooling for TCKs, visa costs, travel costs, and much more. They are not meant to be representative of any one type of personnel or location.

How do I know if I am being “called” to be a missionary or be someone who supports missionaries well? (Philip, then Jacob)

Desire, Gifting, Opportunity, Affirmation

Many of us do not consider this at all and just say “I could never do that”. Or I just want to be in a place that is familiar instead of approaching the thought of overseas missions as “send me if you will”. I just want to encourage each of us to open our hearts and minds to ask the Lord if he would have us go for the sake of his name amongst the nations.

(Matt) Transition: Next, we would love to just take 5 to 7 minutes and open this time up for question and answer for these brothers.

Brief Time of Q and A  (5-7 minutes)

(Matt) Transition: Thank you for your questions. The last few minutes we have, let’s break up into groups of 3 or 4 and pray for three specific prayer requests to close our time. As you break up into groups I just want to encourage all of us to come to the Sunday evening gathering where we get to spend some time in fellowship, sometimes hear a short devotional and primarily spend the majority of the time praying together for our church, community, and for the nations.

Prayer time (5-7 minutes)

For Trinity church to grow in their ability and willingness to share the gospel with a lost world

For Trinity to be blessed to raise up missionaries who will go to the nations for the sake of the gospel being proclaimed and churches formed

For all the nations of the world to come to salvation in Christ Jesus