Missions @ Prairie Lakes Church

Hey: things obviously look a little different up here than normal, because our topic this weekend is better communicated not just as a sermon, but as a conversation.

Here’s the topic this weekend:

START TV SLIDE

Missions @ PLC

END TV SLIDE

So, joining me on stage this weekend is Hilary Cornelius, who is our Missions Coordinator for all of our campuses here at Prairie Lakes. Good morning, Hilary.

And also with us is Kurt Kandler, Founder and Executive Director of the 410 Bridge, a missions organization that we’ve partnered with now for coming up on two decades, almost. Good morning, Kurt.

Hilary, let’s start with you if we could.

“Missions” is one of those words that, if you’ve grown up in church, you’ve probably got some ideas about it and memories attached to it. So here’s my experience with missions growing up in church:

We had a week in the summer where we put “international flags” around the sanctuary, had missionaries come in on “furlough” to show us slide presentations, took up a “free will offering” for them, and then didn’t think about them until their next furlough 3 years later…

But that’s not quite our approach here at Prairie Lakes.

Could you just kinda give us a baseline of what we mean by “missions” when we talk about it—and what’s our approach?

Missions at PLC

3:00 (Goal: 3 minutes)

(Hilary comments on the goal of missions at PLC.)

START TV SLIDE

Missions at PLC

Goal: to equip and mobilize disciples to use their unique skills and strengths to be a blessing and demonstrate God’s love with no strings attached.

END TV SLIDE

(Across the street… across the ocean… poverty alleviation… how we evaluate potential missions partner organizations)

410 Bridge

6:00 (Goal: 5 minutes)

Kurt: a huge part of why we take the approach to missions that we do here at Prairie Lakes is because of our experience with you and the 410 Bridge over the years. Could you tell us more about your organization and its approach? Why is it called the 410 Bridge? And what makes your guys’ approach distinctive?

START TV SLIDE

410 Bridge

1 Peter 4:10 “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”

END TV SLIDE

START TV SLIDE

410 Bridge

The 410 Bridge exists because we believe we must redefine the war on poverty:

What it means to win it

What it means for people living in extreme poverty

How we fight the battle together

END TV SLIDE

(Kurt comments on the slide content above:

not a material problem, but a worldview problem

discipleship is the goal—so they will eventually solve the problem without us

we adopt their community for a short period of time, leaving when we’re confident they will continue their journey of self development)

PLC’s Missions Values

11:00 (Goal: 10 minutes)

That philosophy and approach has really helped us over the years clarify what a healthy, biblical approach to missions ought to be.

Hilary: could you share some of our missions values that guide us as we approach missions locally, nationally, and globally?

START TV SLIDE

PLC’s Missions Values

Building authentic relationships (Philippians 2:1-8)

END TV SLIDE

START TV SLIDE

Philippians 2:1–4 “Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

Philippians 2:5–8 “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!”

END TV SLIDE

START TV SLIDE

PLC’s Missions Values

Building authentic relationships (Philippians 2:1-8)

Maintaining and preserving the dignity of others (Genesis 1:27)

END TV SLIDE

START TV SLIDE

Genesis 1:27 “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

END TV SLIDE

START TV SLIDE

PLC’s Missions Values

Building authentic relationships (Philippians 2:1-8)

Maintaining and preserving the dignity of others (Genesis 1:27)

Empowering others (1 Peter 4:10)

END TV SLIDE

START TV SLIDE

1 Peter 4:10 “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”

END TV SLIDE

START TV SLIDE

PLC’s Missions Values

Building authentic relationships (Philippians 2:1-8)

Maintaining and preserving the dignity of others (Genesis 1:27)

Empowering others (1 Peter 4:10)

Transformation (Romans 12:2)

END TV SLIDE

START TV SLIDE

Romans 12:2 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

END TV SLIDE

Stories

21:00 (Goal: 6 minutes)

Ok. So, here’s maybe the toughest question I’m going to ask you guys this weekend—”tough” because of our time constraints.

We’ve been partners a long time. And there’s been a bunch of really cool stories about how God has used that partnership for his mission and his glory and his kingdom over those year. Which ones stand out to you guys the most?

(From Kurt:

we’re working ourselves out of a job; graduation is the goal

we’ve gone to Kwambekenya, on to Kahuria, and now, on to the Dominican)

story from Kahuria: Chris)

PICTURE SLIDE: CHRIS

(From Hilary:

Share Vicki’s child sponsorship story

Sponsored, then felt compelled to go and meet them!)

PICTURE SLIDE: VICKI/SPONSOR CHILD #1

PICTURE SLIDE: VICKI/SPONSOR CHILD #2

Close/Next Steps

27:00 (Goal: 3 minutes)

Part of the reason that we are talking about this on the third weekend of the new year is that we wanted to give all of you guys time to consider what your next step in this area might be. Remember our rallying cry for the year:

START TV SLIDE

What if 2025 was the year where we built deeper relationships in the right direction?

END TV SLIDE

And taking a step to participate in missions this year—locally, domestically, or globally—is a fantastic way to do that.

So, Hilary: what do we have coming up this year? What are you excited about? And how would we go about keeping these opportunities on our radar?

START TV SLIDE

END TV SLIDE

SHOW 410 BRIDGE MARKETPLACE EXPERIENCE GRAPHIC

(Jesse closes in prayer.)

Related Media

Related Sermons

Earn an accredited degree from Redemption Seminary with Logos.