Over the last two weekends I have visited two regional churches in South Australia and the New South Wales-Victoria border.
Both faith communities are highly valued Baptist Mission Australia partners as sending churches. They take seriously their role in standing alongside, praying for and generously supporting Baptist Mission Australia team members sent from their churches.
These churches also understand that a local church with a global vision is not simply one that sends people overseas— it’s one that participates in God’s global redemptive work, both locally and globally, with a missional imagination that reflects the Kingdom of God.
These churches understand they don’t merely support global mission – they participate in it!
In today’s world, where the nations are on our doorstep and mission flows in all directions, we embrace the reality of mission from everywhere to everywhere. Every local church, no matter its size or setting, is invited to join God’s global movement—raising up, sending out, receiving, partnering, learning and praying as part of the global body of Christ.
As I visit churches across our movement in Australia – big and small, in urban and regional and rural settings – I am greatly encouraged when I connect with churches taking seriously their unique place in God’s global mission vision. Such churches are living out their commitment to mission across the street and around the world. And they highly value the importance of partnership – forging meaningful and innovative partnerships in their local communities and across the globe.
At Baptist Mission Australia we’re fully committed to doing all we can to cheer on and support churches to develop authentic, tailored global mission strategies in our changing world.
And my colleagues and I see that churches who intentionally embrace a global mission vision are ones that foster the conversation. They want their people to have a growing awareness of what God’s Spirit is doing across the world and the unique role each person can play in God’s restorative vision – across the street and around the world.
To assist churches, foster these conversations Baptist Mission Australia has developed a ‘Local Church: Global Mission Vision’ guide. Written by members of our National Team, the guide highlights the following seven steps to help local churches develop a vision for global mission.
- Theological foundation: God’s global heart
- Cast vision: Reimagine the church’s identity
- Learn: Build missional awareness and understanding
- Engage: Form relational and strategic partnerships
- Mobilise: Engage the whole church
- Equip: Raise up intercultural team members
- Celebrate: Tell the stories
The guide also lists eleven practical ways that Baptist Mission Australia can build a mutually beneficial partnership with your church.
Our team has developed this brief, practical guide for local church conversing, discerning and praying. The guide is suitable to be used by a pastoral team, church leadership group or mission taskforce. It could also be used for a global mission preaching series.
Baptist Mission Australia team members are also available to meet with local church leaders to discuss the guide and assist in its implementation. Please be in touch if you would like to arrange a conversation with one of our church relationship team members.
Local churches across our Australian Baptist movement are at the heart of Baptist Mission Australia’s 150-year faith story. And we look forward to how we can continue to develop tailored, mutually-beneficial partnerships, which support local mission and cultivate a global mission vision.
