7 Characteristics of Churches that Love Missions

By Meredith Cook

Growing up in a large, traditional Southern Baptist church, I was educated about international missions from a pretty young age. I participated in Mission Friends and Girls in Action.

I collected loose change in fake rice bowls for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. My church partnered with IMB missionaries and even hosted a service to commission new IMB missionaries.

For some of you, the terms above are a nostalgic throwback to your upbringing. For others, those terms are as foreign as the countries to which international missionaries move.

Either way, the actual terms are not the point—it’s that I grew up in a church that taught me about God’s love for the nations and how to obey the Great Commission.

I’ve moved several times in the last decade and have joined a church at each new place. Based off of my (admittedly limited) experience, I’ve observed these characteristics of churches that love missions:

Deep Love for the Gospel

Love for the gospel precedes a love of missions. When I forget the magnitude of what has been done for me through Christ, I lose the desire to take that same gospel to the nations.

Conversely, deeply appreciating the beauty of the gospel leads to a desire to share that truth so others might also be saved.

When a church is full of people who love the gospel, members encourage one another and spur each other on to good works. God has not left us alone in our task.

He uses other believers to remind us that we have been saved into a body that works together to see his kingdom grow.

Churches that love missions love the gospel first.

Understand the Great Commission

Earlier this year, Barna published a study showing that 51 percent of U.S. churchgoers are not familiar with the term “Great Commission.” In fact, only 17 percent both recognized the term and knew what it meant.

That’s unfortunate because the Great Commission is central to the local church.

[epq-quote align=”align-right”]The call to take the gospel to the nations is not an option, but a command—one that’s a privilege to obey.[/epq-quote]Jesus’ last words to his disciples commissioned them to take the gospel to “Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) Acts is full of stories about how the early church spread the gospel in all circumstances.

Revelation 7 gives a vision of what happens when the Great Commission is fulfilled: God is worshipped by people of every tribe, tongue, and nation.

God chose to save sinners and use them to carry his message of hope and peace to unreached peoples. Spreading the gospel brings glory to his name. The call to take the gospel to the nations is not an option, but a command—one that’s a privilege to obey.

Churches that love missions understand and obey the Great Commission.

Burdened for Unbelievers

A love for the gospel and a proper understanding of the Great Commission naturally lead to a burden for unbelievers. God’s word is clear that Jesus is the only path to heaven.

Believers must accept the hard reality that those who do not accept Christ as the only way to eternal life to will ultimately be separated from God forever.

In light of this serious reality, we must spread the gospel. Romans 10 tells us that people cannot believe in Jesus if they are not told about Jesus. And we are the ones who are to tell them.

Not only do we share the gospel for God’s glory, but we also do so for the sake of the nations.

Churches that love missions love unreached peoples and understand the urgency of gospel proclamation.

Leaders who Love Missions

Church members pay attention to and follow their leaders. I can tell you exactly what each of my pastors (past or present) is most passionate about (after Jesus, of course).

It’s what they talk about from the pulpit and how they lead their church to get involved.

Pastors who love missions help their people love the gospel that saved them and understand their role in the Great Commission. These pastors help church members understand that sharing the gospel glorifies God and is urgent if we are to see people come to faith.

Churches that love missions likely do so because their pastors love missions.

Rightly-ordered Priorities

You can see it in every fiber of the church. These churches are not limited by their size—big or small. A large portion of their budget goes to missions giving, and they make decisions based on how it will affect that missions line item.

Pastors preach about God’s mission throughout Scripture. They provide training in evangelism, discipleship, and cross-cultural matters. They pray for the nations. They raise up and send out missionaries. They go on short-term trips.

Churches that love missions make missions a priority.

Send and Support Missionaries

All churches have the capacity and opportunity to send missionaries out of their congregations. In Acts 13, the Holy Spirit led the church at Antioch to send out Paul and Barnabas to do the Lord’s work.  

Through prayer, sending churches follow the Holy Spirit’s guidance and send missionaries. They help their members discern a call to missions and help them prepare to go. They support missionaries who have been sent out—financially, spiritually, and physically.

Churches that love missions send missionaries.

Provide Opportunities for Participation

Not all members will be sent out long-term. But there are a plethora of ways every member can be involved.

Churches can connect with a sending organization to facilitate a partnership with a missionary or strategic area of the world. Members can join a support team for sent-out missionaries—communicating with them, praying for specific needs, and sending care packages.

They can go on short-term trips. They can minister to the international population in your city, exposing them to other cultures right in your backyard.  

Churches that love missions provide opportunities for every member to be involved in missions.

Churches that love missions likely have all of these qualities. They take seriously their responsibility to obey the Great Commission so that God’s glory may be known among all nations.