The Importance Of A Good Sending Church
Recently, while talking to the director of a major Baptist mission agency here in the USA, I was made aware of an alarming statistic. He shared with me that only 9% of the churches associated with his mission agency were actually sending churches. That statistic was shocking to me! 91% of churches have never had the privilege of being a sending church for a missionary.
Suddenly, I realized how blessed I’ve been in my 36 years of pastoring. I have had the honor and privilege of being the sending pastor for dozens of missionaries serving all around the world. I have visited them on their mission fields and seen their ministries.
I have also felt the responsibility to minister to them and to be the support for them as they come back home on furlough. I have strived to be an encouragement and blessing to them. I can honestly say that I’ve always tried to be the best sending pastor, and I’ve even challenged my people to be the best sending church that we can possibly be.
Most missionaries will tell you that having a good sending church makes all the difference in the world. It can literally make or break a missionary’s career!
So why is it so important to have a good sending church? Let me give you several reasons.
The Biblical Reason
As a church, what we do or don’t do should be driven by the Word of God. In other words, what God says should always be our final authority!
The concept of a sending church is biblical. Now, follow my logic because we have to go back to what I would call our primary passages of Scripture in regard to what we would call missions.
The final instructions that Jesus Christ gave after His resurrection and before His ascension are what Hudson Taylor coined as the Great Commission.
The Great Commission is reiterated in all four gospels and in the Book of Acts.
Matthew 28:19,20 - “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
Mark 16:15 - “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”
Luke 24:46-48 - “And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are my witnesses of these things.”
John 20:21 - “Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.”
Acts 1:8 - But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
The repetition of the Great Commission emphasizes its significance.
If God says something once, it’s important; but if God says something multiple times, it is of utmost importance.
The Great Commission is also significant because of Who gave it.
It’s not given to us by angels or prophets or even the apostles. No! It’s given to us by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the One who has all authority in heaven and in earth! The One who created us and redeemed us with His precious and powerful blood!
The One who says to us in Luke 6:46, “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” The Great Commission comes straight from the heart of our Lord!
The Great Commission is also significant because it’s not given to us as something to discuss and debate, but rather it’s a command for us to obey.
It’s not something for us to sit around and talk about – it is urgent! Time is of the essence! Time is of the essence because two people die every second around the world. The vast majority of those people die without Christ.
Time is of the essence because of the soon coming of Jesus.
We believe in the imminent return of Christ, which means He could come at any moment. If it’s true that Jesus is coming again – and it is because He promised in John 14:3, “I will come again, and receive you unto myself” – then we need to get busy accomplishing the mission He’s given to us.
We need to consider the question of the angels in Acts 1 when they said to the disciples, “Why stand ye gazing up into heaven?”
We’re not to be gazing Christians, but rather we’re to be going Christians!
There’s a mission to accomplish, and that mission is called the Great Commission!
By the way, the Great Commission was given to the local church.
Even though God certainly uses individuals to accomplish the Great Commission, the Great Commission is specifically understood in the context of the local church.
The local church is the primary agent of accomplishing the Great Commission.
Now, let me state the obvious—mission agencies and organizations didn’t exist when the Great Commission was given by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I’m certainly not trying to deemphasize the work of mission agencies and organizations – what they do is extremely important and necessary!
But the Great Commission can never be separated or disconnected from the local church.
That’s why it’s biblically correct to say that a missionary is sent by a church and sent through a mission agency. That statement puts the responsibility of fulfilling the Great Commission where it rightfully belongs – squarely on the shoulders of the local church.
We can’t outsource that responsibility to a mission agency or some para-church organization.
Nowhere is that seen better than in Acts 13 where the local church at Antioch sends out and supports Paul and Barnabas as missionaries.
Acts 13 is what I would give you as the support text for the biblical reason for the importance of a sending church.
Acts 13:1-3 - “Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, ‘Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.’ And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.”
It was the Holy Spirit who spoke to the prophets and teachers so that Paul and Barnabas would know that their call to go was for the right reasons.
They weren’t papa-called or mama-called.
They weren’t even church-called.
They were Holy Spirit God-called!
It wasn’t an emotional decision; it was a Spirit-led decision.
Notice that it was the local church at Antioch that confirmed that calling upon their lives and then proceeded to send them out as missionaries.
All throughout the Book of Acts we see that the local church is the entity that sends. Here’s a couple of verses emphasizing that.
Acts 11:22 - “Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch.”
Acts 15:22 - “Then pleased it the apostles and elders with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas and Silas, chief men among the brethren:”
I want to give you some simple observations from Acts 13.
First and foremost, the local church is the source of missionaries. Christian camps and Christian colleges aren’t where we get our missionaries. No! It’s the local church!
A second observation is this—missionaries are the direct result of prayer. Maybe that’s why only 9% of churches are sending churches. Most churches aren’t praying for missionaries to be sent out of their midst. We need to heed the command of Christ!
Matthew 9:38 - “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.”
Are we praying for more missionaries? Are we praying for men, women, and young people in our local churches to surrender to the call of missions?
According to Acts 13, God could very well call those serving on the leadership staff of our local churches to become missionaries. Are we willing to let them go so that they can fulfill God’s calling upon their lives?
Back to the original statistic that shocked me so much – only 9% of churches are sending churches. Could it be that only 9% of churches are really praying that God would call a missionary from their church?
Why should we be shocked if no missionaries are being called from our churches if we’re not praying for that to happen?
Jesus said in Matthew 7:7a, “Ask and it shall be given you…”
If you are a pastor reading this article, I want to encourage you personally to pray for more missionaries.
I also want to encourage you to challenge the members of your local church to pray for more missionaries.
I truly believe that a praying church will at some point become a sending church. We desperately need more churches to catch the vision of becoming a sending church.
