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Mission Renewal Network
Connecting the Local Church
to God’s Global Mission
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”
- Jesus Christ (as recorded in Matthew 28:19-20)
The mission we have been given by our Lord is indeed extraordinary. It is extraordinary in its breadth of call that gives glorious purpose and definition to each of our lives as Christians. It is equally extraordinary in the clarity of its content, the scope of its vision, and the promise of supernatural power for its undertaking.
The Mission Renewal Network is a visionary ministry that seeks to mobilize the local church in mission and provide a strong sending base for faith missionaries from mainline denominations of the reformed, congregational, Christian, and evangelical heritage. It represents an innovative, ecumenical approach to mission that is being recognized as a model for the future.
It was begun out of the convictions that:
• The Command of Jesus Christ to go into all the world and make disciples of every nation is still the primary purpose of every Christian and the Church.
• The local church is where missions originates and where missions vision and policy is centered. Effective missions must have direct involvement and accountability with the local congregation.
· On the denominational level much that is called missions is in fact administration, bureaucracy, misguided political involvement, and a compromise of the Gospel to accommodate contemporary ideologies and other religions.
Of additional concern is that an estimated 80-90% of churches in North America have no missions committee and a minimal role in Christ’s Great Commission. A high number of these are in the mainline denominations.
The Mission Renewal Network responds to these needs through the Members in Mission program networked through a National Missions Coordinator who can offer assistance with your local church’s specific questions and needs. The Mission Herald magazine is another resource that will republish in the near future.
Each aspect has been prayerfully conceived in the fervent hope that a new heart for missions and evangelism among our lay people will renew the mainline denominations in our reformed, congregational, Christian, and evangelical traditions.
The Mission Renewal Network works by connecting those called to full-time missionary service with potential supporting churches. It enables churches to find and develop direct, personal relationships with missionaries and to make their own choices in designating financial support.
The Members in Mission Notebook includes a short profile of the ministries of over 75 missionary families, domestic projects sponsored by heritage churches, and national missionaries overseas who are affiliated with our partner churches. The local church decides among these missionaries and projects who can best fulfill their own mission priorities and vision, and then develops a supporting relationship with them directly through whatever mission agency supervises the work. Ideally, the church provides support with prayer, and encouragement through correspondence and other means as well as finances.
Churches who have developed these relationships have discovered that direct, personal participation in mission is the most effective way to open the eyes of a congregation to a missions vision. This close contact is renewing the desire of lay people to fulfill the call of the Lord Jesus Christ to make disciples of every people group.
This also provides a strong incentive for sending churches to recruit and train a new generation of mission leadership. Young people who feel called to areas of ministry outside the scope of the UCC Common Global Ministries Board activity are encouraged in the pursuit of the call of God on their lives.
Many churches are perplexed when it comes to looking for ways to proclaim the gospel to the ends of the earth. They know it needs to be done, but how to start? What is the need? Where do you find a missionary? How do we educate, excite, and involve the layman in the pew? What are the mechanics? Hazards? Strategies?
The vision of Mission Renewal Network is to get churches in our tradition energized and equipped for missions and evangelism through a conscious and cooperative effort of sharing ideas, experiences, and excitement among ourselves and with others.
The National Missions Coordinator regularly shares her expertise, gives encouragement and provides general information about the many aspects of missions to help churches discover their unique role in building God’s kingdom around the world. She can offer practical suggestions about programming: how to organize a missions committee, write a missions policy, care for missionaries, run a missions conference; where to find books, resources, speakers, short term missions trips, Sunday School and Bible study materials; and ways to get the average person in the pew excited about God’s global cause.
Many resources and ideas that are useful for the local church that wants to connect to God’s Global cause are included on this website.
For further information, contact:
MISSIONS RENEWAL NETWORK
P.O. Box 102
Candia, NH 03034-0102
tel: 1-800-494-9172
National Missions Coordinator - Elizabeth Claver
email: worldetc@aol.com