Trent Cornwell » Mobilization http://trentcornwell.com A Call for Pioneer Senders Fri, 09 Dec 2011 21:57:19 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Equality http://trentcornwell.com/2011/10/equality-2/#utm_source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed http://trentcornwell.com/2011/10/equality-2/#comments Thu, 20 Oct 2011 18:03:02 +0000 Trent Cornwell http://trentcornwell.com/?p=12518 In the above picture you will see a pile of stones and a measure used by a very elderly lady. She would use the stones to help weigh out the wood to be bundled and sold. Very difficult job for a very weary woman.

Equality is fairly easy for me to spell, slightly difficult to define, and extremely difficult for me to decide what it should look like lived out in my life. According to Webster (the dictionary editor not the character Emmanuel Lewis played in the 80s) equality is the quality or state of being equal. Pretty straight definition with emphasis on “quality” and “equal” the two words joined together to bring us “equality“.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 8:13,14 For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened: But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality:

I know I normally try to suggest answers or at least my opinion of the needed answer to questions in the life of a Pioneer Sender. With my first post since returning from India I would like offer some questions with which I am currently wrestling. I hope to find, suggest, and give opportunity to live out the answers over the next few months.

Here are some of the questions I have concerning what I saw in India based upon obedience to the above Scriptures.

  • How as a Sender can there be better equality between me and the Missionary Goer? Life in India is difficult. Life in America can be easy. Will I be eased as they are burdened?
  • As a believer in America how can there be equality in my abundance of theological resources with my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ around the world?
  • As an American citizen who has been exposed to the Gospel my entire life how can there be an equality between me and the man who is yet to hear?
  • As a member of a 1st world country with an abundance of food what will I do with the thousands of people I saw that will be going to sleep hungry every night this week.
I pray my abundance (of Gospel teaching, theological resources, financial resources) will be used to meet their need for these same things. I also pray their abundance (opportunities to share the Gospel, provide resources, and physical needs to meet) will meet my need to live a life that will advance the Kingdom of Christ and bring glory to my Savior.
As my wife so sincerely expressed, “I know I should not feel this way but sometimes I wish I could un-see what we saw in India. We cannot ignore what we know to be true!”. It is because of our lack of ability or desire to forget with wrestle with the above questions.
Please consider standing with a foreign missionary as they pursue knowing God and making Him known. You can find some great blogs at www.bcwe.org

 

 

 

 

]]> http://trentcornwell.com/2011/10/equality-2/feed/ 0 Change the Environment [video included] http://trentcornwell.com/2011/08/change-the-environment-video-included/#utm_source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed http://trentcornwell.com/2011/08/change-the-environment-video-included/#comments Tue, 09 Aug 2011 14:00:48 +0000 Trent Cornwell http://trentcornwell.com/?p=12462

KTUAM Training Video #1 from Christian Ministry Videos on Vimeo.

A couple of years ago we put this videos together to show at the annual Our Generation Summit in Gatlinburg, TN. I will be using the videos series to introduce 5 articles of interest for missions SENDERS.

My alter ego in the attached video says “If I came into your house painted it red, put in a fire pole, and parked a fire truck out front you would become a fireman.. BIG DEAL!”. He is combating all the things churches do to keep missions in front of their young people. I would like to share, in my non alter ego, some practical things we do in our church to help keep a missions environment. If you have more ideas please share in the comment section.

  • The Goer & Sender Coalition services. (mentioned in an earlier post)
  • Missions reports in every mid-week service.
  • Be up to date with missionaries so you can mobilize people to pray for their current situations. (Example: We prayed for missionaries in China less than 12 hours after they reported the news. Don’t wait for prayer letters)
  • Take teens to a summer camp that was started and ran by foreign missionaries. (okay.. that was a shameless plug for our camp)
  • Get missions reading material (magazines, missionary biographies, and history books) circulating around your church.
  • Make an email ring for those who are gifted in media (design, video, writing, etc) and serve missionaries by meeting their media needs free of charge.
  • Place pictures of your missionaries in your auditorium so they are seen every service.
  • BIG 3. Every week we have a Country of the Week, Staff Missionary, and Strategic Partner for which we pray. Here is a link to pictures of the Country of the Week.
  • Show video updates missionaries make specifically for the service it will be shown. (opinion: Missionaries are busy so don’t ask for something you will not use. Do not ask them to make elaborate videos. Seating at their desk talking to their computer for 2-3 minutes is good.)
  • Introduce terminology that will help people talk about missions. (example: goer, sender, staff missionaries, deputation, faith promise, missions trips, strategic partner, mobilization)
  • When missionaries are around make sure they get time with all age groups. Do not limit their involvement to one segment. (Example: We look to have missionaries at our young couple gatherings)
  • Give updates about your year to date missions giving and you yearly goal.
  • Look for non-monetary ways to help missionaries and promote it inside the church.
  • Set up a committee in your church that takes for responsibility for making sure missions is being taught and promoted in every aspect of the church ministry.
  • At your missions conference give people a chance to have fun with the missionaries outside of the church building.
There are several more ideas that I need to cover in separate blog entries. By no means do we think we are the best at creating a missions environment in the church. We are intentional about it and know it takes work to maintain. I hope to here more ideas so we can implement them where we are.

]]> http://trentcornwell.com/2011/08/change-the-environment-video-included/feed/ 0 Resource | The Latin Bridge http://trentcornwell.com/2011/08/resource-the-latin-bridge/#utm_source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed http://trentcornwell.com/2011/08/resource-the-latin-bridge/#comments Thu, 04 Aug 2011 14:00:23 +0000 Trent Cornwell http://trentcornwell.com/?p=12384

As PIONEER SENDERS we need to constantly looking for new resources to help channel motivational information about missions to those we influence. If you are interested in missions in Latin America or you know someone considering missions there you really need to check out The Latin Bridge.

What is The Latin Bridge?

Bridges have a singular purpose.  Sure they can be beautiful, a sign of strength and power, and even a platform for base jumping, but in every instance they are ultimately a connector.  The Latin Bridge is seeking to start a renewed movement of church planting in the Latin American world.

The region includes a diversity of cultures, languages, and challenges.  We hope to provide pioneer senders and church planting teams with resources that will highlight the opportunities and expedite the church planting process throughout the region.

For links to more mobilization resources visit bcwe.org

 

 

 

]]> http://trentcornwell.com/2011/08/resource-the-latin-bridge/feed/ 0 Country of the Week: Gabon http://trentcornwell.com/2011/08/country-of-the-week-gabon/#utm_source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed http://trentcornwell.com/2011/08/country-of-the-week-gabon/#comments Wed, 03 Aug 2011 14:00:56 +0000 Trent Cornwell http://trentcornwell.com/?p=12433

Each week our church features a Country of the Week. We pray for the country and ask for laborers for the harvest in this country. One of the young, teenage ladies in our church has begun to help us by using her writing skills to help us give you a better understanding of the country. Thank you Rachel Harrell, awesome teen SENDER, for using your talents to motivate for world missions!
In Gabon, or the Gabonese Republic, there are nine provinces, which are compartmentalized into thirty-seven departments. In those nine provinces, there are 1,545,255 people. The official language is French, spoken by 80 percent of the population. Another 32 percent of the population speak the indigenous language, Fang, as a mother tongue. Their capitol is Libreville, which is also the largest city.
In 1910, Gabon was one of five territories in French Equatorial Africa. But on August 17, 1960, Gabon, along with French Congo, Oubangui-Chari, Chad, and French Camroon, gained independence at the dissolution of French Equatorial Africa.
The Gabonese elected their first president, Gabriel Leon M`ba, along with his vice president, Omar Bongo Ondimba, on 21 February, 1961. M`ba had been the prime minister before Gabon’s independence, and had led one of the greatest initiatives to make Gabon part of the Franco-African community.
In February of 1964, Jean-Hilaire Aubame took over the presidency for a few days by way of a coup d` état. But, the situation was dissolved when the French intervened. This rebellion was caused by suppression of all rights by M`ba. M`ba led a dictatorial presidency which was in the obvious interests of the French.
Leon M`ba was reelected as president in March 1967, but died of cancer later the same year. He was sixty-five years old and had served Gabon for over ten years. He was succeeded in office by his vice president, Albert-Bernard Bongo, otherwise known as Omar Bongo Ondimba.
Ondimba was elected President in February 1975, for the first time. He was reelected in December 1979 and November 1986, for two seven-year terms. During Ondimba’s presidency, there were many reforms instituted, the constitution was amended, and there was much government change. But there was also a large amount of civil unrest. In 1993 there was opposition to his reelection. There was some protesting against the validity of his reelection.
In 2005 Ondimba was reelected for his sixth term as president of Gabon. There was little violence at the announcement of his reelection. Gabon was, for the most part, peaceful.
But on June 8, 2009, President Omar Bongo Ondimba died of cardiac arrest. Rose Francine Rogombe, the President of Senate, became Interim President, in concordance with the amended constitution.
Leading up to the election of a new president, there were few protests. On October 16, 2009, Ali Bongo Ondimba was inaugurated. He was the son of the former president. There was a three week review of the voting by the Constitutional Court, which was brought on by claims of fraud by the candidates opposing Ondimba.
Following the announcement of Ondimba’s election, there were outbreaks of violence and protesting in Port-Gentil, Gabon’s second biggest city.
The Gabonese government is composed of few parts. The President is the head, and is elected to a seven year term; there is no limit of terms he is permitted to serve. He can appoint and dismiss a prime minister, the cabinet, and judges of the Supreme Court. He also has the authority to dissolve the National Assembly, declare a state of siege, delay legislation, and conduct referenda.
Gabon has the Senate and the National Assembly. The National Assembly consists of 120 deputies, which are elected by popular vote. They serve five year terms. The Senate consists of 102 members, which are elected by municipal councils and regional assemblies. They serve six year terms.
The Senate was created six years before actually being brought into being in 1997, during local elections. It was created in the 1990-1991 constitution rewrite. The President of Senate is next in succession after the President.
In 2009, President Ali Bongo Ondimba abolished seventeen minister-level positions and the position of vice president. He also did much in hopes of eliminating corruption and governmental greed.
In 2011, André Mba Obame declared himself the rightful president, claiming the people wished for a president they had elected (referring back to the disputed election of Ondimba). The next day, this opposition was dissolved.
Gabon’s main source of revenue is oil. Roughly 46 percent of the government’s budget is from oil revenue. It is also 43 percent of the gross domestic products and 81 percent of export. Unfortunately, oil production has dropped drastically since 1997. There is strong belief that oil in Gabon will be expended by 2025.
Gabon has been in debt over the past thirty years. Although they are well on their way to paying off their debt, they still have a long way to go.
There is a large amount of practicing Christians in Gabon, but many Gabonese mix Christianity and their indigenous animistic beliefs together. Most who practice Islam in Gabon are foreigners.
73 percent of Gabonese practice Christianity in some part. 12 percent practice Islam, although most of these are not from Gabon. 10 percent practice only the indigenous religion. 5 percent are atheists.
]]> http://trentcornwell.com/2011/08/country-of-the-week-gabon/feed/ 0 Pioneer Senders http://trentcornwell.com/2011/07/pioneer-senders/#utm_source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed http://trentcornwell.com/2011/07/pioneer-senders/#comments Fri, 22 Jul 2011 18:24:30 +0000 Trent Cornwell http://trentcornwell.com/?p=12266

I absolutely love the above picture! I do not know the story behind it but let me tell it to you the way that I will tell my two year old son, Thatcher, when I show him the picture.

One day there were many people working in a house making clothes with their sewing machines. They were doing a very good job but then all of a sudden they got to a point where they could not do there job anymore. The sewing machine broke!! (sound effect: dunt.. dunt.. dun..) No one could figure out what they should do. They used all of their resources but could not figure out a solution to their new problem. They had such grand dreams of providing clothes to everyone in the community.

Someone remembered that there was a sewing machine on the other side of the river. As people began to take needle and thread and work while their system was down (okay this isn’t a kids story anymore but a metaphor). They decided that someone should stop the work and cross the river to gather needed resources and people to finish the job. Even though they had many, many people in the village now helping them they were in need of somethings that would accelerate the work. As they discussed who should put down their needle and thread and cross the river they look out and saw this man coming their way across the river. He begins to scream, “I heard you had a need and I am here to help!”.

The man takes a sewing machine that had been abandoned for years and takes it to a place where it meets a huge need. He sets the sewing machine down, heads back across the river spending every amount of energy and dollar he can to find and relocate resources to see a job done on the other side of the river. Along the way he finds a joy that is seen in the smile in the picture.

Okay, maybe that wasn’t Pilgrim Progress material but it would make a good story for my son to learn about missions.

I firmly believe one of the greatest, if not the greatest needs, in modern missions is for pioneering senders. Let me make sure you know what I mean by this word combination. Pioneer as a verb: Develop or be the first to use or apply (a new method, area of knowledge, or activity). As a noun: A person who is among the first to explore or settle a new country or area. Sender (as used in modern missions terminology) one who gives his or her life to mobilize resources and people for the cause of world missions. We need PIONEER SENDERS!

Senders make it their mission in life to spread God’s mission. They use all the resources they possess to spread the Word and reach people in need of God. We need senders who are willing to roll up their sleeve, alter their schedules, forsake their hobbies and pioneer in this modern era of missions. As Seth Barnes of A.I.M. puts it “we need people to live radical lives in a comfortable world!”.

We know the stories of the Jim Elliots, William Careys, and Aarons in northern Africa. I praise God for them and would never want you I was down playing their importance. It is their radical steps of faith and pioneering spirit that now calls upon us senders to meet their radical obedience with the same radical obedience to God’s mission in this world.

In the same manner many have consecrated their lives to the cause of the great commissions as goers/missionaries I do the same as a sender! We need to have a holy discontent for the current spiritual condition of the world. We need to act radically and pioneer as senders.

Here are some areas that I see need pioneering by senders:

  1. Our relationship with the goer families. They cannot be a prayer card to us anymore. They need to become part of our lives. We need to develop strong enough relationships with them they can share the good and the bad with us. They need to know we have skin in the game.

     

     

  2. Our relations with the work. Regardless if you have a great deal of money or a small amount you have more to offer to missions than just your money. You need you to give your brain, influence, creativity, and anything else you have been using to build your kingdom for His kingdom.

     

     

  3. Our relationship with the mission field. If you live in America you are surrounded by international businesses. It is very likely you know of someone who works for company that does business internationally. They do not just go oversees for vacation or to dig a ditch but they go and work on projects they have been working on stateside all year. We live in a global world. My work today can and does correlate with a missionaries work tomorrow.

     

 

I will have much more to say about this topic over the next couple of weeks. I want to share my heart with you about missions, senders, living radically, India, and somethings I believe God is leading my wife and I to do. I hope you will stay tuned and sign up to get this by email if you haven’t already.

By the way.. look around do you have any “old type writers” that need to be carried across the river? Do you have the ability to solve an issue that a missionary is facing? It is time for us senders to step up and live pioneering lives!

I have dozens of awesome goer friends with great blogs. If you go to www.bcwe.org you will find links to them there.


]]> http://trentcornwell.com/2011/07/pioneer-senders/feed/ 3 Missions Involvement Objection #6 http://trentcornwell.com/2009/10/missions-involvement-objection-6/#utm_source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed http://trentcornwell.com/2009/10/missions-involvement-objection-6/#comments Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:33:51 +0000 Trent Cornwell http://www.bcwe.org/bcweblogs/ministryfertilizer/?p=708 Recently, I posted 5 Objections to Missions Involvement. I believe this is a very important part of the discipleship process. In the sanctification process of making us into the image of His Son we must align our lives with the mission and purpose he gave us.

#6 I just do not know how to get involved.

I understand the importance of givng people practival ways to get involved in the mission of the church. As I traveled full time in missions mobilization I was always mindful of trying not to frustrate people by helping them develop a desire to be involved with any practical steps to take. However, even though this is true people will find a way to get involved in what really matters to them. I have had students come up to me in the junior and senior year of college and ask how they can use what they are studying for the cause of missions. I normally have an answer however I choose to ask them this question. If you decided to study this subject but you do not know how it will allow you to further the Kingdom then how in the world did you decide it was God’s will?

Psalm 36:4

He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil.

The Bible tells us the evil man desires mischief so much he will devise new plans while lying in bed. How could any Christian with a proper world view not be over flowing with ideas to to further the cause of Christ?

]]> http://trentcornwell.com/2009/10/missions-involvement-objection-6/feed/ 0 Objections to missions involvement. http://trentcornwell.com/2009/10/objections-to-missions-involvement/#utm_source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed http://trentcornwell.com/2009/10/objections-to-missions-involvement/#comments Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:14:27 +0000 Trent Cornwell http://www.bcwe.org/bcweblogs/ministryfertilizer/?p=702 As I was preparing to preach a message on the topic of church planting in missions a thought came to mind. I thought for moment – this is irrelevant to what is really going on in the lives of the people with whom I will speak. I did not think it was irrelevant in respect to them not being born again Christians who desire to serve God. I just began to think about the issues they are dealing with and realized they will not be motivated to listen because this subject is light years away from their concerns. Some are dealing with marital issues, others with strong bitterness, and others will be mentally balancing their checkbooks as I speak.

It did not take me very long to snap out of this errant and harmful train of thought. Missions is pursuing a world where our God receive maximum glory. In our Spirit enabled pursuit of serving to see God’s name glorified around the world we will find our maximum amount of joy. Our joy and our mission do not run into each other, they do not run on paralleled tracks, they are placed on top of each other.

In my preparation I decided to address 5 issues that cause people to think of missions as irrelevant.

1. Missions is not a progressive step in the Christian life.

Many times people think that missions is an aspect of life they would love to have time to think about. They think once they get everything else taken care of they will look at where they can fit into missions. The is faulty thinking on the highest level. Your purpose in life does not start with you. We are created for a purpose – and the Creator not the creation decided what that would be.The missions command was given to the carnal church Corinth and new believers when they joined the church at Pentecost. No believer is excluded from this work.

Goofy Illustration: If life was a game of golf most people would involve missions as an aspect of the game such as putting. It is something they do not even have the luxury of thinking about until they learn to drive the ball. However, your view of missions is not putting but it is the way you handle the golf club. It will effect every aspect of your life.

2. Our Father knows best and He is working all things for our good – so pay attention this is part of that!

At even giving time in a congregation there are people that are going through so much that even the speaker knew about it he would probably stop and talk to them directly. We live in a fallen world with hurting people who hurt people. I wish it was not so and I am working with a wonderful team of people to invite people into a new Kingdom. What has happened in your life and they way you have responded to them has made you into the person you are today. How you will respond to what is going on in your life today is greatly to have great consequences on your future. Listen God wants to speak to you and help you see that your true purpose in life is to bring him glory.

3. Giving to missions will not solve your financial issues. However, it will help you get a proper perspective on your money and this will allow you get things back in order.

I have been here more times than I would like to mention. I have been running numbers through my head instead of letting the Word of God be meditated upon. In a proper understanding of missions you will get a better understanding of who you are and the real value of your possessions. It will allow to you focus on what is truly important. Living a life with clear Godly priorities allows you to know what is in your control and what truly is not. Many Muslims live a life of full devotion to a god that gives no guarantee of paradise when they die. No matter what they do they know he is god and he will decide what he wills with them. As Christians we treat our God as a genie in the bottle. If we let you out you must give us three wishes. Our first wish is as a third grader we ask for unlimited wishes. He is God stop negotiating with Him.

4. You cannot be useful to the cause of missions without an airplane ride.

I am “here and now“  you are talking about “there and then”! This is a common misconception of missions. Let us not argue over foreign missions and home missions. However, let us look at the work involved in missions and realize you can disciple people wherever you are. Listen for a moment – we are not only going to talk about the where of missions but we will talk about the what and who. You have a place right now to serve. Do it.

5. Your kids need to understand the mission of the church. They will not be as likely to become bored with church if they understand her purpose.

It is estimated that 8 out of 10 teenagers who attend church in the their high school years will leave when they are out of high school. Why? For the same reason they want to take down their Care Bears wallpaper when they get older. It does not make up who they are it is just part of their decoration in life. They have never had a good look into the eyes of the mission that God has given us. Their view of Christianity is so shallow they know they cannot dive into it for fear of breaking their necks.  So please listen as we give you a good understanding of a word you have become bored of “The Great Commission” and realize how it can radically change the dynamics in your family!

]]> http://trentcornwell.com/2009/10/objections-to-missions-involvement/feed/ 0 The church is still a mystery to some. http://trentcornwell.com/2009/08/the-church-is-still-a-mystery-to-some/#utm_source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed http://trentcornwell.com/2009/08/the-church-is-still-a-mystery-to-some/#comments Tue, 04 Aug 2009 00:04:34 +0000 Trent Cornwell http://www.bcwe.org/bcweblogs/ministryfertilizer/?p=546 Last Sunday morning my pastor, Austin Gardner, preached a phenomenal message from Ephesians 3. He helped give us a better understanding of why the church was referred to as “the mystery”. I would encourage you to listen or watch the sermon. Sermons consider the church and how it it is designed to bring glory to God is absolutely one of my favorite topics for discussion or preaching. I have alwasy thought what I saw at church was a beautiful portrayal of the fact that the wall of partition has been torn. Nothing excites me more than seeing a bunch of our teenage age guys from different parts of the world, different social levels, and would be labeled different at their schools all standing together singing words of praise to our Heavenly Father!

On Sunday evening I went to the Family Recovery Course at No Longer Bound. Every family member who would like to see their loved one in the program has to attend two classes at their facility on a Sunday evening. I enjoyed the lesson and Christ was given His rightful place in the discussion on “Becoming Whole”. There came a part in the lesson where the speaker said, “You must find a community of people to encourage you. You should meet with them once a week. You need to share your life together. Share the good times and the bad times.”. Then he went on to ask the crowd, “Where are some places you can do this?” After about 3 minutes of people naming support groups and programs my mother wrote on her notepad a word that I was already hearing my heart scream – “CHURCH”. After a while the speaker did mention church in along with the list of other places.

I firmly believe that if people understood what the church truly was and was left hear to do in this world then all churches would always be in a perpetual building project. People are looking for a place to be accepted. A place to be real and talk about their difficulties. A place where they find truths that will help them in their everyday lives. As our session ended I heard so many people mention how wonderful the night had been. As much as I enjoyed the night I knew that the experience I had just had is something that I get to enjoy at least times a week. I simply love church. I simply need church.

Here are some applications:

1. Instead of just promoting the events of our church or the place it meets let us show the world the product of this great anomaly. We should tell our friends how the church family has been so vital in our lives.

2. Let us be reminded of the great need for honesty and transparency among believers at church. When you ask someone, “How’s it goin’?” Allow them the time to answer truthfully and without fear of judgement from you.

3. We should work together at seeing more churches started. The world needs a church. They are sheep without a the Shepherd. Let’s give more time, energy, and attention to the church planting efforts around the world.

4. Help people understand what the church is all about. Help people outside of the church who have been given a bad impression on church a proper Biblical understanding of who we should be. Help the people inside of the church who do not understand the great mystery so we have less people like the before mentioned.

]]> http://trentcornwell.com/2009/08/the-church-is-still-a-mystery-to-some/feed/ 0 7 reasons it is imperative we strive for a great missions conference. http://trentcornwell.com/2009/07/7-reasons-it-is-imperative-we-strive-for-a-great-missions-conference/#utm_source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed http://trentcornwell.com/2009/07/7-reasons-it-is-imperative-we-strive-for-a-great-missions-conference/#comments Sun, 26 Jul 2009 14:24:48 +0000 Trent Cornwell http://www.bcwe.org/bcweblogs/ministryfertilizer/?p=532 Prepared for the weekly Volunteers Meeting at Vision Baptist Church in Alpharetta, GA

The work of the church is missions.

“That is, the work of the church is not primarily self-preservation, the perfection of organization and equipment, the improvement of the membership, or several other firsts that people might propose.

What has been called “the Great Commission,” the task of evangelizing the world, was given to the church and thus became its great work.” Bruce Hunt

Missions is the work of the church.

This is a team sport. Not something for the lone ranger. If was given to a church and not individuals. It will be accomplished through a church and not just individuals.

The work of missions is the church.

It is the church against which the gates of hell cannot prevail. Orphanages, hospitals, leper colonies, and relief projects which are not conducted and staffed by true Christians, members of the body of Christ, cannot claim for themselves protection against the gates of hell nor be expected to show forth the “manifold wisdom of God” (Eph. 3:10).

It let’s everyone watching know what we believe to be important!

We must create the attitude in all our members, especially the youth, that Vision wants to encourage and support people from its own number in their call to ministry.

It is a chance for us to do something that has eternal consequences!

Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

It sets a precedent on how Vision Baptist Church will always do their missions conferences.

We will not always be here. However, by the grace of God, Vision Baptist Church will always have a missions conference. Let us leave a legacy that says this generation thought it was of the utmost importance.

There is nothing we do as a church that is more important then glorify Him through working to spread the Gospel. So if this week is not important none of them will be.

This would be a great chance for us to let the whole church to know that the mission given to us is worthy of our time & effort all year long.

]]> http://trentcornwell.com/2009/07/7-reasons-it-is-imperative-we-strive-for-a-great-missions-conference/feed/ 0 Striving for a multi-ethnic youth ministry http://trentcornwell.com/2009/07/striving-for-a-multi-ethnic-youth-ministry/#utm_source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed http://trentcornwell.com/2009/07/striving-for-a-multi-ethnic-youth-ministry/#comments Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:04:45 +0000 Trent Cornwell http://www.bcwe.org/bcweblogs/ministryfertilizer/?p=478 I grew up in a small town in the far western part of Kentucky. It had many things to offer, however ethnic diversity was not one of those things. From an early age I was intrigued in different countries, nationalities, and cultures. Later on in life I realized that this was God working in my heart showing me His love for the nations. Serving as a student pastor in a vary diverse city and missions mobilizer is the realization of a dreams I had at an young age.

As I made my way to Alpharetta, GA to serve on the pastoral team of a church plant I had friends leaving to go around the world. I have close friends all around the world serving in the mission our God has given us. I struggled for a long time with the uncertainty of God’s plan for my life. Understanding the great need around the world and God’s desire for all people motivated me to want to go every place I read about. Very quickly I came to the realization that I am not omnipresent and could not teleport. This brought me great distress for along time until I realized that through discipleship I could make an impact on this world. It was with this heart I began to serve as a student pastor.

No matter how much I desired to see missionaries sent around the world and have a multi ethnic youth ministry it does not come easily. God has been very good to our church in the last 3 years in letting us see a glimpse of heaven by having people from many different tongues worshipping in our church. I have collected a few thoughts that I will share with our youth workers to help keep us on the target laid out by a Biblical model of ministry.

Here are a few questions I want us to ask ourselves…..

Is our youth group demographically reflective of our entire church family?

We believe, as I imagine most youth ministers do, that our youth ministry is not a separate ministry of the church but an integral part of the purpose of the church. As we started the church we did not waste anytime with our mission statement. We felt that was clearly laid out through the Great Commission. We are here to teach (evangelize), baptize, teach (disciple) in this community and around the world. This starts with making sure we are reaching out to every type of teenager in our church. We do not have a separate youth ministry for our spanish speaking members or for the teenagers whose parents attend the International Bible Fellowship. We are are one church so our teens all participate in one youth ministry.

Is our youth group demographically reflective of our community?

A more difficult question then being demographically reflective of your church is asking if you are reflective of your community. This means that if 20% of your community is hispanic then you should we should expect see something close to this in our youth ministry. For example, 4% of the people in our community is are from India. As a youth ministry we prayed for the county of India and ask God to send students to us from India. Shortly after we began to pray for this we saw some students show up who were from India. It was a great joy to see them and to see the reaction of our students when they knew God sent teens to us. They were received with open arms. It is amazing how when you began to pray for something you notice the answer to it may be next do and just be one invitation away.

Are we reaching out to all the “people groups” of our area?

Serving from several years as a full time missions mobilizer I have had several discussions with people about “un-reached people groups”. Steve Shadrach in the Fuel and the Flame challenged campus ministries to look at their campus through this filter. I have adapted this idea to the concept of youth ministry. When I grew up in youth ministry the thing to do was sports. The vast majority of the young people in the group loved sports. Today we have many, many options. Some kids are into music, some sports, some gaming, some drama, and the list is endless. If we only had events with one group in mind we would be really limiting ourselves. Let’s not be a youth ministry for one type of student. Let’s not also be a youth ministry of all anglo students or all of anything.

Joys of a multi ethnic youth ministry….

Listening to Adam and Sarah talked to their friends in youth ministry via Skype from Morocco filled my heart with excitement for our multi ethnic youth group. Then to see two young men praying for their families in city of Cali, Columbia must my hear nearly explode. It is so much easier to keep the world in front of our students when the world is literally in front of them. They do not see the learning of another language as impossible. They learn to appreciate and love different cultures. They learn that as great as our country is it only makes up 4% of the world’s population.

Challenges we face in multi ethnic youth ministry…

As my wife and I sat on the floor in the home of some of our teenagers we realized that we have alot to learn if we truly desire to lead a multi ethnic ministry. Do we finish our plate? If we do will they think they did not put out enough food? If we do not finish the plate will they think we did not like the food? Having students from several different countries causes us to be students of the world. As Christians with a world view we should be students of geography and culture. When we teach on dating and marriage what does Zara think. Her family plans on arranging her marriage. So many questions have to asked and answered when reaching out to different nationalities. However, it is so exciting and rewarding.

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