The Sending Church Story

The Sending Church story is not a story from bad to good, but from good to better. It is a story of a rethink in missions where the bride of Christ humbly takes ownership of the Great Commission—the Commission that Jesus gave her to be about. In a sense, this is a story of the Proverbs 31 woman that takes responsibility for caring for those she loves and has in her charge. Here the bride takes ownership of the command she has to be a blessing to others by her own hand.

This is your story and the story of the one next to you. It is the story that already has been and yet is alive again today. The unfolding of this story will continue until the bridegroom returns.

The vignettes contained here are from different gatherings across the country involved in cities and nations around the world. Together these glimpses begin to comprise a holistic representation of the fuller body of Christ being a blessing to the nations—being the church on His mission.

- Naturally, the sending church story begins with the Most High who is the missionary God. He is the One who sends the church out. It was His plan, not her own.

- He is revealing His will to the church regarding to whom she should go through prayer and in providential encounters with peoples and places in the grocery store, through internet research and even television programs like National Geographic. He speaks, she responds. He directs. She goes.

- The church is selecting those that she would send out. These are good, Spirit-filled men, women and families that are already faithful in making disciples where they are. She is sending out her best leaders who are simultaneously her most humble servants.

- These sent ones are going as ambassadors that are living by faith through the sacrifices of the sending ones and / or as tentmakers working as teachers, businesspersons, freelancers and restaurateurs. While the tentmakers prepare to go, the sending church is commissioning some direct from her own fold while adopting some that do not have people praying and caring for them from their hometown due to a lack of vision.

- Through innovative as well as slice of the budget fund-raising, the sending church is resourcing church planting among the nations through different leaders including the lives of addicts that are being transformed and taking the love of Christ to others that are currently without hope. She is reexamining her budget and expectations with a willingness to reallocate financial resources toward advancing the gospel as she walks by faith.

- The sending church is holding the ropes for those she sends out by taking ownership of administrative functions in order to reduce or eliminate extraneous costs as well as to free up time to enable the sent ones to focus on mission.

- She is caring for and holding accountable those she sends out by having top leadership in the states in frequent, direct communication with those living in another country as well as stepping in to provide counsel and retreat in times of high stress and conflict. The church provides tangible remember care by sending a dear friend or family member to go to the field for a season to provide a taste of home and an expression of love that gives much needed hugs and a trusted listening ear over long cups of coffee. Baby sitting and dates are at times a desperately needed bonus that she is all too happy to provide.

- The sending church is seriously rethinking what a lifestyle of mission looks like for the disciples that comprise her. She is having her disciples, every one of her disciples have some contact or direct involvement with the people she is engaging.

- She is taking a copious list of mission projects scattered around the world and replacing it with the people or peoples to whom she is called so that she can see prayer and people mobilized for mission—so that people will be passionate about those to whom the Spirit is sending her to bless.

- She is hosting collegiates from her people group to study as exchange students while living in the homes and being a part of the families of faithful disciples.

- The sending church is rewiring her corporate worship times to pray for and rejoice as the stories are told of God’s faithfulness as he works among the community and the nations. In addition to seeking to continue to support the sent ones in their development and walk with God, the sending church is learning from the sent ones as they Skype in to teach the body in small groups and corporate worship.

- She is open to doing away with puppets when and where appropriate to drink coffee among the nationals and wait and act according to the Spirit’s prompting—seeking to employ his strategy while loosening her grip on her own.

- The sending church is working with others in any way possible that helps advance the gospel among those to whom she is called. These partnerships include multiple expressions of the body of Christ in the U.S. and beyond working together, cooperating with mission agencies and learning from national partners.

- She is training those she is sending out in pre-field intense sessions as well as ongoing training and coaching once living among those to whom she is sent.

- The sending church is about seeing disciples made among those she has been sent to. Where she is making disciples, she is seeing churches birthed. She is seeing the Kingdom of God advance among the nations.

The sent and sending God called his bride to be a sent and sending church. The story has begun. What it will look like 10 years from now is unclear. How will you influence it?

Although written by Almost M, the Sending Church Story is a manifesto of sorts for the Upstream Collective.