For the week of August 01, 2005

Missionary Training Centers
By: Tom Bandy
Train your board, elders, or lay leaders with a different attitude this year. The church is not in the business of multiplying members, but of training missionaries. Worship is a reunion of missionaries for thanksgiving, upgraded training, and encouragement. The parking lot and the coffee room are test sites to experiment with new outreach tactics and to sensitize missionaries to real people in the mission field. The board meeting is a strategy session to measure results and adjust initiatives.

When leaders start viewing their congregation as missionaries rather than members, their expectations change. When the expectations of leaders change, the congregation begins to change. It all begins with the attitude of the leaders.