OUT OF THE COMFORT ZONE  Vision, Grace, Action  FREE ONLINE BOOK BY  George Verwer Thank George via email Acknowledgements Foreword - Introduction 1. A Grace-Awakened  Approach to Missions Work   2. We are His Witnesses  3. Taking the Lead 4. Being a Missions Mobilizer   5. Future Missionaries    – From Where? 6. Finance for the Work 7. Acts 13 Breakthrough        Chapter 7 Tables

Igniting the Church
   with a vision for releasing new missionaries
      to the harvest field

'Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days -- you would not believe if you were told.'

Acts 13 - Breakthrough is a strategy for the church to raise up and send 200,000 new missionaries to the harvest field in obedience to the command of Jesus Christ in Matthew 28:19 to "Go into all the world and make disciples..."

It is inspired by the example of the Antioch church in Acts 13:2, who obeyed God's leading to 'Set apart Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.'

 

Here is a brief summary of the vision received by George Verwer, Operation Mobilization's (OM's) leader and founder. I was on a flight from Cordoba to Buenos Aires after taking part in Love Latin America. I have always had a burden for sending and mobilizing missionaries but never expected a breakthrough like this. It is hard to explain what I experienced on that flight in Argentina this past January when God gave the vision of Acts 13 - Breakthrough. For the first time, I sensed that mobilizing 200,000 new missionaries in the next few years was possible. The experience was similar to when God gave the idea ot have ocean-going ships for world evangelization. As I scribbled down the key countries and areas of the world with the number of churches that I felt needed to respond, I saw more than ever that 200,000 workers was not such a wild dream. We needed only 100,000 churches around the entire world to make it happen. The feedback from all over the world continues to be very encouraging. I believe with all my heart that the same Holy Spirit as in Acts 13 wants to send our workers now. I urge you to please go for it. George Verwer January 1996

 

Why do we need 200,000 new missionaries?

The need for more workers comes from every nation and every missionary fellowship. There are about 2,000 People Groups, representing hundreds of millions of people, where the church barely exists or does not exist at all. Many of these are in the part of the world known as the 10/40 Window. As the church today also responds to the physical needs across the globe, the need for workers and backup staff grows even further. The nature of the task demands that "tentmakers" make up a significant part of this total.

"I am so convinced about the 'Acts 13 Breakthrough' strategy that by God's grace I am giving it a major chunk of the next two years. This is a great plan which has enormous potential to help finish the task of world evangelisation. Give it a try alongsice other proven strategies."
Chacko Thomas
Associate Leader, International Coordinating Team
London, OM
Coordinator, Missions Mobilization Network,
AD2000 & Beyond Movement

"This is a breakthrough concept! It captures the essence of the heart of Jesus when he said, 'Pray to the Lord of the harvest to thrust out labourers into the harvest field.' It provides a handle for every local church in every region of the world to contribute to God's initiative of our time. Ask how you can be involved!" Luis Bush
International Director
AD2000 & Beyond Movement

 

The Key to achieving the vision is YOU

The local church with a vision for the global harvest is God's most potent means of bringing His good news.

The impact of Acts 13 is shown in Acts 17: "These men who have turned the world upside down have now come here" (Acts 17:6). It is only when you and your local church are touched and ignited that the determination will begin to burn into an action plan, which will help to reap the great harvest.

No church is too small, too large, too rich or too poor to be involved.

Questions you may be asking...

Who is considered to be a missionary?

Most often a missionary is a person who leaves his or her own culture to bring the gospel to the people of another culture. This may be even within the borders of his or her own country. I.e., a Native American working among Anglo Americans is a missionary. Such persons may be "tentmakers" or full-time workers in a missionary supporting role.

How will they be supported?

Financing missionaries is a big task, but not too big for God. Many will go as self supporting tentmakers which is one of the keys in the strategy. As people get excited and become faithfully committed and responsible, we will see an avalanche of finance released to get workers to the field and sustain them. Many churches attest to the fact that raising support is very do-able when the commitment and vision is there.

Where do we go from here?
'Jesus said "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few"'

If you and your church already share the heart for this vision, the most important thing is for your pastor, church leaders and the whole congregation to work together to see the Acts 13 vision embraced and a clear plan adopted to see it happen. The can begin as the leaders set a time of prayer and fasting, allowing the Holy Spirit to minister to them through the Acts 13 passage. Ask God to clarify your plans. It may take time to discuss and identify the person or people and areas to go. Good missionary training is very important -- appoint someone to contact mission agencies, training colleges or research agencies who can advise and help you. If your group is too small to send one missionary, consider partnership with another fellowship in your denomination or area.

The figures in these tables may look like hopeful guesses to some; it is true that the reality will be a thousand times more complex than any table of figures can show.  However, they are not as daunting as they may look.  For example in Table 1, out of the very big churches, we are looking for 200 to send 20 new workers.  There are thousands of these very big churches in the world and some have already done this.  What we are looking for is an escalation of a process already under way.  At the lower end of Table 1 it suggests that fifty thousand churches could send one new missionary.  This sounds like a lot of small churches, but there are at least a couple million of them and a significant number are already sending workers.

NUMBERS AREN'T EVERYTHING

Breaking the numbers down in this way gives us something concrete to aim for.  However, don't get hung up on numbers.  Get your church and your denomination involved.  They will contextualise this vision into their own situation, and get God's guidance as to what they should do and what numbers should be involved.  Let us especially bring the whole matter into the heart of our prayer ministry.  In Matthew 9, we are commanded by the Lord Himself to pray that the Lord of the harvest will send out workers into the harvest field.  If you choose to pray for more than 200,000 new cross-cultural workers, praise the Lord!  Have mercy on those of us who are concentrating on this smaller number that is still considered quite wild by a number of members of the Body of Christ.

It is important to remember that the ‘Acts 13 Breakthrough’ vision will only be fruitful if it is pursued in harmony with all kinds of other strategies, visions and godly principles that God has been using throughout the life of the church.  Let me mention a few of these that must go hand in hand with the goal of raising large numbers of new workers and with taking the gospel to all peoples. 

Firstly, we need a greater renewal and reality in the churches.  By this I mean Christians moving on from a superficial walk with God to one which accepts the challenges which God is putting before us today.  I also mean an honest and open attempt to break down barriers between different visions and different emphases in the church and working for a Holy Spirit marriage of them. 

Secondly, it is so important that there should be a ‘grace awakening’.  By this I mean a renewed emphasis on the kind of love which 1 Corinthians speaks about.  I believe that unless we have more of that big-heartedness towards one another - individuals and organisations - our grand visions for large numbers of new workers will not become a reality.  We need every member of the Body of Christ.

Thirdly, a greater discipline is needed in prayer, in studying the Word of God and in giving.  These basic, godly activities cannot be separated from other visions that God has given us.

Finally we must beware of allowing negative thinking to kill our creativity or vision.  The history of the church shows that often God is working in the midst of what looks, to us, like a mess.  Often what we think is a casualty, is not a casualty with God.  Forty-three years of ministry across the globe and involvement with thousands of people, has confirmed my view that while we must work for the highest standards of professionalism in all we do, God often achieves tremendous things through the most unlikely people, organisations and situations.  Let us not expect that the raising up, by the church, of 200,000 new missionaries will be a neat and tidy process.

Suggested Reading:

Edited by William Taylor, Too Valuable to Lose, (William Carey Library)

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