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The Power of Missions Coaching

Matthew Ellison
Chief Ministry Officer

On a very special Sunday, at the end of April I had the privilege of watching and listening as Sagebrush Community Church (a church Sixteen:Fifteen is coaching) unveiled the new dawning of their missions vision. I wish you could have been there.

As the teaching pastor, Todd spoke of the spiritual and physical plight of the peoples they will be engaging with their mission, there was visible brokenness among the listeners…but as he shared the vision (not only of what can be among these peoples, but of what must be), their brokenness became mingled with hope. Todd asked the congregation to close their eyes as he began to articulate a future picture of what they are believing will happen as they fulfill their mission To make Christ known among all nations by equipping indigenous leaders and planting churches that plant churches… he continued, walking them further into the future, describing what they were trusting God to see in the days ahead:

Church:

We see a church so in love with Christ that they are no longer comfortable with the fleeting American Dream, rather they are gripped by a vision to fulfill the Great Commission.

We see a church passionate for the nations, living and giving generously to fulfill the Great Commission.

We see our own sons and daughters going to the ends of the earth as short-term and career missionaries.

We see every member of our church empowered to fulfill a personal life mission in the world.

Field:
We see unreached people trusting in Christ, becoming disciples, leaders, missionaries and pastors.

We see formerly unreached peoples reaching the remaining unreached peoples.

We see churches being planted at the ends of the earth where Christ is treasured, His Word is being taught by well-trained indigenous pastors, and people are being transformed by the power of God.

We see nations being overturned by the love of Christ.

We see things so wondrous they can’t be explained. (Habakkuk 1:5)

My eyes filled with tears as I reflected back on the coaching process that had taken place over the last 10 months and how it had not only yielded this clear, heart-grabbing missions vision, but it had also caused the entire elder team to count the cost of turning it into a reality. I was there, coaching them through it! I had asked the elders to close their eyes, just as Todd did with the congregation; I had asked the elders the same questions that Todd asked. In the very workshop where the vision finally came into focus, several of the elders were moved to tears at the thought of what God could do… I quietly said, “I want to elevate the importance of this moment as high as it can possibly be elevated. This is a sacred moment in history!”

It is important to know that Sagebrush’s vision includes “handles”, that is, strategic opportunities for the body to grab hold of the vision. Though their vision is focused in five areas of the world, there are broad sets of opportunities so that the maximum number of resources can be mobilized to fulfill their vision.

Lately, Sixteen:Fifteen’s mantra has been “Unleashing the Missions Power and Potential of Churches to Reach the Nations,” well I had the privilege of watching as the prayer, generosity and service of Sagebrush was unleashed for the sake of the Name that is above all names. Their mission budget has increased several times over since we began coaching them, and that doesn’t factor in the off-budget, designated giving that was set in motion at the unveiling of their vision. For example, one man stepped up in the second service with a 10K gift…hundreds more gave undisclosed gifts and commitments of time, talent and treasure. In total over 1,300 people responded to the invitation to become engaged in the greatest cause.

One year ago at Sagebrush, prior to going through Sixteen:Fifteen’s 3-D Mission Coaching Process it wasn’t as if there weren’t opportunities for people to be a part of missions, there simply wasn’t a heart-grabbing vision that would capture the whole congregation, there simply wasn’t a strategic plan that would unleash body-wide participation.

Our little ministry was instrumental in deploying the mission vision of yet another congregation. And I believe with all my heart that the joy of the worshiping souls, saved from eternal despair and woe, through Sagebrush Community Church, will be part of the heavenly inheritance of all who stand with the ministry of Sixteen:Fifteen. Thank you.

The 3D Process in Action

an Interview with Bob Church
Administrative Pastor of Sagebrush

Sagebrush Community Church is a growing fellowship in Albuquerque, NM that is committed to having a greater impact in the world. Sixteen:Fifteen was asked to come in and take the Sagebrush leadership through the 3D (Discover, Design and Deploy) to help them become more strategically focused driven by a God-birthed missions vision for their church. We asked Bob Church, their administrative pastor, to share with us what God has been doing in global missions this past year.

Q. A lot has been happening in global missions at Sagebrush. How would you describe the changes that have taken place in the last 12 months?

A. The changes here have been simply amazing. We have had over 1300 people sign up to be involved in some way shape or form in our missions program. We have already sent a team to the Navajo reservation to begin work out there and we are sending teams to Portland Oregon and Juarez Mexico in June. Our people have wrapped their arms around this vision. We have added a huge missions wall in our foyer to keep our vision in front of our people.

Q. You had a vision casting weekend recently, what was the response of the body to your new missions vision?

A. The response has been overwhelming. As I said, over 1300 people have shown interest to get involved.

Q. What role did Sixteen:Fifteen play in this new missions vision?

A. Sixteen fifteen was crucial in our formulation of this vision. They helped us to achieve a laser focus and now our people can run with the vision. Our objectives are clear, not muddied. The laser approach helps us to know what to say yes to and what to say no to… Sixteen Fifteen was the catalyst for this vision.

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Details

By Matthew Ellison
Chief Ministry Officer

Seen from a distance the vision of Sixteen:Fifteen to coach 1,000 churches into a strategic missions focus, resulting in an incremental $1 billion invested to reach 1,000 forgotten and unreached people groups… can appear almost monolithic. But as one moves closer to the work that churches coached by Sixteen:Fifteen are accomplishing on the mission field (as I recently had the opportunity to do on a trip to the Middle East) the precious people that God loves begin to stand out in sharp relief. And, needless to say, the closer one gets to the work, the more the broader vision disappears, until all that’s left are the details...important, eternal, unbelievably significant, details.

Abdullah and Rania are Iraqi Arabs who lived in Basrah, Iraq with their four children (two girls, ages 3 and 5 and two boys, ages 7 and 9) until the war and increasing ethnic/religious tensions forced them to seek exile in a neighboring country. Abdullah’s life had often been threatened because his wife is a Sunni Muslim and he is Shia, but when the threats were directed at his children, he knew it was time to flee the country of his birth.

Abdullah quickly found work though the government has made it illegal for refugees to be gainfully employed. Abdullah considered himself privileged to be able to work, even though he was barely able to earn enough money to feed his family.

Soon after their relocation, their oldest daughter Hadijah became very ill and was diagnosed with thalassemia, a rare, painful, life-debilitating blood disease that requires regular blood transfusions and medications that cost nearly $800.00 per month. Because of Abdullah’s meager income, only one-half of Hadijah’s required monthly medications were able to be purchased. After only months of employment and having missed several days of work while caring for his ailing daughter, Abdullah was terminated from his job.

Abdullah and his family continue to wait for asylum and with it the possibility of going to a place that will provide Hadijah with the medical help and support that she needs to survive. In the meantime, a small band of believers serving in an unknown women’s center are doing their very best to care for and demonstrate God’s love to Hadijah, her family and many other Iraqi Arab refugees who have lost nearly everything.

While visiting the women’s center I had the privilege of meeting brave little Hadijah. As I knelt down so that I could look her in the eyes, I reached out and stroked her cheeks, swollen from the thalassemia and did my best to express God’s love through a translator. As I touched the face of this precious little girl, it occurred to me that those who stand with Sixteen:Fifteen in our mission to mobilize churches to make Christ known among the world’s hidden and forgotten peoples, were touching her as well.

Praise God, that Sagebrush Community Church with the assistance of Sixteen:Fifteen is now deploying a comprehensive vision to make Christ known among this marginalized people group. Please remember to pray Hadijah and the Iraqi Arabs …and also pray for Sixteen:Fifteen as we help unleash churches across the country to reach other unreached and least reached peoples. (The names in this story have been changed for security reasons).

Declare His Glory

Barry Lawrence
Director of Church Coaching

The Greatness of God as the Great Motivation for Missions

What is the ultimate motivation for missions? What is the driving force behind the proclamation of the gospel to people groups that do not yet treasure Christ?

We might respond that we are commanded to do it and not to do it would be disobedience. That would be a correct answer. We are commanded to “make disciples of all nations.” We might also answer that without the gospel of Christ millions will face the judgment of God leading to eternal separation from God in hell forever. So we need to faithfully proclaim the gospel to all peoples.

The above are all valid and worthy reasons to be involved as a church in world missions. However, the Psalmist gives the reason that we may not think about as a motivation. He writes these words, “Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous deeds among all peoples! For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods” (Ps.96:4). God is great and glorious so we proclaim His greatness to the nations.

John Piper has made this observation, “Psalm 96:3-4 connects the evangelizing of the peoples with the quality of praise that God deserves…Notice the word for. The extraordinary greatness of the praise which the Lord should receive is the ground and impetus for our mission to the nations” (from Let the Nations be Glad pg.216).

We believe that a passion for God’s greatness and glory is the supreme motivation for the proclamation of the gospel to all peoples. The more that we see the greatness of God and worship Him, the greater will be our passion to do whatever is necessary to see those peoples still without Christ to come to treasure and trust Him alone.