Home Updated October 8, 2010 David Mays

The Globally Focused Church

How we would recognize a globally focused church?

· A Global Ethos. The look, sound, feel, and touch of the church - its leadership, programs, ministry, and décor - convey an integrated awareness of a global church with a global purpose in a global context.

· Congregational Involvement. A large proportion of individuals are personally involved in local evangelism, serving in the community, engaging in cross-cultural outreach, going on mission trips, giving to mission causes, and in other ways contributing to global outreach.

· Strategic Ministry. The church supports strategic cross-cultural ministries through finances, prayer, sending their own people, and supporting involvement by individuals at home.

· Communication. Global outreach is communicated by a multitude of means through all ministries to all ages, in ways that develop world Christians at all levels of spiritual development.

· Prayer. Congregation members regularly and naturally pray for lost people at home and abroad. They are knowledgeable about and pray for the expansion of the Kingdom, including, for example, the least reached in the world, the poor and disadvantaged, missionaries and national workers, mission organizations and strategies, and believers in difficult circumstances world-wide.

How do churches reveal their priorities?

· Advertising - What gets promoted the best and longest in advance by those at the highest levels

· Bulletin - What gets the most space most often

· Calendar – Where most of our time is spent

· Conversation - What we spend a lot of time discussing in staff, elder, and committee meetings

· Delegation - What we take responsibility for ourselves at the highest level of staff and elders vs. what we delegate to committees and laypeople

• Discipleship - The degree discipleship focuses on evangelism, outreach, and mission
• Ethos - The look and feel of the church

· Evaluations - What questions we ask and information we seek in leader evaluations

· Events - What events get the highest level leadership, the most volunteers, the most advance planning, and the most excellent and extensive promotion

• Expectations - What job descriptions and training include

· Finances – Budget allocation and goals of major funding campaigns

• Goals and plans - What goals do we seek and how do we expect to reach them
• Integration - What is integrated throughout all departments, ministries, age groups and interest levels in the church

· Limits - What we conclude we can’t have and do because of what we think we must have and do

• Reports - What each ministry lists as their achievements in their annual reports
• Prayer - What we pray about corporately and individually

· Programs - What programs we operation, add, change, and drop

· Quality - What we insist be done consistently, with excellence, and on time

· Small groups or Sunday school classes - Most frequently discussed topics and activities

• Staff – What roles we hire pastors and staff to do.
• Worship Services - What is most frequently considered or elevated in the several elements of the corporate worship times

What would it take to be a globally focused church?

1. Every staff member and lay leader understands that the purpose of his/her ministry is to make the maximum spiritual impact on the world.

2. Every program is designed to include education about and involvement in world evangelism.

3. Every program or ministry is evaluated regularly in regard to its effectiveness in growing world Christians.

4. Every leader is evaluated regularly in regard to the same.

5. Every staff member is hired with this understanding.