FiveLoavesOnline is a five-month initiative being launched by Team Expansion in an effort to amp up our efforts to finish Christ’s Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) by identifying 5 Key Areas for Growth in the church and its ministry both at home and abroad:
- Prayer, in the spirit of Jesus’ mandate in Matthew 9:37-38, where Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
- Finding, encouraging, and promoting volunteerism for the sake of the Great Commission, both at home and abroad
- Identifying and developing resources for reaching unreached peoples
- Identifying, offering, and participating in training that will help us gear up to finish the task of world evangelism
- Communication and networking like never before so we can each share the tools, media, and resources we’ve developed or discovered — so that others can utilize them for the sake of the Kingdom
During the next 10 years (from 2015 to 2025), how might we advance the Kingdom in these five key areas? Here are 4 sample goals or challenges that we might want to consider. If you agree that each would be helpful, what specific part could you, your small group, and/or your church play in advancing these mandates?
- Increase the number of people praying for missions. (Example: Team Expansion’s Pray4Tunisia initiative now has registered more than 100,000 participants. Could we double this number?) What part can I play in getting our church members and others more involved in praying for “harvesters?”
- Increase the number of Christian workers serving unreached peoples. (Example: There are currently 340 full-time workers serving unreached peoples through Team Expansion. Can we double this number to 680?) How can I help identify and encourage volunteers for global outreach from within our church and community?
- Build the church’s capacity to train volunteers in prayer and missions, thereby preparing a new generation of harvesters for outreach needs at home and abroad. (Example: Team Expansion already trains hundreds of volunteers per year at its facility in Louisville, KY, even though it has no overnight housing and no dedicated training space. Can we take on a piece of the funding needed to complete this missionary training center for global outreach?) How can God empower me to find “five loaves” — i.e., a portion of the seed money needed to launch this critical path project?
- Increase the number of initiatives among unreached people groups. (Example: Team Expansion currently has 68 teams or projects in 46 countries. Could we double to 140 UPG’s by 2025?) How can I help our church communicate the Great Commission more effectively to our members and other churches in our community?
Let our prayer be, “Speak to me Lord. What part do you want me to play in advancing your Kingdom around the block and around the world.”