When Missionaries Come to Your Church...

The Church Visit

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of sitting in church and listening as a wonderful missionary couple and our pastor shared their mission story.

For fifteen minutes they spoke passionately about the amazing work they’ve been doing. Young, vibrant, and deeply devoted to Jesus, their enthusiasm was contagious.

After the service, I approached them to learn more. I asked where I could find additional information about their mission and how I could stay connected and engaged.

They had nothing—no flyer, no blog page to share, no website to send me to...

Nothing.

✅ Thousands of dollars spent on airfare, travel, and food for their state-side visit.

✅ Tens of thousands invested by churches in their overseas ministry.

⛔️ No one has taken the foundational step of investing $2,000 to get them a simple website or blog—something that would allow our church and their supporters across America to follow and engage with their incredible work on an ongoing basis.

Once this young couple walked out of our church doors they became, for all practical purposes, Invisible to the people they had just spoken to.

Key Infrastructure for Missions is Missing

This isn’t the fault of these dedicated missionaries. It is just a reflection of the missions world they operate in.

In the 21st century, where real-time, instantaneous communication is accessible to over 80% of the world’s population, most missions still operate under the 19th-century model of mission's communication: Six newsletters a year on average and a church visit every 2-3 years.

Few of our missionaries today are equipped with the communications infrastructure to engage people in meaningful and dynamic ways.

Nail Salons Are Better Equipped Than Our Missionaries

Putting this into perspective: The South Nail Bar in Nashville TN (picked at random) has an impressive webpage where hundreds of people a week go and pick out the color they want their nails painted…

Meanwhile, missionaries who are giving their all for Christ, have little to no digital presence?

It is past time for churches and mission groups to invest in the digital infrastructure needed for missionaries to be seen and heard. As the digital world grows noisier, our missionaries are being drowned out.

They are becoming Invisible.

What can be done?

Consider this young missionary couple. What type of digital platforms do they need to share their story?

✅ A blog page would allow them to share updates in real-time, easily and effectively, delivering their communications in formats that interest people today.

✅ A simple website would showcase their overall mission to supporters and churches around the world.

Although less dynamic than a blog page, websites lend credibility to a mission and give people a good 360 degree understanding of a mission.

Just these two simple platforms will make any missionary visible and enable the Church and individual supporters to engage and encourage them in deeper and more meaningful ways.

More Jesus for More People!

So what's the main take-away here?

As missionaries use modern technology to become Visible, more people will be encouraged and engaged and more Jesus will be shared with more people.

And that’s a good thing!

What about the missionaries your church supports?