The next to last step in the Global Focus Missional Process is their Global Celebration. Normally a missions conference is where a church stops it’s normal activities, and focuses in missions for a week or weekend, but not so in a Global Focus church. We teach that every Sunday we pray for missions and missionaries, we highlight what God is doing locally and around the world, missions is integrated into every single ministry of the church. So at the Global Celebration we celebrate what God has been doing all year in missions in our church, and where God wants to take us this next year.
Last week I had the awesome privilege of leading 2 Global Celebrations at the same time (at times I felt like I was doing a juggling act). But God moved in a great way in both of these congregations.
I wish you could have seen their opening nights when they welcomed each one of the missionaries, or the small groups as the members of the church listened intently on what God is doing around the world. I wish you could have seen the International Banquet as the people of each congregation prepared food from all around the world, and heard the questions the they asked for an hour and a half at missionary forum as they were intensely engaged in what God is doing around the world. Then when I preached on Sunday (4 times; twice at each church), I asked the congregation: “How many of you met and talked with a missionary personally?” almost the entire congregation raised their hands.
The objective of a Global Celebrations is not to raise money, but to personalize missions.
Then when the people were giving the opportunity to pledge above and beyond their tithes to missions is when the miracle took place. In Familia de Vida the church of 100, their first faith promise was almost $15,000 dollars and in Iglesia Cristiana Biblica the church of 150 theirs was over $25,000! (Both of the churches are in working class, poorer neighborhoods). But a bigger miracle took place in the evening services which is the “Life Commitment” service where the majority of the church pledges to take their first missions trip, and 38 surrendered to full time missions!