World Mission Sunday Resources All in One Place
When I was 11 years old, my dad took me to a missions event at our local church where I heard stories and saw photos of the adventures of one of our supported missionaries based in Africa. It was my first cross-cultural exposure and it planted a seed in my heart that has been growing ever since. Four decades later some of my dearest friends are from four other continents! Suffice it to say that that one “world mission event” at a small local church changed the very course of my life by broadening my worldview.
Most parishes celebrate World Mission Sunday in February. There is something powerful about setting aside a particular day for parishes to highlight God's Great Commission to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to all nations. We can get so caught up in the internal ministry of our particular parish that we lose sight of the fact that there are still BILLIONS of people in the world who have never heard about Jesus Christ! World Mission Sunday helps us to dedicate some focused time to pray for, learn about, and give to global missions.
Anglican Global Mission Partners (AGMP) have teamed up to provide a variety of resources that will help you plan a missions service or event. This year we've created a special web page just for World Mission Sunday (WMS). Archbishop Foley Beach encourages parishes to highlight world mission on February 4 with a global and local emphasis. Read his letter here.
Let me highlight some of these resources and how you might use them in your setting:
PRAYER
AGMP Prayer Liturgy for Mission: Use a special prayer litany for missions in your Prayers of the People.
New Wineskins Prayer Calendar: Distributing copies of this quarterly prayer calendar is another way to facilitate more prayer for our missionaries and mission agencies.
Kenyan Liturgy & Prayers for Mission: This prayer form includes the numbers of people following other gods or no god who have not been "invited to the Lord's table.” Here’s a powerful sample:
Leader: Are there any who have not yet received the Bread of Life and the Cup of Salvation?People: Almost 1.5 billion Muslims have never been invited to the Lord’s Table.
More than 1 billion Hindus have never been invited to the Lord’s Table.
400 million Buddhists have never been invited to the Lord’s Table.
300 million urban poor have never been invited to the Lord’s Table.
250 million deaf people have never been invited to the Lord's Table.
200 million tribal people have never been invited to the Lord’s Table.
180 million Chinese have never been invited to the Lord’s Table.
20 million Sikhs have never been invited to the Lord’s Table.
Millions of Jews have never been invited to the Lord’s Table.
7,200 unreached people groups have no church to invite them to the Lord’s Table.
Leader: Who will go share the Good News that the Banquet is prepared for everyone?
People: We will go, by our prayers, our offerings, our lives, we will go!
VIDEOS & DISCUSSION GUIDES
Our 2018 featured video calls us to get involved in the mission that is right on our doorstep - reaching out to international students! There are over 1 million international students on U.S. campuses alone. Lisa Espineli Chinn issues this challenge: "The world is here, my friends! Is your door open?" Watch this compelling video here.
Check out all three featured videos along with helpful discussion guides:
Reaching International Students (Lisa Espineli Chinn)
God's Passion for the World (Gary Haugen)
The State of the World: The Task Remaining (Global Frontier Mission)
These videos could actually be used as a sermon, Sunday School teaching or a feature for a Mission Movie Night. We’ve provided scripture and discussion questions to help process what’s being taught.
BULLETIN INSERT, PROJECTION SLIDE & WEB BUTTON
This year's WMS image features a parishioner from St. Matthew's parish in Ft. Motte, SC, enjoying a boat ride with three new international student friends. Download a powerpoint slide, use this image in your bulletin or install a web button on your website - instructions are on the World Mission Sunday resource page.
SPECIAL OFFERING & MISSIONS SPEAKERS
We encourage you to highlight mission projects and partners that your own parish supports, and take up a special offering on their behalf. AGMP mission agencies are also always grateful for your generous financial support. In addition, AGMP Partners and missionaries on home leave would love the opportunity to teach, preach or train in your parish on their cross-cultural experiences.
A church recently contacted me for ideas about a missions Lenten series they wanted to offer. They ended up deciding to do a missions speaker series called "Defining Missions: It Means More Than You Think!" and they have already lined up 5 different guest speakers from different mission agencies for the series. Don't be afraid to ASK!
BOOKS & COURSES
Remaining in a state of continuous learning and spiritual growth is important for every believer. We've put together some great ideas on books to read and courses to take that can deepen your knowledge about missions as well as inspire missional engagement.
If Lisa's video on International Student Ministry convinced you to get involved with a local campus, we encourage you to purchase a set of three booklets by International Student Ministry (ISM) expert Paula Parker entitled Friendship Matters, Parties With A Purpose and Always Be Ready($5/each). Email Paula, mention New Wineskins, and she'll send you the three booklets for $12 plus postage.
If you are interested in learning more about the Persecuted Church, check out the Anglican Persecuted Church Network homepage and resource page.
More missions books and courses are recommended here.
HAPPY WORLD MISSION SUNDAY! So whether you celebrate World Mission Sunday in February or choose another date, we hope that you will use all of the resources that we have assembled to help you engage more effectively in world mission, both globally and locally. You never know what young child, recent graduate, busy family or retiree might respond to God’s call as a result!
Jenny Noyes is the Executive Director of New Wineskins Missionary Network. She is a passionate speaker, networker, and evangelist. For fun, Jenny can be found riding ElliptiGOs with husband Larry, playing tennis and spending time with family and friends. You can contact Jenny here.