Building Connections: Multiplying Disciples through Missions

“I listened to Jonny tell his story of finding Jesus and realized I can do that, too.” Alex Adebayo

Alex and Jonny were sitting around the table at McDonald’s – after a great round of laser tag — with two other teenagers listening to Jonny share his testimony.  One of the other teens had never heard a fellow teenager talk about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Jonny is one of the members of the youth team of six people from First Baptist McKinney, Texas, that joined IBC Berlin for a week-long Youth Missions Project in early March.  It was a busy but rewarding week of ministry and missions. Alex is one of the 19 IBC Berlin teenagers that participated in the week’s events – youth fellowship, youth small group, preparing and serving food to the homeless, inviting the neighbors to IBCB’s Easter events, and a youth outreach. The week was carefully planned to be a short-term missions experience designed to multiply disciples who share their faith.

One aspect of IBC’s Building Connections Core Strategy vision is:  connecting churches in cooperative ministry and missions for the purpose of multiplying and mobilizing disciple-making churches. Church-to-church missions partnerships like this Youth Missions Project can help you multiply and mobilize disciples!

 Evangelism in our local context is nurtured by evangelism in another.  Missions projects are a practical outlet for people in our congregations to engage in intensive evangelism activities.  Sharing your faith elsewhere emboldens you to share your faith back home, and hosting a team opens doors for you to share your faith with your friends.

Disciple-making is intensified through missions partnerships. Shared experiences of equipping, learning, sharing, and serving have a way of strengthening our connection with God and with others.  God accomplishes a lot in our lives through focused time, deepened community, and increased conviction.

But you know this!  You’ve experienced it through your own short-term missions partnerships.  What would happen if our IBC churches partnered together in cooperative ministry and missions partnerships?  Could it accelerate our shared vision of becoming a movement of disciple-making churches?  With whom can you partner in a ministry/missions exchange to the benefit of both churches?  What local ministry/missions projects are you already doing?  What missions projects are you engaged in?  Could you invite another IBC church to join you?

If you would like to explore connecting with another church in a mutually beneficial ministry/missions partnership and need some help, contact Scott Corwin (connections@ibc-churches.org).  If you would like to take on the challenge of an existing missions partnership, check out these opportunities below:

Vacation Bible School and Children’s Camp – Olaine, Latvia:  Our European Baptist Federation Mission Partnership (EBF-MP) partner has invited us to bring a team to support their outreach ministry to children and families in the summer and fall of 2018.  We need at least two IBC churches who can take a team – one in the summer and one in the fall (see related post here).

English/German Language Camps – Hungary:  Hungary Missions in cooperation with the Hungarian Baptists have invited us to join their evangelistic outreach into local schools by teaching English/German in their week-long Bible camps (June 21 – July 14). Church teams choose their own week and curriculum. Team size is dependent upon the Hungarian partner church. For more information, visit http://www.hungarymissions.com/.