In this two-part series, "The Church as Sender," we first explored the scriptural foundations for why the church should be the primary sender in global missions. In this article, we turn to the practical, uncovering how the church can faithfully and effectively fulfill this role.

You can read part one of the two-part series here: The Church as Sender: The Biblical Why

In the book “The Sending Church Defined,” Bradley Bell of the Upstream Collective writes the following definition of a sending church:

A Sending Church is a local community of Christ-followers who have made a covenant together to be prayerful, deliberate, and proactive in developing, commissioning, and sending their own members both locally and globally, often in partnership with other churches or agencies, and continuing to encourage, support, and advocate for them while making disciples cross-culturally, and upon their return.¹

There is so much to this definition, but if I were to single out one word, it would be the word “proactive.” A sending church is not a passive agent. It is actively seeking to advance the gospel in its community, region, and worldwide. It is proactively doing so by raising leaders who will take on new mission frontiers. 

How can we live out the example of the church of Antioch and other churches we see in Scripture to become healthy sending churches?

Develop a discipleship process with sending as the end result. 

Whether a member of your church is sent to their neighborhood, our nation, or the nations, we as churches should be asking how we can cultivate a sent identity in the life of every member. A strong understanding of the Bible, a life abiding in Christ, and fellowship with others are essential and foundational aspects of the discipleship process that should remain a priority. However, an element of discipleship that is often overlooked as we develop our discipleship programs is the “sent identity” of every member. 

Think about the discipleship process in your church. Does it help your members not only understand the foundational aspects of the faith, but also help them understand that their lives are meant to be on mission? That the overarching theme of our macro and micro decisions should be centered around making Christ known, where he isn’t? 

How might you incorporate this in your church? Think about your Sunday worship, sermons, and benediction. Think about your small groups and the goal of their gathering. Consider your member onboarding, Sunday school, equipping classes, or other messaging. Think creatively about helping the sent identity become a reality in your members. Here are some specific avenues to consider

Create a leadership development process for full-time ministry and missions. 

Most of your church members will be sent to your community. To their neighborhoods, schools, and workplaces. Helping members understand that they are on mission wherever God has placed them is the foundation of healthy sending.

However, for the church to go on the offensive in places where the gospel is unknown or there is low access to it, it needs pioneering leaders. Pastors, missionaries, staff, elders, deacons, and key lay members who will lead the charge into these new mission fields. 

All statistics regarding the church in America today point to a rapid decrease in church attendance, planting new churches, and sending new missionaries. The seminaries, parachurch organizations, and missions agencies have all labored incredibly hard in the 20th and early 21st century to see the gospel go forward when the church was slow to respond to the need. 

However, as we enter a new generation of sending, one in which Gen Zers are more likely to be mobilized through a relationship than through a conference or for a cause, the church must re-engage its God-given role in sending. We need to be on the front lines of proactively raising up, calling out, affirming, and preparing the next generation of leaders from our members. We must continue to take the gospel to the next generation in our communities and other cities, regions, and nations.

How you could do this in your church. 

Here are some steps you could consider towards having a healthy sending identity:

1. Equip members to lead in the church. Whether in a small group, a ministry context in the church, or a ministry context in the community, give your members real opportunities to lead. Entrust the work of ministry to reliable members (2 Timothy 2:2).

2. Identify those who lead, those who show faithfulness, availability, and teachability, and give them extra time from your staff or key leaders in the church.

3. Identify those who show fruitfulness, higher capacity, and greater leadership potential. From those, create a ministry leader development process. For many, this includes:

   • A part-time or full-time role with the church for 1-3 years that is considered a Residency or Apprenticeship. 

   • Taking seminary or theological equipping classes while in the practical ministry context of a local church.

   • The naming of strengths to be further developed, sins to be repented, and weaknesses to grow towards adequacy. 

4. Cultivate opportunities and partnerships for these leaders to be sent to. Whether staff positions are at your church, other churches, leading out in a church plant, or missions teams, develop specific opportunities for these leaders to dream and move towards.

One of the great mysteries of the advancement of the Kingdom is what role God plays in it and what we do. While we will never know that until heaven, let’s work hard to raise the next generation of leaders in complete confidence that God will make his glory known amongst the nations.

For more on the topic of the sending church, check out these two books from a partner organization, The Upstream Collective:

1. The Sending Church Defined by Bradley Bell for the theological foundations of a sending church. 

2. The Sending Church Applied by Bradley Bell, Mike Easton, Larry McCrary, and Nathan Sloan is a practical guide to maturing as a sending church.