Chapter 4
Networks and Gatekeepers

Prospects for global evangelization would be greatly accelerated and our missions impact multiplied if we were to mobilize the people of God rather than confront the task with only our limited personnel and resources. Conventional wisdom would see this as a threat and loss of control. Some would see this as so radical that they presume it would mean the demise of the IMB as we have known it.

To the contrary, there is every evidence that mobilization will enhance credibility and confidence in the IMB and generate even greater resources for our global strategies in terms of personnel, finances and primarily massive prayer support.

There are probably three times as many Southern Baptists doing missions outside IMB channels as through our own opportunities for service. At the heart of many para-church agencies are Southern Baptist personnel and support. A growing number of churches and independent organizations among Southern Baptists are directly involved in work overseas. If there is this kind of interest and commitment, what could happen if it were channeled into our strategies?

Transportation and communication have become easy. Individuals and churches are no longer dependent on the IMB to make contacts and arrangements for them. Many want to do something directly. Churches are asking for something they can do. When we don’t provide the opportunity, they have discovered there is a whole smorgasbord of organizations willing to provide them with options for mission service.

Our churches have been faithful to support the Cooperative Program, but there is a growing trend to want a personalized relationship with the missionaries they are supporting. We ask them to provide support for more than 4,000 missionaries and, in essence, say, “You don’t know them or what they are doing, and they are not accountable to you, but just trust us and send your support to the IMB.” As a result, more and more are diverting mission dollars to independent and national missionaries whom they know, from whom they receive reports and with whom they have the privilege of working on the field.

In the past we have sent out information and promotional materials, assuming it connects with the people in our churches. In a recent communication workshop, Jim Engles explained why the old paradigm of communication no longer works. He said, “We used to send information, in order to shape values and result in commitment or action. Now people are inundated with so much information they cannot assimilate it, and what they do receive doesn’t necessarily have credibility.”

Engles went on to say, “Today you have to start with hands-on experience. People have to experience something in order for it to shape their values and result in behavior or commitment to something such as missions.” That is what mobilization is all about—making missions personal and meaningful through involvement and experience.

Some of the ways we are seeking to change the paradigm from passive support to personalized involvement are through creating grassroots networks, investing in the gatekeepers, nurturing local church partnerships, involving other SBC entities, developing personalized alliances and balancing present needs with future potential.

*Creating grassroots networks
*Investing in the gatekeepers
*Nurturing local church
*partnerships
*Involving other SBC entities
*Developing personalized
*alliances
*Balancing present needs with
*future potential

Creating Grassroots Networks
One of the challenges of missions promotion and support has been to win the gatekeeper. It is the pastor who basically determines the priorities of the church program and the degree to which missions will be emphasized. Directors of missions juggle a demanding agenda of program promotions that compete for priority within the association. Campus ministers have significant influence in what will get the involvement of students. If these gatekeepers have a heart for missions, we have a strong advocate, but if not, missions is not likely to receive much attention. So, how can we create a passion for missions among the people in the pew—grassroots Southern Baptists?

The International Mission Board is attempting to nurture several grassroots networks that represent untapped potential for keeping Southern Baptists informed and becoming champions of missions in the local church. The International Mission Fellowship is an effort to identify and organize more than 6,000 former missionaries, journeymen, ISC personnel and emeritus missionaries.

The International Volunteer Fellowship could involve 60,000 to 100,000 Southern Baptists who have participated in volunteer projects overseas. Missionary Parents Fellowships are being organized in many states with the help of the WMU; no one should be stronger advocates for missionaries and their needs in the churches than their parents and families. Adult MKs are another network that would have personal identity and emotional involvement in keeping missions a priority.

Meetings with these fellowships are being scheduled periodically throughout the country. Local coordinators are being selected and materials developed to keep these networks informed and involved. Also, our Development Office staff works to keep a network of individual donors aware of special financial needs.

Investing in Gatekeepers
Deliberate efforts are being made to identify and nurture key leaders, keep them informed of how God is at work and of changing mission strategies. Materials and conferences emphasize the Biblical priority of reaching the nations and how these leaders and their congregations and constituencies can be involved globally. Briefings and dialogue sessions are scheduled on a frequent basis, and many are being enlisted to be a part of the Creative Access Network.

Vision trips overseas are being sponsored especially for pastors, ministers of missions and campus ministers in order for them to see the opportunities for strategic partnerships and to equip them to become passionate mobilizers at home. Mission strategists should be receptive and prepared to propose specific projects and channels of involvement for those who visit the field.

Three million dollars was appropriated in 1998 for a Mobilization Assistance Program, which will provide up to one-third of the cost of an initial volunteer trip overseas as an incentive for any pastor, director of missions, seminary student or campus minister who has never been on a mission trip with the IMB. These are leaders who will enlist and mobilize others once they have God’s heart for the nations.

This assistance also is being provided with the hope that all seminary students, during their courses of study, will have opportunities to participate in overseas mission trips. Many will be called to missions as a result, but others will be more informed and committed to missions support as pastors and church-staff members.

During 1999, the associational directors of missions from each of five states were invited to Richmond for a time of briefing and dialogue. This will continue for other states in the future, as DOM’s are in direct contact with local churches, know their potential and can influence them for missions involvement.

Special conferences on mobilization are also being held for youth and campus ministers. It is essential that these key gatekeepers be well-informed about what God is doing through the IMB and how churches and associations can be on mission with God.

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