Chapter 3
The Process

As we have sought to embrace the potential of our future, we have come to recognize eight elements involved in mobilization. These elements may be seen as sequential steps in making mobilization happen.

ENVISIONING—It begins with our own vision of the possibilities of mobilization and casting that vision before our churches. We must communicate our passion for reaching a lost world and challenge our churches to join God on mission. There is no more compelling, motivating force than a clearly defined and focused vision.

INFORMING—We usually begin and end here, but information unrelated to a vision is impersonal and meaningless. The efforts of our Communications Office, our speaking opportunities and our missionary newsletters should reinforce an awareness of a lost world and how God is at work. Information is the foundation for mobilization, but not just for awareness alone.

ENLISTING—Information must be directed toward an intended response and an opportunity to be involved in the task. We have tended toward publicizing missions and then passively being available if anyone was interested. Enlistment must be intentional, personalized and aggressive based on a spiritual motivation and obedience to God.

INVOLVING—Every individual, every church and every SBC entity should be provided a direct, personalized opportunity for hands-on involvement in missions rather than expected to provide generic, passive support.

ENCOURAGING—Once there has been involvement or a partnership established, it is necessary to nurture the interest, the support and the continuing involvement through responsible communication and relationships.

EQUIPPING—We are all aware of the risks and liabilities that go with massive mobilization. It is essential that training and tools be provided for volunteers so that local church involvement and other partnerships will be focused and effective cross-culturally rather than fragmented and in conflict with long-range indigenous strategies.

ENABLING—Potential impact is expanded through partnerships and alliances. Giving others a sense of ownership and responsibility means relinquishing control and taking risks, but it results in much more being accomplished.

EMPOWERING—Once churches and Southern Baptist partners are entrusted with strategic tasks and truly empowered, initiative and resources will be vastly multiplied.

These eight elements of mobilization can be summarized by three characteristics: (1) Stimulating response to mobilization efforts by spiritual motivation rather than program promotion; (2) Providing opportunities for personalized involvement rather than expecting generic support; and (3) Facilitating partnerships rather than insisting on exclusive control and resorting to what can be done alone.

SPIRITUAL MOTIVATION
Rather than Program Promotion

PERSONALIZED INVOLVEMENT
Rather than Generic Support

FACILITATING PARTNERSHIP
Rather than Exclusive Control

Promoting a denominational program or support for the International Mission Board will not mobilize Southern Baptists. People must have a passion for God and His heart for the nations. It is a Biblical, spiritually driven motivation that will lead them to discover the IMB as a channel through which they can be obedient to God.

People will not sacrifice and devote themselves to something with which they feel no personal identity. They will not be responsible for that with which they have no ownership. A generic missions program to which everyone is asked to give passive support is not really the responsibility of anyone. Providing channels of personalized involvement to individuals and churches results in multiplied resources and impact.

In order to create personalized involvement and responsibility, mission strategies need to be structured around partnership alliances rather than enlisting people to support and carry out someone else’s program and plans.

Who should be responsible for mobilizing Southern Baptists on behalf of the International Mission Board? I am often asked if there will be a special department of mobilization created or staff designated for these tasks. It cannot be done by any one department or by the Richmond staff on behalf of missionaries overseas. The only way mobilization can be successful is for everyone and the entire organization to be focused on making it possible.

Field strategies must envision the greater resources available and become inclusive of diverse partners who can enable us to reach the edge of lostness. Missionaries should see time in the United States as a “stateside assignment” to inform, enlist and mobilize Southern Baptists not only for one’s own engaged people but for their entire region and for the peoples of the whole world.

The increased mobilization of volunteers and short-term personnel is one reason we are having record appointments. Rather than seeing volunteers and journeymen as impositions that interfere with one's own assignment, they should be seen as opportunities to build massive awareness and support of stateside churches and to generate future personnel.

In every appointment group, most candidates have had exposure to a lost world and, through that experience, felt God’s call. Of the career missionaries appointed in 1998, 28 percent had served as journeymen or two-year ISC personnel. We have seen a direct relationship between the number of new missionaries being appointed to a specific region and the number of ISC workers and volunteers requested by that region.

We can document that the churches that are giving the most to missions and generating massive prayer support are the churches that are sending volunteers, adopting people groups and taking advantage of opportunities to be directly involved in field projects and strategies. Many of these churches are discovering that God is blessing their local ministries and outreach more as their people become involved in missions.

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