Pray for mission leaders

USA (MNN) — You probably pray for mission projects, but how often do you pray for mission leaders? Right now, the CEOs and other top executives of U.S. and Canadian mission groups are attending the Missio Nexus Leadership Conference.

Jim Ramsay, VP of Missions for The Mission Society, says the “ripple effect” is one reason why mission leaders need your prayers.

“The global context is changing so rapidly; it’s impacting missions. All of us have got to keep our eyes and our hearts open to what God is doing and how we need to shift our own thinking, our own practice, to react to the changing context,” Ramsay states.

None of us live or work in a bubble; whether you realize it or not, even something like the Ebola crisis in West Africa affects you in one way or another. The same applies to missions.

For example, as Tom Lin pointed out yesterday, the world is becoming much smaller; more and more people are moving across borders, whether by choice or not. For InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, that means a greater number of international students to reach out to.

The “ripple effect” can also trigger negative reactions. Take the economy of “sending nations,” for example, like the United States. Hard economic downfalls, increased government spending, and massive federal reforms over the past several years have left most families with less money in their pockets. This often translates to less funding for missionaries and missions projects.

All of this makes your prayers a top priority. Between now and Sunday, will you pray for missions leaders who are attending the Missio Nexus conference?

• Pray that God opens the eyes and hearts of group and project leaders.
• Pray that He gives mission leaders discernment.
• Pray that God will connect the groups and leaders who need to collaborate to further His Kingdom.

That last point, collaboration, is partly why The Mission Society sends its leaders to this conference.

“Networking is probably the primary reason that we attend. I expect that’s true for most of the attendees,” notes Ramsay. “It used to be a little more proprietary, a little more guarded: ‘This is my turf, my mission, my ministry.’

“[Now] there’s much more of a ‘Kingdom attitude’ happening.”

Building connections is a key part of The Mission Society’s ministry. Since 1984, they’ve been involved in recruiting, training, and sending missionaries both overseas and within the United States. The Mission Society currently supports more than 200 missionaries who minister in over 40 nations worldwide.

Learn more about their work here.