Sending Pathways

Paul tells us, "If anyone desires to be an overseer [elder/pastor], he desires a noble work." (1 Timothy 3:1, CSB) Yet, fewer leaders desire this noble work. Increasingly, pastors of existing churches retire with fewer pastors trained to continue preaching and shepherding the church. 

An example pastoral pathway

• Identify - Provide pastoral ministry opportunities and watch for those who desire to do more.

• Equip - Mentor those who feel called. Share teaching opportunities. Join a UBA leadership cohort (Lideres Transforadores, The Leader’s Collaborative, etc). Establish an equipping cohort in your church.

• Send - Conduct diligent and thoughtful ordination reviews. Connect those called to churches needing pulpit supply. Commisison and commend your people to churches looking for pastors.

• Support - Some pastors will serve full-time. Others will serve co-vocationally. All need continued support and encouragement from their sending church and the church they serve. 

About 250 people a day move to Houston. The average church in America is around 100 people. We need 2.5 church plants every day just to keep up with the population growth. We need church planters and church planting teams.

Example church planter pathway

• Identify- Adopt or sponsor a church plant. Provide members regular opportunities to serve. Watch for those who want to do more. They are potential church planters and church planting team members.

• Equip - Encourage potential planters to complete a church planter assessment. Houston has a wealth of training opportunities through: organization like North American Mission Board, Baptist General Convention of Texas (Texas Baptists), Send Network SBTC, and Houston Church Planting Network

• Send - Commission the planter. Include his family. Consider sending some of your members to join them as they plant, even if just for a limited time. Take mission trips to support the ongoing work.

• Support - Adopt or sponsor these new church plants. Take good care of the church planter's family.

Cities change faster than churches. In time, churches can look drastically different from the communities around them. Eventually, these churches get to the point that they no longer have the internal resources to maintain good health. These churches need to be replanted to make a gospel impact.

Example church replanter pathway

• Identify - Preach and teach about the need for church replanting. Offer the Replanter and Revitalizer Survey to those interested.

• Equip- Join the Replant Collective to get the latest updates on resources and training.

• Send - Commission the replanter. Include his family. Consider sending some of your members to join them in the work, even if just for a limited time. 

• Support - Adopt or sponsor these church replants. Take good care of the replanter's family.

Houston is home to 1.7 foreign-born residents. From among these we've identified 350 people groups, speaking 220+ languages. These families live in all parts of Houston, placing them in the neighborhoods of our churches. Each church is a strategic outpost for the gospel. We need missionally healthy churches who will reach the nations coming to us.

Example diaspora sending pathway

• Identify - Discuss the need for local cross-cultural engagement. Look for those interested in missions. Offer IMB’s Self-assessment

• Equip - Deepen Discipleship (en Espanol)

  • Attend or host a “Who's My Neighbor?” cross-cultural engagement workshop

  • Attend a Cultural Intelligence Workshop

• Send - Learn to do good candidate assessment. Hold a church-wide missionary appointment service. Offer modified membership for diaspora missionaries in your church.

• Support - Discover missionary needs. Work with their sending agency and other churches to fill the gaps. Encourage your church to pray for and partner with their work.

Mission organizations have identified almost 13,000 people groups worldwide. 7,000 of those are unreached. Of those 7,000, more than 3,000 are unengaged. 

Ideas for international sending pathway:

• Identify- Teach and preach on the Great Commission and the need for international missionaries. Go on short-term mission trips and look for who God may be calling. Offer members the IMB missions self-assessment

• Equip - Connect to members to people across the city who have missions knowledge and expertise though

  • Deepen Discipleship (en Espanol)

  • Missionary Sending Cohort

  • Cultural Intelligence Workshop

• Send -  Learn how to assess missionary candidates. Hold a church-wide missionary appointment service.

• Support - Discover missionaries’ needs. Work with their sending agency and other churches to fill the gaps. Encourage your church to pray for and partner with their work.