DEVELOPING A SENDING PIPELINE

“As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” John 20:21

As Christians, we are all sent into the world as Christ’s ambassadors. But what can you do if your church
hasn’t effectively issued that call to all of your members? Are there any practical steps you can take to
empower everyone in their identities as sent ones, (not just the vocational missionary-types), and then
move people through a clear process toward being sent out?

Encouraging church members in their involvement in God’s mission is as old as the Bible itself. As Acts
13: 1-3 says, “Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who
was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they
were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the
work to which I have called them.’ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent
them off. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went…”

Something unique happened in Acts 13 as the church at Antioch was praying and fasting before the
Lord. The Holy Spirit gave them clear, specific instructions. The church was to send out Paul and Barn-
abas for God’s work. These newly-termed “Christians” were recognizing and responding to their role in
making disciples of all nations.

Today, Christians are still responding to the call of the Holy Spirit, but not as commonly alongside their
local churches. Technology has made it very easy for individual Christians to connect directly to hun-
dreds of missions organizations. It requires only a single click to “join” or “get involved” or “go.” While
this can be a great thing, ideally churches should take the initiative to support and come alongside these
candidates. Biblically, it is the church’s role to send them on their way “in a manner worthy of God” (3
John 1:6).

Churches have the privilege of walking with God’s people on their journey through life. It doesn’t matter
if your church is large or small, newly conceived or veteran-level, you can find ways to encourage every
individual member to think like a sent one. If members are hearing the words of Christ, some will be
called to go and spread this good news beyond your community. The biblical role of that church is not
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to point its people to the website of a missions organization, but to join them in discerning and obeying
God’s call.

Our hope is to help revive your congregation’s desire to reach all nations with the gospel—every mem-
ber of your congregation thinking and acting like a missionary. That is why we have developed a three-
phase process to shepherd potential missionaries in these decisions. We illustrate this as a pipeline,
funneling church members through the identification, assessment, and development phases of growing
as a sent one.

How do we get members into the pipeline? It begins by helping them recognize that they are already in
the pipeline of God’s mission by nature of who they are in Christ. This means not only informing them
of their biblical sent identity (John 20:21), but also including missionary thought and practice as part of
their basic discipleship. This is illustrated at the top of the pipeline graphic. For more on how to do this,
see our books Tradecraft: For the Church on Mission and Tradecraft Workbook.
PHASE ONE: IDENTIFY

Imagine you were born with artistic skill, but are unaware of it. Your art teacher asks you to paint a still
life portrait. As your paint brush glides across the canvas, joy washes over you. You look at the finished
product and say to yourself, “Hey, that’s pretty good!” You awaken to a new love, beginning to seek out
opportunities to use this new pursuit.

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It is the same way with God’s mission. God has called each of us to contribute to the movement of the
gospel in our own unique ways, whether overseas or in our neighborhood. When we awaken to this
calling, we live into who we are and start to look for openings to share the hope we have with others.
Traditionally it has been young, married, childless couples or singles who have pursued the role of the
traditional missionary, raising support to live on mission as their vocation. However, also keep your
eyes open for nontraditional missionaries, people in life seasons of being professionals, students, empty
nesters, or retirees. In light of globalization and growing hostility toward explicit evangelization, these
are the people who may have the easiest, most sustainable access to global gospel opportunities.

There are two ways a person can be drawn deeper into a sending pipeline: proactively or reactively. It
might be an eloquent sermon or a Bible verse that stirs the heart of a person to consider the mission
field. Others may need a more proactive approach, like a challenge to join a mission trip from a pastor
or friend. Be creative when looking for ways to connect with those who linger at the entrance of the
pipeline. If they are college age, you might attend one of their events on campus, or come support their
performance in a concert or play. Consider inviting potential sent ones into your home on a regular
basis, demonstrating your sincere interest in them.

If a church leader recognizes a person with the interest or potential to live cross-culturally, then they
should encourage those people to pray about moving to the next step. Too often we, the church, do this
in a larger context in a more general way, like through sermons or multimedia. However, we can do bet-
ter identifying potential missionaries through direct, face-to-face interaction.

In Phase One, an individual wrestles with and awakens to his or her unique capacity in God’s mission.
This is often the place where he or she begins asking questions about opportunities, sending organiza-
tions, raising support, and/or job opportunities. This initial phase can last a year or two before proceed-
ing to the next one, although there is really no hard and fast timeframe for any of these phases. People
may move from one phase to the next and back again, depending on the circumstances.

At my (Larry) church, we were initially aware of only one or two people whom God was preparing to
go overseas. However, we planned a luncheon, extending an open invitation to anyone who wanted to
attend—and thirty-five people showed up. This really helped us recognize who was actually interested.
We then began inviting each of those persons into our homes over time, and those relationships flour-
ished. Many of them are now intentionally moving forward in a clear process, and doing so in a relation-
al, discipleship-oriented way.

Some churches host barbecues, some provide a card for members to fill out, and some offer classes
to draw people in. We should always look for clear ways for people to onramp into the pipeline. They
should be simple enough that anyone can take a step forward, regardless of age, gender, class, gifting,
experience, etc.

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P H A S E T WO : A S S E S S

In this phase, individuals become more active as they begin to formulate a plan. People begin to assess
which country, people group, city, job, or team they are drawn to. Should they go overseas, help plant a
church in America, or remain on mission in their community?

These are a few things potential sent ones will do during this phase:
• Begin training
• Go on a short-term mission trip (or a mid-term apprenticeship)
• Be interviewed by church leaders
• Provide references

At my (Larry) church we offer a nine-month class that meets every Sunday night during the school year.
This program is a requirement for all members who wish to be sent out. It explores a variety of missions
topics, and relies heavily on veteran missionaries to share their experiences, both good and bad. This
dispels idealism and allows candidates to genuinely assess their desire and readiness to go.

As people seek to move forward, the church needs to have a plan in place to properly assess them. It may
be that the church does not have the ability to do every part of the assessment process, but can partner
with a mission organization. Ideally, the church should take the lead responsibility in the assessment of
candidates, not the parachurch organization. The church has the ability to most effectively assess charac-
ter, which is the most important quality of a missionary.

Conducting the assessment of a missionary candidate can be intimidating to both the church and the
candidate. However, the church approaches this on different terms than the missions organization or
employer. Applications and interviews with missions organizations and employers are by nature pass-
fail. They create contractual relationships based on some level of employment. The nature of the rela-
tionship between candidates and their churches, however, is covenantal, based on the candidates’ union
in Christ and their inclusion in the believing community. Therefore, applications and interviews with
the church are not pass-fail, but involve the gospel safety of a commitment to relationship no matter
what. Thus candidates can be honest about their strengths and weaknesses without fear of rejection. The
goal is not employment, but discipleship toward deeper participation in God’s mission over the course
of a lifetime.

On the other hand, if the church has a mission strategy to engage certain places and people, then the
church should rightly seek out who is needed in order to implement that strategy. For example, if the
church is seeking to engage through ESL, then it needs to enlist ESL teachers, people with an education
background, or anyone who is willing to become ESL certified. Part of their assessment may include
sending them on a short-term trip or mid-term apprenticeship to give them opportunities and experi-
ence that also fully complements the mission strategy. But this should not exclude others who want to
live, serve, and/or work overseas on a different basis.

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PHASE THREE: DEVELOP

Not that long ago, churches would primarily send individuals and families to a “sending agency,” such
as the International Mission Board, to receive support, training, and appointment. However, it is much
more true to the calling and responsibility of the church to journey alongside these families rather than
outsourcing their sending. This is especially important in this third phase, which can last anywhere from
twelve to eighteen months or longer.

Raising support and/or finding a job is often the major challenge of this phase. Travel and living expens-
es are costly, and it helps to be prepared. Encourage your fellow church members to support potential
missionaries generously. Even professional who are taking a job overseas may need some amount of
transitional support. Commend your church to 3 John 1:8, “Therefore we ought to support people like
these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.” Shape your church’s budget to model this sacrificial
giving for God’s mission.

Many missionary candidates will not only be focusing on finding supporters during this phase, they
will also likely be taking vision trips, completing a development plan, finishing the required process of
their missions organization or employer, piecing together a team of church members to provide ongoing
care, and navigating the many logistical demands of transitioning overseas. This can be both an exciting
and challenging season. Be sure to support them as much as possible, knowing (and reminding them)
that their experience before and after living overseas is just as significant and formational as their time
overseas itself.

One of the most important contributions the church can make during this phase is a personal develop-
ment plan. Based on the assessment application(s) and interview(s), take time to prayerfully write out
some practical steps the candidate can take to grow in maturity. This might include tasks like taking a
missions class (such as Perspectives, reading a book on Christian doctrine, finding an accountability
partner, getting some counseling, taking a personality test, learning how to cook from scratch, or driv-
ing a manual transmission. Try not to make the candidate repeat tasks their missions organization or
employer have already required.

T H E G OA L : B E I N G S E N T

Upon concluding the three phases, the church should be able to heartily affirm the candidate’s calling
and readiness. If their identification, assessment, and development has been conducted in the context
of the church community, then it should have involved multiple church members along the way. Invite
all those participants to speak into the affirmation of the candidate. Certainly, involve the affirmation of
church leaders. Is it clear to all that the candidate, although imperfect, is ready to be sent at this time? If
yes, then give them a resounding sense of affirmation.

There are a couple of ways to make the affirmation official, meaningful, and inspiring to others. First, sign a
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covenant between the candidate and the church. This covenant should make extremely clear what the
expectations are in the relationship between the sending church and the sent one. Consider questions
such as:

• How often do you expect the sent one to communicate?

• How often will someone from the sending church come to visit them?
• How will the sending church respond in the case of an emergency?
• How much support should the sent one expect to receive from the sending church?
• Does the sending church have any expectations for sent one when they return from overseas?

Second, commission the missionary during a gathering of the entire church. Make a big deal out of it,
but do it in such a way that doesn’t exalt the sent one but compels everyone toward their role in God’s
mission. Let the sent one tell their story, including the highs, lows, and normal parts of it. Normalize
sending rather than making it a bar that only a few Christians can reach. This is especially possible when
sending a professional since more people can relate to them than those in full-time Christian ministry.
Explain from the Scriptures why the church is called to send. Lay hands on the sent one and pray over
them and the people they are going to serve among. Invite others to respond who also sense God calling
them to the next step in the pipeline.

We hope this glimpse into developing a sending pipeline excites you about the possibility of sending
more and more of your church members on mission. Although we’ve given great detail here, we encour-
age you to practice articulating the pipeline in a simple way to church members, such as drawing it on a
napkin. Seeing the clarity and intentionality of such a process will be life-giving and motivating to them,
and will hopefully provide a sense of structure and proactivity to your church’s sending.

Q U E S T I O N S F O R YO U R C H U R C H TO C O N S I D E R

Do you see all your church members as potential sent ones? Why or why not?

Is your church more reactive or proactive when it comes to sending?

When a church members inquires about being sent, how do you respond?

How might having a clear, step-by-step process be helpful in sending well?

How can you actively cultivate a pool of people interested in moving overseas?

Are you considering students, professionals, empty nesters, and retirees as candidates?

What hesitations do you have about your church leading the assessment process?

What might an assessment process look like in the context of your church?

What are some important questions to ask a missionary candidate?

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How can you encourage people to move from one phase to another?

What hesitations do you have about your church leading the development process?

How can you work with missions organizations and/or employers in this process?

What are the covenantal expectations between your church and a sent one?

How can you involve a community of people in the affirmation of a candidate?

What would the commissioning of a sent one ideally look like at your church?

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