Effective Strategies vs Relying Solely on God

I've long appreciated Ernest Goodman's blog Missions, Misunderstood for his honest descriptions of missionary life and experience. He doesn't try to impress or please anyone, and it makes for a great blog.

His most recent post reflects his willingness to say what others don't want to hear, and perhaps I'm the type of person that is the target of his advice. In What Works vs What's Best, he writes about the importance of obeying God instead of looking for the most effective way to reach more people. I understand his concern, and I know at times I am guilty of over-emphasizing efficiency. However, I don't think it is necessary to swear off "what works", measurable results, or efficiency. Ignoring natural ways of improving our ability to reach people - and donors - with our message isn't much different than refusing natural and man-made ways of healing disease.

In particular, it's the final line of his blog that concerns me. "If God never values “effectiveness” or “efficiency”, why do we?" Is there any evidence to show that God NEVER values effective of efficiency? If he doesn't value those, does that mean He values inefficiency?

Why do people go on short-term missions trips?

I read a couple great stories today about people who made a real difference by joining a short-team missions team. It's been a while since I've been part of a team, but it's something I always enjoy. In fact, I'm praying about leading a team from my church next year.

It's no surprise, then, that a blog post about the motives people have for joining missions teams caught my eye. Working from the nine categories of motives outlined in Marketing to the Mind, Chris Forbes gives 79 reasons people might go on a missions trip. Some are great, God-glorifying reasons; others are self-centered. Team participants might realize some of these motives are active in their lives; other motives are subconscious.

Chris encourages missions pastors to use the list to see ways to cultivate a passion for missions, and I think it's a great list for missionaries and missions agencies, too. Of course, you should recruit people who have a sincere interest in obeying the Great Commission. But what other motives can you tap into? Think about the type of person you want on your team, and create your appeal accordingly:

• If you want people who desire spiritual renewal, talk about the spiritual growth many people experience because of joining a missions team.
• If you want people who are looking to find their purpose or call in life, give examples of people who discovered their purpose while on a trip. (Note: Unless you only want people who already think they might be called to be a career missionary, give examples of people who decided to become doctors, nurses, and teachers, too.)
• If you want adventurous people who are willing to take a risk, tell them about the challenges other teams have faced.
• If you want to recruit team members quick to serve or sacrifice, focus on the work the team will do, and minimize attention given to tourism.
  
• If you want someone who desires to make a unique contribution to missions, show that person how she is one of few people who could meet a specific need.

Along the way, be on the watch for moments when you can help team members recognize their motives. Like Chris wrote, if you have a team member who wanted to be a tourist, you can help them move to a more God-honoring motive. But you can also help people recognize that some of their subconscious or unspoken reasons for joining the team might actually be God-given interests that He can use to make long-term involvement in missions a delight for that individual. People with these unspoken motives for joining a missions team might make great missionaries:

• To be an expert on culture, history, or the world
• To learn some new things and grow intellectually
• To take a risk

You never know where someone's call to missions might begin. After all, the team member who unconsciously came to get good photos, videos, and stories to share just might be the next great missions mobilizer.

The Value of an RSS Reader: It's Not About You

Marketing missions is about relationships; it's not about you. Sure, you want to get your message out, but you first and continually need to connect with people who want to hear your message. You've already done this offline - you've been to churches, sent newsletters, made friends.

You can maintain those relationships by showing that you care about the people who support you. Keeping up with your closest supporters' blogs, tweets, and Facebook updates can help you stay connected. Imagine congratulating a supporter on the birth of a baby, and you'll see the difference staying connected can make.

Keeping up with several blogs and other networks can be a chore, however, and that's where a RSS reader proves it's value. Using a RSS reader, you can subscribe to blogs, Twitter feeds, and other frequently updated websites so you can access them all in one place. It's not just another thing to check; it's THE way to check (almost) everything at once.

Are you convinced RSS readers are worth a try? I personally prefer Web-based RSS readers, which allow me to access my RSS feeds from any Internet-connected computer. I also like that Web-based readers keep my feeds synched, so posts I read while at home don't show up as new when I view the list at work. However, you may prefer a desktop-based reader if you would like to read feeds when you aren't connected to the Internet.

Here is a list of some of my favorite RSS readers. Try one out, and tell me what you think!

• iGoogle with Google Reader - iGoogle is really a personal Web portal, but I have a tab in iGoogle for the RSS feeds of blogs to which I subscribed using Google Reader. I've divided my blogs into five folders in Google Reader, and I have five Google Reader blocks on my iGoogle page. With just a glance, I can tell if anyone has published new content to the ministry marketing blogs, IPHC missionary blogs, Christian blogs, other missionary blogs, or friends and family blogs to which I'm subscribed. (Thanks to Megan Miles for tipping me off to this great tool.)
  
• Bloglines - Before I switched to Google, I used Bloglines. Again, I sorted my blogs into a few categories. One thing I loved about Bloglines was how easy it was to browse the new posts from all the blogs stored in a category. For instance, if I clicked the "IPHC missionary blogs" category, Bloglines displayed a list of all the titles of new posts on any of the blogs in that category. Being able to browse just the titles made it a breeze to quickly identify what I needed to read. With a single click, I could expand the blog post and read it on the same page.
  
• Outlook 2007 - Outlook 2007's reader deserves mention since so many people already use Outlook. I love having access to my calendar, contacts, and email all within one application, and Outlook's RSS reader pulls updates from websites into the same application.
  

It's about relationships

The more time I've spent promoting missions, the more I've come to understand that marketing missions is about relationships. This is true in my day job, where I help create the resources needed to promote missions in the International Pentecostal Holiness Church.

I've also found it to be true in my personal endeavors, and my new involvement with the Inner City Church's work is further proof. I know people at my church who want to be involved in the kinds of ministries they do. I also happen to work with one of their church's leaders. As a result, I can market their ministry to interested people, and people connect.

The kinds of relationships through which you can market missions - or any ministry - happen offline, but they can be strengthened by online connections. On this blog, I'll highlight some ways you can use online technologies and communities to strengthen your relationships and better market your ministry as a result.

To get started, I'll post about why you need a RSS reader.