Going overseas involves many steps, and it is easy for a potential Sent One to get lost in the process. It is also easy for a missions leader to lose track of where people are in that process, and we have found that a lot of people who were planning to go overseas never make it there because they got lost in the process of the sending church or organization. In this blog post, we are going to talk about how to track those who are interested in going overseas with a church database platform that many of our churches already use called Planning Center.
Going overseas involves many steps, and it is easy for a potential Sent One to get lost in the process.
As we compile this database of people interested in going overseas, there are four main categories we will want to consider:
Members who have attended some globally-minded event or gone on a short-term mission trip.
Members who have expressed interest in going overseas after these events.
Members in the assessment process with your church.
Members in-process with a sending organization.
Let’s look at how to do this with members of our church at each stage.
1) Members who have attended some globally-minded event or gone on a short-term mission trip.
One of the best and simplest ways to do this is to create a simple spreadsheet that has a list of people you are praying over and consider how they could move forward in the process of going overseas. That spreadsheet might look something like this:
Name | Missions Experience | Interest Level | Why Are They Interested? | Potential Go-Date | In Planning Center? | |
| | Locations, classes, etc. | High/ Medium/ Low | | | Yes/No |
2) Members who have expressed interest in going overseas after these events.
When members express interest in going overseas, do you have a plan for them that you can map out for them? It’s critical for us as missions leaders to define:
What they are required to do with the church
What the requirements are with the sending organization
How you will partner with them to decide on next steps
This is where the Planning Center Workflow can be particularly helpful. (If your church uses Community Church Builder, use the Process Queues feature.)
Initial steps for setting up Planning Center:
Begin by opening Planning Center and clicking on “Workflows” to create a new workflow.
Create an initial form for people to fill out who are interested in going overseas. As an example, this form is what we have people fill out at Cornerstone.
3) Members in the assessment process with your church.
As members of your church express their interest in missions and begin the assessment phase, Planning Center gives you the ability to track where they are in the process and create email templates that explain what you want them to do at each step along the way. These steps could include (but are not limited to):
Completing personality tests. We ask them to do Myers-Briggs, APEST, Enneagram, and Emotional Health Assessment. At Cornerstone, we also ask them to fill out this form and provide us with some of their answers to the assessments.
Filling out a self-assessment for the church. Here’s an example of one:
Once they have been green-lighted from our church to move forward in the process, we have them begin work with their sending agency.
4) Members in-process with a sending organization.
Once members are ready to walk through the application process with a sending organization, it’s helpful for a missions leader to keep track of where they are in the process. This is important for a few reasons:
To make sure you understand the process and can communicate with them about it.
To walk with them through the process so they know you are interested in what they are doing.
To help you answer their questions about the sending process with the organization and run interference when needed. Unfortunately, missions organizations are generally not very good at prodding people to move them through their sending process. This is where the missions leader can help. I have found that this is the point at which most people get stuck and delayed. Giving attention to this process is a way to shepherd and care for your people.
As you set up this workflow in Planning Center, here are a few key items you’ll want to include regarding the sending agency process. You will need to add steps beyond these for the particular organization(s) your Sent Ones work with, but these are the basics that most missions organizations will require:
Completed application with sending organization.
Completed psychological evaluation.
Completed health assessment.
Fundraising training (if necessary).
Contact with potential team leaders.
Personal development in preparation for moving overseas.
Finalized location.
Affirmation of the church and sending organization.
Let’s help our Sent Ones get through the red tape of the process in whatever way we can so they can get to the field and begin the work God has called them to.
Conclusion
Paying attention to the process of getting your church members overseas is an important way for missions leaders to love and serve their Sent Ones. While we don’t necessarily want to hold potential Sent Ones’ hands, the process of getting overseas can be a black hole for many that is filled with twists, turns, and unspoken expectations. Let’s help our Sent Ones get through the red tape of the process in whatever way we can so they can get to the field and begin the work God has called them to.
LET'S HEAR FROM YOU!
How do you keep track of people in your sending pipeline? Comment below to share your insights and questions.
Mike Ironside is Missions Pastor at Cornerstone Church in Ames, Iowa. He has served on staff with Cornerstone since 2006 in varying roles–from college ministry to pastoral staff to being an overseas missionary sent from Cornerstone for two years. Mike is the Director of Cohorts and Content for the Upstream Collective. He also serves as Chairman of the Board for Campus to Campus, a missions organization dedicated to getting US college students connected to church-planting movements amongst college students worldwide.