Mission True organizations recognize that the local church is the anchor to a driving mission.
Drift. The very word conjures images of a boat blown by the wind and led by the currents. Lacking a clear destination. Floating endlessly.
You don’t have to be an expert sailor to realize that there is an easy way to prevent your boat from drifting. Throw an anchor overboard.
When I (Peter) was in middle school, my brother and I would carry an old boat on our heads to the Concord River. We’d cast off. I’d do the rowing, Jon the fishing. The boat leaked, which only added to the adventure.
An old cinder block and some rope served as our anchor. Nothing fancy, but it worked. Anchors are perhaps the most ancient of nautical adventures. Cinder blocks, old tires, or welded iron – they all do the trick.
For org’s who desire to protect against Mission Drift, on of the most powerful anchors is the local church.
National Revival to Global Missions:
“We were birthed in a church, Park Street Church in Boston,” said Stephan Bauman, president and CEO of World Relief. Park Street Church in historic downtown Boston is home to many “firsts” including introducing Billy Graham to the revival ministry. Graham became a lifelong friend to Park Street’s pastor, Dr. Harold Ockenga. Graham said that “nobody outside my family influenced me more than [Ockenga] did. I never made a major decision without first calling and asking his advice and counsel.” Today Graham and Ockenga are credited as being the bricklayers of a revival toward Christian orthodoxy that swept across the nation.
But Park Street’s pastor was concerned with more than his own congregation and those across the country. He was convicted “that missions make the church” and “that the local church is the key to world missions.” He cared deeply for the needy. And he understood God’s heart for the vulnerable. As the president of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), Ockenga oversaw the creation of the War Relief Commission, which started partnering with local churches in Eastern Europe following the devastation of World War II.
Today it is known as World Relief, a global relief and development agency serving over four million people through 2,500 staff members and 60,000 volunteers in over 20 countries. World Relief’s birthplace was symbolic of its mission to partner with the church, a mission that is still at the heartbeat of the organization today.
BOTTOM LINE: “Everything we do is through the local church,” shared Bauman.
NEXT UP: Did you know “drift” is birthed when the “works of justice” are separated from the “message of salvation”? Anyone relate?