Nurturing Effective Goers and Senders

One of the most fundamental convictions behind our vision for missions is that there are only three kinds of Christians: zealous goers, zealous senders, and disobedient. Not everyone is called to be a cross-cultural missionary -- some are goers and some are senders. But everyone is called to be a world Christian. That means every one of us must learn, whether we go or send, to effectively pursue the nations for Christ. In God's eyes both the goers and the senders are crucial.

Nurturing Missionary Candidates
One of the primary responsibilities of senders, then, is the nurture and care of those who are called to go. At Bethlehem we have developed programs to provide such support at various stages of a goer's journey. The Nurture Program's purpose is to prepare cross-cultural missionary candidates, while still in the context of Bethlehem Baptist Church, with the basic knowledge, character, and skills required for effective service. Once on the mission field, we seek to continue our support and care through Barnabas Support Teams (BST). These teams serve as small groups of people with whom the missionary has an established level of trust. The teams help to make our missionaries feel loved and cared for in practical ways, keeping them visible before the Bethlehem family and strengthening them through encouragement and prayer.