2014-2015 CBF Offering for Global Missions Leaders Guide

LEADERS’ GUIDE

Engaging your

congregation

in Global Missions through the

If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. – Isaiah 58:10

2014-2015 Emphasis:

The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is a Christian network that

helps people put their faith into action through ministry, global missions and a broad community of support. We are the collaboration of individuals, churches and partners that work together to spread the hope of Jesus Christ.

Your congregation can engage in ministry among the least evangelized and most marginalized people on earth through CBF’s Offering for Global Missions.

Much of CBF’s global missions impact is funded by this offering – it is not over and above the budget of CBF Global Missions. It is the foundational means of support for the CBF missions enterprise and provides access to a wide array of tools and resources to serve people and equip churches.

The Offering for Global Missions provides support to about 125 field personnel who minister in more than 30 countries on five continents. These commissioned ministers stand with and among the poorest of the poor in locations across the United States and around the world. They are sharing the love of Jesus Christ through communities and networks that emerge from God-given passions.

This Leaders’ Guide will provide information about CBF’s Offering for Global Missions, including this year’s emphasis on ending hunger, helpful suggestions on how to promote it in your church and resources available by download or by placing an order by phone or online.

Through its Global Missions efforts, CBF • Promotes leadership and ministry among the least evangelized

• Seeks justice/reconciliation among the most marginalized

• Develops the local church among the least evangelized

• Works to end extreme poverty

• Provides Bible translations and digital resources in partnership

• Transforms conflict situations

• Reaches the international community

• Develops and transforms communities • Restores natural environments

2014-15 Offering for Global Missions Cooperative Baptists engage in God’s mission with and among the most neglected and least evangelized people on earth. Through the work of field personnel and through CBF’s rural poverty initiative, Together for Hope, the Fellowship is helping to #EndHunger with partners across the United States and around the world. In 20 nations across four continents with partners such as the Virginia Baptist Mission Board and Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission Hunger Offering, as well as with state and regional CBF organizations such as Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Heartland, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, CBF is working to #EndHunger.

As CBF Field Personnel seek to be the Presence of Christ, they follow the example of Christ, who often provided those around him a meal. Your gifts to CBF’s Offering for Global Missions help #EndHunger and impact CBF’s global missions efforts meeting other needs worldwide including work in Fredericksburg, Va., and Lebanon.

Go Online!

More information on the Offering for Global Missions, including links to video, worship helps and other resources is available at www.thefellowship.info/ogm.

When you support the Offering for Global Missions, you make ministry possible by supporting all CBF field personnel.

All field personnel receive:

• Member care and wellness services

• Support for technology and travel

• Exploratory conferences and the discernment process for candidates seeking missions as a life call

• Annual retreat for the children of field personnel

• Support for traveling to team meetings

How does your church promote the Offering for Global Missions?

Every church is different, but we have some information that may be helpful as you plan to share the CBF Offering for Global Missions with your congregation.

When should we promote the CBF Offering for Global Missions?

Baptists have traditionally focused on international missions in the fall or at Christmas and domestic or North America-based missions in the spring or at Easter. This year, CBF Offering for Global Missions resources include an emphasis on CBF’s work to #EndHunger by focusing on ministries in Fredericksburg, Va., and in Lebanon. This gives congregations the freedom to choose either the seasonal or the continual approach while using the same resources.

How can we promote the CBF Offering for Global Missions in combination with other offerings?

Because many of the churches affiliated with CBF are aligned with multiple Baptist bodies, many churches promote the CBF Offering along with other missions offerings. In this case, you would use the promotional materials from each agency, distribute each agency’s offering envelopes, and let church members decide how to designate their gifts.

How can we promote the CBF Offering for Global Missions in a specified time frame?

IF YOU HAVE 5 MINUTES: 1. Announce that the church will be collecting an offering to support global missions and that the funds will go to the CBF Offering for Global Missions. Tell your audience that the CBF Offering supports field personnel around the world and that without the CBF Offering, ministries like those in Fredericksburg, Va., to Latino immigrants and in Lebanon to Syrian refugees would not exist.

2. Lead your congregation through one of the suggested litanies, read a “Missions Impact Story” available online or play a video segment. The shorter testimony videos are ideal choices if you have limited time.

3. Ask people to consider contributing toward these life-changing ministries. Tell them your church’s CBF Offering goal and if appropriate, receive an offering.

IF YOU HAVE AN ADDITIONAL 10 MINUTES: • Start with one of the suggested missions-focused children’s sermons available online.

• Share about the ministries the CBF Offering supports. Focus on Fredericksburg, Va., or Lebanon, or one of the other CBF ministries with which your church is connected.

• If possible, play one of the videos available online.

IF YOU HAVE AN ADDITIONAL 25 MINUTES: Consider scheduling a CBF missions speaker to come to your church. This speaker will talk about CBF Global Missions, share powerful ministry stories and challenge your church to give generously to the CBF Offering.

We’ve heard some good tips from churches who have successfully promoted the CBF Offering for Global Missions, and we’re passing them along to you! Here are 5 ways to have a vibrant offering promotion:

TIP 1: BRINGING THE MISSION STORY TO LIFE • If possible schedule a CBF mission speaker from CBF’s speaker’s bureau by visiting www.thefellowship.info/face2face.

• If you can’t host a speaker, many CBF field personnel are equipped with a web cam and a reliable Internet connection and can connect with your church live from the field.

TIP 2: GETTING THE WORD OUT • Plan a special event or meeting to kick off your campaign.

• Include information about the CBF Offering for Global Missions in your existing print or electronic newsletters.

• Ask your pastor, missions committee chair person and other church members to write a short missions reflection or giving testimonial.

• Download CBF Offering logos to use as clip art at www.thefellowship.info/ogm.

TIP 3: USING YOUR WORSHIP SERVICES • Meet with your pastor or worship planning committee to introduce the free worship tools available online, including litanies, missions impact stories, videos and children’s sermons.

• Use the CBF logo in your bulletin announcements with a brief description of the CBF Offering and your church’s giving goal.

• Ask church members to present mission moments and/or giving testimonials in worship.

• Use the free bulletin insert/poster, Offering for Global Missions brochure and CBF Offering envelopes throughout your campaign.

TIP 4: MAKING A VISUAL IMPACT • Display the free, full color CBF Offering poster on walls and bulletin boards in meeting rooms, classrooms, the fellowship hall and other high-traffic areas around your church building.

• Include photos from CBF’s image library as a part of your Wednesday night program. Include prayer requests from CBF field personnel with their images. Images can be found at www.flickr.com/photos/thefellowship, and updated prayer requests are available at www.thefellowship.info/pray.

• Encourage Sunday school leaders to use the free videos (downloadable or on DVD) in their classrooms before each session. Use these videos as time to prepare and pray for CBF Global Missions personnel.

TIP 5: UPDATING YOUR PROGRESS • Be sure to let your church members know how well they are doing toward your giving goal.

• Consider using a visual reminder of the goal (or momentum graphic) and mark the progress throughout the campaign. Place your visual marker in a central location where it will be seen.

• Include updates in weekly worship bulletins, newsletters, worship announcements and other regular church communications.

• Celebrate the amount that has been given at the end of your campaign even if it is short of your goal.

CBF has additional resources to help you tell the impact stories made possible by the CBF Offering for Global Missions. Many are available online for free at www.thefellowship.info/ogm. You can also order print and video resources by calling toll-free 800-352-8741 or at www.thefellowship.info/ogmorder.

• Schedule a speaker well in advance through CBF’s speaker’s bureau by calling 800-352-8741 or visiting www.thefellowship.info/face2face.

• Contact the CBF speaker’s bureau to schedule a live webinar from the field.

• Share missions impact stories for use at offering collection times. This year, we’re sharing about CBF ministries in both Fredericksburg, Va., and Lebanon.

• Incorporate responsive readings during worship.

• Lead Offering for Global Missions-themed children’s sermons.

• Learn about God’s work in the world through stories and photographs from CBF field personnel.

• Share information on the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.

• Watch video segments from the Offering for Global Missions DVD. • Download logos for use in your church publications.