Thank you for responding to God’s stirring in your heart for missions. This resource was created to help you sort out what He is saying to you. Perhaps you already know God wants you to serve Him overseas, or maybe God has nudged you about missions, but you have no idea what that means.
Wherever you find yourself in the journey, we believe this Go Guide will help you to take your next steps as you discover what God has for you in relation to reaching the unreached.
The Live Dead Advocacy Team
A Personal Inventory
We know that you have a part to play in reaching the unreached around the world. And while God may be stirring you to go overseas, He will also ask you to become more engaged in these ways:
PRAY MORE for the nations where people have no access to the gospel.
HELP SEND missionaries overseas by living more simply so you can support them monthly or give towards projects that will help them reach the unreached.
WELCOME people from other countries who live in your neighborhood or city by building a relationship with them and sharing your faith with them. (They might even become a missionary to their own people because you shared Jesus with them.)
With these in mind, take the first step with a personal inventory:
1. How am I praying for the nations?
2. How am I sending missionaries to reach the unreached?
3. How am I welcoming people in my neighborhood?
4. What can I do to grow in these areas?
Develop, Discover, Do, Deploy
From here, the path moves through four phases:
DEVELOP: Building character and community
DISCOVER: Deepening awareness through education
DO: Engaging in the work before you go
DEPLOY: Going to the mission field
Things to keep in mind as you begin:
• You can start at any point in any phase, but we encourage to complete all four phases.
• Each phase has multiple steps. Take them in any order you like.
• Our list of recommended resources at the end include powerful testimonies and insight that we believe will prove helpful on your journey.
dNot sure what God is asking you to do? Taking a next step is always a good thing. Begin working through Develop and Discover. Lean into what God says and obey what He asks you to do.
If you know today that you are called to serve God overseas, the next best step is to talk with a Live Dead representative and start your journey. Go to Deploy and walk through the steps.
Bottom line: Enjoy the journey. Serving God with our whole heart is the greatest joy in the world.
Before You Begin...
IDENTIFY YOUR VITAL RELATIONSHIPS FOR MISSIONS SUCCESS.
We believe that no one should go on this journey alone. Everyone needs a team of supporters standing alongside them. Connect with your church and those friends who believe in missions, believe in you, and want to help you fulfill the call that God has placed on your life.
Here is the support team we recommend:
GLOBAL ADVOCATE: A Global Advocate is a supportive individual who is willing to walk beside you through each stop of the journey. They help you process key phases and questions, and perhaps they will even challenge you to keep going. Ask a current mentor or respected leader in your life to walk through this process with you for encouragement and accountability.
GLOBAL SUPPORT TEAM: Your Global Support Team is a small group of close family and/or friends (6–8 people) who agree to encourage you, challenge you, and pray for you.
YOUR HOME CHURCH: Staying connected to your spiritual base is vitally important. You are not sent out alone, nor do you leave your church behind. You are an extension of your church and maintaining a healthy relationship will yield many benefits.
1. 2.
Phase One
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Take the 30-Day Live Dead Challenge from The Live Dead Journal. Order the book from the Live Dead store (abidepublishers.com).
Start a Live Dead Pray Band. A Pray Band is a group of three or more people who commit to meet consistently and pray for a church planting team working overseas. A Pray Band journeys with their church planting team in communication and prayer so that the needs are constantly taken before our Father. Visit the Live Dead website to sign up (livedead.org/pray-band).
Join and faithfully serve at a church.
In addition to your tithe, support current missionaries with over-andabove generosity.
If you have not been on a short-term trip, participate in a short-term trip to one of our Live Dead church planting teams. There is no better way to get an idea for what overseas life could look like than through a firsthand look. Check with your church for trip opportunities and visit the Live Dead website for more opportunities (livedead.org/go). Prepare for your short-term trip with the Live Dead Pre-Trip Devotional (livedead.org/STDevo).
Read a classic Christian missionary biography such as:
• A Passion for the Impossible: The Life of Lillias Trotter by Miriam Huffman Rockness
• Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret by Dr. & Mrs. Howard Taylor
• The Insanity of God by Nik Ripken
Research more about missions through the organizations below:
• Live Dead (livedead.org)
• Joshua Project (joshuaproject.net)
• The Traveling Team (thetravelingteam.org)
• Prayercast (prayercast.com)
• William Cary Publishing (missionbooks.org)
• Operation World (operationworld.org)
Find a person to be your Global Advocate. Meet with them consistently to talk through the process.
Phase Two t
Read The Missionary Call by M. David Sills.
Interview a long-term missionary. Talk with your pastor to connect with a missionary that they know and/or your church supports.
Consider pursuing additional credentials such as TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language), CrossFit certification, Bible training, etc. When serving overseas, vocational skills are beneficial. Refresh the skills God has given you so they can be utilized when serving overseas.
Build a relationship with an immigrant to America. Share your testimony and, if possible, begin a Bible study with them.
Meet with your Global Advocate.
Phase Three i
If you are still undecided about where to serve, if possible, take another short-term trip to a different location than your last trip. It can be beneficial for you to experience the global heart of God in different and diverse places in the world.
Engage with cross-cultural ministry where you are now and develop a cross-cultural friendship. Begin gospel proclamation now—you do not need to be overseas to do this.
Live simpler and prioritize getting out of debt.
Solidify your Global Support Team. These are ones who agree to encourage you, challenge you, and pray for you.
Connect with your Global Advocate.
Phase Four
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This phase contains more detailed information on what it looks like to go, what your immediate next steps will be, and what you can expect to encounter along the way. This may not be an exhaustive list as every journey is unique, but it should help set some expectations for the Assemblies of God World Missions (AGWM) process. We realize that AGWM is not the only sending organization out there. We encourage you to connect with your pastor and mentors to determine the right covering for you as you step into this new season.
If you have not already, visit the Live Dead website (livedead.org/go) and fill out the form for the Live Dead area in which you wish to serve. A Live Dead representative from that area will reach out to you and schedule a video call.
Meet with the Live Dead representative.
Walk through the Live Dead Mobilization Devotional in preparation to go (livedead.org/mobil-devo).
Connect with a Live Dead team and read through the team guidelines.
Fill out the AGWM application. GO!
Gather commitments and supporters to partner with you in both finances and prayer. You will need a number of financial supporters including churches, family members, old friends, coworkers, neighbors, and others.
The reality is that the above is just the beginning. It’s a beginning in a new line of beginnings as you continue to journey with the Lord.
As you step into this next season the first of many new beginnings will likely be with a Live Dead Launch Team. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. g
Launch Team g
For many the first season in missions can be a lot with new culture, new language, new friends, new joys, and new challenges. Live Dead is committed to seeing gospel access brought to the most unreached places in the world, and that requires healthy teams of healthy people with the skills and support to give a lifetime to the work.
The reality is that the above is just one beginning in a line of new beginnings as you continue to journey with the Lord.
As you step into this next season, the first new beginning will likely be with a Live Dead Launch Team.
SEASON 1: Language and culture fluency in target population
• Learn to share the gospel and make friends in your new language.
• Become a competent and engaged team member.
• Deepen the spiritual formation of your life in Christ and in community.
SEASON 2: Gospel proclamation and discipleship tools
• Continue to grow in sharing the gospel.
• Learn the early tools of discipleship.
• Grow deeper in your understanding of the complex context of local partnership and worldviews of the unreached.
• Develop your skills in teamwork and life together.
When you reach the end of your time on a Launch Team, you depart in one of three ways: h
1. Recognize that you feel burdened for the unreached but are not called to reach them. You finish your term of service and return home with stories, a robust prayer life, and a passion to share about the great need with those around you.
2. You join a church planting team. You have been equipped with the foundational tools to start your work among the unreached.
3. A team forms from among those who have been on the Launch Team together. You go out to a new, untouched part of the world and work among the unreached.
What is your passion?
God puts a passion in each of us. This passion can help us narrow our missions focus and guide us to the place God is calling us.
To some their passion is obvious, while others require more prayer and thought. Some have a passion for a people or place. For example, every time you hear about a particular country, or you meet someone from a particular region of the world, you are overwhelmed with emotion. Others may encounter a problem that they cannot stop thinking about and their heart breaks—such as, the thought of those who have never once heard the gospel or the thought of an orphaned child.
Whatever your passion is, allow God to show you the direction He wants you to go and begin to pray for opportunities to present themselves.
Recommended Reading
A Vision of the Possible: Pioneer Church Planting in Teams by Dan Sinclair
Paradigms in Conflict: 10 Key Questions in Christian Missions Today by David Hesselgrave
