“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19,20
This mandate to “Go and make disciples” has fueled local and global missions for centuries. At FBC-Mebane, Missions Committee Leader Lorraine Garrison took that Scripture to heart from the time she was a little girl. In her family’s local church in West Palm Beach, Florida, she knew a couple from the church who had a ministry to migrants. Another older lady who’d long been a missionary coordinated projects for UNICEF. Good missions role models surrounded Garrison.
Fast forward to about five years ago, when Sammy asked her to lead the church’s missions committee. “I guess somebody thought we needed a missions team,” she says. “And I said, ‘Absolutely.’”
Garrison has been leading the committee ever since. Today, the committee helps determine the missions budget each year, promotes local and global missions among the congregation, and educates church members on who the church is supporting with one-time gifts and ongoing contributions.
Rethinking Our Local and Global Missions Dollars
For many years, FBC-Mebane sent global missions funding to the cooperative program of the Southern Baptist Convention and to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. While we were confident the money provided for Gospel work around the world, we didn’t know the specifics of where and for whom.
Church leaders wanted more input into those specifics and decided to start doing things differently. “We wanted to support people we knew and had developed a relationship with,” Garrison explains. “And that’s where we’ve morphed to over the last few years. So, I see one of the roles of the mission committee being to educate our church on who we’re supporting.”
Part of helping the congregation know where their money is going involves meeting missionaries face to face. “That’s why Pastor Sammy has had different ones come and speak at the Sunday morning service for a few minutes,” she says. “Just so people can see their faces and can hear a little bit about what their ministries are. That’s important.”
Ongoing Relationships—Global Missions Partnerships for the Gospel
Having missionaries in our services helps keep the Great Commission in front of us and encourages partnership for the Gospel.
“When I was called to go to Asia, the church was very supportive of me,” says Garrison. “We’re also supporting Jake Libbey, and he’s one of ours. So, we’ve tried to support our own people.”
Beyond that, we’ve spent time getting to know other missionaries who are serving around the world. “Pastor Sammy and I have developed a relationship with Vitaly Smolin, who is in Ukraine,” she mentions. “James Neves lives and works with his family in Thailand. Shanna Sullivan, who works in Uganda, was coming to our church for a while when she was on furlough. Lindsay Ashley, who’ll be going to Zimbabwe full-time this spring after a short-term assignment there before COVID, is just getting started.”
When new missionaries reach out to the church, she and Pastor Sammy meet with them and present their information to the committee. We decide together if we’ll commit to supporting them. We’re in a good place of supporting only those we’ve developed a relationship with and now know personally.
Getting Outside the Building into Local and Global Missions
Garrison adds that one of the most important things is for us to not just think of church as coming together on Sunday morning to worship, although that’s important.
“We’ve got to get outside of our building,” she says. “And although we get together and we have a lot of fun together, there’s a world outside of our building that’s hurting—and even some inside our building that are hurting. Jesus has called us to go and minister to them in whatever way we can.”
Garrison knows a little something about getting outside the church and expanding her comfort zone. She’s traveled nine times to Asia and has grown in vision and passion as a result.
“God will open doors if we seek Him,” she says. “When He called me to Asia, I had no unction about going anywhere. I had two kids in college, or I had one in college and one getting ready to go to college. But the opportunity just dropped in my lap, and then I was hooked.”
Garrison taught English to teachers from rural areas of the Asian country she was in. They’d come and stay at the college. Some years, she also taught college students, and sometimes even high school students would sneak in just to hear someone speak English.
Nine trips. Three provinces. Countless students and teachers impacted.
Serving Where You Are
But Garrison will be the first person to tell you that you don’t have to go to the Far East to reach out to people in need. Everybody has something to give, and there are needs all around us every day.
“It might be a listening ear to somebody you’re working with,” Garrison adds. “But we’ve got to look outside of ourselves and try to minister to others in the name of Jesus. He’s called us to visit those in prison, feed the hungry, take care of people. So that’s what I say our mission is.”
“Time is running short,” she added. “We’re getting closer and closer to when Jesus is coming back. We never know when the end time is going to come, but we also never know when someone’s going to take their last breath and then it’s too late. So, there should be an urgency in our churches about sharing Christ with others.”
Ready To Get Involved in Missions? Start Here
For anyone interested in joining churchwide opportunities to share Christ, this summer opens doors to local and national missions.
“One is West Virginia Bible school,” says Garrison. “Our church has been participating in it for over 20 years, and many of the young people that are going now have been going for years. That’s an ongoing ministry where you’re still in the United States. People are speaking English. You’re still eating United States’ food. So, it’s not like going to a foreign country where you just feel lost.”
Even closer to home is FBC-Mebane’s Vacation Bible School (VBS) coming up this summer. “Ministering to the children who live around the church and are part of our church is an important time to volunteer,” she explains. “It’s a few hours a night for one week.”
Opportunities abound. “Where would you fit into the missions puzzle?” Garrison asks. “You know, there are lots of pieces, and it’s important that we all see missions as our responsibility.”
To find out more about how you can be involved in local or global missions, reach out to Lorraine Garrison. To volunteer for VBS this summer at FBC-Mebane, reach out to Kayleigh McDaniel.
