Enroll Your Church in Missionary Boot Camp

World GO! Manual
Enroll Your Church in Missionary Boot Camp
By Tracy Dubois, Web Writer/Writing Internship Coordinator
July/August 2008 Call to Prayer

Sound off…1, 2! Sound off…3, 4! Sound off…1, 2, 3, 4! Throughout the July/August 2008issue of Call to Prayer, WGM’s bi-monthly magazine, readers were invited to return to school as WGMU taught them about educational ministries around the globe. In this edition of Church Challenge, we’re not sending you back to the comforts of a classroom with desks, chairs, heat, and A/C. No, we’re sending you off to boot camp—WGMU style.

Attention! File in, shine those shoes, and drop and give me 30!

As Christians, we are called by Christ, our CO—commanding officer—to minister. Whether we live in the hills of West Virginia or the streets of Budapest, Hungary, we are called to preach the gospel wherever we are. WGMU works to support missionaries who serve in faraway places, but we also exist to train and equip Christians who minister in their daily lives as waitresses, bankers, salesmen, etc. This is where the World GO! Manual and your church come in.

Just as the military’s boot camp is intended to train soldiers, the World GO! Manual is designed to train us in the church to be witnesses for Christ right where we are. Our CO set out a missionary-training model in Acts 1:8, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Our Jerusalem is where God has planted us right now—our hometowns, neighborhoods, and workplaces. Our Samaria is the people we have the least desire to help, and the ends of the earth are where we train other soldiers for battle.

Attention! Time to suit up for missionary training. Meet me at the track at 0500 (that’s 5 a.m.) for a five-mile run, and drop and give me 20!

In order for us in the church to accomplish our call, we need to develop specific skills—praying, witnessing, serving, loving, giving, partnering, enduring, teaching, and planting. And guess what? Each skill is covered in a section of the World GO! Manual.

As you study the book, you will follow the fictional life of graduate student Mark Evans. Each section features a story about Mark as his notion of a missionary is revolutionized through his encounters with missionary to Africa Randall Volarez.

Attention! You are to be commended for your faithful service! Now drop and give me 10!

Just as military personnel earn medals for their service, you will receive a reward as you complete each section of the World GO! Manual. After reading each section, you will complete one of four action items, each of which includes questions to answer before, during, and after the process. Complete your assignment and receive a missions merit pin as a reminder of the skill you learned.

The World GO! Manual can be used by small groups, Sunday School classes, youth groups, or the church as a whole. You can go at your own pace and even work through the manual several times, choosing a different action item each time. Remember those choose-your-own-ending books from the ’80s?

This manual is a resource every church can and should utilize. Now is the time for your church to enroll in boot camp as you pray, witness, serve, love, give, partner, endure, teach, and plant for the Lord. We are His witnesses to the ends of the earth!

Contact WGMU’s Development Office at development@wgm.org or 765.671.7244 to learn more about this great resource or to secure your own copy of the World GO! Manual. Be prepared so your church can answer “Aye, aye, Sir!” the next time our CO asks, “Who will go?” Get started on the manual today!

Is your church creatively “doing missions”? Let us know so we can possibly feature your church in an upcoming Church Challenge. E-mail your comments to tellthecall@wgm.org.