Diversity on the Mission Field

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welcome to the mission matters the
mission matters is a partnership of
missio Nexus and 16 15 missions coaching
who have a shared passion to mobilize
God’s people to be a part of his mission
the mission matters is hosted by Matthew
Ellison of 16 15 missions coaching antah
Destler president of missio Nexus the
issue of social justice has certainly
been on the forefront of our minds as
cultures around the world have wrestled
with issues around race from your social
media feeds to the evening news
followers of Christ have been challenged
to ask not only what do I think about
this but what does God think about this
and what should I do about it
our guest today is pastor Adrienne
Reeves the conference director of the
National African American missions
conference whose purpose is to network
and mobilize African Americans for the
Great Commission
let’s join matt ted and adrian to talk
about diversity in the mission field
welcome once again to the mission
matters podcast i’m matthew ellison
president of 1615 and I am joined as I
always am by my good friend and co-host
Ted Esler who serves as the president of
missio Nexus Ted say hi to everybody hey
everybody it’s good to be on the podcast
excellent so Ted really important
conversation today but before we get
into it I thought we would ease into it
but by sharing just a random idea in
question like we normally do and I’ve
been thinking lately about my favorite
childhood toy the toy that was just
better than all the rest of for me it
was Super Stretch Armstrong I don’t know
if any of you remember that but it was
this rubberized doll it had gel on the
inside and you would stretch it out and
then it would shrink back through its
original size he was a big burly guy and
after about four or five weeks he would
start to crack and the gel would leak
and it would get hard so they actually
included band-aids in the packaging so I
love Super Stretch Armstrong how about
you kid favorite toy well my parents won
yet when year of my birthday got me this
little helicopter that went around in a
circle it had two little handles that
were like five six feet away from
bass and you pull one handle and the
helicopter take off the other man let go
forward and I had hours and hours and
hours of fun with that thing and when I
turned 50 years old my brother went and
found that exact same toy and I have no
idea how we got it it’s not manufactured
it hasn’t been manufactured for decades
but I got it for my 50th birthday and we
set it up and I played with it for hours
again so that’s my favorite toy well my
wife is watching this or if she ever
gets around to it I would love
super-stretch for my 50th birthday which
is right around the corner so path
method Rene our guest today is adrian
reeves he’s the conference director for
named active we’re gonna get into what
that is all about in just a minute but
first we’re gonna throw that same
question to you adrian do you have a
favorite childhood toy it’s funny I’m a
child of the 80s I must admit
so I Nintendo Super Mario Brothers wish
I got it for my sickness and it was what
all my brother and I played for four
months until we conquered every level of
the game so I feel like I’m not as
authentic as you lost toys but I was a
child of the 80s so I was glued in front
of the television with video games
that’s pretty I think that’s pretty
authentic I think a lot of people
probably share that same favorite toy
when they were young yeah well we’re
gonna let’s start by I’ll just give you
a little story from my own perspective I
was at you know missionary in Bosnia and
we had a very diverse mission team but
they were pretty much all of the same
race Caucasians even even though they
were Europeans and for my they were
really from all over but we had a church
that we started in Sarajevo that was for
English speakers because we had so many
English speakers coming to our Bosnian
church and of course when I lived there
there were NATO troops everywhere and we
asked the NATO chaplain if he knew of
any pastor that could come and speak at
our international church our English
speaking Church and he recommended an
inner-city african-american pastor who
came he began to preach and I’m gonna
tell you he connected so well not just
with all of the English speakers but
pretty soon all the Bosnians started
drifting there because in their history
they were the folks that were oppressed
by a dominant culture in Yugoslavia and
I saw the power of the connection that
came about because of that common
history and as you look at unreached
people groups throughout the world one
would think that African American
missionaries would have an in in a way
that somebody like me would not have and
so when I was first introduced to name
AK the National African American
missions conference I was thrilled to
hear about it and you you’re the
conference director I am and we’re
hoping that in this session we’re gonna
skin hear a little bit about the history
of named act what you’re doing this year
what’s going on currently but first of
all just say welcome to the call and if
you could give us a little bit of how
you got engaged in name AK that’d be a
good start
certainly a couple years ago I met a man
whose my current current pastor Bishop
David Peron who launched who’s president
of boundless ministries and quite a few
years ago early in his life he went and
was a missionary and South America and
really wanted to dedicate his life to
the people there and the work there but
that wasn’t the way God wanted him to go
God told him to come home and to
motivate his brothers and sisters to go
on the field and so he started Church of
the Great Commission and he’s I’ve been
doing mission conferences for a number
of years and been about almost ten years
ago he started named Act the National
african-american missions conference in
an effort to mobilize resource and
networked African Americans for the
Great Commission so I came on staff at
his church there and District Heights
million Christ kingdom Church was the
executive pastor and doing my came in
about I think may May a couple years ago
in the very next month June
was named AK and it just was a project
and a ministry that touched my heart I
think when you come there the people are
amazing the the programming is great
it’s just an awesome experience and I
the missions bug even grew bigger in me
and so I was connected through there and
so he trusted me with the work and we
have been building partnerships and
sending missionaries and ever since so I
really appreciate you guys making time
to sit down and talk with us today so
Adrienne I know the passion of your
heart and the passion of nae Mac is to
mobilize African Americans to the
frontiers to the unreached people groups
of the world so I did a little homework
in preparation for this conversation and
found out that the church in the u.s.
African American Christians make up
about 12 to 13 percent of that church
and yet they’re only 1 percent or less
than 1 percent of American missionaries
represented overseas why is this and do
you see anything changing ah great
question I think it’s two parts I think
there’s an internal problem within the
african-american church and I think it
is an external problem so internally
like so many churches we just have lost
focus with the Great Commission and we
need to get back focus to that a lot of
times you go to churches and that the
the music ministry is doing great and
the camp is doing great but there isn’t
a lot of focus on missions and so in how
African American community we honor the
office of our pastors and their voice in
our lives and sometimes if the pastor’s
heart isn’t with missions and going
crossing cultures with the gospel then
the congregation follows and so that’s
an internal problem of focus and
commitment to what Jesus left us to do
that we need to address there I think
externally the problem is that we’ve
kind of been disconnected from our
history and that is the very first
missionary from America was actually a
black man George Lyle who went out to
Jamaica to plant churches several years
before William Carey who’s considered
the father of modern air emissions went
been turned out I think also because of
the effects of slavery and
reconstruction after Americans travel
country was restricted and so they
weren’t granted passports or the rights
to travel outside and be out of the
country and the inability to connect
with the proper resources there were so
many issues that we were trying to face
and build ourselves of the people after
the abolishment of slavery that missions
became this home effort you know worked
within make your neighborhood your local
community and would kind of be the lost
in the nations were forgotten so it’s a
two-fold problem there’s a realignment
that needs to happen internally within
our organizations and churches but there
also needs to be a greater understanding
with our white brothers and sisters as
to how we as a people ended up in this
place because of the effects of
oppression so one of the conversations
is going on nationally of course is you
know the systemic nature of racism you
know I I got a lot of explosion of the
mission’s community there’s tradition
there’s history there’s all sorts of
things going on there trying to set
aside the political question yeah what
are some of the I would say kind of big
picture systems things that are out
there that you think repress African
American involvement and I appreciate I
appreciate the fact that you talked
about the internal issues mm-hmm but
it’s got to be bigger than that in my
view yeah what would be some of the
things you see kind of in the missions
industry that are harming African
American recruitment and mobilization of
mission I think a lack of true
understanding of what diversity is right
so I think sometimes if we think we’ve
got one one black person on the board
oh we’ve checked off our box right and
so we’ve got to really unpack what
diversity and inclusion means I think
we’re dancing around with the word but
no one really gets it you said it
earlier or not I appreciate what you
said that you had a pretty diverse team
in Bosnia and so we’ve got to first
understand that diversity includes
diversity of experience diversity of
thought and in cultural diversity is a
part of that and I’m not sure that all
organizations have embraced cultural
diversity and when you embrace that
versity you’re not trying to
simulates someone into your culture but
you’re really celebrating theirs
and so there’s a difference between
celebrant I always say go with your
celebrated not where you’re tolerated
and so if we’re going to truly embrace
diversity then we celebrate and we honor
difference I think also the lack of
courage to talk about things that need
to be talked about need to be talked
about so for me courage is saying the
things that need to be said so I really
appreciate you and Matthew allowing this
platform and opening up but I think
there’s not true harmony within the body
of Christ when it comes to racial
healing
I love the verse that you spoke of
Matthew in terms of Brotherhood I think
Brotherhood is the is the kingdom
stronghold that needs to replace racism
but we’re not always practicing it
Sunday morning is still the most
segregated hour in this country blacks
don’t go to white churches whites don’t
come to black churches in large numbers
you have Beth they’re great models out
there in terms of multi-ethnic
congregations
but a lot of this is the the simple idea
of fellowship let’s get to know each
other you have a men’s ministry I have a
men’s ministry now I’m in fellowship
together you know and so if we want to
be one people we have to practice that I
think also Ted there is sometimes if I’m
honest and ignoring of issues from our
white brothers that white supremacy is
just a black excuse or doesn’t really
exist systemic racism even the idea of
unreached versus the loss you know in
the black community we have a huge
concern for the loss I’m not sure that
we define the unreached the way our
white brothers and sisters do just
because the church is in your area it
doesn’t necessarily mean you have access
to this Carla hello speaks of it I’m a
black man growing up in the era of
reconstruction in the only Church in my
area is ran by the KKK do I really have
access to the gospel and so a lot of how
even definitions in the mission’s
community need to be challenged and
reconsidered and that requires everyone
being at the table and if everyone at
the table looks like you then you don’t
have anyone that belongs there this and
there’s some seats missing one of the
things that comes up often in this
conversation is the fundraising paradigm
of personal support raising I got a
thought about it but I want
you say about it first you think that’s
a a reason why we see don’t you I think
it’s a huge reason why I think
african-american churches even the ones
that have the will to go maybe don’t
understand how to equip themselves how
to get started with with a missions
ministry or getting connected to efforts
in the nations so we need organizations
we need agencies to come in and help us
with that I have two thoughts about the
fundraising support I love what Andrew
Scott is kind of introducing to the
missions community what’s very common in
the african-american church is doing
ministry by vocationally you know how
passes work and they pastor and that’s
been a strength I believe in our
community that we can do both I think
it’s a strength that we need to keep
because it keeps us connected to the
marketplace and it gives our pastors and
our ministers and elders access to
people who maybe don’t show up on Sunday
morning so I think that actually is a
strength of ours what I love about what
andrew and om is introducing the scatter
is hey you may be a doctor you may be a
teacher you may be an actor you maybe a
dance coordinator but it may not be
God’s will that you stay in America and
do that so take that vocation and go to
Bosnia and go and go to China and go to
Japan and I think that works in an
African American paradigm we just need
you or in the African American context
we just need to connect the dots there
and help them understand that that is an
option
I think missions as a whole needs to be
preaching that and pushing that model a
little bit more
the current model for support raising I
don’t believe is sustainable and we’re
going to eventually get to a point where
missionaries are going to have to come
home because of lack of support and
that’s a sad thing but we need we need a
different thought about this process
there are huge communities of wealth
within white organizations that black
churches simply don’t have and so that’s
something that we can talk about but if
we’re going to be switching the model we
need to be teaching towards by
vocational and ministry which i think is
a healthy paradigm and I think it’s
actually more healthier than the support
raising there or not
okay so Jeff Lewis talks about reaching
the nation’s the unreached requires the
mass mobilization of God’s people
every age every stage every contribution
so I love the idea of communicating to
entrepreneurs business professionals
marketplace folks and saying hey how
about living your life out in the
context of a UPG so I’m gonna be on that
but what I’m hearing is you don’t think
the model of a local church identifying
apostle small a sent out once gifted by
the spirit called by God to cross the
culture in an african-american church
you don’t think that there is
sustainability with that model of the
church coming behind financing those
people and getting them to the ceiling
great question I do think that we have
an issue in our missions community and
church context and that sometimes
agencies have almost replaced the role
of the church and we need to reverse
that churches do need to be sending
missionaries what I want to share is
that I think this whole idea of living
out your mission by vocationally fits
what African Americans already do it
should not it should not it does not
alleviate us and our churches from
sending and calling out missionaries and
making sure there’s a support model in
place but Paul built tents right he
worked as he went along and did missions
and so I’m just saying that there’s a
way for them both to work and it doesn’t
become an excuse for not fulfilling the
Great Commission but I definitely think
that churches have to step up especially
African American churches I believe that
two only two things determine what’s
really important to you and that’s how
you spend your time and how you spend
your money and if we look at a lot of
our church calendars and a lot of our
church budgets how much of that time do
we really invest into cross-cultural
missions how much of that budget is
really invested into missions and so
whatever that budget doesn’t make up
then we have this other model in terms
of being by vocational that works just
as well so I think I don’t think it’s a
either/or I think it’s an end also and
so churches and bad.you but at that
point you need to somehow take their
place back and and stand alongside of
agencies but not just sending people
over to agencies or sending an offering
to an agency and and being disconnected
from the whole process of being the
center point
missionaries into the field does that
make sense
yeah not honor both hand yes yep I mean
one of one of the things about this
discussion of the support raising if I
could go back to that just for a second
that I’ve been observing is that there’s
a lot of critique of that fundraising
model the support race fundraising model
but I’ve got a little stat project
running on my computer right now which
I’m trying to figure out how many
African Americans are actually appointed
as missionaries very small number yeah
and if anything those organizations
particularly denominations that have the
ability to pay salaries have fewer than
the support raised missions have well
that tells me you know there’s other
things that work here also I mean I
would just think that you know where
your where your money is where your
treasure is that’s where your heart is
and they’re there perhaps there is a
giving component of this where you know
so many African American churches have
so many immediate pressing problems
right around them that to ask them to
give globally is a stretch but maybe
they would find out that there’s a great
blessing and giving globally even if
it’s just you know a small amount but
anyway I got to jump in here just for a
second I’ve been working with churches
for about 20 years
mobilizing local churches helping them
develop vision and I find that churches
the things they love as Ted mentioned
the things they value they build the
structures and you know the systems to
make those things happen you know the
things you love that you find a way to
to take action for them and I think
that’s true I think if there was
individuals raised up in any church
context and you know the church really
was passionate about the under each I
think there’s a great opportunity for
people to step up I did have to put that
out there yeah I think people do what
they want to do I live by Necco people
do what they want to do there is a
not knowing components sometimes in the
african-american context if your pastor
defines missions as going to the local
shelter on Thanksgiving and giving out
turkeys that you think your own mission
so a lot of times is it there’s a
knowledge gap that has to be filled in
and we have to get back to what is
missions right and get back to the core
that it is cross-cultural one of the
things that we’re really embracing at
name AK this year is our theme as
missions reimagined from here to
everywhere
a lot of black churches they do well
locally they do well in their
neighborhoods and you asked me earlier
Matthew have I seen about have I been
seen an uptick in changes and the answer
is yes yes we are seeing more and more
churches and pastors go on short term
discovery trips being a part of planting
churches internationally it is happening
right I think that 1 percent when that
was recorded didn’t take into account
everything that is going on and so we
are we are hidden within named at
working with our own R&D efforts to make
sure that we’re capturing a lot of
things that that 1% didn’t capture I
think the number is still low but it’s
more than what we actually think it is
and there is an awakening almost that’s
happening in the black church through
efforts like neh Mac and partnerships
ambassadors fellowship sowing seeds of
joy so many organizations that are
starting to help the black church
understand her power understand the
uniqueness that she has in global
missions and so we are seeing an uptick
there but I think part of it is getting
back to understanding the difference
between missions outreach in the
vandalism there’s a huge there’s a huge
knowledge gap on that and Jesus says go
ye into all the world right so he he
wants neighborhood saved and he wants
nation saved and what we have done in
the body of Christ is we’ve kind of
we’ve chosen what’s gonna be our mission
as opposed to embracing all that God
said and God didn’t say forget about
your neighbor across the street but he
also didn’t say forget about my sheep of
another fold that are in another nation
that need to hear your voice as well
what we’ve got to do in the
african-american context is really wake
pastors up to the global church the
global call and say hey take what you’re
doing in your neighborhood and just
embrace the full mission of God and take
that and go just like you’re reaching
the neighborhood
and go reach neighborhoods in Russia go
reach neighborhoods and Czechoslovakia
go reach neighborhoods in Europe so it’s
a whole concept of neighborhoods and
nations and not thinking one is more
important than the other God cares about
both and we need to be doing both if you
give us a little bit of an idea how it’s
going with I know you guys are promoting
named AK right now and are you getting
many signups is there how are you seeing
things unfold here it’s your first
virtual effort liable soon yeah so it’s
not like any other conference I want to
say that I think named AK is unique in
two ways and that is number one we don’t
just have a conference for adults we
have a conference for youth and children
as well so when you come to name Mac and
there’s not babysitting they learn about
the 10/40 window they learn how to the
characteristics of a missionary what it
means to be mission minded so we start
as long as 4i and we go up to 12 in
terms of our children’s conference and
then from 13 to 18 for our our youth
conference because we’re really
passionate about producing the next
generation of African American
missionaries the adult conference is
designed in such a way that no matter
which your missions experience or
exposure hears there’s something there
for you so we have growth tracks when it
comes to workshops so we have a
beginner’s track that starts with what
is the difference between missions
evangelism and outreach we go to an
intermediate track from there we deal
with things like spiritual warfare we
have an advanced track that deals only
issues like inside our movements how far
is too far and we also have an
all-inclusive track which are topics
geared toward on anyone I no matter
their level of missions experience a lot
of times so an example of that would be
how do I prepare my family and other
times you feel the call but your family
doesn’t they don’t want you going over
there in those dangerous parts of the
world so it’s very comprehensive in that
regard we have some conference power
talks designed for this year’s virtual
experience so people can go to the name
a cork or they can go to name a
convention org and they can sign up for
the conference so far the last time I
checked this morning we have about 759
people registered we are and that’s
adults I think there’s forty eight
children and fifty seven youth so and
they all they have their own
schedules that you can go check the
schedule out check out the different
growth tracks there are we are extremely
excited we would love to be at McLane as
we are every June in person but that
we’re all living in a different reality
now but I’m happy to see that the name
AK team is a wonderful team that we work
with and when we were faced with this
challenge we said no let’s keep going
forward how do we how do we get the
technology how do we bring things
together and continue to mobilize on our
people and continue to empower the black
church to do what she is uniquely
designed to do you know it strikes me
Adrian as you talk about the conference
content the modules the classes all
these things these are the very same
things that we need to be mobilized
you know there’s great confusion in the
church at large about outreach mission
yes all these things you said and I
think you know hearing again the content
the rich content that you guys are
providing it’s always getting back to
the basics isn’t it yeah it’s always
going back to the foundation of God’s
Word and who he is and unpacking this
grand narrative that this is the
greatest movement in history and it’s
for all believers of all colors all
ethnic groups so I’m encouraged you know
I think anyone would come into that
conference and receive great benefit and
inspiration so let me get practical here
Thor what are some ways that our viewers
might come alongside african-american
pastors and churches to work towards
mobilizing together doing this together
more african-american people into God’s
mission whether that’s go words or
cendars can you give some practical
steps of what that could look like yes I
think number one it’s partnering cross
culturally within your community right
no matter where you are there are there
are white churches here in Maryland
there are Hispanic churches here in
Maryland soap ashes and lead and
leadership teams right out of times you
have a pastor who has a heart and says
he’s got this leadership team that just
doesn’t share the same heart and it’s
because they need to be their eyes need
to be open and so I think really
partnering in the context with where you
are if you’re not getting along in
Maryland
makes you think you’re gonna get out in
the field and get along with people
right so and if you don’t find that in
your immediate local local area you live
in a state right so look at you know in
Texas how do you partner with other
people yeah building state coalition’s
and networks with other churches I think
the church has to get back to being the
church you have to agree on what your
fund is going to be been able to host
events and Network events let me say
this network name AK is built on four
pillars that’s equipping networking
mobilizing and resourcing and we want to
encourage churches to do the same number
one let’s equip people with the gospel
of Jesus Christ and the things that they
need to be effective cross culturally I
think one of the one of the first rules
is first do no harm you know making sure
you’re equipped with the right
information and we do that through the
through the workshops you want a network
you want to get to know it say if you
want to get to know a Matthew you want
to make time to have conversations I
tend to believe that you 99% of problems
can be solved with the conversation so
for instance we hosted an event
yesterday called the table of
brotherhood to kind of deal with race
relations within the body of Christ and
we need to continue that conversation we
need to continue fellowship being with
one another we need to support one
another’s events and not care about
whose name is on the banner as long as
Christ is being lifted up so you know we
equip we network but we also resource I
mentioned earlier there were two unique
things about name Mac and that is we
also give out mission awards so when you
give toward the name Mac fund you are
directly given toward mobilizing African
American missionaries into the field for
short term and long term trips I know
there’s a some some great debate about
short term trips but I believe in them I
think they’re strong I think they are a
great door opener for a lot of different
reasons we need to host discovery trips
for pastors who say okay I’ll give it a
try I don’t know what this looks like
but I need a guy I need someone to guide
me and we need to be hosting resources
and trips for first-time pastors and
leadership teams the leadership team
needs to be a part of the process that
this thing that we need to continue to
make resources like missio Nexus and
1615 available to churches reaching out
you know we we need to reach out even
within the church context and have
conversations get clarity on what
missions is and just really
to know one another the early church
they fellowship with one another every
day and we’ve lost the art of
fellowshipping and so the cycle ship
begins what relationship and if we don’t
build a relationship with one another
then there’s going to be a problem so
you know if your woman’s ministry is
having something and bite our women if
your teams are having a camp and bite
our teams so I think it’s really just
opening the door and consistently saying
we’re here we want to be a neighbor and
and talking understanding the need not
born into communities and assuming you
know what their need is not being fooled
by by the the outward appearance that
there’s a heart and a soul there that
needs to be ministered to so I just
think a lot of it is a lack of
relationship a lack of fellowship and a
lack of conversation and we need to be
majoring on those things I think you
know obviously this is a very complex
issue it’s very nuanced there’s a whole
lot of stuff there’s a whole lot of
history but I love your answer because
it’s not rocket science
no have a conversation go to dinner
invite them to an event it really all
begins with the simplest of steps and
yeah I hope the listeners and viewers
hear that it’s it’s not rocket science
there’s a lot of noise going on out
there just take a step forward
yeah can I also say when you’re reaching
out to black churches reminding them of
their rich history and mission so many
of them didn’t know it I didn’t know it
before I came to name at that there’s
this huge history of african-americans
going to the nations that we got
disconnected from our oppression through
trying to rebuild our communities after
reconstruction because we’ve been so
weighted down as I mentioned earlier
with so many of the immediate needs
right but there’s a plan God if Jesus
isn’t coming back and so until everyone
is heard and so being able to connect
them with names like Betsy stocking and
John Moran and and and Georgia Lyle and
I didn’t know hey every time you see a
missions brochure actually there should
not be a light face on it there should
be people that look like me and and so
we want to show that historically God
has been moving in the african-american
church he’s been using on black
missionaries they’ve been planting
successful healthy churches and and we
need to connect back to that
heretics so this is something that I
think is very powerful and very useful
that we lost something that we are
starting to recapture again and so
that’s why we see such movement in the
missions field with more and more
African Americans beginning to to go
cross culturally and loving it and
really being able to be effective as
they are for who they are well this
actually ties in with this week’s
something I like Matthew all right let
me hear it alright so I was at a Mac I
guess it was last year and I was very
impressed by something that happened
there in fact so impressed that we’re
gonna steal your idea so we we always do
a couple of awards one of them is
accelerate Award for innovation and
excellence admission and then missio
Nexus also gives out an award called a
lifetime of service award for somebody
who’s served the Lord their entire
lifetime and is finishing well yeah and
awards are great because they kind of
lift up in front of the community the
values that you want to see go forward
but I was a little humbled when you guys
had your award or your recognition and
what you did is you highlighted a newly
appointed missionary and that everybody
had a chance to give toward their
outgoing expenses in it and it put back
and everybody’s mind hey these are real
people they’re going out to be workers
somewhere in the world and our job is to
get behind them and support them love
them send them pray for them and so the
thing that I really liked was how you
guys emphasized the mobilization and
recruitment of new missionaries and so
like I said we’re gonna be doing that at
our annual conference this year but I
stole the idea from you well we’re happy
that you that you did that and I also
want to share one of the things that
mobilization is our biggest value at
Mack and so the last day of the
conference is dedicated to actually well
we don’t call them workshops we call
them action shops and that is that every
a conference intending leaves the
conference with a personalized
mobilization plan you mentioned earlier
one of the other things we have to break
down is that everyone is involved in a
Great Commission is called to ghost
they are goers they are senders and then
there are receivers on as Bishop Erin
teaches us there are people who actually
be served open up their homes and they
serve as refreshing paths for
missionaries who are on furlough and so
they participate in missionary care
maybe you’re not a go in your sender
right or maybe you’re someone that’s
going to a short short-term trip to
support a long term strategy that’s on
the field and so there’s a place where
everybody in integrate Commission and we
want everyone to leave the conference
whether you want to build a local
network with churches that are around
you that are not connected whether you
want to go on a short-term missions trip
whether you want to go on a discovery
trip or whether you want to get involved
in a prospectus course or a 1615
coaching session you want to leave named
act with a mobilized plan and so we
really want to see that happen and we do
we love first time missionaries we make
a big deal of it we’re gonna begin to
start legacy ceremonies when we begin to
pass on the heritage of African American
missionaries from the past and connect
them to ones who are I’m marching
forward now and so you can start our
idea you can start our idea that’s quite
alright we’re glad that you with bear
tear and I’m we’re excited about seeing
all the new African American
missionaries we’re really capturing the
heart of God and wanting to see the lost
all over the world come come home to
their father I’ve one more thought
before we shut down today I know we need
to wrap it up people’s are in today but
you know the recent escalation of racial
discord surfacing stuff that was already
there right yes not the forefront it’s
also moved the conversation we’re having
to the top yes here’s the thought that I
have wouldn’t it be just like God to
turn Satan’s designs to destroy people
made in his image to hurt the church
wouldn’t it be just like God to turn
those designs into schemes of love now
anyone would come out of this would be a
new movement of partnership and a new
movement of seeing African Americans
make their way to the frontier and so I
hope that this backfires in Satan’s face
absolutely back on this and say look
what God did
with the passing of George Floyd look
what was set in motion so that’s what
I’m praying for brother yeah let me just
say this dr. King says in his famous I
have a dream speech that one day on the
Red Hills of Georgia I wish that the
former sons of slaves and the former
sons of slave owners would sit down to
date together at the table of
brotherhood and that’s what we’re doing
that’s what we’re doing right now
that’s what name AK did yesterday with
two hundred and sixty eight participants
we sat down and we talked about the
issues in a dear Darrell Hart we
admitted our hypocrisy and we challenged
ourselves to change and to be different
and to be open and to really be brothers
to really be brothers so I think that
dream is coming to pass and and and God
is using the church to do that and again
we don’t have to go political we have
the power of the gospel to compel man’s
hearts so I definitely see I see that
table of brotherhood getting bigger and
bigger and I’m happy to be a part of it
that brings to a close this episode of
the mission matters with Matthew Ellison
from 16 15 missions coaching and Tedd
aschler president of missio Nexus we
heard from Pastor Adrienne Reeves the
conference director of the National
african-american missions conference to
learn more about neh Mac check the NA
AMC org another compelling conversation
about the Great Commission but before
you go would you take your first step of
action and visit our sponsors websites
if 1615 org and missio Nexus org there
you’ll find a wealth of interesting and
challenging information about the state
of the Great Commission
that’s 1615 org and missio Nexus org the
mission matters is presented through a
partnership of 16 15 missions coaching
and missio Nexus