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Awakening
There is a God-given desire for:
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Personalization-“Involving every believer in using their gifts, abilities, and resources to
advance God’s global cause…” - Larry Reesor
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Identification - Getting to know missionaries and nationals who serve God in other lands leads
to a deeper commitment to praying, giving, and going.
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Involvement– “It is not the responsibility of the IMB to do missions on behalf of
Southern Baptists: The Great Commission was given to every church and every believer.”
- Dr. Jerry Rankin
Exploring
1. Learn about the UPG World.
2. Survey your resources.
3. Look for God’s invitation.
4. Find your UPG “Champion.”
Discovering
Develop Relationships with the Field.
Introduction
to interested strategy coordinator
Dialogue & Prayer
Prayer Walk/Survey Team
Discuss Potential Strategies.
Engaging
Define Relationship.
Register and Celebrate Adoption.
Accept Strategic Assignments for a defined length of time.
Fulfill your responsibilities.
Evaluate your effectiveness.
It’s A Process!
You must help the church understand that People Group Adoption is a
process. You cannot just assign them the name of some UPG, nor should they choose some group just because they
want to adopt a UPG. Think about the process a couple goes through to adopt a child.
It is serious business. It takes time. There is a time for
assessment, a time for exploring possibilities, a time of considering the
long-term commitment, and a time of waiting and praying.
Then there is the excitement of hearing about a child that might become
yours. Finally, the Lord brings all
of the details together and the couple is confident that God has given them the
child of His own choosing.
Not every church that says it wants to adopt an UPG is ready for
adoption. They need to be nurtured
and encouraged to discover what God is doing and why He has awakened this desire
in their hearts. Your job as a coach is to share with them the steps in the process and help them keep
“moving and growing until they find their place for strategic involvement in
… world evangelization.”
[1]
(See http://www.uscwm.org/ Click on “Mobilization”
and find “The Process of Mobilization” by Dr. Ralph Winter)
(See http://www.imb.org/GlobalVision/Mobilization/RankinMob.htm
for an article by Dr. Rankin)
People Group Adoption is one of the ultimate expressions of mission mobilization for a
local church. As God awakens His people to a passion for the world, the church moves from “Apathy to Awareness
to Activity to Advocacy.” These
stages of mobilization are dynamic and fluid.
Sometimes awareness is the result of some activity.
Advocacy often leads to more intense activity.
Some churches may become stuck in one of the stages for a period of time
while other congregations move rapidly to be fully mobilized.
The goal of Project:PeopleLink
is Advocacy. We want to help a church become:
Your role in this process is that of guide, resource, encourager, role model, prayer
partner, matchmaker, teacher, and friend. Feeling a little overwhelmed?
It's Not “What You Know”…It's “Who You Know”
Remember: God is the one awakening the church.
He is the one inviting them to become personally involved in reaching the
nations. He is stirring up this
interest in People Group Adoption. He
is the one that will help you guide the church through this process.
Your effectiveness depends on how well you know and share His heart.
You know Him!
Also, as a member of the Project:PeopleLink
team, you have a network of people with experience and knowledge
available to you. Your job is not
to know all of the answers, but to know where to find the answers.
You are the Link
in PeopleLink.
The following pages contain enough information to get you
started, discover what to do next, and know whom to contact for the answers that
you need.
UPG Guide | FBC
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