Global Missions

 

Our global vision is to see indigenous disciple-making movements among unreached people groups

 

An unreached people group, as defined by the Joshua Project, is ‘a people group among which there is no indigenous community of believing Christians with adequate numbers and resources to evangelise this people group without outside assistance’.

There are seven specific criteria that distinguish one people group from another: language, culture, geography, religion, ethnicity, self-identity, and socioeconomic status. A people group is considered ‘unreached’ or ‘least-reached’ when there are less than or equal to 2% Evangelical Christians and less than or equal to 5% Professing Christians.

As a church, we recognise that there are unreached peoples both in their home countries and through their diaspora in many parts of the world.

Through the alignment of vision and resources, Clayton Church of Christ currently engages in Global Mission towards reaching the unreached through Global Workers in Cambodia, Thailand, East Asia and Indigenous Australia, Global Partners in South Asia, as well as Diaspora work in Australia among the Japanese and International Students.

6 Ways you can get involved:

Go

 

Things to do:

There are many ways that God can use you on the mission field:

  • Go on a Short Term Mission trip either through our church or one of our partnering organisations. Contact us to have a chat about what opportunities might be out there.
  • Use your Teaching, IT, Photography, Finance, or Hospitality or other professional skills to serve the mission field or mission organisations here at home
  • Help with the children’s program/kids ministry at mission conferences and trainings overseas
  • You can take your business or profession overseas and use it as a platform for mission
  • Visit our Global Workers or Partners to encourage and connect with them

There’s something for everyone to get involved in. We encourage everyone to go on a short term trip at least once to gain a better understanding of where they fit in God’s mission. You might end up wanting to go long-term, or you might come back with a deeper understanding of how to pray for the unreached. Going will help you gain a wider perspective and discover how you can serve God more fully no matter where you are.

Search and browse through hundreds of short, medium and long term opportunities at missionseek.com.au

Send

For every cross-cultural worker, there are many, many senders that are needed to help them thrive on the field!

Things to do:

  • Financially support a Global Worker or Partner (regular giving, no matter how small is much more helpful to workers than once-off gifts).
  • With your life group, adopt a Global Worker family that our church sends and connect with them regularly through Zoom, provide care support by sending care packages, birthday cards, regularly pray for them and fellowship.
  • Visit one of the Global Workers that our church partners with to provide encouragement or support.
  • When a Global Worker family come home, they may need a place to stay, a child booster seat for their car, or even a car to drive around. Perhaps you could fill their fridge with groceries or help in other practical ways to make this transition as smooth as possible. Be creative!
  • Sometimes our Global Workers leave behind elderly parents or family members who might really appreciate someone visiting them every so often, or helping out when there is a need (going to the doctors, emergencies).

“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”’

Romans 10:14-15

Welcome

Things to do:

  • Show hospitality to those from overseas
  • Consider being a ‘home stay’ family for international students 
  • Connect with those in your neighbourhood, workplace or community from unreached areas such as Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar or the Middle East
  • Volunteer in migrant support ministries such as our church’s Encounter English Learning program
  • Intentionally visit, shop or live in multicultural areas such as Springvale, Dandenong etc to connect with people 

Mobilise

Things to do:

Is your passion to motivate and get people involved in Global mission?

Here are some simple examples of how you can mobilise others:

  • Invite people to mission events or activities 
  • Advocate for a global worker, unreached group or missions in general
  • Read and share mission books or resources
  • Coach or mentor someone in their mission journey
  • Organise for someone to share about missions to your group

Learn

Things to do:

  • Enrol in mission course like Kairos or Perspectives to learn more about God’s heart for missions.
  • Attend mission conferences such as Activate to be challenged by what God is doing around the world. You might just be inspired by the stories you hear, meet other like-minded friends, find more resources to grow, and be able to check out all the mission organisations out there.
  • Read books about missions, cross-cultural ministry, unreached people groups and missionary biographies
  • Get involved in a mission discussion group
  • Follow mission orgs on social media to see mission stories, fun facts, articles and prayer needs
  • Read and learn more about unreached people groups at Joshua Project

Pray

Things to do:

  • Sign up to our Global Workers’ newsletters or 
  • Pray through our church’s Prayer & Praise Points for Global Workers each month
  • Download the PrayerMate app and subscribe to mission prayer feeds on your phone.
  • Watch and pray through Prayercast videos on nations and religious groups.
  • Join a mission prayer group run by one of our mission’ partners.
  • Use a prayer guide to pray for an unreached people group every day for one month.