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Adopt-A-People: The Rationale
In our world today there are an estimated 24,000 ethno-linguistic groups each with their own dialect and cultural tradition. The amazing reality of our day is that in over 14,000 of these groups the Church has become firmly established. Still remaining however are 10,000 groups in which the Church is very weak or has yet to become established. Each of these groups require the immediate and priority assistance of believers from outside their group. Such groups encompass over 2 .2 billion people, or by religious adherence represent 1.3 billion Muslims, 600 million Hindus, 200 million Buddhists and 100 million Animists. Evangelical Christians in the 14,000 reached groups number over 600 million and fellowship in over 2 million congregations. As a ratio that means there is one evangelical for every four unreached individuals and 200congregations for every unreached group! If everyone does their part we can easily see every unreached group and every person be given access to the gospel within our generation.
Basic Dimensions to Adopting A People
By way of definition, Adopt-a-People is a church and mission agency program designed to develop a stronger identification and a greater involvement between the sending church and the people with whom a missionary is working.
Typically this involvement is in the areas of prayer, finances, missionary care, development assistance and/or short term evangelistic outreaches. Prayer is the primary ministry focus of Adopt-A-People and the most important. Every church should begin with this first and basic commitment, and as God leads, prayerfully move into the other dimensions as opportunity permits.
Churches that adopt make a commitment to use the resources God has given them to ensure that the missionary and the indigenous church have all that they need to reach every community and person of the target group. In an adoption network churches work to share the burdens of prayer, finances, missionary care, and field ministry. Often times this involves a partnership with churches living in the country or nearby the adopted group. An adoption coordinator works to facilitate communication and joint efforts between those churches involved in the network.
Finances
Adopt-A-People does not mean a church stops supporting other ministry endeavors, but in addition to its present ministries gives a special focus to a specific unreached people ministry so that greater understanding and participation can be fostered between the members of the church and the missionary's work among the people. There are a great number of projects that need to be financed in a saturation church planting effort beyond the basic living costs of the missionary team. These could include: producing and printing Bibles, developing radio programs and evangelistic videos; producing training, evangelism and discipleship materials; conducting research-- linguistic surveys and unchurched area surveys; national leadership support, building costs, etc.
Field Ministry
With regard to short term evangelistic ministry, it is important that a church not work in isolation from what others are doing among a particular group. To work in isolation could create unnecessary duplication, confusion for the indigenous church and may hinder and endanger the missionary's work. Working together with the indigenous church and missionary creates a synergistic momentum that catalyzes the ongoing work. This ensures that your efforts are maximized and sustained.
The best liaison between the adopting church and field work is the mission agency which is structured to network churches and service missionaries with specialized programs and tools. Working closely with a mission agency will allow your church to become more effectively involved in the ongoing work and stay in touch more frequently with current progress. This is especially true for those sensitive areas in which the majority of the world's unreached peoples live. Developing a relationship with your mission agency's adoption coordinator will be a key factor in the effectiveness of your churches AAP program.
There are many dimensions in which your fellowship can contribute to the ongoing work of church multiplication. Utilizing the gifts and knowledge of your entire congregation will allow your AAP program to really become a blessing to the missionary team and the national church. You may have doctors, contractors, computer experts, educators, lawyers, desktop publishers, videographers, sound engineers, as well as disciple makers, evangelists, counselors and many more gifted people in your fellowship who can contribute their skills provided they are given the opportunity.
Missionary Care
When missionaries see and feel that their churches are behind them 100%, the church then becomes an associate member of the missionary team. The missionary's burdens become the church's burdens. The passion to reach the target group becomes the passion of the church at home. Frustrations, joy, persecution and triumph are shared alike and the prayers of the missionary and the sending church become united in a common voice. When missionaries return home for a time of rest and spiritual renewal, the church knows how to meet their needs, encouraging their efforts, praying through their difficulties and working through their struggles in light of God's word. This will require a great deal of understanding regarding the missionary's situation and needs. This kind of understanding can only be developed over a great deal of time and interaction with the missionary. Ministering to your adopted missionary team and national leaders, providing counsel and fellowship, will strengthen their commitment and help connect the national church to the larger body of Christ.
The young people in your fellowship should be encouraged to write frequently to the missionary kids on the team. Wives and mothers should communicate with one another about like concerns and husbands and fathers as well. Elders and counselors should make themselves available to minister as needs arise. Where possible, sending your missionaries information about what your church is doing, even tapes of sermons and events, will help them stay connected and relate better to the needs of the sending church as well.
Prayer
Prayer is the most important dimension of your fellowships adoption program. Missions can have all the money and personnel the church can offer, but without prayer the ministry is in vain. The apostle Paul frequently asked for prayer from the sending church. His letters often follow a pattern in which at the beginning of the letter he tells the church he is praying for them and at the end of the letter he asks the church to pray for him. Most of the New Testament documents are actually missionary prayer letters! Encouraging your missionaries to regularly send updates for prayer will be an important factor in sustaining the vision and commitment of your church's adoption program. Missionaries need ongoing prayer for their physical health, emotional stability, safety, spiritual vitality and family relationships. In addition to their personal needs, your adopted missionaries will need prayer for their ability to adjust to the culture, learn the language, find open doors for evangelism, obtain wisdom in church multiplication, and of course many other areas. The national church as well needs prayer for leadership in disciple making, evangelism and cross-cultural ministry into neighboring groups. (More about prayer.)
Integrating the Adopt-A-People emphasis into your church
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PRAY TODAY
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New book and study program focused on finishing the Great Commission in this generation.
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