Four Excuses To Put Missions On The Backburner

- compared to new ministries here or paying down loan or improvements to the building, missions isn’t as exciting for most folks; missions easily gets put aside.

Four Excuses To Put Missions On The Back Burner:

1. “That’s their problem.”

- v. 14.

- sometimes we act like the problems that churches in other countries are facing are their problems and of no concern to us.

- Mission-minded churches count others’ pain as their pain.

- more concerned about helping others than helping themselves.

2. “We’re giving as much as other churches are.”

- v. 15.

- notice here that if the Philippians were giving "just like everybody else" then they wouldn’t have helped.

- consider the complete lack of missionary fervor a few centuries ago until William Carey revived it.

- our question is not to be "What are other churches doing?" but "What is God calling us to do?"

3. “We pushed missions last year.”

- v. 16.

- they gave more than once.

- Mission-minded churches treat missions as a priority, not a novelty.

4. “That’s the part of the budget we don’t get anything from.”

- v. 17.

- Mission-minded churches know all you give is all you keep.

- Mission-minded churches focus more on ministry than maintenance.

- bragging on the church building.

- seating capacity v. sending capacity.

Our church’s mission focus:

1. Increasing the percentage given to missions til it’s doubled.

2. Short-term mission trip.

3. Spring break trip for youth.

4. Praying over our missions checks before sending them off.