I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.     Philippians 1:3-6

Partnership in the gospel is a powerful tool which is used by God to spread the good news of Jesus. When we collaborate in the mission of God, He is glorified and the kingdom is expanded. The Missions Leaders Luncheons facilitated by Missions Resource Network (MRN) is one tool to build collaboration, and share knowledge and resources as we all seek to fulfill our role in God’s global mission. For the past two years, MRN has facilitated mission leaders gathering once a quarter for the Dallas churches and for the Ft. Worth churches. These luncheons have now started in Nashville and in Houston. The concept is simple:  mission leaders, elders, ministers, and members are hosted by an area church providing a noon meal and the time is spent in discussing mission topics of relevance for mission leaders. The program is actually “owned” and directed by each group of mission leaders. They have identified mission topics they would like to discuss and MRN has simply facilitated the discussion, brought in the resources or identified the people who can best help in a particular mission area. The mission topics have included: The Importance of Prayer in Missions, How to Care for Your Missionary, Establishing Mission Goals, How to Evaluate Your Mission Work, Developing a Mission Spirit in Your Church, Supporting National Workers and Conducting a Successful Missions Sunday.

It has been encouraging to see the impact of the Missions Leaders Luncheons. In the Dallas/Ft. Worth area we have had between 25 and 40 mission leaders from a total of 40+ churches in attendance.  There have been over 70 churches in the Dallas, Ft. Worth, Houston and Nashville areas touched by the Mission Leaders Luncheons. Churches have discovered common mission fields and ways to collaborate and partner in healthy ways. Leaders have discovered available resources from various churches and ways to access and share those resources. Most importantly we all have been encouraged, inspired and equipped to engage our mission task with more focus, unity and energy. May God continue to be glorified as we seek to collaborate for God’s glory and kingdom expansion!