Transcript Acts 1:8 Challenge Presentation

A Local Church Vision
for a Worldwide Mission
Acts 1:8 Challenge
“You will receive power
when the Holy Spirit has
come upon you, and you
will be My witnesses in
Jerusalem, in all Judea
and Samaria, and to the
ends of the earth.”
- Acts 1:8 (HCSB)
Acts 1:8 Challenge Overview
The Acts 1:8 Challenge is an inspirational
challenge…and opportunity for SBC
churches to register their commitment to a
comprehensive missions strategy in their
community (Jerusalem), state (Judea),
continent (Samaria) and world (ends of the
earth). By registering, a church invites the
IMB, NAMB, state conventions and
associations to partner with them.
This strategy was piloted in 2002-2003
with IMB, NAMB, and four Baptist state
conventions (NW, Okla., S.C., Ind.)
Acts 1:8 Challenge Overview
For the first time in SBC history, the
trustees of the North American Mission
Board and the trustees of the International
Mission Board met jointly in May 2004.
An Acts 1:8 Challenge Celebration
Service was held May 19, 2004 at First
Baptist Church, Woodstock, to officially
launch the strategy.
Acts 1:8 Challenge Overview
The essence of the Acts 1:8 “paradigm”
is simple:
• God’s history-long and worldwide
mission to redeem the lost peoples of the
world is now the Great Commission of
every local church.
• Regardless of size or location, every
local church can be a worldwide mission
center.
• Denominational entities exist to assist
local churches in fulfilling their Great
Commission responsibility.
Acts 1:8 Challenge Overview
The essence of the Acts 1:8 “paradigm”
is simple:
• In Jesus’ last words on earth, He gave us
a model for both the 1st century and 21st
century that is comprehensive, and
emanates from the Spirit-filled, Spirit-led
local churches.
• As each church personalizes Acts 1:8
and identifies its unique mission fields,
denominational entities should be
prepared to come alongside that church
and assist them in those respective
mission fields.
1 Challenge – 8 Responses
How churches are
asked to respond…
Prepare—Elect leaders, make plans
Learn—Create mission awareness
Pray—Seek God’s direction through prayer
Give—Increase financial support
Go—Mobilize Christians
Tell—Be involved in evangelism
Send—Respond to vocational mission
service
Multiply—Participate in church-planting
movements
1 Challenge – 8 Responses
Prepare—empowering a designated leader of
missions and developing mission teams,
strategies, and plans to take the gospel to our
community, state, continent, and world.
Learn—bringing mission awareness and
interaction to the entire church body, training
members for service, and connecting them to
missionaries and mission needs.
Pray—asking God for kingdom perspective and
worldwide vision, interceding for Christian workers
and unevangelized peoples.
1 Challenge – 8 Responses
Give—increasing the financial support of the
Cooperative Program and other SBC cooperative
missions.
Go—enabling a growing number of members to
directly participate in short-term, long-term, and
marketplace opportunities to minister and spread
the gospel beyond our church’s walls.
Tell—involving an increasing number of
members in intentional, culturally relevant
evangelism.
1 Challenge – 8 Responses
Send—providing members with opportunities to
hear and respond to God’s call to vocational
mission service.
Multiply—participating in church-planting,
and facilitating church-planting movements.
How a Church Accepts the Challenge…
www.ActsOne8.com
Resources for Churches
BROCHURE
REG. FORM
CD-ROM
WEBSITE
CD-ROM Contents
VIDEOS
ARTICLES
BULLETIN COVER
POWERPOINT
SERMON OUTLINE
Acts 1:8 Challenge Resources
The Embracing the Acts
1:8 Challenge
leadership manual is
the implementation
guide designed to help
churches get started in
designing their Acts 1:8
strategy. Churches
receive the guide when
they register.
Acts 1:8 Doctrine Study
The Acts 1:8 Challenge:
Empowering the Church
to Be on Mission Baptist
doctrine study is an
excellent way to start
churches on becoming
Acts 1:8 focused.
Acts 1:8 Doctrine Study
The 2005 Baptist Doctrine book, The Acts
1:8 Challenge: Empowering the Church to
Be on Mission examines the missions task
of the New Testament church and
challenges the 21st century church to take
the gospel to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria,
and the ends of the earth. Participants in
this study will view the world through a
missions lens and learn how they can use
the New Testament Church's model to
reach their world. (6 sessions)