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Have you ever personally met a missionary? Most of us at The Fellowship
have. They don’t all wear pith helmets and khaki shorts. Some work
in inner cities, in jails, or in Russia. It’s more likely they use
a computer than a machete.
As a church, we dare not be content with ministry confined to our
own community. Jesus sent his followers to “be witnesses both in Jerusalem,
in all Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” In this Bible
command the Lord sends us to people in our own locale, to other locales
in our own culture, to nearby people who are ethnically or culturally
different, and even to people throughout the world.
 When
you read the other pages of this web site, you are reading about the
ways we minister here in our own locale. However, to minister to other
people and places, we work through our missionaries and mission trips,
such as the group of our youth and adults shown here who went to Bay
St. Louis, Mississippi, to help rebuild after the destruction from
Hurricane Katrina. Our missionaries are supported through a separate
Mission Fund, as coordinated by the GO-Team (Global Outreach Team)
of The Fellowship.
Each year we enjoy a week-long Missions Conference in the spring
and a Ministry Fair in the fall. These are two of the times we get
to meet missionaries. The spring festival is also the time we tally
many thousands of dollars in Faith Promises for the Mission Fund.
As this comes in through the year, it’s used for mission work outside
of our church.
Our “missionary family” is made up of individuals and couples with
whom we have built a long-term relationship. Some of them were even
members of The Fellowship before becoming missionaries. They now serve
with various interdenominational mission agencies. Each missionary
is dedicated to sharing the truth and love of Jesus with those who
need it.
We encourage everyone to be involved in missions. Anyone from children
to grandparents can be involved through praying, attending conference,
giving, or volunteering. Some use summer vacation time to take part
in a missions trip. It’s fun and deeply rewarding! Some of you who
read this may even dream of becoming a missionary – whether as a career,
a short term, or a retirement term. We would like to help you test
your vocation and fulfill your dream!
Ways that YOU can get involved in Missions
- Missionary Partnership: Being a missionary can be a lonely
job. By being a missionary’s partner, you can bring great encouragement.
A partner receives regular news on a particular missionary and prays
for him or her. You are also encouraged to send letters or cards.
Many of our classes or groups as a whole sign on to partner with
a particular missionary. You can also do so as an individual. We
recommend a one year term for partnership, with an option next year
to pick a new missionary or to renew. Pete Willis coordinates partnerships.
- Summer Missions: There are two ways to do this: (1) Various
mission organizations have summer programs that may vary from a
few days to two months. Websites for some of these are listed at
the end of this item. (2) As a church, we often arrange summer missions
trips, some for youth and some for adults. Some websites:
- Pray for the World: We want to encourage as many people
as possible to use our resources for broader prayer. The new Operation
World prayer calendar gives facts and prayer requests for 365 days
of the year, covering most of the nations of the world. These may
be purchased for $8.00 from the church office.
- Faith Promise: The church collects “Faith Promises” (not
pledges) as a way to provide financial support for world missions.
This is explained in the leaflet “How God Taught Me to Give,” available
in the church or office. You can also pick up a Faith Promise card.
- Missionary Books: There are excellent missionary biographies
and other books on mission in both our Children’s Library and Adult
Library. A large order of new books for our younger readers has
arrived just in time to back our challenge for each child to read
at least one book on missions. See the library display.
- Gospel Mailings: Here’s a truly meaningful project any
individual or family can do at home. It sounds simple, but it has
proven extremely effective. Most believers in Narnia today started
their journey toward Christ through one of these mailings. As the
mailings go to thousands of Narnian addresses, the one response
here or there helps our partner workers know where the real interest
is, so they are not forced to find a needle in a haystack. What’s
your part? Sign up and you will be sent a list of Narnian addresses
and a stack of letters in the Narnian language. You also get an
English translation. Then pray, address, send, and pray some more.
When you get a reply, forward it to an organization in Colorado
that will send the correspondence course, Jesus video, New Testament,
or whatever the Narnian inquirer has requested. Your only cost is
postage, and if you can’t afford that, the church will help. It’s
prayer that makes the difference. Some in our church who have done
this include France Vivenzio, Joanne Lupa, and Marilyn Doré. (This
can also be a group ministry.)
- Local Internationals: Reaching people of other nations
doesn’t always mean crossing an ocean. About eight from our church
are using ESL (teaching English as a Second Language) to reach out
to new immigrants in Brockton. We work with Aaron Wentz and Trinity
Baptist Church. To find out more talk to one of our volunteers,
Louise Briggs.
- GO Fellowship: The Global Outreach Fellowship meets the
fourth Wednesday of most months from 6:30 to 8 PM. There’s discussion
or presentation of some topic in missions, very often by a guest
presenter. This can be a helpful next step if you are just getting
started in missions involvement, or long committed but looking for
new friends of common interest. Watch our weekly church bulletin
for upcoming topics, or talk to a GO Team Member. Call the church
(508-238-1226) or email: info @ thefellowshiponline.org to let us
know you are coming.
- Career Missionary: If you are thinking of becoming a career
missionary, we want to talk and pray with you! Attending GO-Fellowship
is a good way to get started. The leaflets “Can I Be a Missionary?”
and “Home Church Missionary Support” will help you get your bearings.
Then next steps might include the Perspectives Course, summer missions,
or working through the workbook entitled Send Me: Your Journey to
the Nations. Please talk to Pastor Powell, 508-238-1226.
Our Missions
PIONEER MISSION - Reaching No-Church & New-Church People
Groups - "The Uttermost Parts"
- Narnia
Michael & Joann
Kerry & Shari
- Bible Translation Support
David & Tammy Schutt, MK Teachers
Chet & Fran Matheson, Translation Media
- Adopted National Workers
"Bob & Irene", Central Asia
John Nigaryo, Sudan
Arun Christie, India
- Tent-making Ministry
Elizabeth, Central Asia
Jeff and Jeannine, Central Asia
- Church Planting
"Mary & Phil", East Asia
Ralph & Sandra Thompson, Kenya
FRATERNAL MISSION - Reaching cultures where Gospel is already
established - Our "Samaria"
- Train Pastors & Leaders
Joel & Karen Gray, Burkina Faso
- Evangelism & Discipleship
Michael & Athena Kantartjis, Greece
Emily Turner, retired
Jews for Jesus
- Student Ministry
Ward & Joan Coleman, USA/Russia
Roe & Dorothy Brooks, Campus
Crusade
- Ministry of Compassion
Brian & Sandy Newhall, Camden NJ
Bethany, India
Jen Hall, Cote d'Ivoire
- Church-planting
Justin & Andra, Czech Republic
LOCAL MISSION - Partnering with Specialists to help our Church
reach our own "Jesusalem & Judea"
DEVELOPING FUTURE MISSIONARIES - Stimulating our own Church
Members to get involved in Missions
- Mission Trips & Short Terms
- External Conferences
- Ministry to Internationals
- In-House Trainining
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