Building a Missions Culture in Small Churches: A Practical Guide

By Brent Lacy

Let me be honest with you. When most small church pastors hear the word “missions,” they picture something they cannot afford. A full-time missions pastor. An annual missions conference with flown-in speakers. A budget line that would swallow half the general fund.

And so they do nothing. Or they do the bare minimum: a small check to a missionary they barely know, collected during a Sunday morning offering that everyone forgets about by lunch.

But here is the thing. The Great Commission was not given to megachurches. It was given to eleven ordinary people in an upper room. And the early church, which turned the Roman Empire upside down, did not have a missions budget. It had a missions culture.

That is the difference. And it is the difference that changes everything.

These numbers tell a story. The vast majority of American churches are small. And most of them are barely engaged in missions at all. Not because they do not care. Because they do not know how to start.

This guide is for those churches. The ones with 30, 50, or 80 people on a Sunday. The ones where the pastor is bi-vocational and the church treasurer is also the Sunday school superintendent. The ones that want to be faithful to the Great Commission but need a path that fits their reality.

What Is a Missions Culture?

A missions culture is not a program. It is not an event. It is not a line item in your budget.

A missions culture is the shared conviction, woven into the DNA of your church, that God is a God who sends. That He sent Israel to be a light to the nations. That He sent His Son to seek and save the lost. That He sent the Spirit to empower the church for witness. And that He sends us, His people, into the world with the message of reconciliation.

When that conviction shapes everything you do, from your preaching to your budget to your prayer life to your community involvement, you have a missions culture. And it does not cost a dime to start.

The question is not whether you can afford to build a missions culture. The question is whether you can afford not to.

Step 1: Preach Missions from the Pulpit

Everything starts here. If the pastor is not talking about missions, the church will not be thinking about missions. It is that simple.

This does not mean every sermon becomes a guilt trip about giving more money. It means weaving the missions thread throughout your teaching. When you preach through Genesis, highlight God’s promise to bless all nations through Abraham. When you preach through the Gospels, emphasize that Jesus came to seek and save the lost. When you preach through Acts, show how the early church was a sending church from day one.

Over time, these moments add up. They normalize missions. They make it part of the rhythm of your church’s life, not an annual event that comes and goes.

Step 2: Pray for the Nations

Prayer is the engine of missions. It always has been. And it is the one thing every church can do regardless of budget.

Start praying specifically for unreached people groups. There are still over 7,000 people groups that have little or no access to the gospel. Many of your church members have never heard of a single one of them.

The International Mission Board and Joshua Project both provide free resources for praying through the unreached peoples of the world. Print a different people group profile each month. Put it in the bulletin. Pray for it on Sunday morning. Let your people carry those names in their hearts throughout the week.

Step 3: Start Local Before Going Global

One of the biggest mistakes small churches make is thinking missions only happens overseas. It does not. Missions happens wherever the gospel meets people in need. And there is need in your own community.

Start by identifying the specific needs in your area. Is there a homeless population? A nursing home? A school that needs tutoring support? A neighborhood where families are struggling? Pick one need and address it. Not with a check. With your presence.

When your church starts serving the community, two things happen. First, you demonstrate the gospel in action. Second, your people catch the vision for what it looks like to be sent. That vision will naturally extend beyond your town to your region, your nation, and the world.

Step 4: Build Real Relationships with Missionaries

Here is a hard truth: most churches that “support” missionaries have no real relationship with them. They send a check. They pray a generic prayer. They could not tell you the missionary’s name, their kids’ names, or what country they serve in.

That is not missions partnership. That is charity. And it does not build a missions culture.

Instead, build real relationships. If you can only support one or two missionary families, do it well. Know their names. Know their needs. Write them letters. Send care packages. Video call them. Let your children’s class make them Christmas cards. Make them feel like they are part of your church family, not just a line item in your budget.

Step 5: Make Missions Part of Your Budget

I saved this for step five on purpose. Budget follows vision. If you start with the budget, you will never get the vision. But if you build the vision first, the budget will follow.

The North American Mission Board recommends that churches give at least 5% of their undesignated receipts to missions through cooperative giving. For a church with a $100,000 annual budget, that is $5,000 per year. It is not glamorous. But it is a start.

And here is what I have seen happen in small churches that make this commitment: the giving increases. Not because of guilt or pressure, but because the vision expands. When people see what their missions dollars are doing, they want to give more.

Step 6: Send Your Own People

This is the step that separates churches that talk about missions from churches that do missions. Sending.

You may never send a career missionary to the field. But you can send people on short-term trips. You can send a team to help a church plant in another state. You can send a group to build a home, run a Vacation Bible School, or provide disaster relief.

Short-term missions are not perfect. They can be expensive. They can create dependency. They can be more about the experience of the senders than the needs of the receivers. But done right, they change the people who go. And when those people come back, they bring a missions culture with them.

What This Looks Like in a Real Church

Let me give you a picture. Imagine a church of 60 people in a rural town. The pastor works a secular job Monday through Friday. The church building is paid off but barely. There is no staff besides the pastor.

Here is what a missions culture looks like in that church:

• Every Sunday, the pastor includes a brief prayer for a specific unreached people group.

• Once a month, a 5-minute Missions Moment highlights a local outreach effort or a missionary the church supports.

• The church gives 5% of its budget to missions through its denomination’s cooperative program.

• One missionary family receives a personal letter from the church every month.

• Every quarter, the church serves the community together: a food drive, a nursing home visit, a school supply collection.

• Once a year, a team of four to six people goes on a short-term mission trip, funded by personal fundraising and a small church subsidy.

• The children’s Sunday school includes a regular missions curriculum that teaches kids about the nations.

That is it. No missions conference. No full-time staff. No massive budget. Just a church that has decided missions is not something they do. It is something they are.

The Obstacles Are Real, But Not Insurmountable

I know what some of you are thinking. “This sounds great, but our church is barely surviving. We can barely keep the lights on. How are we supposed to think about missions?”

I understand. I have pastored small churches. I know what it feels like to wonder if you can make payroll. I know the temptation to turn inward, to focus only on survival.

But here is what I have learned: the churches that turn inward to survive are the ones that die. And the churches that look outward, even when they have almost nothing, are the ones that come alive.

Missions is not a luxury for churches that have extra. It is the lifeblood of the church. It is what we were made for. And when we embrace it, even in small ways, something shifts. The fog of survival lifts. The vision expands. The energy returns.

You do not need more money to start. You need more faith.

Your Next Step

Do not try to implement everything on this list at once. Pick one thing. Just one. Start there.

Maybe it is praying for an unreached people group this Sunday. Maybe it is writing a letter to a missionary. Maybe it is identifying one need in your community and organizing a small team to address it.

The point is to start. Because a missions culture is not built in a day. It is built decision by decision, prayer by prayer, act of service by act of service. And every journey begins with a single step.

Take that step this week. Your church will never be the same.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much should a small church give to missions?

Start with what you can. The NAMB recommends at least 5% of undesignated receipts. If your church gives nothing now, even 1% is a step in the right direction. The key is to start and increase over time as the vision grows.

We cannot afford to support a missionary. What else can we do?

You can pray. You can serve your community. You can educate your congregation about missions through preaching and Sunday school. You can partner with a larger church that already has missionary connections. Missions is not only about money. It is about engagement.

How do we choose which missionaries to support?

Start with your existing networks. Contact your denomination, state convention, or seminary for recommendations. Look for missionaries who share your theological convictions and who came from churches similar to yours. Personal connection matters more than organizational prestige.

Are short-term missions trips worth it for small churches?

They can be, if done well. Focus on trips that meet real needs, build genuine relationships, and result in lasting impact. Avoid “tourism with a cross.” The best short-term trips are partnerships with long-term workers who know what is needed on the ground.

How do we build a missions culture when our members resist change?

Start with prayer and preaching. Culture change happens slowly, through consistent teaching and modeling. Do not force it. Do not guilt people. Cast vision, tell stories, and let the Holy Spirit do His work. Over time, the culture will shift.

Sources

1. North American Mission Board (NAMB) — Cooperative Program and missions giving guidelines.
2. International Mission Board (IMB) — Missionary resources and unreached people group data.
3. Joshua Project — Unreached people group profiles and prayer resources.
4. ABWE (Association of Baptists for World Evangelism) — Mission agency partnership opportunities.