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By Brent Lacy

Small churches sometimes feel like they cannot afford to care about missions.

The budget is tight. The volunteers are stretched. The local needs are pressing. Global missions can feel like a luxury for larger churches with more resources.

That is a mistake. And it is a costly one. A church that is not engaged in missions is a church turned inward. And a church turned inward eventually turns on itself.

Why Missions Matters for Small Churches

The Great Commission was not given to large churches. It was given to the church. All of it. Including yours.

A small church that gives sacrificially to missions, prays consistently for missionaries, and sends members on short-term trips is participating in the global mission of God in ways that matter eternally. And practically speaking, a church with a missions vision is a church with a reason to exist beyond its own comfort.

Start with One Missionary

Do not try to support 20 missionaries at $25 each. Support one missionary well.

Find a missionary your church can genuinely connect with — someone with a personal connection to your congregation, or someone serving in a context that resonates with your people. Commit to supporting them at a meaningful level, corresponding with them regularly, and praying for them by name.

A church that knows one missionary personally will give more, pray more, and care more than a church that has a list of names on a bulletin board.

Building a Missions Culture

A missions culture is not built by a missions committee. It is built from the pulpit, in the prayer meeting, and in the stories you tell.

Preach missions.

Regularly preach from the missionary passages of Scripture. Acts. Romans 10. Matthew 28. Isaiah 6. Let the congregation hear that missions is not a program. It is the heartbeat of God.

Pray for missionaries by name.

Include missionary prayer requests in every Sunday service. Not a generic “pray for missionaries” but specific names, specific situations, specific needs. When people pray for someone by name, they begin to care about them.

Tell missionary stories.

Invite missionaries to speak when they are on furlough. Share their prayer letters from the pulpit. Show photos and videos from the field. Make the mission field feel real and close.

Missions on a Small Church Budget

• Designate a percentage of the budget to missions. Even 5 to 10 percent of a $60,000 budget is $3,000 to $6,000 per year. That is meaningful support for a national missionary or a small field project.
• Take a special offering. An annual missions offering, separate from the regular budget, can raise significant funds when the congregation understands what it is for.
• Support national missionaries. National missionaries serving in lower-cost countries may need $200 to $500 per month in total support from all sources — within reach for most small churches.
• Partner with other small churches. Pool resources with one or two other small churches to support a missionary or fund a project that none of you could support alone.

Community Outreach

Missions begins at home. A church that is not engaged in its own community will not sustain a genuine heart for the world.

See the Rural Church Outreach guide for practical ideas that work in small towns, and the 12-Month Outreach Calendar for a full year of planned community engagement.

Free Missions Ministry Resources

MinistryPlace has a full library of free resources for small and rural churches. No email required, no subscription, no catch.

Sources

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