Missions is an essential part of our DNA at First Methodist Carrollton. We’re engaged in our local community, and we offer many ways to get involved in local outreach opportunities, but we are also convinced of the need to help take the gospel to places in the world where whole people groups are completely unreached and do not have a multiplying church movement.
We established guidelines to help guide us as a church. We set a goal for every member of our church to participate in a short term mission trip, and we have seen over 70% of our congregation participate over the past ten years. We intentionally cultivate long term relationships with the churches and ministries that we visit on our short term trips. Learn more about our short-term missions here.
We also support 9 full-time missionaries (including two in closed countries). All of our support and missions giving is done through Faith Promise giving. Every year, we ask each member to prayerfully consider what God would have them give to missions, and then pledge to give that amount as God provides the resources.
To learn more about missions and outreach, contact Lindy Thomas, our missions committee chairperson.
VISION GUIDELINES FOR MISSIONS AT FIRST METHODIST CARROLLTON (ADOPTED 09/2020)
1. First Methodist Carrollton will practice holistic missions, seeking ways to meet spiritual, physical, and emotional poverty with the grace of Jesus Christ.
We recognize that although we may have more material goods than those with whom we partner, we are not exempt from poverty. All humans equally experience poverty in their relationships with God, self, others, and creation. We believe God wants to restore and redeem all areas of human life, and we will partner with Him in practical ways to meet the poverty of spiritual intimacy, being, community, and stewardship.
2. We will help all members find their role(s) in the Great Commission, making disciples of all nations, by going, sending, welcoming, praying, or mobilizing.
Every Christian is called to contribute to fulfilling the Great Commission in some way, whether by participating locally or globally, for long term or short term. We will provide training and opportunities for every member to participate in missions at First Methodist Carrollton. We will endeavor to create an environment that fosters the calling and equipping of long-term missionaries from First Methodist Carrollton.
3. We will learn from and support national leaders and local experts so we can minister in community with them and meet their true needs.
We want to cultivate long term relationships built on humility and community. We recognize we are not the experts on missions or on cultural values in other contexts. We will support the ongoing work where they most need help, rather than bringing our own agenda to them.
4. We will recognize the international communities around us and seek and respond to opportunities for cross-cultural ministry close to home.
We will look at the needs of those who have moved to our area from abroad and meet those needs through relationship-building classes and events, as well as considering ministry to physical needs.
5. We will trust God's provision for ministry and be careful stewards of His resources.
We will be careful to avoid creating unhealthy dependencies on the resources we have to give. But we will also be vigilant to keep savior complexes from creeping into our mentality, so that we assume poverty can be fixed with our donations. We recognize that all we have is from God, and we will seek His direction as to how He wants us to distribute the resources He provides.
Learn more about the specific goals for our global and local missions efforts here.