Need a theme idea for your church's Faith Promise convention
or missionary weekend or even for the next year for your church?
Here are more than five dozen possibilities for global missions themes.
A Symphony of Praise
An Open Door
Be a Winner
Behold, the Lamb of God
Building the Kingdom
Caring Reaches Around the World
Cause Something to Happen
Celebrate Missions
Committed Until the Whole World Knows
Creator, Divine Healer, and Lord of Lords
Fan the Flame
Feed My Sheep
Find Us Faithful
Follow the Lord -- In Compassion for the World
Following Jesus
From a Tiny Seed -- To a Great Harvest
Give The Water of Life
Giving Is Living
Global Vision for the Gospel
Go Work in My Vineyard
Harvest NOW!
Harvest Time
Hearts for Missions
His Harvest Field -- Our Vision
His Last Command -- Our First
Hope for the Nations -- Jesus' Love
Into His Presence -- Out to the World
It's a Small World
Know, Share, Give, Care
Let the Earth Hear His Voice
Let the Nations Rejoice
Lift Up Christ
Light Unto the World
Living Water
Love in Any Language
Love, Finding a Way
Love for Missions, Pass It On
Love Lights the Way
Make a Difference
Make Disciples in the Nations
Mission Legacy
Missions ... A Bridge of Love
Missions -- Our Mandate
Missions -- Something to Be Happy About
Nothing is Impossible
Open Hearts, Open Hands
Over the Rainbow
Parade of Missions
Points of Light
Possess the Promise
Reach Out to a Lost World
Reach Your Arms Around the World
Share Him
Sharing -- His Hands Extended
Shine for Him
Taking the World for God
The Rising Tide
The World -- Our Mission
The Power of Sharing
The Joy of Missions
Therefore ... Go
Traveling the World on Our Knees
Unto the Least of These
World Mission Roundup
Yes!
Note: If you have used a theme not listed here, drop me a note about it. I would
like to share with others by adding it to this list.
Budget presentation as a jigsaw puzzle
Here's how one church presented the breakdown of its total Faith Promise goal to the
congregation. The budget making up this goal had five major line items:
Missionopoly -- Faith promise theme
The Lebanon, Oregon Church of the Nazarene did a take-off on the classic board game
Monopoly for their Faith Promise theme.
"Mission-opoly" was used to publicize the special weekend. Here are samples of materials used during that global
cross-cultural evangelism event.
Faith Promise: 1950s theme
Nazarene missions in the middle of the Twentieth Century
Email received from a local church: "I'm planning our upcoming
Faith Promise with a 1950s theme. I obviously have found 50s prices and what was popular in the secular world then. However, I would like to do a comparison of where Nazarene missions "was" in the 50's versus where it is now. Can you point me in the right direction? Thanks so much in advance."
Facts to help you
I like your creativity! The 1950s theme would work for a Faith Promise
Convention or a global mission weekend in almost any church. Here's what the 1950s looked
like from the viewpoint of Nazarene global outreach:
In 1952, there were 38,994 Nazarenes outside the USA/Canada and Great Britain.
(Now, there are more than two million members of Nazarene churches outside the
USA/Canada region)
In 1952, there were 301 career Nazarene missionaries on the field (Now, there are about 500 plus hundreds more serving as short-term volunteers)
In the 1950s, no regular or Phase Three districts existed outside the Canada, Great Britain
and the USA. Therefore, none of them were eligible to send delegates to Nazarene General
Assemblies. (Now, there are more than 100 Phase 3 districts of Nazarene churches outside the
USA/Canada region)
In 1952, the name of what is now Nazarene Missions International (NMI) was changed from
Women's Foreign Missionary Society to Nazarene Foreign Missionary Society. At that time,
men were admitted to membership for the first time.
The first Alabaster offering
report was in 1950 when $46,600 was received. Over the years, these twice-a-year offerings have
brought in about $100 million that has been used for property acquisition and building
construction all around the world.
Paul Orjala went to Haiti
in 1950 (he went on to teach at Nazarene Seminary in Kansas City for a number of years). Don Owens (later Nazarene General
Superintendent) went to Korea in the early 1950's. The Eckels were in Japan. Wanda (later NMI
director) and Sidney Knox
went to Papua New Guinea in 1955. William and Betty Sedat were in Guatemala.
Former
missionary Mary Scott became executive director of what is now NMI in 1950.
In St. Louis in 1948, Alfredo Del
Rosso from Italy became the
first person from outside the USA, Canada, and Great Britain to speak at a Nazarene General
Assembly. He spoke again at the 1952 General Assembly in Kansas City, MO.
The countries entered by the Church of the Nazarene in the 1950s:
1950 -- Haiti, Jordan, and Lebanon
1952 -- New Zealand
1953 -- Panama
1955 -- Papua New Guinea
1956 -- Taiwan
1957 -- Malawi
1958 -- Brazil and West Germany
We Nazarenes hit the ground running in Haiti. We now have about 800 churches in that one small country. Germany became the base for reaching into the Netherlands, Denmark, and Switzerland (where European Nazarene College was begun in the 1960s).
The idea of local churches giving 10%
to missions emerged in 1949. By 1952, there were three 10% districts.
The 1952-56 quadrennial theme for Nazarene missions was "I must work -- for the night
cometh." The 1956-1960 quadrennial theme was "Up! This is the day!"
In 1952, Helen Temple became editor of The Other Sheep, a monthly magazine
for Nazarene World Missions. In addition to editing the magazine, Temple wrote scores of books
of missionary stories for adults and children.
The first mission books for children appeared in 1957.
We began the Spanish-language radio broadcast in 1953, the first "foreign" language
Nazarene broadcast. In 1956, a Nazarene radio program was launched in Japan.
In 1954, the NMI raised $100,000 in a special denomination-wide offering to open the work in Papua New Guinea.
In 1956, the "Star Society" program was inaugurated for those local church groups now called Nazarene Missions International or NMI. The five points of the star were:
Membership
Subscriptions to monthly Other Sheep, Nazarene missions magazine
"Heartbeat of the Nations: Listening and Responding to Global Needs"
"Missionary Mosaic: Each Piece Matters in God's Global Plan"
What are the benefits of having a good theme?
Choosing a good theme for a Faith Promise weekend at a church cam increase understanding and participation. Here are some benefits of having a good them:
Focused Messaging
A strong, well-thought-out theme helps focus the message. It gives the weekend a clear
direction. It sets the tone for sermons, testimonies, and discussions. A good theme makes it easier for the
congregation to understand and relate to the purpose of Faith Promise.
Increased Engagement
An inspiring theme can capture the congregation's attention and motivate people to participate actively. A theme that resonates with the audience can create excitement. That will lead to
increased attendance, enthusiasm, and commitment.
Memorable Experience
A creative and relevant theme can make the weekend a memorable one. When people connect with the
theme emotionally, they are likely to remember the information and goals shared during the event. This often translates into longer-lasting impact and follow-through on the faith promises.
Unified Vision
A strong theme reinforces the church's vision for world missions and giving. It helps everyone get their hearts in line with a shared goal. That can strengthen a sense of community.
Clear Communication
A well-defined theme communicates the purpose of Faith Promise succinctly. Having a good themes keeps all promotional materials, sermons, and activities are centered on the same idea.
Inspiration and Motivation
The right theme can inspire people to step out in faith and trust God for their giving
commitments. It can challenge them spiritually and emotionally. It can help them connect the act of
giving to carrying out God's global mission.
Customized Activities and Sermons
A good theme will make it easy to align sermons, testimonies, and activities with the purpose of the Faith Promise event. For instance, a theme around the idea of generosity could include testimonies of sacrificial giving, while one on using a "faith in action" idea might focus on stories of global mission work.
Connection to Scripture
A theme rooted in Scripture can help people see the biblical foundation for Faith Promise. Such a theme can strengthen the spiritual depth of the weekend.
Briefly said: A thoughtfully selected Faith Promise theme can improve the overall experience for the congregation. It can help motivate people to respond to the call to sacrificially support global missions.
