WAYS TO MOBILIZE
If you are taking the time to read this resource, you are most likely a World Christian, someone who understands that God has a heart for the world and someone who desires to play a part. We want to celebrate that, but we also want to encourage you to go a step further and consider the role that you could play as a mobilizer.
You were mobilized by someone to understand both the gospel and the importance of God’s mission in your daily life — and now it is your turn to mobilize others! A mobilizer is someone who has a passion for the world and a passion to pass it on. Mobilization is coming alongside the work of God in someone’s life to transform their heart towards the things of God’s heart. If we desire to finish the Great Commission and see Jesus worshipped among every tribe, tongue, people, and nation, then mobilization must happen.
Below you will see practical next steps you can follow to help others join in on God’s mission.
76) Mobilize Others with a Single Sheet of Paper. What if you could put everything you have learned about missions on a piece of paper with three stick figures, nine lines and fifteen words? The Traveling Team developed a tool called the World Vision Illustration that will accomplish just that! The World Vision Illustration is a reproduceable tool that provides people with a simple and effective way to share what they have learned about God’s heart for the world with their friends.
This illustration has equipped thousands of college students across the United States to mobilize their friends. Megan was a student from Kutztown University in Pennsylvania when she heard The Traveling Team share about God’s heart for the world and the 10/40 window for the first time. It was then she learned the World Vision Illustration. She had a specific friend in mind with whom she wanted to share the illustration. The Traveling Team knows for certain that Megan shared with this friend because this friend reached out to us to thank us for equipping Megan to equip her. Mobilization multiplies!
The World Vision Illustration is one of the most valuable tools that you can have in your toolbelt as a mobilizer. For a step-by-step video of The World Vision Illustration, click here.
77) Watch MomentumYes. Talking with your friends about missions can be difficult at times. Don’t you just wish there was a video (or a video series) that explained everything you wanted to communicate? Well, there is! It is called MomentumYes. MomentumYes is a free online video series that teaches, inspires, and equips everyday people to rethink their lives in light of God’s mission. It is designed to actively engage believers in taking next steps to be involved in missions.
Maybe you don’t feel equipped to help your friends grow, so grab a group of friends, watch the MomentumYes video series and lead a time of discussion on personal takeaways. Visit MomentumYes.com to start your journey.
78) Read The Ten Modules. Reaching the world with the gospel of Christ is possible. And God has given the church all the manpower and money it needs, a thousand times over, to finish God's global mission. So reaching the world is not a resource problem, it is a mobilization problem. The Ten Modules: Equipping You to Mobilize is a resource The Traveling Team has developed to help you become a master mission’s mobilizer. Each of the ten modules builds on the other and offers practical advice on taking someone from onlooker to someone who is invested and involved. Whether you use this in a one-on-one setting or in a small group you will be equipped to challenge others with how God wants to use their time, talents and abilities to reach the world.
From handling excuses, to implementing mission’s vision in your group, and even sharing practical illustrations to help others gain a heart for the world, The Ten Modules packs a powerful punch. Author and speaker David Platt says, “I distinctly remember when I first read The Ten Modules and God gripped my heart with His passion for His glory in all nations through it. I praise God for its influence on my life.”
To buy a copy of The Ten Modules: Equipping You to Mobilize here.
79) Organize World Prayer. Prayer is a wonderful way to mobilize the people around you. Of course, you can pray alone, but organizing a group to pray is a simple way to model a heart for God and a heart for the world. As a senior in college, Jake had a heart for God, a heart for his dorm, and a heart for the world. Jake wanted to be strategic with the guys in his dorm, so he gathered all the believers pray every Tuesday. Their routine was simple: they would pray for each other, pray for the dorm, and pray for the world. For some of the guys, it was odd to pray for each other so regularly, and for many it was new to pray for different countries around the globe. God was faithful through this prayer group. God answered prayers for the guys, prayers for the dorm, and prayers for the world.
80) Recruit your friends to go. Just because you cannot go overseas this summer, doesn’t mean that you can’t tell your friends to go! Some of your friends are eager to spend time overseas but they don’t have the connections to know where to find opportunities. What if you learned about mission agencies and specific trips to recruit your friends to. This is what Dustin did.
Dustin, a student at Western Michigan University, learned about an organization called Trans World Radio (TWR) that offered mechanical engineering internships overseas. He was so pumped that there was such a unique opportunity for mechanical engineering. He was not sure if he was going to be able to take this internship, but he wanted to pass the information on to others.
He shared about TWR with his friend Connor, who was also studying mechanical engineering. Connor was even more excited about the opportunity that he took the initiative and reached out to TWR. He applied to spend his summer in West Africa serving with TWR as a mechanical engineering intern. Dustin, through this simple act, was a mobilizer.
Learn about mission opportunities to recruit your friends to. A great place to start is here.
81) Host a Mobilization Bible Study. What if you spent a few weeks during a semester and focused on how God wants to use His people to reach the ends of the earth? There are several Bible studies already developed to help in your quest to cast vision to others. For a fantastic five-week study start with Getting a God Centered Cause For Your Life by Cliff Lee. This is an incredible introduction to the Biblical Basis of Missions. There is also a leader's guide you can download to accompany the study.
If you want to start with a one-week overview the prep has already been done for you. Check out The Traveling Team’s study that journeys through scripture from Genesis to Revelation. There are fifteen questions you can ask your group as they read key passages.
Phoebe gathered a small group to go through a mission’s Bible study on her campus. She not only took people through the Bible, but she also challenged them to meet one international student during the course of the study. Each week students would share what God did through their encounters with international students. Phoebe even researched to find a local Mosque, Buddhist, and Hindu temple for her group to visit in their community. What would it look like for you to host a mobilization Bible study?
To access any of the above studies click here.
82) Share the Biblical Basis of Missions. At the end of the day, if anything is going to mobilize people, it is going to be God’s Word. Scripture has a far longer shelf life than any cool story or compelling statistic. Marc, a student at Rutgers University, heard The Traveling Team teach on the Biblical Basis of Missions on his campus. After hearing the talk, he was challenged to grow his heart for the world and wanted to help others do the same. He was given the opportunity to share the Biblical Basis of Missions in front of his church congregation. Marc shared from Genesis to Revelation, tracing the theme that all throughout scripture God has a heart for the world.
You might be thinking, “I can’t do that: I’m an introvert. I am inadequate. I am not theologically trained. I’m not a public speaker” ... neither was Marc. You know what Marc was? Obedient. He saw an opportunity to mobilize his church, and he took it.
Understanding the story of scripture is vital for followers of Jesus. This is one of the most important ways you can influence those around you. If you have heard this message, we want to challenge you to share it with others. Check out the article “Genesis to Revelation: God’s Heart for the World” at TheTravelingTeam.org.
83) Use Your Work as a Catalyst. One of the best ways to mobilize those around you is to incorporate the world into your work, passions, and giftings. Brian started a leather products company called @1040_leather to raise awareness for the unreached. Referencing the 10/40 Window in the name of his company, sparked curiosity in his customers. It opened the door for Brian to share about the needs of the world and why he cares enough to build a business on the vision of the unreached. What are you passionate about and how can you use it to share God’s heart for the world with others?
84) Start a Mobilization Club with Friends. There was a group of eight students from the University of Arkansas who had varying levels of mission's knowledge and experience. They decided to start a mobilization club called 937. At their first meeting they had 50 students gather to hear the Biblical Basis of Missions. They met once a month and brought in different teachers to equip students to be on mission.
One of the founding students said, “the mobilization group called 937 is modeled after the verse, Matthew 9:37. It states, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.’ This past school year we met every Sunday night to pray for an unreached people group that has not had the opportunity to hear the gospel and for believers to go into the “harvest” to share Christ. Through 937, I experienced a deeper desire to share the gospel with others, to be friends with international students, and to see the unreached people groups around the world come to know Christ! I believe that learning about being a “World Christian” has changed my main purpose and values in college and now post-graduation.”
Maybe you can consider starting something similar on your campus or in your church.
85) Memorize Scripture that Focuses on God’s Heart for the World. Scripture tells us to hide God’s word on our hearts. What better words to hide in our hearts than words that so clearly display the heart of God? Scripture memory is a discipline that many believers neglect. Often it can be challenging to memorize scripture alone. A powerful way to mobilize people you are in discipleship relationships with is to memorize scripture together. There are over 1,500 verses that reference God’s heart for all peoples, nations, earth. Choose a few key verses such as Genesis 12:1-3, Psalm 67:1-2, Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8, and Revelation 7:9 and start memorizing! Once you memorize these verses, check out the article “Genesis to Revelation: God’s Heart for the World” at TheTravelingTeam.org and find more verses to memorize.
86) Lead an Xplore Study. Holly, a senior at Purdue University, invited members of her campus ministry to a Bible study that focused on the world. Three freshman girls signed up. She spent intentional time with the girls and walked them through an Xplore study. The Xplore study is a seven-lesson study exploring God’s word, world, and work. It is a phenomenal resource to help you walk your friends through God’s heart for the nations, the needs of the world, and how they can engage today, tomorrow, and for the rest of their lives. To find resources to start an Xplore study go to Mobilization.org.
87) Develop a World Christian Testimony. Everyone has a story to tell, but not everyone can tell their story well. If you have a heart for the world, there is a reason, and a story behind the reasons. To tell your story, you need to prepare the story. Take some time to think through three things: 1) Your story of becoming a Christian—your story of coming to Christ should be the most important thing about you. 2) When you first heard about God’s heart for the world. 3) the impact that God’s heart for the world had on your Christian walk.
Once you have answered these three questions, develop a 90 second World Christian Testimony. It is your “elevator pitch” to share with other Christians about God’s heart for the world. The reason we challenge you to make a 90 second testimony is because you can always make a short story long, but it is difficult to make a long story short.
88) Explore the World in Your Backyard. As you saw in the welcoming section, the nations are here! But it can be so easy to overlook what is in our own backyard. This is not your problem alone, your friends, family, and church do not notice what is in their backyard either. Most people do not realize that in most cities, there are temples representing the major world religions, international markets, international restaurants, and entire neighborhoods filled with people from the ends of the earth. One way to mobilize your friends, family, and church is to model for them what it looks like to engage the world around them.
Go to these temples, places of worship, restaurants, and neighborhoods. Get yourself around people with diverse backgrounds who do not know Jesus. But do not go alone! Take your friends to explore and engage with you. Two students from Eastern Kentucky University, Cameron, and Katie, noticed there was a mosque in their small college town. They wanted their friends to understand more of God’s heart for all people, so they took their friends with them to engage with the Muslims that live in their city.
What is in your backyard that you can take advantage of today?
89) Utilize The Traveling Team’s Website. The Traveling Team has been stirring university students all over the country to rise up and join God in reaching the world for Christ for over two decades. Think of us as a mission's conference on wheels. During this time, we have gathered the top articles, statistics, and mobilization resources. The Traveling Team’s website has become the first stop for every mission's enthusiast who wants to find resources to fuel their vision.
The Traveling Team offers a vast amount of high-quality mission’s content ranging from “How Do I Know If I am Called?” to “How Do I Know Who to Date?” Articles with detailed statistics and biblically based content for going and sending. If you have a question about mission’s The Traveling Team most likely has an article or resource to help you.
We provide resources for free to help you, your friends, and your church learn more and to help mobilize those around you. click here to access those resources.
90) Schedule a Mission’s Conference for Your Church. Each year, The Traveling Team has 250 campus ministry meetings across the U.S., but we also speak at churches. Several of our staff invest much of their time mobilizing churches. You can help make this happen! Talk to your mission’s pastor, head pastor, or someone in leadership at your church to explore the idea of having a “Mission Revolution” conference at your church. We offer a customizable conference experience to meet the needs of your church. Visit MissionRev.org to find out how to host one for your church.
91) Gather Friends to Watch “Going Global” by Access Truth. Have you ever wanted to learn what it really takes to go to the nations? Or what it really takes to plant a church? Or what it takes to reach the unreached? Have you ever wanted to see principles of the Book of Acts applied to missions today? Then you should gather a group of friends, or a church group, and purchase a group pass to go through the “Going Global” series by Access Truth.
This 10-week series includes a dynamic retelling of the early Church through the book of Acts. It highlights God’s global purposes, sketches a realistic picture of the challenges to spreading the good news, and it challenges you to seriously consider how God would have you engage in His mission. Click here to check out Access Truth.
92) Take Perspectives and Invite a Friend. Grant and Kayley took a class called Perspectives on the World Christian Movement which trained them in the biblical, historical, cultural, and strategic aspects of missions. Perspectives is a 15-week course offered at churches around the U.S., and online. This class not only rocked their world and their understanding of God, but it also helped them see how impactful it could be for others. So, what did they do? They did not just tell friends to watch the online course, they decided to facilitate and lead their own Perspectives course! They did not have to be experts on all the topics, but they did have to be committed to recruit friends, churches, and strangers, to join this 15-week class that impacted their lives. Their mobilization efforts have helped so many people in their city begin to think about God’s mission strategically. To find a Perspectives class near you, click here.
93) Be The First. It can be intimidating to share your faith with someone who looks like you, talks like you and has a name you can pronounce on the first try. Now try it with someone who has none of those three. The sad reality is the average Christ follower does not have any friends from other countries. The number one reason is the Christ follower must take the first step. The international student rarely will. This can be difficult. Someone must go first and the odds are, it's up to you. Step out, initiate conversations and see what friendships God brings in your life with those from other nations.
Jacob was a senior at the University of Toledo when he realized that his campus ministry was the largest on campus, but there were no international students engaged with the members of his ministry. The problem was not that they did not have international students on campus, the problem was many chose not to interact with them. Jacob decided to go first. He began meeting internationals, taking others with him and built friendships that led to gospel opportunities. Now, each semester Jacob leads a group of friends to do intentional outreach on his campus! Jacob was first but now many have followed.
94) Strategic Stickers. Do you like stickers? Yes, most people do. People often ask, “what’s that sticker from?” or “what's the purpose behind that sticker?” Stickers can mobilize! The Traveling Team gives away free stickers of the 10/40 Window when we travel. We have heard countless stories of students who have put the sticker on their water bottle or laptop, and it has started an incredible conversation with friends, family, classmates, believers, and non-believers alike.
The Traveling Team has a special 3-pack of stickers for you. Stick them somewhere prominent and use them to tell your friends about God’s heart for all nations.
Stephanie, from Carroll College, received this 3-pack of stickers and immediately placed one of the 10/40 window on her laptop. She knew that this would be a strategic location to place her sticker where it would not only remind her of Gods global mission, but spark conversations with her peers. She saw this as a unique opportunity to share about God’s heart for the world and mobilize her peers when they asked about her sticker. Where could you put your sticker that would spark conversations?
Click here to sign up to receive free stickers!
95) Invite Others to Go. Mission Statesman and Noble Prize winner John Mott would always challenge the audience of mission enthusiasts to do one thing… invite their friends! During his nearly 40-years of mission’s mobilization, he would remind students that most Christ followers are not interested in missions because no one has invited them to be interested. Mott says, “Thousands of well qualified young men and young women are not even thinking of the missionary enterprise, simply because it has never been brought before them in such a way as to suggest that they could engage in it if they so desired.”
Don't just think about what you should do this summer. Invite your friends to join you. You saying “yes” to going overseas and leading the way will actually clear the way for others to say “yes” behind you. We must have a “who can I take with me” perspective.
One young couple had a desire to go to the unreached in Papua New Guinea. They invited two other couples to join them.
One young couple had a desire to go to the unreached in the Middle East. They invited another couple to join them.
One university student desired to go short term to Indonesia. She invited two other students to go with her.
They all said yes! Many Christ-followers are simply waiting to be invited. God is moving them to step out and if you say, “Go with me” it might be the last little nudge they need. Who can you invite to join you in God’s mission today? They just might say yes!
96) Follow The Traveling Team on Social Media. As an organization, we desire to use our social media to share some of the best mission's content. We know that there are a lot of voices on social media telling you how and where to invest your life, and The Traveling Team wants to be one of those voices. We want to remind you of the goodness of God in Christ Jesus and how His goodness needs to be shared to the ends of the earth! We want you to be challenged and inspired, and we want you to use your influence on social media to share about God’s global heart. Like, repost, retweet, and tag us @TheTravelingTeam on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
97) Learn From your Mission's Pastor. Mobilizing within your church is one of the most strategic things you can do. A great place to start is to meet with your mission's pastor and familiarize yourself with your church mission's strategy and goals. Ask good questions and ask how you can serve.
Your church might not have a mission's pastor, in that case aim to meet with your head pastor and ask him about the church’s mission strategy. This meeting should not be a time for you to tell him everything you learned about missions and how the church could do better. No, not at all. This meeting is a time to ask good questions. Your goal should be to listen well, to share your passion, and to ask how you can serve. Good mobilization is not brash, rude, or arrogant. Good mobilization is loving, patient, and willing to serve wherever there is a need.
98) Become a Mobilization Expert. Vision leaks. Starting a library of excellent missions' books is a perfect way to keep your world vision fresh and learn from some of the leaders in missions today. The Traveling Team has gathered a list of the top twenty-five books every mission mobilizer needs to read. Here are a few on the top twenty-five:
The Abrahamic Revolution by Todd Ahrend. Understand the missional theme of God's Word, the task remaining in God's world, and our calling to God's work. God's purpose is one continuous and all-encompassing movement to redeem people from every tribe, tongue and nation. You are invited to join the legacy that began with Abraham and will end in God's global glory.
Live Life On Purpose by Claude Hickman. The aim of God's entire Biblical story has one mission, reaching all the nations, and one method by which to achieve it: all believers. Finding your life purpose only makes sense in the context of God's plan to reach the world. Discover the part you were meant to play in God’s epic plan.
Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper. It's easy to slip through life without taking any risks and without making your life count, but life ought not be wasted. You don't need to know a lot of things to make a lasting difference in the world, but you do have to know the few, great, unchanging, and glorious things that matter and be willing to live and to die for them.
Start building your library of mission books to equip yourself to think and mobilize well! For the complete list of the top twenty-five books every mission mobilizer needs to read, click here.
99) View Support Raising as Mobilization. Going short term or going long term? The odds are you will need to raise support. There are a lot of preconceived notions people have about support raising. People may feel like they are begging for money (not true); or they may feel they are settling by not working a “real” job. They may feel shame in asking people to give them money. What if we thought about support raising differently? What if we thought about support raising as an opportunity to mobilize our friends, family, churches, and acquaintances?
Support raising is a strategic process where you connect with people to share your passion for the world and why you are worthy of investment to engage with God’s mission. Support raising is not a burden to bear so that you can do the good work of “going,” it is a blessing that enables you to be a mobilizer while you invite other people to be senders.
See your support raising season as a time to mobilize those you connect with for support.
100. Go to the I.T. Project. Each summer The Traveling Team hosts the I.T. Project (Intensive Training Project). Students are invited to Los Angeles, CA. for seven weeks to go through an in-depth study of missions. Students spend the summer listening to missions' speakers from all over the world as well as visiting temples and mosques to get face-to-face with the world’s major religions. Missionaries working in each of these religious groups come and equip students with evangelistic tools. Mission agencies to each major region and religion also come and share with the students.
At the I.T. Project, you will interact with Hare Krishna's, converse with the Imam at a mosque, listen to a devotee at the Buddhist temple, meet seasoned missionaries to the tribal world and get connected to people and opportunities abroad. Students are not only impacted, but are equipped with the practical information they need to follow through with their next steps!
The last week of the I.T. Project is designed to prepare students to go back to campus. Students make plans to implement world vision on their campus and in their campus ministries. The student who attends the I.T. Project not only goes deeper on a personal level, but is ready to mobilize other Christians to be World Christians. Consider giving a summer and to be trained at the I.T. Project. For more information, click here.
MOBILIZATION MATTERS
A good mobilizer helps others take steps of obedience in the mission, but a great mobilizer helps others understand “why” we should engage the mission. If we are to grow as mobilizers, we must model ourselves after the Master Mobilizer: Jesus.
Jesus is the Master Mobilizer because He always communicated His heart and purpose when asking His disciples to join His mission. In passages like Matthew 28:19-20, Luke 24:46-47, and John 20:21 we see that Jesus invites his friends to play a part in the mission, after He tells them of His authority over all things and the work of the Father. This is because mobilization, done correctly, always has a focus on Jesus and not simply the task at hand.
We would be wise to do the same in our mobilization! Not only should we encourage our friends to do tasks like download the “unreached of the day” app, but also share the heart behind why we pray for the world. Mobilization without vision will return void. We want to be great mobilizers who cast vision for the mission and not just next steps.
Jesus is worthy to be worshiped among every tribe, tongue, and nation—that is why we mobilize! We do not mobilize because God’s mission seems to be a better life purpose for some people, we mobilize because Jesus is the only worthy one of all our attention, affection, and worship.
