How is God leading you to get involved in the mission of God in this world?  How is God using you to help bring renewal to all things?

Here are some ways you can get involved in God's mission:

Prayer

Have you ever noticed that most missionaries say that one of their greatest needs is prayer?

Do you want to pray for missions, but aren't quite sure what that actually look like? For some reason, even as Christians and among Christians, praying takes boldness, confidence, and intentionality. Here are some practical ideas to help provide opportunity and encouragement to pray.

How do you want to focus your prayers?

• Pray for individual missionaries
• Unreached People groups
• The 10/40 Window
• Countries
• Scripture
• Combination

Who's praying?

• Individually
• With your family
• In your Small Group
• In your Congregational Community

What should I pray?

• Pray God's promises (Matthew 9:37-38)
• Pray using scripture (2 Thessalonians 1:11)
• Pray for specifics such as...
  • Relationship with God
    • Delight in God's Word
    • Walk in repentance, faith, and obedience
    • Protection from flesh, world, and devil
    • Holy Spirit renewal
    • Greater dependence upon God in prayer
  • Family
    • Husband and wife relationship
    • Parents and children relationships
    • Children's growth in grace
    • Contentment in Singleness
  • Team Relationships
    • Fellowship with other missionaries
    • Relationship with leaders
    • Humility and submission to one another
    • Spirit of peace and unity
    • Patience
    • Understanding in differences

There are plenty of methods and expressions of prayer, but these are some ideas to help you get started. The point is to pray. Pray for the Lord to teach you how to pray. Have patience with different approaches, because sometimes the "success" and "failure" results from newness and lack of familiarity.

Thank you for joining with us as we support God's kingdom work around the world!

Giving

Although Westminster partners with numerous missionaries through prayer and short-term mission journeys, Faith Promise giving is our sole means of providing them with financial support. This offering is made up of individual commitments to give a specific amount to missions, as God provides, over the next year. It should expand, rather than decrease or replace, our normal giving. As new mission partners step out in faith, the needs continue to grow.

This commitment is non-binding, but seriously undertaken. All participants fill out a card describing their commitment. The cards are turned in during our Mission Conference or sometime afterwards. Throughout the next year, we designate our giving as "Faith Promise."

There are many creative ways we can free up resources in order to fulfill and increase our Faith Promise:

• reduce our living expenses
• control our spending habits
• adjust our lifestyle and make personal sacrifices.

These may lead us to cut back on things like cable TV, magazine subscriptions, entertainment, eating out, new clothes, etc. While these things fade away, the work of God's mission has eternal results.

In writing about the Macedonian church Paul commented, "...they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability..." (2 Cor. 8:3). He was encouraging the church in Corinth to give generously to the work of the gospel, all with the reminder that "Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Cor. 9:7). All believers should pursue such a spirit of giving.

Prayerfully consider what amount the Lord would have you commit to missions in the year between the conferences. Join us in this challenging exercise of trusting God to provide all our needs as we seek to partner with the work of the gospel overseas.

Our current faith promise goal is $410,000 for November 2010-October 2011. If you would like to support missions both locally and around the world you can give each Sunday or mail in your donation to the church office:

Attn: Ron Ruegsegger
3488 Godwin Blvd.
Suffolk, VA 23434

Be sure to mark your check as "missions" or "Faith Promise" in the memo line. All donations can be tax deductible.

Serving on the World or Local Mission Teams

If you are interested in serving on either the World Mission Team or the Local Mission Team, please contact Brett Carl, Mission Pastor, or Ellen Johns, Mission Secretary, for more information.