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Change the question.

When my children were young I learned the art of asking proper questions. For instance, I never asked my children, “Do you want to clean your room?” Instead, I would ask, “Would you like to clean your room before or after your snack?” This art of questioning saved a lot of negotiating with a toddler. And let’s be honest, nobody wins in that situation! More importantly, in asking the question in a certain way, a narrative was set that outlined expectations.

I think we need to reframe the question we ask of our congregations. Instead of, “Are you called to missions?” what if we reframed the question as, “How are you called to missions?” In asking the question this way, we frame the narrative that as a Christian, we are to be on mission.

Once that question has been answered, we need to provide ways for every member to be on mission. It will look differently for different people. But the power of a church, full of Christians, fully empowered and released into missions, will be life changing for those individuals, the church, and the world.

Let me share a few stories of people I have seen embracing their call to missions in unique ways.

• In one church, there was an older woman who needed to have knee replacement surgery. She walked with a cane and couldn’t travel. She was committed to missions, so she prayed. She chose to pray for every person in the church who would travel on a short-term mission trip. She would collect the names, laminate the list, and take it to the pool with her. For every lap she swam, she would pray that God would work in and through that person during their mission trip. During the next lap, she would lift up another person in prayer. Day after day, week after week, this faithful woman prayed for missions.
• A college student, who was strapped for cash, wanted to contribute financially to missions. This student collected aluminum cans from different places on campus and brought the cans into the church recycling bins. This “can money” was used to drill wells and provide fresh water to those who needed it in Ghana.
• A mother of a young toddler wanted to support missions, but couldn’t get away to serve somewhere. Instead, she decided to provide meals for the families of those who were serving on missions, helping to support the families at home. A much-appreciated hot meal did wonders for those families while their spouse or parent was overseas.
• A businessman helped a missionary write up a business proposal.
• An accountant helped a missionary set up Quicken for their specific needs.
• A six-year-old girl asked her friends to bring toys to donate to the local rescue mission, instead of giving her gifts for her birthday.
• An engineer helped tutor a GED student in math.

The list could go on and on.

God has uniquely gifted every Christian with skills, talents, and abilities to help advance His kingdom. When we reframe the question, we set the expectation that mission service is a part of every disciple’s journey. We also pave the way for every Christian to live into their unique missional calling. Imagine the power in that!

Rhonda Dahlin serves as the director of church culture for TMS Global.