While you might remember my Together in Prayer article in June, asking the question, “Who are you?” I will follow up that question in this August edition with the question, “Who are we?” It is critically important to know who we are as an organization, which includes our Board, staff, and our membership around the world: you. It is important that we hear what you think of what our Board and staff have proposed. Please prayerfully review the information in this article and its continuation on page 6 and provide your feedback. We need to hear from you.
In June we had the opportunity as a Board and staff to ask ourselves again who we are in light of a changing context within and outside of the World Mission Prayer League.
This newly worded Mission Statement may seem familiar because it is much like the most recent: “We are a praying community committed to knowing Christ, sharing the Good News and ourselves with those who do not know him, and discipling and mobilizing believers worldwide.”
We have replaced Lutheran with praying in the above statement. WMPL is historically a Lutheran organization made up of Lutherans across the spectrum – we remain one. We would lose our distinctiveness if we were to give up that fundamental identity as an organization. Having said that, we believe that it is unnecessary to have Lutheran in our Mission Statement, because the word has different connotations with different people, and we don’t want it to be the first thing that we have to explain. Our beliefs and doctrines will continue to be written in our materials, including our statement of faith, our values, and distinctive emphases: they will inform how and with whom we partner, including with church bodies or organizations other than Lutheran. Our workers interact with believers from across the body of Christ as we serve together in reaching those with limited or no access to the Good News.
Our tagline has also undergone a slight change by changing the word Mission to Mobilization and putting the word Global before Prayer: “Together in Christ, Global Prayer and Mobilization.” We believe this will be more acceptable in parts of the world where the use of the word Mission can be offensive. This tagline is used when the essence of who we are needs to be communicated concisely.
What is Our Method?
Succinctly put, it is to Know Christ, Pray, Disciple and Mobilize.
Know Christ: What Knowing Christ means is that we want to encourage ourselves and those we serve to be rooted in and transformed by God’s Word, participate in the local church, and live a commissioned lifestyle. We want to others to know Christ as the Messiah, Son of God, and Savior of the World, and that all authority in heaven and earth has been granted him and that nothing is impossible for him.
Pray: We want to be an organization that provides opportunities and tools for Christians to boldly stand in the gap through prayer for those with limited or no access to the Gospel. We pray that God’s kingdom would expand, that the Lord’s Word would spread rapidly and be honored, and that love for God and our neighbors would increase. We also pray that unreached people would hear, accept and know Jesus and that we would wait in patient anticipation for God to faithfully meet the needs of our ministry.
Disciple: We invite the Holy Spirit to unify and guide WMPL and empower individuals to action as an extension of our life of prayer and faith.
Mobilize: We share the gospel and ourselves and equip cross-cultural workers and leaders who will then go to the unreached. We mobilize believers around the world into cross-cultural fields ready for harvest.
Our Program Approach
Since 2018 we’ve been working toward a set of Ends or goals established by the Board. We want to become more intentional in pursuing those Ends through a new program approach that will facilitate planning, implementing and evaluating our work around the world. The three programs will align with the three main Ends or goals and will be called Prayer Mobilization, Discipleship & Leadership Development, and Mission Mobilization.
We will form teams across every region that will bring together everyone focused on these areas. Each worker will receive support in decision making, prioritizing, and resourcing their work within the program area.
We would appreciate your prayers and feedback regarding these changes. We want to be good stewards of the people and opportunities that God has given us.
WMPL Values Commissioned Living
To conclude, let us focus on the set of values we intend to promote that will help us live out our calling. As we consider the World Mission Prayer League’s existing Commissioned Living Statement, the values we’re considering are remarkably close to language we have already used (and valued). These are the principles that enable our work. They drive us and hold us together and inspire others to join our cause. We will be intentional about living and working by them, holding ourselves accountable as we promote them to others. The Lord seems to be leading us as we develop methods for our work, which include Knowing Christ, Praying, Discipling and Mobilizing in mission and service. By emphasizing the following values in everything we do and how we behave, we will be more effective in our calling and identity.
These values, briefly defined, follow:
- Prayerful dependence on God: We will rely on prayer as our primary working method.
- Urgent commission: We will work with a sense of urgency in our hearts, thoughts, and actions in bringing the Good News to those with little or no access
- Holistic stewardship: We will act with integrity and sincerity in word and deed to accomplish God’s purposes.
- Interdependent relationships: We will commit to a posture of humility to honor the gifts and contributions of others.
- Creative collaboration: We will be a catalyst that enables people to fulfill their callings.
- Lifelong discipleship: We will teach others and grow in obedience to Christ.
- Sacrificial service: We take up our cross and lay down our lives as we lovingly serve.
Please let us know what you think about these values and if you have any suggestions. Comments may be sent to wmpl@wmpl.org. We’d love to hear from you!