Torch, Fall 1985

8 Missions Central: Mobilizing Scattered Americans by Rev . David Seefried Missions Central is an international misswnary outreach which will utilize a workforce of tentmakers . Rev . David Seefried, missionary under Evangelical Baptist Missions , presents the concept of missionaries training lay tentmakers to reach their peers for Christ in Germany . H ow should we conduct m1ss10ns in our generation? I believe we ' re on the brink of a harvest. I believe God is going to do some great things in the days •ahead . I want to present a concept we ' ve been working on at Evangelical Baptist Missions called Missions Central. I am convinced that it embodies the only effective way to reach our world for Jesus Christ. But first let me tell you the results of a recent survey conducted in New York State . It should cause all churches to reevaluate their program for reaching the lost. The survey showed that 95 percent of the people who joined churches joined because of contact with a relative , a neighbor, a close friend , or someone they work with on the job - 95 percent! Two percent joined a church because of door-to-door visitation and literature distribution , and three percent for other reasons . In light of this , I believe there are two concepts about missions that we must change . First , we can 't take missions and put it right alongside our AWANA program. Missions is not a program of the local church. It is the program of the local church . Everything we're doing is missions . The whole purpose for our being here is evangelism. Whether you're a doctor, nurse , teacher , you're a missionary - and missions is people reaching people . Second , missions is not up to the professional missionary , just as it' s not up to a pastor to fill the