“Ding, ding ding… round two!” Wait… round two? I wasn’t ready for round one!
The second step to becoming an effective GO:er is to prepare yourself for the mission. You’ve spent much time, effort and prayer discovering the purpose you were created for; you’ve come to understand your gifts, talents, and opportunities… now it’s time to gird up and be ready for show time.
Here are some areas to consider as you prepare for GO:ing. I’ll cover these in more detail in my upcoming mini-book series: the GO:factor but for now the list below will get you started on your mission.
Prepare Strategically
- Create a plan for GO:ing – This is like creating a road map for going. You have a much better chance of getting there if you have a map!
- Choose who to go with – Traveling companions, partners, and a support team are important assets on your mission. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you can do this all on your own.
- Choose who to NOT go with – As important as who you work with is who you DON’T work with. Be sure to avoid teaming up with people who either don’t really want to be going, or who really want to go in other directions.
- Identify risks and traps – They are out there for sure, avoiding them requires being ready, alert, and having an idea of how they will present themselves.
- Determine what success looks like – What’s worse than failure? Not knowing that you’ve succeeded. If you know what your idea of success is then you can have a parade when you’re there and start planning the next stage of your mission.
Prepare Financially
- Create a GO:budget- maybe your budget is nothing. Your mission may not actually require you to spend a ton of money, but if you think there are aspects of your mission that might cost even a few bucks, you should quantify that and take a look at how that scales as you determine to reach more people.
- Start saving – The first person to fund your mission should be you
- Raise funds – If you’ve gathered supporters, they may also desire to partner with you on your mission.
- Forecast your needs – Think long term about how your budget grows as your ministry grows.
Prepare Mentally
- Mental readiness – Be constantly aware of and thinking about your mission, how it happens, and what will get in the way of it.
- Education – If you need specific knowledge to be effective in your mission, take the time to learn. Whether it’s formal classroom instruction, or self-learning via books, don’t underestimate the value of knowledge in your preparation.
- Training – You can do this by finding others who are engaged in similar efforts and partner with them for a while to teach you more about what you will be doing.
Prepare Emotionally
- Support – Nothing will halt you faster than trying to do everything on your own. Even if your mission is as simple mentoring a few young people, you will still need the support of somebody older than you who’s done it before, and a peer to share your trials with.
- Accountability – That support group? Make sure they’re also informed of your mission and willing to keep you on task.
- Stress and time management – Lack of efficiency and the resulting running in circles is a great way to wear yourself out and drain the energy you MIGHT have had for your mission. Don’t waste time or energy on non-essentials or by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Prepare Spiritually
This is the biggest “DUH!” factor we so often overlook. Even seasoned GO:ers will tell you that when things fell apart it’s because they got distracted from the reality of who their mission is ultimately for. Think of Jesus as your boss (yes, I know he’s your homeboy too). He’s the one who gave you this mission in the first place and he’s the one who will help you prepare, give you the courage to GO, keep you focused, and give you the determination to keep on going. Schedule regular meetings with your “boss” and tell give him a status update on your mission. Ask him to help you with the areas you’re having difficulty and look to him to reveal the pitfalls you might not have seen. He’ll do it. Ultimately he cares much more about this mission than even you do. He wants you to succeed because it will glorify Him.
The last GO:factor – Staying on Target (stay tuned!) can become vitally important at this stage. Sometimes staying on target means refocusing your mission early on. You may have decided in the first step that your mission was to travel to 9 countries in the middle east encouraging Christians in that area. But, now that you’re diving into your preparations you’re realizing that your goall will take much longer to accomplish and quite a bit more resources than you planned. Do you abandon your mission? NO! This is your opportunity to refocus your mission. Why did you believe that mission was for you in the first place? You wanted to encourage christians in the middle east. Now, in the preparation stage perhaps you may decide to refocus your mission by starting with a smaller stage. Perhaps a letter writing campaign may be a great first step to your mission and may even help you develop contacts for your future world tour.
Don’t give up your mission because you realized how hard it was during planning. This stage specifically prepares you to be ready for your mission.
Now GO! You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you!
