Pick one: Ten starter questions for missions council meetings

TL;DR:
Build community in your missions council by opening meetings with a question that invites brief personal responses. These ten conversation starters help members share their experiences and interest in global outreach. Simple candy gifts offer another way to thank members for their service and encourage continued involvement.

Icebreaker questions and conversation starters

Open your missions council or committee meeting with one of the following questions. Invite brief responses, allowing anyone to pass. This can help quieter members participate and give everyone a better understanding of one another's experiences and interests.

  1. What first awakened your interest in world missions?
  2. When someone says "missionary," whose name comes to your mind first?
  3. What one word describes your ideal world missions convention?
  4. What is your earliest memory of learning about world missions?
  5. What is one exciting thing happening in your world?
  6. If you were offered a free ticket to visit a mission field of your choice, where would you go?
  7. What three words describe the last missions convention you attended?
  8. If you could host a missionary or missionary couple in your home, whom would you invite, and why?
  9. Complete this sentence: "If I had $100,000 to contribute to one world mission field, it would be . . ." Explain your choice.
  10. Describe a global missionary in one word.

These questions can spark conversations about world evangelism and help council or committee members share their motivations and passion for taking the gospel to the ends of the earth.

Adapted from "Suggestions for roll call" by Evelyn Sutton

"Your site is great! You have restored my hope for the future of Nazarene World Missions!" -- Kristi S.

Encourage your missions council with candy gifts

Candy gift ideas for missions council members

Ideas from Bev Borbe and Susan Day

Some council roles listed below reflect earlier organizational structures. Adapt the gift ideas to the responsibilities of your current council members.

Match the gifts to the roles listed above, or give the same candy to every council member. Use them to recognize a job well done, celebrate holidays or birthdays, mark the end of the year, or simply thank members for attending a meeting.

Thoughtful expressions of appreciation can build goodwill and encourage continued service. Don't neglect rewards. Michael LeBoeuf, author of The Greatest Management Principle in the World, was right when he wrote, "Behavior that gets rewarded gets repeated."

1 Links is a program through which local churches "adopt" a Nazarene missionary family. Links was originally an acronym for Loving and Interested Nazarenes Knowing and Serving. Because the English acronym does not work in other languages, the program uses the name Links or its equivalent in other languages. [ More information ]
2 Short-term teams that support ministry projects. [ More information ]

-- Howard Culbertson, hculbert@snu.edu

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