Dr. Lynne Ellis-Gray is the Serve the World Pastor at Overlake Christian Church in Redmond, Washington. Lynne believes that every follower of Jesus is called to be an active part of God’s plan on earth, and her ministry at Overlake is laser focused on helping more and more people find their role in that plan.
Today’s conversation is with Dr. Lynne Ellis-Gray, the Serve the World Pastor at Overlake Christian Church in Redmond, Washington. A question that drives the outreach at Overlake is: “What would our world look like if every person was living with purpose, joining God’s mission in the world?” I asked Lynne why this is such an important question to answer?
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Lynne shares that outreach works best when those we lead see themselves are part of a bigger story. It isn’t just about the missions and strategies of individual churches. It’s about how those missions and strategies fit into God’s greater mission and how we all are a part of what He’s doing in the world.
She also emphasizes that when our individual members see themselves engaging in God’s bigger plan around the world, they see how they can then take what they’ve been a part of in another country and context and apply that across the street in their own areas of influence. Engaging in global outreach always motivates our members to engage in local outreach.
And finally, Lynne encourages us not to over-plan our missions and outreach. Leave some space in your budget and your strategy for moments when God shows up to do the unexpected. You never know what will happen if you do.
Learn More About Overlake Christian Church
WHAT IS THE MISSIONS PASTOR PODCAST?
Welcome to The Missions Pastor Podcast, presented by OneChild. OneChild is a global community of Child Champions that serves children in poverty so they can discover hope and reach their God-given potential. We believe that the local church has the message of Hope that the world desperately needs to hear. And in every episode, we highlight churches, pastors, and ministries who are working to bring that HOPE to hard places.
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