Southwest Ministries: Adult Discipleship Workers
Opportunities
Three couples or individuals are needed to serve as church planters/disciplers among Native Americans.
Qualifications
Applicants, or at least one person in each couple, should have a four-year college degree with Bible and ministry training. The use of talents, common interests, and hobbies as tools to build relationships is encouraged. Church planters/disciplers need a heart for discipleship and a willingness to endure the slow path of building trust and walking through life with those they disciple.
Training Provided
Cross-cultural ministry training is required and will be provided before or after arrival on the field.
Length of Service
Mid-term: one month or longer
Long-term: two or more years
Ministry Description
Among Native communities, church ministries is a broad category that includes adult focused evangelism, children’s and youth ministries, and discipleship. Missionaries are intentional about walking through life with Native American individuals and families. These relationships may be built in a traditional church setting, home, or small group meeting. Sometimes the ministries occur on the reservations and sometimes they happen in the city or on a college campus. The goal is to plant faith communities and small groups wherever Native people gather. The ministry approach is more missional (going to Native people) than attractional (asking Native people to come to them). Ministries include learning about and building relationships with Native people; planning and leading Bible studies and prayer times with groups as interest grows; and training, mentoring, and discipling Native believers as they grow in their walks with the Lord.
Quick Facts
Peoria, Arizona, is considered part of Greater Phoenix. The warm climate and small-town atmosphere attract people to this eighth-fastest-growing city in America. What started out as a simple visionary farming community has become a dynamic desert city.
The Navajo Reservation is the largest reservation in the United States with more than 17 million acres of land. Only 12 percent of the Navajo population is Christian.
Native Americans are relational people, so relationship building is key in ministering to them. Although relationship building is a long process and slow work, once a relationship is established, you will find yourself working among amazing people who are just waiting to hear the Gospel.