2030 paradox sending vision
Laying out the goals of our church to send out laborers to the nations in response to Christ’s commission to make disciples of all nations.
the vision
It is estimated that the unreached peoples of the world could be fully engaged with church planting efforts with an additional 66,000 laborers committed to the task (thetravelingteam.org). The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. In response to the mandate of scripture and the current realities of lostness among peoples to whom there is no evangelistic effort capable of completing the work, we strive to send out laborers from our fold to go after the lost sheep of the world whom Christ died to purchase.
the target: 30 by 30
The question only remains: who will go? And how many?
These are not questions to which we can have concrete answers, but a vision that takes the task seriously includes metrics that would stretch our faith and cause us to fall before God constantly crying that unless he builds it, we labor in vain.
There will be many measurables on this journey, but the end goal of healthy, multiplying churches among unreached peoples helps us to focus on the controllable that for all our wisdom we see as crucial: deployment of healthy long-term laborers.
So what is the number? How do we land on it? I submit that it’s two fold: a measured look at what our current mobilization pipeline is capable of supporting over time, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit in faith.
THE PIPELINE
The mobilization team at the Paradox church (consisting of Ben and Hannah Kelly [PT] and Morgan Frey) is the bottle-neck for sending. The sending pipeline culminates in the 9-month Launch Community, and capacity of this community and our ability to lead it well is the primary limiting factor on sending. The Launch Global rule of thumb is 3 participants per full-time mobilizer is a healthy but full ratio. Based on current team size, this means that the current capacity is 7 participants (2.5 mobilizers). Our ideal team size would include 1 more full-time male mobilizer to bring our capacity to 10 participants. Here is a breakdown of our projected training capacity from now until 2030…
23-24: 4 goers + 1 new mobilizer (This years current reality)
24-25: 6 goers + 1 new mobilizer (the prayer - already a stretch)
25-26: 10 goers
26-27: 10 goers
27-28: 10 goers
28-29: 10 goers
BY 2030: ~50 LAUNCH COMMUNITY GRADUATES @ 70% DEPLOYMENT RATE = 35 DEPLOYED GOERS
30 goers deployed from Paradox, 5 from associate churches in Fort Worth
Or how we want to couch it…. 30 by 30
THE HOLY SPIRIT
The reality of mobilization is that our pipeline can only be full if the people of Paradox are called into the work. A full pipeline 5 years in a row would be beyond our own ability to conjure up. According to past experience, this ask is huge. It will take earnest and concerted prayer, it will take massive generosity both on the church funds and the individuals who will be called to support each goer directly. It will take challenging preaching and instilling apostolic fervor into our congregants. It will take God moving in a miraculous way to confirm and empower his church to give of itself to bless the nations.
If we believe that God has given us a call to join him in bringing the knowledge of his glory to the ends of the earth, if we trust that the saturation of Fort Worth with the Glory and Grace of Jesus will undoubtedly overflow to other cities and nations, then we must accept the call wholeheartedly. We must put our money, and our most precious resource; our people, where our mouth is. If we picked up 30 people from Paradox today, that would be 4% of our partners. We want to give 4% of ourselves to the 40% of the world that is unreached by the Gospel.
“For they have gone out for the sake of the name…”
3 John 1:7a
how, where, & to whom
Our strategic sending focus of catalyzing multiplicative indigenous churches among unreached peoples answers many subsequent questions. Our desire is that these Goers will deploy to the places where the greatest need exists, this is primarily in the 10/40 Window (home to 85% of unreached peoples). There are, however, strategic deployment opportunities outside these bounds that will be considered on a case by case basis. We also want our people to have the member care, logistical support, and organizational structure they need to support long-term ministry. As such, we are seeking to establish partnerships with sending organizations with proven track records in these departments. It is also our desire to join ranks with the churches currently working together in the 100 UPG cooperative to send to similar teams and places, and in turn support sustained efforts to reach those peoples. There is a long list of reputable sending agencies, and we are not looking to predetermine who we will or will not send to, but we are asking the Lord for direction in this for the future.
Financial Implications
As a Southern Baptist Church, in a city that is home to a Southern Baptist Seminary, we are uniquely situated to deploy many people through the International Mission Board. This is a strategic partnership that should be utilized fully. However, the IMB is not a great fit for all Goers. They are highly directive, and have requirements that are not always suitable for candidates, such as a significant amount of seminary hours. We hope to send approximately 20-30% of our people through the IMB, and in doing so, we relieve the financial pressure as a church to support them financially.
For those who will need financial support, their support will be given if they meet the requirements set out by our strategic sending focus (read about those here).
Getting people overseas will not reach the unreached, having people stay long-term can. In light of this, funding for those who are deployed in a manner that requires support raising will be given at an increasing amount commensurate with the length of their deployment.
Years 1-2: $250 monthly
Years 3-4: $500 monthly
Years 5-6: $750 monthly
Year 7+: $1000 monthly plus additional funding on case by case basis
With this in mind, assuming that we do indeed send 30 people spread out over the years until 2030, and ~20 of them require financial support, a breakdown of such a commitment, realistically adjusted for attrition, would be as follows (See the spreadsheet here)…
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Expense |
$1000 | $2000 | $3500 | $5000 | $7250 | $8250 |
organizational Implications
The Mobilization team currently operates at a scope that would normally be covered by 2 or more sub-departments. As we discover and train people to be sent out, there will be some felt needs from the Goers as well as the rest of the church body.
Organizational Chart
Global Engagement Director (Staff - Ben Kelly)
Global Engagement Coordinator - (Claire Funk (read job description here)
Goer Care Coordinators (Dan and Donna Letton)
Goer Care Team Leaders
Goer Care Team members
Other coordinators / deacons to support pipeline structures (Mission of God, Disciple Making Cohort, etc.)
Mobilization Team (led by Global Engagement Director)
Mobilization Coordinator (Staff - Hannah Kelly) - Part-time mobilizer with an emphasis on administration and operations of the ministry
Missions Mobilizers (Staff - Morgan Frey, Faith Coleman)
Mobilization Team - focused on catalyzing evangelism within the church body and casting vision for the Great Commission for their fellow PRDX partners (read the one page here)