Location, location location. If there are any factors that shapes a mission experience the location and culture have to be at the top that list. When you are thinking about the right mission experience for the ministry you lead, location is a big deal. Location shapes what you will be doing. Location determines who you need to take with you. Location determines your budget. Our team has decided that when it comes to location we want to find a city and make a long term commitment. We want to make an impact in a community and a church. We want to be part of the solution but just a group of tourists doing good deeds. We choose the city of New Orleans four years ago and we are excited about year five in 2012. Why did we choose a city and stay focused?
- passion // God simply gave us a passion for New Orleans and as we have served in the city our passion has grown stronger. We know God will make it clear we are to move on when we loose our passion.
- relationships // The more we serve one city the stronger our relationship base grows. We have a strong relationship with several churches. Parents in our target neighborhoods trust us. We see many of the same kids every year and get to invest in them. Staying in one city for several years helps create relationships of significance.
- consistency // training, strategy, improvements…when we serve in one city we have consistency for our team. There is no greater help in a stressful week than to have a general consistent flow for the team.
- growth // when we commit to a city we get the chance to see growth in the lives of people…in the church…in our team. We also get to try new things because we have a stable platform.