By Sharan Sitton -
I want to share some mission memories from a church I attended in Carrollton, Georgia. We had a Global Impact Celebration (GIC) every other year. Five to six missionary families were invited to come and were housed with members of the congregation. Some were IMB and some were NAMB. My husband and I were honored for several years to host missionaries in our home; it was neat to get to know them on a personal level.
Wednesday night was the official beginning of the celebration. The missionaries were welcomed – big time! As they came down the hallway toward the sanctuary, there were foreign and state flags that lined both sides of the hallway. Before they entered the sanctuary, they were handed their country or state flag to carry – and if they were from a closed country, the flag they carried was solid black.
As they entered the sanctuary, they were introduced and greeted with noise makers, confetti raining down on them from the balcony, and cheers from the congregation: a real hero’s welcome. Missionaries are our heroes!
On Thursday, the missionaries had activities planned by our Missions Director (maybe zip lining for the guys and mani/pedi for the women). Thursday evening was the Pig Pickin’, a great time of eating and fellowship.

Friday, the missionaries had meetings with the Missions Director, Pastor, and other leaders in the church. They had free time in the afternoon and “cottage meetings” at their host homes that evening.

Saturdays, we divided up in groups and did local mission projects.

Sunday morning, the missionaries dress in their home country attire; tables representing their mission country or state lined the hallways.
These GICs helped root the love of missions in the heart of children and adults in our church. The church has had numerous young people enter full-time ministry or the mission field. For example: this year, a college-aged young woman is on her second year as a missionary intern at Chanku Waste Ranch in South Dakota and another young woman has spent her second year as a summer intern there. GIC is a fun way to introduce missions/missionaries to your church.
If you’re interested in this concept, here is a website you may be interested in: