Missions Blog for Churches

I never thought I’d be posting an article written by an atheist, but here goes. This gentleman is making an argument for more missionaries in Africa. And it’s quite compelling.

Before Christmas I returned, after 45 years, to the country that as a boy I knew as Nyasaland. Today it’s Malawi, and The Times Christmas Appeal includes a small British charity working there. Pump Aid helps rural communities to install a simple pump, letting people keep their village wells sealed and clean. I went to see this work.

It inspired me, renewing my flagging faith in development charities. But travelling in Malawi refreshed another belief, too: one I’ve been trying to banish all my life, but an observation I’ve been unable to avoid since my African childhood. It confounds my ideological beliefs, stubbornly refuses to fit my world view, and has embarrassed my growing belief that there is no God.

Now a confirmed atheist, I’ve become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people’s hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good.

I used to avoid this truth by applauding – as you can – the practical work of mission churches in Africa. It’s a pity, I would say, that salvation is part of the package, but Christians black and white, working in Africa, do heal the sick, do teach people to read and write; and only the severest kind of secularist could see a mission hospital or school and say the world would be better without it. I would allow that if faith was needed to motivate missionaries to help, then, fine: but what counted was the help, not the faith.

But this doesn’t fit the facts. Faith does more than support the missionary; it is also transferred to his flock. This is the effect that matters so immensely, and which I cannot help observing.

First, then, the observation. We had friends who were missionaries, and as a child I stayed often with them; I also stayed, alone with my little brother, in a traditional rural African village. In the city we had working for us Africans who had converted and were strong believers. The Christians were always different. Far from having cowed or confined its converts, their faith appeared to have liberated and relaxed them. There was a liveliness, a curiosity, an engagement with the world – a directness in their dealings with others – that seemed to be missing in traditional African life. They stood tall. [...keep reading this article by clicking here...]

“I don’t need much. I simply want to be someplace where I can serve. If I am working with the poor then I might want to live in their neighborhood, or if I’m working with students, could I have a national for a roommate?” This perspective expresses the heart of many who are looking at missions today. They want to live in the home of a national, or with a national roommate. They might see themselves living in a village, embracing the same lifestyle and facing the same challenges as the people living there. They are at a unique crossroads of personal freedom and have a strong desire to minister in challenging situations, such as living among the poor. They are ready to embrace life on the edge.

MTW’s new EDGE program will allow participants who desire a stripped-down missions experience to live more closely with those to whom them minister. Featuring lower support costs and hands-on ministry experience, EDGE is a two-year missions experience that will be offered in addition to current intern, short-term, and career missionary tracks.

However, EDGE will not be for everyone. We believe this ministry path will be most attractive to those in their 20s, just graduated from college, or singles who are free to travel and take risks. It may also fit for newly-married couples without kids, or even couples whose kids have moved out (provided the circumstances are right and they have a tolerance for risk). If someone is looking for hands-on experience and a service-oriented ministry, then this could be for them. A caution is that more than any of our other programs, EDGE will take participants to the extreme in terms of personal sacrifice. This is not to say that the opportunity to sacrifice is not present in other programs; in fact, on the surface it doesn’t look much different from our intern level of support. The difference is that this is a two-year endeavor, a lifestyle. It is embracing subsistence living over a long period of time as a means to connect. Click here to continue reading this article…

GO GLOBAL!

Missionaries know that in order to reach people with the gospel, we must be willing and able to speak their language.

The upcoming generation in our culture speaks a different “language” too, a language shaped by media sound bites, dynamic video, action-oriented extreme sports, and fast-moving technology like social networking, mobile web surfing, or texting.

We believe it is our responsibility to speak to this generation, to help them catch a vision for the world around them and begin to focus outside themselves.

In an effort to connect with them by speaking their language, MTW has created a new micro website, “Go Global,” showcasing young people who are engaging in missions. Read their comments about what God has taught them. Hear and see their stories in videos about missions and missionaries. You’ll even find a little humor if you look for it.

But, we need your help to spread the word: share it with leaders in your church’s youth ministry, post a link on Facebook, and mention it to your friends. Feel free to use your imagination.

http://GoGlobal.MTW.org

Thanks for your support. And Go Global!

The 2010 PCA Global Missions Conference is scheduled for November 5-7, 2010 in Chattanooga, TN. Join fellow believers from across the PCA in Chattanooga this November in a joyous celebration of hope hosted together by Mission to the World and Covenant College. Hear about the work of Christ in church planting, mercy ministry, medical outreach, student internships, arts in missions, and much more. Personally connect with others in the PCA as well as in the global church. Learn more about partnerships. Be challenged by ministry updates. Prayerfully explore your role and that of your church. Encourage others. Most of all, join in the worship of Christ—The Hope of Nations!

Plenary speakers include Paul Kooistra and Joe Novenson. Dozens of workshops on various subjects pertaining to missions will be held. This is a highly encouraging and practical three days. Plan on being there! If you can’t be sure your church’s missions committee is sending representation. Click here to find out more and sign up.

Dear partners in Christ,

Thank you very much for all your prayers and your mobilization behind us in these very difficult times. Since yesterday we have an assessment team of four from Mission to the World, which includes a dentist, a trauma nurse, an engineer and a counselor. Their purpose here is to assess the situation in order to better coordinate their relief effort. I believe this is a very strategy because this looks to the long term. We have gone around the city of Port-au-Prince and we have seen scenes beyond imagination, and we have talked to people and the priority now is a medical team because the injuries are so overwhelming. Please help us financially to support this relief effort and to help continue our ministry here in Haiti.

In Christ,

Esaie Etienne
MTW missionary to Haiti

MTW missionary to Japan, Michael Oh, was the featured missions speaker at the February 2009 Bethlehem Pastors Conference (home of Desiring God Ministries). His sermon title was, Missions as Fasting: The Forsaking of Things Present for the Global Exaltation of Christ. Last month I finally had the chance to listen to the sermon on a road trip to West Virginia. Immediately upon its ending I called my wife saying, “You’ve got to listen to this!” It encouraged and challenged me in so many issues that we are facing.

There are a number of ways you can connect with this sermon: read the manuscript in PDF here, read a synopsis of it here, listen to it here, or watch it here.

In the sermon, Oh gives a cursory definition of fasting, then focuses on how missions involves “doing without” on many levels. One exhortation that sticks with me was his question, “Do I simply want to go to school and study hard so I can get a good job and work hard, so my kids can go to school and study hard so they can get a good job and work hard, so that their children…?”

He also confronts the notion (which I agree is incorrect) that “we’re all missionaries.” The great commission is to all of us, but we are not all called out and sent to minister cross-culturally, giving up our home and stability, depending on the support of others, and subjecting ourselves and our families to the risks and challenges in another country.  There is a unique calling of “missionary.”

There are also some great challenges to consider, personally. I could go on, but you’ll be glad if you just read it, listen to it, or watch it yourself.

A pastor recently contacted me for some book suggestions as his church prepared for their annual missions conference. I thought it might be helpful to put some of the links here as well. Know that this is not an endorsement of every book on these sites, or even the ministries themselves. But these are certainly tools that can be used in any evangelical context, and a Reformed worldview can certainly be expressed through them.

I think stories are particularly compelling, and connect with many people who will never really take interest in theories. There are a few on our “books” page (which you can find here):

Shadow of the Almighty: The Life and Testament of Jim Elliot, Elisabeth Elliot
A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael, Elisabeth Elliot
Through Gates of Splendor, Elisabeth Elliot
C.T. Studd, Norman Grubb
Bruchko, Bruce Olson
Peace Child, Don Richardson
The Spiritual Secret of Hudson Taylor, Howard Taylor

Another good list is Mongergism’s Book page.

As far as children’s materials, that has been an ongoing need we see in the PCA. There are some folks beginning to develop materials that we know of, but we’d like to find more so we can collect and share with others. There is probably a lot more out there, may not formally prepared, but good stuff and we just aren’t aware of it. As far as books for children:

Amy Carmichael
Corrie Ten Boom
John Patton
Tales of Persia: Missionary Stories from Islamic Iran
Jim Elliot Story – this is actually a DVD; 30 minutes, animated
The Girls and Boys Who Made History series books also have missionary stories in them

Grace & Truth has quite a list of stories and biographies for children on their site. Although not distinctly Reformed, I think there are many useful titles here. I haven’t read/reviewed them personally, but I think you can get a feel for the material from the website.

Another site that is not Reformed, but is evangelical, is Child Evangelism Fellowship. They offer a handful of missionary stories for use in a SS or other class. You can find them online here.

Some 40 interns and mentors gathered at MTW in Atlanta recently to debrief their summer experience on fields from Acapulco to Ukraine.

“We go through this debriefing process at the end of each summer to help our interns process their experience and adjust back to their home culture,” said MTW’s Opal Hardgrove. “In addition to serving them, it helps us assess their experience on the field and learn how to improve next year’s program.”

The debriefing process includes a number of components: interns share their testimonies with one another, discuss what they gained and lost through their experience on the field, are prompted to think about what they want to remember from their experience, and explain what they learned about themselves.

And this year marked MTW’s first official internship mentoring program. Roughly one-fourth of this summer’s 100 interns participated in that program, which involved Bible study, group mentoring, and one-on-one mentoring in addition to the normal intern field experience.  (Click here to continue reading this article)

by, Dan Iverson

For the record, I am for facilitation. In a sense, Scripture is calling us to facilitate when it says “equip the saints” to minister (Ephesians 4:11). Jethro, in effect, told Moses to facilitate (Exodus 18:17). D.L. Moody wisely said, “Don’t do the work of a thousand men. Put a thousand men to work!” We must be equipping increasing numbers of workers to multiply churches and reach the world.

On the other hand I have some concerns about the growing facilitation emphasis in missions circles. As a longtime missionary to Japan, I daily experience the strengths and weaknesses of both direct and facilitative church planting. I facilitate some indigenous Japanese workers by serving, supporting, and coaching from a distance while concurrently doing direct church planting as a missionary pastor working toward a church-planting movement (CPM) together with three younger Japanese co-pastors.

Praise God that facilitation in missions is increasingly possible. God promised to raise up indigenous “Gentile Levite” church planters (Isaiah 66:21), and is doing so worldwide. Christ is building His Church. There are increasing numbers of healthy churches with whom we can partner, serve, and facilitate as we pursue biblical, indigenous CPMs.

And in large part, facilitation is possible today from Brazil to Bangladesh because of foundations laid by missionaries through more direct evangelism in previous generations. In many places, however, those foundations are lacking. The national church is weak or nearly non-existent. There are not scores of indigenous church planters waiting to be facilitated. Evangelism and church planting by cross-cultural missionaries are still needed so that some day, by God’s grace, there will be indigenous movements with whom we can partner. (Click here to continue reading this article…)

Clay Quarterman recently announced that MTW’s work in Ukraine is now completely led by nationals. This is extremely encouraging news to receive, and to a large degree, one of the biggest goals most MTW teams have. We don’t want our efforts to be dependent on more US missionaries being sent to sustain the work. Rather, when nationals are equipped to lead, they create a sustainable supply of future leaders for the work of the ministry. But this is not an easy thing to do. Clay writes on his website:

It was really strange at Presbytery. Right after we declared and celebrated the new Presbytery, there were some serious issues to be dealt with in confidence, and the Presbytery went into “closed session”. This meant that all non-members had to leave the room – including missionaries! So it was strange and wonderful to be excluded! But it shows the reality of what we have celebrated.

Clay continues:

We officially passed over all our authority to the national Presbyterian Church of Ukraine! This is a milepost, because it means God has raised up godly believers here who have banded together into 11 local churches, and it means God has raised up 11 spiritual leaders who have been trained, academically and practically. They have proven themselves in service to others, and we have turned over the whole thing to the Holy Spirit—to work in them, among them, and through them. It’s a BIG THING!

But, as the MTW-Ukraine team leader, Eric Huber, said, “This is not a birth, but a Bar-Mitzvah!” We have seen this coming, year-by-year. We planned for it and worked into it gradually, but it is still a moment to celebrate. We have officially “passed the baton”. Hallelujah! Praise God for His internal, spiritual, and maturing work!

So, what now? We are certainly not done, for the church continues to desire our help. In fact, I am one of the few “left behind” as a continuing part of Presbytery. Since I am president of their seminary, they want me as an official member. However, this also means I am put on various committees! (Continue reading this article by clicking here)

You can find out more about what the Lord is doing through MTW in Ukraine by visiting the MTW Ukraine Team Website.