byFaith – PCA Headlines MTW on TwitterJoe Novenson and Paul Kooistra will be the plenary speakers at the upcoming PCA Global Missions Conference, November 5-7, in Chattanooga, TN. Joe recently sat down with MTW’s Global Support Ministries International Director, Brian Deringer, and shared about his heart for missions and raising up the next generation. This is the first of four previews from that time.
I met Dr. Tennent while attending a world missions conference at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (when he taught there). This was the first time I was exposed to much of the academic assessment of these missiological trends and much of the history surrounding them. I have used a map he shared with us with many churches, as it visually represents what is happening. We live in an exciting time!
The Translatability of the Christian Gospel
by Timothy Tennent
The following is excerpted from remarks made by Dr. Timothy Tennent, president of Asbury Theological Seminary, at the school’s Fall 2009 Convocation.
In April of 1739 John Wesley was preaching in an upstairs room in London. About halfway into his sermon the supporting post that held up the floor of the room collapsed under the sheer weight of the number of people who had gathered to hear Wesley. Wesley remarked in his journal that the supporting post fell with a great noise. The floor sank, but it didn’t cave in and, to Wesley’s own amazement, everyone settled back down and he was able to finish preaching.
What do we do when it seems like the very floor under our feet is giving way? Many of the traditional props and supports which have long given stability to the world of theological education have fallen away with a great crash—what are we to do? How do we live in a time of disequilibrium, uncertainty, and change? Never in history has the Church undergone such dramatic growth and change so quickly. When William Carey went to India in 1793, 99 percent of all Christians in the world were white and lived in the Western world. Today, the vast majority of Christians live outside the Western world. We are witnessing multiple centers of Christian vibrancy, even as we see the Western world re-emerging as the world’s fastest growing mission field and the home of the most gospel-resistant people groups in the world. In contrast, all of the most gospel-receptive people groups in the world are found in either India or China. We live in an upside down world.
The support post upon which was written: “you are the center of the ecclesiastical universe,” has collapsed and we have to regain our footing in this new world we inhabit and think afresh about what this means for theological education in North America. None of these developments were predicted 50 years ago. Today, as I survey the landscape of ecclesiology and theological education in the Western world it is clear that we are living in a time of unprecedented crisis. This is not to be overly negative or alarmist, for I am reminded of the great Dutch missiologist, Hendrick Kraemer (1888-1965), who famously commented that “the church is always in a state of crisis; its greatest shortcoming is that it is only occasionally aware of it.”
The floor is creaking beneath our feet. What does this mean for Western Christians in the 21st century?
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One of the things I have had a great deal of passion for is the use of video and media to communicate. For better or worse, we live in a media age. Video allows the viewer to not only hear, but see and experience much of the story in a way that a lone speaker or storyteller could accomplish. So we’re beginning to catch up in gathering and even producing some videos to communicate the message of what God is doing around the world. Take a look…
The following is an excerpt from a recent email I received from GTD. There are a number of events that you, in the church, can take advantage of, including their Church Planting Basics which is taking place as I type this. The next Church Planting Basics takes place in December, but since it’s in Asia instead of Lawrenceville, that may not be convenient for you. So bookmark their website (www.gtdtraining.org) for future dates. The next Train the Trainer workshop is November 10-13 and it is in Lawrenceville, GA. Contact GTD at gtd@mtw.org for more information.
Global Training and Development (GTD), the training arm of Mission to the World, is committed to providing resources and assistance to equip you for a thriving ministry. As missionaries with years of cross-cultural ministry experience, we desire to stand beside you as you seek to advance God’s kingdom around the world.
One ministry area that we want to help facilitate is that of mentoring. To that end, we are redesigning the MTW mentoring program to make it intentionally field-driven and expand its reach beyond the orientation of new missionaries. The enhanced program will provide training, encouragement, and resources for mentoring both new and experienced missionaries, as well as national leaders. In short, our desire is to help make mentoring a natural part of how we engage in ministry. The following resources have been designed to help accomplish this:
The Mentoring Newsletter is designed to equip you with the best tools, strategies, and resources to help you be as effective as possible in your mentoring relationships. This electronic newsletter will include articles written to help you sharpen your skills. An archive of these articles, as well as additional resources, will be maintained on our web site: www.gtdtraining.org/resources. To subscribe, email peter.beck@mtw.org.
“I have a fear that the church in the West will disqualify itself from being a missionary-sending region by portraying to its membership a Christianity that is a nice religion but that lacks a radical edge.” -Ajith Fernando, in Jesus Driven Ministry
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.
One of the requests I often hear from churches is for missions material or curriculum for kids. There is a good bit of this out there in larger evangelical circles, but not very much within our denomination. Particularly, I’d love to see the development of more Reformed and Covenantal-minded missions material for children.
My guess is that there are churches out there that have created their own, or maybe even some of our own missionaries who have something that is put together. What we need to do is collect it and get it into a format that others can use/share.
If you know of anyone with such material, or someone who would be a good candidate to put something like this together, please let me know (seth.wallace@mtw.org). This could be a great tool for PCA churches to equip the next generation to have God’s heart for the nations.
One idea that was recently shared through the Mission Pastors Forum was a Christmas catalog for missions. Here is what Blair Commons, Director of Global Outreach at Seven Rivers PCA, wrote:
Last year we stole an idea from Samaritan’s Purse and created our own Christmas catalog for Seven Rivers missions and ministries. It was well received by the congregation as an alternative to giving one more useless gift to family and friends. We created and printed them in house and made them available after services in our lobby.
Click here to view the catalog.
If you have further questions, you can contact Blair at the church www.sevenrivers.org.
A MAJOR TREND IN MISSIONS
One of the most significant trends in missions today is the increasing number of churches that are focusing their ministry participation. The reasons for this direction include the following motivations:
THE NEED FOR FOCUS
Developing a missions ministry is a bit like digging a well. To reach water, one must dig a well with the proper dimensions: it must be deeper than it is wide. Not only will such a well more likely reach water, the water will be fresh and plentiful.
Many churches are discovering that to have a lasting impact in missions, their missions ministry must have the right dimensions. It must be deep: the investment of prayers, energy, and finances should be significant. And while they may support people all over the world, their primary emphasis must not be too wide, perhaps focusing on one or two areas of commitment. No matter what size, all churches would do well to identify as precisely as possible the Lord’s missions direction for their congregation.
Through prayer and study, the following issues can help churches develop the right dimensions for going deep in their missions ministry:
Existing relationships
Does your church currently support a missionary? Is a church member serving as a missionary? Do you have other connections to an ongoing ministry? If so, you may want to deepen an existing relationship rather than start a new one.
Church members’ vision
Are there members or leaders of your church who have experience and/or a desire to work with a particular people group or area of the world? Have members of your church participated in short-term projects that have given them a heart for a certain group of people? God very often uses the vision of a few people to lead an entire church in the same direction.
Unique Connections
Does your church have a unique relationship to a region? Perhaps people from a particular country live near your church, and members have developed an interest in working with them locally and overseas. Or perhaps the nationality of a church member could serve as a
natural bridge to a part of the world.
Church relationship
Do you have a close relationship with another church that is already working with a particular people group? Developing a partnership for ministry may be a natural and effective way to go forward.
Ministry emphasis
Do you desire to participate with a particular type of ministry? Or do members of your church have certain skills or occupations that could be used most effectively in a specific field?
Some churches have developed a small committee to explore these and other issues in order to bring a recommendation to church leaders. Selecting a missions focus is no small task and one that must be supported by much prayer, study, and time. This investment on the front end will help determine God’s leading for a significant long-term commitment.
PARTNERSHIPS: A NEW MODEL FOR MISSIONS
Once an emphasis is determined, your church may want to explore joining others who share your commitment. Ecclesiastes 4:12 says a “cord of three strands is not easily broken.” Historically, the three strands of missions ministry have been churches, agencies, and field workers—though each has had to work fairly independently. Today, however, advancements in communications and transportation have appropriately given churches a desire for more direct involvement in field ministry. Mission to the World affirms this development, and is committed to facilitating churches in deeper connection to the field. Effective field ministry requires that this connection be coordinated, so that churches, MTW, and the field are working closely together and in a common direction. In order to accomplish this, Mission to the World is establishing partnerships for the development and support of ministry teams all over the world. The partnership would work closely with the field team to devise a common strategy for such responsibilities as:
This article is available in .pdf format for easier reading and printing by clicking here.
Today, I met with Cartee Bales, Missions Pastor at Kirk of the Hills in St. Louis, MO. Cartee is also the Chairman of Missouri Presbytery MTW Committee. The committee has created a helpful website for churches in the presbytery to cooperate and share in their missions ministries, www.mopresmissions.org. This would be a great tool for other presbyteries to consider implementing.