Missionaries, while being prepared in the Bible, often receive little training in understanding the world in which we live and some experience great hardship out in the field as a result. The purpose of this book is to enable cross-cultural missionaries to be more adequately prepared for the task of intelligent communication. The author sets forth the major areas which are important in training the missionary to communicate with other cultures. By being prepared for cross-cultural communication, the missionary will be more sensitive to the needs of others in a cross-cultural context and thereby be a better communicator of the Christian message, being less ethnocentric and more appreciative of national believers and their worldview.
The formation of a protestant concept of mission, 1500-1800 -- Anglican and reformed missions to Muslims in India, 1800-1910: a study in methods -- Reformed and Anglican missions to Muslims in the near east, 1800-1910: ecclesiastical and environmental factors -- Maturing Anglican and reformed approaches to Muslims before 1938: W.H.T. Gairdner and S.M. Zwemmer
This book explains why some missionaries are rejecting the models and methodologies most widely accepted by North American evangelical missionaries working in France. The author demonstrates that the witness by Protestant missionaries in Western Europe is often ineffective because of their paradigms and ministry methods.
The author's study of missionary training has taken him all over the world. In this work, he shares lessons learned from both Western and non-Western missionary training regarding training, clear objectives, getting started, the profile of a trainer, selecting trainees, the marks of effective training, holistic equipping, contextualized curriculum, and careful assessment of the entire training process.
The church/missions community must move beyond superficial fellowship and simple networking to true partnerships, cooperative ventures, and the sharing of resources. This will result in synergy - a phenomenon where the output is greater than the sum of its parts. Twenty-two missions leaders from around the world speak candidly to these issues and call us to reflection, relationship and engagement without which the nations of this world will not be discipled for Christ.
Christians in China Tell Their StoryWise as Serpents Harmless as Doves recalls the incredible journey of the Chinese Church in the face of unimaginable adversity from 1949 through 1984. Following the communist victory in the civil war in 1949, the church in China found itself in a precarious position, pressured to sever ties with fellow Christians abroad and limit its activities within its own land. As obstacles mounted, the survival of a remnant seemed like the only hope for the Chinese Church. Through interviews and testimonies gathered by the Chinese Church Research Center, a remarkable phrase emerged: "wise as serpents and harmless as doves." The Chinese Christians adapted to the changing times, adjusting their approach to remain faithful to their beliefs. When persecution was rampant, they gathered secretly and in small numbers. When society relaxed, they boldly proclaimed their faith. This book captures the stories of these courageous believers, a testament to God's blessings in the midst of oppression and rapid change. From the formation of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) to the rise of the house church phenomenon, the narrative sheds light on the struggles, triumphs, and unwavering spirit of Chinese Christians. Wise as Serpents Harmless as Doves is an enlightening and inspiring chronicle that honors the millions who played a part in one of the greatest movements for Christ in this century. Through their fragmented voices, the book resounds with a resolute call to glorify His name.
While teaching at Fuller School of World Mission, Tippett inspired and challenged the founding generation of "great commission" or "church growth" missiologists. This collection brings together almost 40 of his best writings. In a style that is both academic and personal, he deals first with missiological theory then with anthropological and historical dimensions of missiology. He then treats a number of specific missiological problems from these perspectives including seminal material on power encounters.
Expect Great Things is the most comprehensive collection of mission quotes, contemporary and classical, ever compiled in one book. Here you will find over 700 of the best mission quotes ever uttered by Great Commission Christians--250 different authors from Adoniram Judson to John Piper, from J. Hudson Taylor to David Platt. Read them for personal encouragement! Paste them on your website, blog, or other social media. Tweet them to a friend. Include them in sermons, speeches, newsletters, and lesson plans. Pass them on to others to encourage them along their way to Great Commission familiarity and commitment.
This hands-on workbook has been designed for two kinds of people: those who have a deep desire to serve God overseas and those who want to help them. It has not been designed to persuade people to become missionaries. Rather, it assumes an initial interest-an early indication or drive somewhere inside that God may have more for you than you previously thought. It is aimed at two primary readers: college/university students and young career persons, as well as committed older adults facing the challenge of an early retirement or career change.The information this workbook presents will also help churches, campus groups, schools, missionary training centers, and agencies to think and pray through short-term and longterm plans with those responding to God's call.
A primary concern amongst missiologists is presenting the gospel in a way that is culturally relevant without adulterating the essential truths of the message of Jesus. Appropriately contextualizing this message can establish an indigenous Christianity, as opposed to introducing syncretism. In this compendium of presentations and papers, the issue of syncretism is addressed through the lens of our covenant relationship with the Lord. Drawing from interdisciplinary research across continents, Tippett examines the syncretistic religious behaviors eminent at the time of his writing that threatened to fracture this covenant relationship- from eastern personality cults in India to scientology in Australia, from satanism in the United States to animism in Mexico. With over 20 years of research, Tippett provides timeless insights for a global church burdened with the Great Commission call in an increasingly pluralistic world.
The Gospel is more than information about the death and resurrection of our Lord. It is an invitation to enter, by way of personal faith, into a relationship with the person referenced by our propositions. Our task as believers is to mediate saving communion with a personal being upon whose will our very existence is contingent. It is precisely this personal aspect of our message, the Gospel-as-Person, that is in conflict with the late-modern notions of the Self and social discourse. Get Real: On Evangelism in the Late Modern World describes how the late-modern phenomena of existential anxiety, social alienation, and epistemic uncertainty have resulted in what some have called "the loss of Self." It also identifies ways in which that loss obstructs both the presentation of and the reception of the Gospel-as-Person. Finally, it shows how the Gospel-as-Person facilitates the recovery of the Self and social discourse, and how that message can be effectively presented in the late-modern context.
The Christian movement is entering a new postcolonial era with centers of the faith on all continents. American Christians have often felt uniquely qualified to lead this growing movement because of a long history of sending missionaries and funding mission projects. Yet something is hampering the relationship between Western and non-Western churches, preventing the dynamic synergism that Christians might expect. Roots and Remedies of the Dependency Syndrome in World Missions, Robert Reese identifies this hindrance as the Dependency Syndrome, a relic of colonial mission methods. With three decades of experience in Zimbabwe, Reese explains the roots of dependency and how this continues to cloud the vision of many well-meaning Western Christians. He documents the tragic results of relying too much on foreign ideas, institutions, personnel, and funding that sideline non-Western churches from fulfilling the Great Commission. Reese addresses remedies for dependency, examining healthy mission models tried and tested since the days of the apostle Paul. From issues that arise from globalization to best mission practices in the twenty-first century, Roots and Remedies aims to achieve what most Christians are seeking but find elusive: how all parts of the diverse Body of Christ around the world can cooperate productively to bring Christ where He is not now known without creating dependency.
The Bible tells us what to believe--the gospel. Did you know it also shows how to contextualize the gospel? In One Gospel for All Nations, Jackson Wu does more than talk about principles. He gets practical. When the biblical writers explain the gospel, they consistently use a pattern that is both firm and flexible. Wu builds on this insight to demonstrate a model of contextualization that starts with interpretation and can be applied in any culture. In the process, he explains practically why we must not choose between the Bible and culture. Wu highlights various implications for both missionaries and theologians. Contextualization should be practical, not pragmatic; theological, not theoretical.
This is an insightful analysis based on personal experience of Christian work among Hindus and the error and inadequacy of Western Christianity in the Hindu world. Numerous anecdotes are the greatest strength of this important book. "He presents the transcultural Good News in culturally understandable ways for the India of the 21st century." -H. Stanley Wood, Center for New Church Development, Columbia Theological Seminary
Making Authentic Relationships GrowDrawing on thirty years' experience among Hindus, Timothy Shultz writes this book as a testimony of the kingdom of God growing in a non-Christian environment. Disciple Making among Hindus: Making Authentic Relationships Grow describes how Hindu people experience and respond to Jesus Christ. What are the core values and rhythms of their cultural world? What are the patterns of community and discipleship that help them draw closer to Jesus? Through moving personal stories, biblical reflection, and practical wisdom, Shultz introduces us to the centrality of family, the covenantal relationships that make up Hindu social life, and the yearning for authentic spiritual experience.While this book will benefit anyone wanting to make disciples among Hindus, it is far more than a strategy of contextualization or a blueprint for successful evangelism. Read it to discover the beauty of Hindus as Jesus sees them-and the beauty of Jesus through Hindu eyes.
In the past we have focused on the "why" of missions in terms of motives, the "what" of missions in terms of the content of the message, and the "how" of missions in terms of methodologies and strategies, but the "where" question, in terms of where we send cross-cultural workers, has simply been assumed; it has meant crossing a geographic boundary.
Belonging is declining and belief is changing.With increased globalization and modernization reaching into the furthest corners of the earth also comes the influence of secularization. These three tides of influence impact traditional religious beliefs, practices, and institutions in significant ways. Some modernizing societies see religion on the decline, while others find it thriving in surprising ways. This collection of essays presents the opportunities and the challenges of secularization for the mission of the Church, with hopeful signs and reassurance that God is still at work in a secularizing world.Readers will find both analysis and guidance that will assist the Church in an informed, missional engagement with secularization in a variety of contexts-starting with North America, then Europe, Asia, and Africa. Each local church and mission organization must discern the appropriate missional response for evangelism, discipleship, congregational life, and social involvement.To be Against the Tide means regaining your voice, as a church on mission, informed by your context and inspired by the responses of others in theirs.
In Sacred Siblings: Valuing One Another for the Great Commission we learn about how teams come together with varying expectations of what team life should be. The authors offer ideas and positive practices of valuing one another based on a survey from 289 missionaries, representing 12 mission agencies. These practices not only build unity and understanding of each other, but enable greater effectiveness in ministry. Read this and have your agency make moves to be better prepared for the increasingly single next generation of field workers and take action for team effectiveness now. This book: Highlights 16 differences between the perspectives of married and single people. Offers helpful tools to address the challenges and enhance strengths. Asks applicational questions that would initiate dialogue among invested parties. Addresses the necessity of releasing physical family members to follow God's leading. Points out differences in organizational policies & practices based upon marital status.
Who was J. Christy Wilson Jr.? Many have never heard his name, but Christy Wilson'slife had a ripple effect in modern missions. Read the first full biography of the humble,adventurous man of prayer who helped launch the Urbana missions conference, pioneeredministry in Afghanistan when others thought it impossible, mobilized hundreds of studentstoward world evangelization, and reintroduced the biblical idea of leveraging one'sprofession for the kingdom with the term "tentmaking." Riveting, uplifting, and frequentlyamusing, this book will challenge you to reconsider what is possible when we dare to yieldto Christ and his purposes in the world.
Every child is different, but mothers are very much the same¿around the world-the same worries and fears, guilt and joys.¿Dive in töFor the Joy¿and laugh and¿cry¿with 21 Australian missionary mothers as they share stories of raising kids¿in¿both¿remote far-flung places and some of the most populated cities in the world. These¿inspiring stories will resonate in the heart of the reader as fear, faith, and figuring it out come together in page-turning reality.¿Stories include:¿ • home-schooling while living in a bus¿ • navigating the toddler years as a "third culture mum"¿ • raising a child with special needs¿ • recovering from anxiety on the field¿ • giving birth in a foreign hospital¿ • the grief of losing your family to persecution ... and more!¿ Honestly written, raw in emotion, sad and joyful in equal measure, this collection of stories offers insight into the complexities of parenting children while serving God no matter where you call home.
Fruit to Harvest is a cultural anthology written by a diverse group of gospel workers who live with and love Muslims. You will join a global mission conversation at the forefront of gospel advance-the world of Islam. Like its predecessor (From Seed to Fruit), this book is the result of a global consultation sponsored by the Vision 5:9 Network.This volume is a storehouse of missiology that offers: Reflections from 47 writers hailing from 21 different countries Fresh case studies from the field of Muslim ministry Strategies for overcoming barriers to reaching Muslims Insights from hundreds of testimonies taken from field workers in 30 different agencies working across the Muslim worldFruit to Harvest is a cultural anthology written by a diverse group of gospel workers who live with and love Muslims. You will join a global mission conversation at the forefront of gospel advance-the world of Islam. Like its predecessor (From Seed to Fruit), this book is the result of a global consultation sponsored by the Vision 5:9 Network.This volume is a storehouse of missiology that offers: Reflections from 47 writers hailing from 21 different countries Fresh case studies from the field of Muslim ministry Strategies for overcoming barriers to reaching Muslims Insights from hundreds of testimonies taken from field workers in 30 different agencies working across the Muslim world
In world missions, the author proposes, the local church is the biblical sending body through which missionaries serve. The author places emphasis upon the practical outworking of the mission responsibilities of the local church as well as its relationship to mission agencies, missionary personnel, and Christian schools.
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