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8 

CHRONOLOGY  OF  ASIAN  CHURCH  HISTORY 

50  Traditional  date  of  Thomas’s  landing  in  India. 

70  Traditional  date  of  Addai’s  mission  to  Edessa,  Osrhoene. 

201  First  record  of  a Christian  church  building  in  Edessa. 

270  First  priest  ordained  in  Seleucia-Ctesiphon,  Persia. 

301  First  Christian  king,  Tiridates  of  Armenia. 

311  Conversion  of  Constantine  the  Great,  Rome. 

325  Thomas  of  Canna  is  credited  with  bringing  East  Syrian  Christianity  to 
India. 

340-400  The  Great  Persecution  in  Persia. 

451  The  Council  of  Chalcedon  and  the  Great  Schism.  Nestorius  dies. 

486  The  Church  of  the  East  separates  from  Rome  and  Constantinople  as 
a "Nestorian"  or  Syrian  church. 

635  Alopen,  first  recorded  missionary  to  China,  reaches  Changan  (Xian). 

907  Tang  Dynasty  (618-907)  falls;  Nestorian  Christianity  disappears  in 
China. 

1000  Nestorian  missionaries  convert  the  Kerait  Mongols  in  Central  Asia. 

1200-1368  The  "Pax  Mongolica": 

Genghis  Khan  marries  his  son  Tolui  to  the  Kerait  princess  Sorkaktani 

Sorkaktani’s  three  sons  become  emperors  in  Asia:  Hulagu  emperor  of 
Persia  (r.  1258-1265),  Arghun  Great  Khan  of  Mongolia  (r.1284- 
1291),  and  Kublai  Khan  emperor  of  China  (r.  1260-1294). 

The  Franciscans,  John  of  Plano  Carpini  and  Lawrence  of  Portugal,  first 
Catholics  in  Mongolia  (1245). 

The  Polos  at  the  court  of  Kublai  Khan  (1266-1292). 

The  Franciscan  John  of  Montecorvino,  first  Catholic  to  reach  China 
proper  (1294);  Primate  of  all  the  Far  East  (1307). 

1295-1304  Central  Asia  turns  Muslim. 

1362-1405  Timur  the  Great  (Tamerlane)  destroys  Christianity  in  Asia. 

1502  Vasco  da  Gama  brings  Portuguese  Roman  Catholicism  to  dominate 
Syrian  Indian  Christianity. 


'S|>ecialized’  mission  agencies 
Non-Western  dominance 
Non-geographic  strategy 
based  on  people  groups 


Second  Era  (1865-1980) 

• 'Faith’  mission  agencies 

• American  dominance 

• Geographic  strategy 


First  Era  (1792-1910) 

• Denominational  agenc  ies 

• European  dominance 

• Geographic  strategy 


To  the  Unreached  Peoples 


To  the  Inland  areas 


To  the  Coastlands 


Student  Foreign 
Mission  Fellowship 


Student  Volunteer 
Movement 


Haystack  Prayer  Meeting 
Movement 


Lausanne  Congress  1974 
on  World  Evangelization 

1980 

Edinburgh  '80  and 
COWE  in  Patlaya,  Thailand 
were  held  focusing  on 
unreached  people  groups 


1806 

Haystack  Prayer  Meeting 


Edinburgh  1910 
Focused  s|>ec  ifically  on 
what  it  would  take  to 
finish  the  joh  in  what  in 
those  days  were  called 
'the  oniH  c iifiied  fields.* 


1 80S 

I ludson  Taylor  founds 
China  Inland  Mission 


1793 

baptist  Mission 
Soc  lety  founded 


1934 

Cam  Townsend 
emphasized 
linguistic  groups. 


GCOWE  It  1995 
An  explosion  of  awareness 
among  the  worldwide 
church  to  reach  the 
unrc\idic2H>eoplej^  ,UPS 


William  c arey  s 
Hook  Published 


Donald  MrC.avran 
emphasized 


Second  Transition 
; (46  years) 


First  Transition 
(45  years) 


smoffett.  19C-miss 


Epilogue : 


1 Kenneth  Scott 
Christianity,  vol . 5, 


Looking  Back  and  Looking  Ahead 


"In  geographic  extent,  in  movements 
issuing  from  it,  and  in  its  effect  upon 
the  [human]  race,  in  the  nineteenth 
century  Christianity  had  a far  larger 
place  in  human  history  than  at  any 
previous  time." 

- Kenneth  Scott  Latourette,  19431 


Latourette,  History  of  the  Expansion — of 
(New  York:  Harper  & Bros.,  1943),  1. 


EPILOGUE 


Professor  Latourette  chose  to  call  the  19th  century  "the 
great  century"  in  the  expansion  of  Christianity,  but  it  did  not 
begin  that  way.  Looking  back,  it  began  with  Roman  Catholic 
missions  still  staggered  by  the  suspension  and  expulsion  of  their 
most  famous  missionary  order,  the  Jesuits,  in  the  1770s.  It  began 
with  Dutch  Protestants  vigorously  pursuing  trade  in  their  colonies 
but  neglecting  their  missions;  and  with  William  Carey,  sometimes 
called  "the  father  of  the  modern  missionary  movement",  driven  out 
of  Calcutta  by  the  British  and  forced  to  take  on  superintendence  of 
a failing  indigo  factory  in  the  interior  in  order  to  support  his 
family.  Protestant  missionaries  could  not  establish  a residential 
foothold  in  China  until  1807,  and  made  little  progress  for  the  next 
forty  years.  There  was  no  Protestant  missionary  in  Japan  until 
1859. 

But  Latourette  was  right . Though  the  century  began  very 
small  it  ended  with  greatness,  a greatness  that  expanded  the  spread 
of  the  Christian  faith  around  the  globe  and  continued  the  growth  of 
the  church  beyond  the  end  of  the  century  in  epochal  (?)  proportions 
in  the  first  decades  of  the  next  century,  the  20th,  as  we  shall  see 
in  the  next  volume.2 

This  volume  began  with  the  16th  century,  with  Christian 
Portuguese  cannon  threatening  India,  and  with  Iberian  Catholics 
surprised  to  discover  Indian  Christians,  the  Nestorians,  who  firmly 
believed  that  St.  Thomas  came  to  their  India  as  St.  Peter  was  going 
to  Rome.  Another  difference  between  these  two  streams  of 
missionary  expansion  in  Asia  was  that  Nestorians  crossed  the 
continent  without  benefit  of  arms,  whereas  after  1500  both 


2 Latourette,  who  began  his  "great  century"  with  1815  (marked 
in  history  by  the  battle  of  Waterloo) , wisely  extended  it  across 
the  chnronlogical  century  mark  to  1915  and  the  beginnings  of  World 
War  I . 


Catholics  and,  later,  the  Protestants,  wrestled  with  the 
handicapping  stigma  of  the  association  with  imperial  conquest.  But 
lest  too  much  is  read  into  how  much  that  difference  afffected  the 
spread  of  the  Christian  faith,  historians  do  well  to  ponder  the 
fact  that  the  Nestorians  have  virtually  disappeared  off  the  face  of 
the  earth,  whereas  after  1500  both  Catholics  and  Protestants 
achieved  their  greatest  world-wide  missionary  success. 

But  to  place  the  history  into  its  context  from  its 
beginnings,  the  sequence  of  Christian  expansion  across  Asia  was 
something  like  this: 


(Syrian  tradition) . Thomas  to  India  (50  AD) . 

Addai  to  Edessa  (by  100  AD?) 
Christian  communities  in  Persia  (225) , Armenia 
(300),  Arabia  (356),  China.  (635-900). 

The  Great  Schism  of  Christendom  (451) ; the 
the  Muslim  Crusades  (622-1000) . 

Nestorians  in  Central  Asia  (1000) ; re-enter 
China  (1200)  ; Catholic  contacts  (1245-1346)  . 
Fall  of  Mongols,  decline  of  papacy,  rise  of 
Turks.  (1350-1500). 

Catholics  in  China,  Japan,  India,  Ceylon;  Dutch 
to  E.  Indies,  Moravians  to  India.  (1500-1700)  . 
Catholic  decline.  (1750-1830) 

"The  Great  Century"  (1800-1900  + ) . 

In  the  hundred  years  of  the  "great  century",  to  1900,  the 

advance  of  the  faith  in  Asia  registered  the  least  numerical 

membership  increase  of  any  of  the  five  major  continents: 


I . 

Advance  1 . i 

II . 

Advance  2 . 

Ill . 

Recession  1. 

IV. 

Advance  3 . 

V. 

Recession  2 . 

VI  . 

Advance  4 . 

VII  . 

VIII 

Recession  3 . 
.Advance  5. 

In  the 

1800 

1858 

1900 

World  pop . 

1,168,000, 000 

1, 619, 887, 000 

[Christians] 

AFRICA 

8,756, 000 

ASIA  (UN  def . ) 

20, 770, 000 

EUROPE  (UN  def.) 

368, 131, 000 

LATIN  AMERICA 

60,027, 000 

NORTH  AMERICA 

59, 570, 000 

OCEANIA 

4,220,000 

, 25. 


3 


David  Barrett,  in  IBMR  (Jan.  2000) 


smoffett  Perspect.'99 


19 -20th  C.  Missions  (Perspectives)  OUTLINE 


Three  Eras 


Pioneer  (1792-1910) . William  Carey. 

First  contact.  Denominational,  European. 
Coastlands 

Student  part:  Haystack  Prayer  Mtg  (1806) 
Paternal  (1865-1980) . Hudson  Taylor. 
Missionaries  train  national  leaders. 

Inland:  "Faith"  Missions;  USA  dominance 
Student  part:  Student  Volunt.  Mvmnt . (1886) 

Partnership  (1980-  ? ) 

The  still  unreached  frontiers 

Denominations,  "Faith"  missions,  parachurch 
specialized  agencies. 

Student  part:  short  termers. 

(Perspectives) , ch.  38,  253-261  (R.  Winter) 

Third  (hnal)  Era  (1934-?) 


Second  Era  (1865-1980) 

• "faith*  mission  agencies 


*S|>eci.ilized*  mission  agencies 
Non-Western  dominance 
Non-gcographic  strategy 
based  nn  people  groups 


1 7*13 
ll.iplist 
Sot  ll'lv 


1 7*1 2 
William 
Hunk  l'< 


1806 

Haystack 


Mission 
ft  mm  led 


•r.iycr  Meeting 

ItWiS 

I Unison  Taylor  loin  ids 
China  Inland  Mission 


Edinburgh  1910 
Tik  used  spit  ilically  on 
wli.it  it  would  lake  to 
finish  the  job  in  what  in 
those  days  were  called 
"the  iiinii  i npierl  fields  * 


( .Key's 


1934 

Cam  Townsenil 
emphasized 
linginslii  groups 

Donald  McC.avran 
emphasized 
ethnic  groups 


on  World  Evangelization 

19B0 

Edinburgh  '00  and 
COWE  m 1‘atlaya,  Thailand 
were  held  focusing  nn 
unreal  lied  people  groups 


CCOWE  II  1995 
An  explosion  of  awareness 
among  the  worldwide 
t hurt  h to  reat  h the 
unreal  lied  people  groups 

— Ir/f  Nlfrl  , 


& . 

II. 


6 

Two 

-or* 

Two 


Theologies 


(the  challlenge) 


Centuries  (19th  and  20th) . 

19th  C.  (1792-1910).  Protestant  Pioneers. 

Wm  Carey  (1792,  India),  Robt.  Morrison 
(1807,  China),  Robt.  Moffat  (1817,  (1817, 

Africa),  Ashbel  Simonton  (1859,  Brazil), 
and  Hudson  Taylor,  (1865,  inland  China) 

20th  C.  (1910-  ?) . Teachers  and  Partners.  The 

partnership  to  the  unreached  frontiers.  Some 
examples:  China  and  Korea. 


Four  Men,  Three  Eras,  Two 
Transitions:  Modem  Missions 


Ralph  D.  Winter 


After  serving  ten 
years  as  a mis- 
sionary among 
Mayan  Indians 
in  the  highlands 
of  Guatemala.  Ralph  D.  Winter  was 
called  to  be  a Professor  of  Missions 
at  the  School  of  World  Mission  at 
Fuller  Theological  Seminary.  Ten 
years  later  he  and  his  wife,  Roberta, 
founded  a mission  society  called 
the  Frontier  Mission  Fellowship 
(FMF)  in  Pasadena,  California. This 
in  turn  spawned  the  U.S.  Center  for 
World  Mission  and  the  William 
Carey  International  University, 
both  of  which  serve  other  missions 
working  at  the  frontiers  of  mission. 
He  is  the  General  Director  of  the 
Frontier  Mission  Fellowship.  See 
biographical  sketch  at 
toe  end  of  the  book. 


College  students  around  the  world  used  to  be  bowled 
over  by  Marxist  thought.  One  powerful  reason  was 
that  Communism  had  a "long  look."  Communists 
claimed  to  know  where  history  was  heading,  and  that  they 
were  merely  following  inevitable  trends. 

Recently,  evangelicals,  too,  have  thought  a lot  about 
trends  in  history  and  their  relationship  to  events  to  come. 

The  massive  response  a while  back  to  Hal  Lindsey's  books 
and  films  about  possible  events  in  the  future  has  shown  us 
that  people  are  responsive  to  a "where  are  we  going?"  ap- 
proach to  life. 

In  comparison  to  the  Communists,  Christians  actually 
have  the  longest  look,  backed  up  by  a mass  of  hard  facts  and 
heroic  deeds.  Yet  for  some  reason,  Christians  often  make 
little  connection  between  discussion  of  prophecy  and  future 
events,  and  discussion  of  missions.  They  see  the  Bible  as  a 
book  of  prophecy,  both  in  the  past  and  for  the  future.  Yet,  as 
Bruce  Ker  has  said  so  well,  "The  Bible  is  a missionary'  book 
throughout. . . .The  main  line  of  argument  that  binds  all  of  it 
together  is  the  unfolding  and  gradual  execution  of  a mis- 
sionary purpose." 

Did  I ever  hear  Ker's  thought  in  Sunday  School?  Maybe. 
But  only  in  later  years  have  I come  to  a new.appreciation  of 
the  fact  that  the  story  of  missions  begins  long  before  the 
Great  Commission.  The  Bible  is  very  clear:  God  told 
Abraham  he  was  to  be  blessed  and  to  be  a blessing  to  all  the 
families  of  the  earth  (Gen  12:1-3).  Peter  quoted  this  on  the 
day  he  spoke  in  the  temple  (Acts  3:25).  Paul  quoted  the  same 
mandate  in  his  letter  to  the  Galatians  (3:8). 

Yet  some  Bible  commentators  imply  that  only  the  first 
part  of  that  verse  could  have  happened  right  away.  They 
agree  that  Abraham  was  to  begin  to  be  blessed  right  away, 
but  somehow  they  reason  that  two  thousand  years  would 
have  to  pass  before  either  Abraham  or  his  descendants  could 
begin  "to  be  a blessing  to  all  the  families  on  earth."  They 
suggest  that  Christ  needed  to  come  first  and  institute  his 
Great  Commission — that  Abraham's  lineage  needed  to  wait 
around  for  2,000  years  before  they  would  be  called  upon  to 
go  the  ends  of  the  earth  to  be  a blessing  to  all  the  world's 
peoples  (this  could  be  called  "The  Theory  of  the  Hibernating 
Mandate").  Worse  still,  one  scholar,  with  a lot  of  followers  in 
later  decades,  propounded  the  idea  that  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment the  peoples  of  the  world  were  not  expected  to  receive 


Chapter  38 


253 


smoffeu.  Perspect.'99 


19-20th  C.  Missions  (Perspectives)  OUTLINE 

I.  Three  Eras:  1.  Pioneer  (1792-1910).  William  Carey. 

First  contact.  Denominational,  European. 
Coastlands 

Student  part:  Haystack  Prayer  Mtg  (1806) 

2.  Paternal  (1865-1980)  . Hudson  Taylor. 

Missionaries  train  national  leaders. 

Inland:  "Faith"  Missions;  USA  dominance 
Student  part:  Student  Volunt.  Mvmnt . (1886) 

3.  Partnership  (1980-  ? ) 

The  still  unreached  frontiers 
Denominations,  "Faith"  missions,  parachurch 
specialized  agencies. 

Student  part:  short  termers. 

(Perspectives) , ch.  38,  253-261  (R.  Winter) 


2 - i-u  faM*  . 

II.  Two  Theologies  (the  challlenge) . 

Two  Centuries  (19th  and  20th) . 

19th  C.  (1792-1910).  Protestant  Pioneers. 

Wm  Carey  (1792,  India),  Robt.  Morrison 
(1807,  China),  Robt.  Moffat  (1817,  (1817, 

Africa) , Ashbel  Simonton  (1859,  Brazil) , 
and  Hudson  Taylor,  (1865,  inland  China) 

(1910-  ?) . Teachers  and  Partners.  The 

partnership  to  the  unreached  frontiers.  Some 
examples:  China  and  Korea. 


20th  C. 


Jyvy/ 


it  70 
y «*-0 


I 


^ ry  ^ • 3^  U/yn&4  cWJ^ 


Largest  Protestant  Denominations  in  the  Third  World 


m 3 

CoTO 

y *H0  0CO 


Adherents 

1980 


*y  qpq  pap 


Church  of  Christ,  Zaire 
Assemblies  of  God,  Brazil 

Philippine  Independent  Church  (Aglipay)  Y,#uv  *v-o 
Kimbanguist  Church,  Zaire  ’ 5-^  ^ 

Anglican  Church,  Nigeria  (CMS)  ___  __  «/.  fa.'  ^ro 

Council  of  Dutch  Reformed  Churches,  S.  Africa 

Protestant  (Reformed)  Church,  Indonesia  \,  5-rj . avo 

Nigeria  Fellowship  of  Churches  of  Christ  (S . U f ^ 

J f 7 crv|  O»0 
f j <f«, 


2 <r«  i>  cvO 

— r 


Church  of  South  India  

Church  of  Christ,  Manalista  (Philippines) 

Anglican  Church  Uganda  (CMS)_ 

Anglican  Church  of  South  Africa 

Presbyterian  Church  in  Korea  (Tonghap)  j Ltoj 

Council  of  Baptist  Churches,  N.E.  India  (,10  m 

Baptist  Convention,  Brazil  [ 

Batak  Christian  Protestant  Church,  Indonesia^ 
Pentecostal  Churches  of  Indonesia  isof^-o 

Congregations  Crista,  Brazil  3, 

Evangelical  Pentecostals , Brazil  for  Christ,.!, 

South  African  Methodist  Church  a , f**, 

Methodist  Church  in  South  Asia  (India), 

Presbyterian  Church  of  Korea,  (Hapdong)  «,43oi(k-o 
Madagascar  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  i,rco  ^ 

Burma  Baptist  Convention  LX?!_£'£- 

United  Ev.  Lutheran  Churches  in  India 

Church  of  Central  Africa,  Malawi  (Presby ter_ian) 


J 4 5c  ot'o 

t 


Korean  Methodist  Church 
Evangelical  Lutheran  Churcn,  Brazil  6) 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Brazil  O) 

Zion  Christian  Church,  South  Africa 
Tanzania  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church 


1 , ° a ,pjd 

I '9  (,0,t W 

y tn),  c*  J 


(Adult  s 
1980) 


Adherents 
1952 


4,728,000 

(1,519,000) 

1,174,000 

4,000,000 

(2,753,000) 

220,000 

3,500,000 

(1,860,000) 

3,000,000 

3,500,000 

(2,000,000) 

- - 

2,941,000 

(359,970) 

403,000 

2,142,000 

1,665,000 

1,959,000 

(987,000) 

1,033,996 

1,746,000 

(100,550) 

25,000 

1,556,000 

(516,000) 

895,000 

1,500,000 

(400,000) 

1,384,000 

(306,000) 

321,000 

1,236,000 

(327,000) 

597,000 

1,100,000 

(280,000) 

240,000 

1,065,000 

(230,000) 

1,050,000 

(350,000) 

125,000 

1,044,000 

(465,000) 

502,000 

1,000,000 

(750,000) 

1,000,000 

(600,000) 

1,000,000 

(250,000) 

942,000 

(374,000) 

684,000 

901,000 

(421,000) 

450,000 

900,000 

240,000 

881,000 

(250,000) 

600,000 

798,000 

(249,000) 

439,000 

790,000 

(340,000) 

483,000 

766,000 

(282,000) 

386,000 

700,000 

(301 ,800) 

129,000 

629,000 

(136,000) 

740,617 

623,000 

(124,900) 

123,000 

600,000 

(300,000) 

*592,000 

(274,000) 

62,000 

The 

( largest  denominations  (World) 

Adherents 

Adult 

1. 

Evangelical  Church  in  Germany 

28,500,000 

22,000,000 

2. 

Church  of  England 

27,660,000 

9,600,000 

3. 

Southern  Baptist  (USA) 

14,000,000 

11,600,000 

4. 

United  Methodist  (USA) 

14,000,000 

10,300,000 

- Statistics  adapted  from 
World  Christian  Encylo- 
pedia , 1982 


4 


56  Chapter  38  FOUR  MEN,  THREE  ERAS,  TWO  TRANSITIONS 


the  settlement  of  a Native  Church  under 
Native  Pastors  upon  a self-supporting  sys- 
tem, it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the 
progress  of  a Mission  mainly  depends  upon 
the  training  up  and  the  location  of  Native 
Pastors;  and  that,  as  it  has  been  happily 
expressed,  the  "euthanasia  of  a Mission" 
takes  place  when  a missionary,  surrounded 
by  well-trained  Native  congregations  un- 
der Native  Pastors,  is  able  to  resign  all  pas- 
toral work  into  their  hands,  and  gradually 
relax  his  superintendence  over  the  pastors 
themselves,  'til  it  insensibly  ceases;  and  so 
the  Mission  passes  into  a settled  Christian 
community.  Then  the  missionary  and  all 
missionary  agencies  should  be  transferred 
to  the  "regions  beyond." 

Take  note:  There  was  no  thought  here  of 
he  national  church  launching  its  own  mis- 
lon  outreach  to  new  pioneer  fields!  Never- 
heless,  we  see  here  something  like  stages  of 
lission  activity,  described  by  Harold  Fuller  of 
4M  in  the  alliterative  sequence: 


Stage  1:  A Pioneer  stage — first  contact  with  a 
people  group. 

Stage  2:  A Paternal  stage — expatriates  train 
national  leadership. 

Stage  3:  A Partnership  stage — national  lead- 
ers work  as  equals  with  expatriates. 
Stage  4:  A Participation  stage — expatriates 
are  no  longer  equal  partners,  but 
only  participate  by  invitation. 

Slow  and  painstaking  though  the  labors  of 
the  First  Era  were,  they  did  bear  fruit,  and  the 
familiar  series  of  stages  can  be  observed 
which  goes  from  no  church  in  the  pioneer 
stage  to  infant  church  in  the  paternal  stage 
and  to  the  more  complicated  mature  church 
in  the  partnership  and  participation  stages. 

Samuel  Hoffman  of  the  Reformed  Church 
in  America  Board  puts  it  well:  "The  Christian 
missionary  who  was  loved  as  an  evangelist 
and  liked  as  a teacher,  may  find  himself  re- 
sented as  an  administrator." 


Wissioo-Church  Relations:  Four  Stages  of  Development 


Stage  One:  Pioneer 

Requires  gift  of  leadership,  along  with  other  gifts. 
No  Believers — missionary  must  lead  and 
do  much  of  the  work  himself. 


O 


Stage  Two:  Parent 

Requires  gift  of  teaching. 

The  young  church  has  a growing  child's 
relationship  to  the  mission.  But  the  "parent" 
must  avoid  "paternalism." 


O 


church  mission 


Stage  Three:  Partner 

Requires  changes  from  parent-child 
relation  to  adult-adult  relation. 

Difficult  for  both  to  change,  but  essential  to  the 
church's  becoming  a mature  "adult." 


O 


Stage  Four:  Participant 

A fully  mature  church  assumes  leadership. 

As  long  as  the  mission  remains,  it  should  use  its  gifts 
to  strengthen  the  church  to  meet  the  original  objectives 
of  Matt  28:19-20.  Meanwhile  the  mission  should  be 
involved  in  Stage  One  elsewhere. 


O 


O 


church  mission 


o 


i 


church  mission 


RALPH  D.  WINTER 


25; 


Lucky  is  the  missionary  in  whose  own  ca- 
reer this  whole  sequence  of  stages  takes 
place.  More  likely  the  series  represents  the 
work  in  a specific  field  with  a succession  of 
missionaries,  or  it  may  be  the  experience  of 
an  agency  which  in  its  early  period  bursts  out 
in  work  in  a number  of  places  and  then  after 
some  years  finds  that  most  of  its  fields  are 
mature  at  about  the  same  time.  But  rightly  or 
wrongly,  this  kind  of  succession  is  visible  in 
the  mission  movement  globally,  as  the  fever 
for  change  and  nationalization  sweeps  the 
thinking  of  almost  all  executives  at  once  and 
leaps  from  continent  to  continent,  affecting 
new  fields  still  in  earlier  stages  as  well  as  old 
ones  in  the  latter  stages. 


Taylor  was  more  concerned  for  the  cause  than 
for  a career:  At  the  end  of  his  life  he  had  spent 
only  half  of  his  years  of  ministry  in  China. 


I V At  any  rate,  by  1865  there  was  a strong 

consensus  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  that 
the  missionary  should  go  home  when  he  had 
worked  himself  out  of  a job.  Since  the  First 
Era  focused  primarily  upon  the  coast  lands  of 
Asia  and  Africa,  we  are  not  surprised  that  lit- 
eral withdrawal  would  come  about  first  in  a 
case  where  there  were  no  inland  territories. 
Thus,  symbolizing  the  latter  stages  of  the 
First  Era  was  the  withdrawal  of  all  missionar- 
ies from  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  then  a sepa- 
rate country.  This  was  done  with  legitimate 
pride  and  fanfare  and  fulfilled  the  highest  ex- 
pectations, then  and  now,  of  successful 
progress  through  the  stages  of  missionary 
planting,  watering  and  harvest. 

The  Second  Era 

A second  symbolic  event  of  1865  is  even  more 
significant,  at  least  for  the  inauguration  of  the 
Second  Era.  A young  man,  after  a short  term 
and  like  Carey  still  under  thirty,  in  the  teeth 
of  surrounding  counter  advice  established 
the  first  of  a whole  new  breed  of  missions 
, emphasizing  the  inland  territories.  This  sec- 
v ond  young  upstart  was  given  little  but  nega- 
tive  notice,  but  like  William  Carey,  brooded 
over  statistics,  charts  and  maps.  When  he 
*$,  Suggested  that  the  inland  peoples  of  China 


needed  to  be  reached,  he  was  told  you  could 
not  get  there,  and  he  was  asked  if  he  wished 
to  carry  on  his  shoulders  the  blood  of  the 
young  people  he  would  thus  send  to  their 
deaths.  This  accusing  question  stunned  and 
staggered  him.  Groping  for  light,  wandering 
on  the  beach,  it  seemed  as  if  God  finally 
spoke  to  resolve  the  ghastly  thought:  "You 
are  not  sending  young  people  in  the  interior 
of  China.  I am."  The  load  lifted. 

With  only  trade  school  medicine,  without 
any  university  experience  much  less 
missiological  training,  and  a checkered  past 
in  regard  to  his  own  individualistic  behavior 
while  he  was  on  the  field,  he  was  merely  one 
more  of  the  weak  things  that  God  uses  to 

confound  the  wise.  Even  his 
early  antichurch-planting 
missionary  strategy  was 
breathtakingly  erroneous  by 
today's  church-planting  stan- 
dards. Yet  God  strangely 
honored  him  because  his 
gaze  was  fixed  upon  the  world's  least- 
reached  peoples.  Hudson  Taylor  had  a divine 
wind  behind  him.  The  Holy  Spirit  spared 
him  from  many  pitfalls,  and  it  was  his  orga- 
nization, the  China  Inland  Mission — the  most 
cooperative,  servant  organization  yet  to  ap- 
pear— that  eventually  served  in  one  way  or 
another  over  6,000  missionaries,  predomi- 
nantly in  the  interior  of  China.  It  took  20 
years  for  other  missions  to  begin  to  join  Tay- 
lor in  his  special  emphasis — the  unreached, 
inland  frontiers. 

One  reason  the  Second  Era  began  slowly  is 
that  many  people  were  confused.  There  were 
already  many  missions  in  existence.  Why 
more?  Yet  as  Taylor  pointed  out,  all  existing 
agencies  were  confined  to  the  coast  lands  of 
Africa  and  Asia,  or  islands  in  the  Pacific. 
People  questioned,  "Why  go  to  the  interior  if 
you  haven't  finished  the  job  on  the  coast?" 

I am  not  sure  the  parallel  is  true  today, 
but  the  Second  Era  apparently  needed  not 
only  a new  vision  but  a lot  of  new  organiza- 
tions. Taylor  not  only  started  an  English 
frontier  mission,  he  went  to  Scandinavia  and 
the  Continent  to  challenge  people  to  start 
new  agencies.  As  a result,  directly  or  indi- 
rectly, over  40  new  agencies  took  shape  to 
compose  the  faith  missions  that  rightly 


254  Chapter  38  FOUR  MEN,  THREE  ERAS,  TWO  TRANSITIONS 


missionaries  but  to  go  to  Israel  for  the  light, 
and  that  from  the  the  New  Testament  and 
thereafter  it  was  the  reverse,  that  is,  the 
peoples  to  be  blessed  would  not  come  but 
those  already  having  received  the  blessing 
would  go  to  them.  This  rather  artificial  idea 
gained  acceptance  partially  by  the  use  of  the 
phrase,  "centripetal  mission  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment and  centrifugal  mission  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament." Fact  is,  there  is  both  in  both  periods, 
and  it  is  very  confusing  to  try  to  employ  an 
essentially  "Mickey  Mouse"  gimmick  to  ex- 
plain a shift  in  strategy  that  did  not  happen. 

[ The  existence  of  137  different  languages  in 
Los  Angeles  makes  clear  that  now,  in  the 
New  Testament-and-after  period,  nations  are 
still  coming  to  the  light. 

A more  recent  and  exciting  interpretation 
(see  Walter  Kaiser's  chapter  two)  observes 
that  Israel,  as  far  back  as  Abraham,  was  ac- 
countable to  share  that  blessing  with  other  na- 
tions. In  the  same  way,  since  the  time  of  the 
apostle  Paul,  every  nation  v^hich  has  con- 
tained any  significant  number  of  "children  of 
Abraham's  faith"  has  been  similarly  account- 
able (but  both  Israel  and  the  other  nations 
have  mainly  failed  to  carry  out  this  mandate). 

The  greatest  scandal  in  the  Old  Testament 
is  that  Israel  tried  to  be  blessed  without  trying 
very  hard  to  be  a blessing.  However,  let's  be 
| careful:  The  average  citizen  of  Israel  was  no  more 
oblivious  to  the  second  part  of  Gen.  12:1-3  than  the 
i average  Christian  today  is  oblivious  to  the  Great 
Commission!  How  easily  our  study  Bibles  over- 
look the  veritable  string  of  key  passages  in  the 
Old  Testament  which  exist  to  remind  Israel 
(and  us)  of  the  missionary  mandate:  Gen  12:1- 
3, 18:18,  22:18, 28:14,  Ex  19:4-6,  Deut  28:10, 2 
Chr  6:33,  Ps  67,  96, 105,  Isa  40:5,  42:4,  49:6,  56:3, 
6-8,  Jer  12:14-17,  Zech  2:11,  Mai  1:11. 

Likewise,  today  nations  which  have  been 
singularly  blessed  by  God  may  choose  to  re- 
sist and  try  to  conceal  any  sense  of  their  obli- 
gation to  be  a blessing  to  other  nations.  But 
that  is  not  God's  will.  "Unto  whomsoever 
much  is  given,  of  him  shall  much  be  re- 
quired" (Luke  12:48). 

Thus,  how  many  times  in  the  average 
church  today  is  the  Great  Commission  men- 
tioned? Even  less  often  than  it  comes  up  in 
the  Old  Testament!  Yet  the  commission  ap- 
plies. It  applied  then,  and  it  applies  today.  I 


believe  it  has  been  constantly  applic 
the  very  moment  when  it  was  first  g 
(Gen  12:1-3).  As  individual  Christian 
a nation  we  are  responsible  "to  be  a 1 
to  all  the  families  of  the  earth." 

This  mandate  has  been  overlooked 
most  of  the  centuries  since  the  apostle 
our  Protestant  tradition  plugged  alon; 
250  years  minding  its  own  business  ai 
own  blessings  (like  Israel  of  old) — unt 
young  man  of  great  faith  and  incredit 
ance  appeared  on  the  scene.  In  this  ch 
are  going  to  focus  in  on  the  A.D.  1800- 
riod  which  his  life  and  witness  kicked 
other  one  person  can  be  given  as  muc 
for  the  vibrant  new  impetus  of  the  las 
hundred  years.  He  was  one  of  four  su 
enti’al  men  whom  God  used,  all  of  the 
severe  handicaps.  Three  great  "eras"  <. 
plunging  forward  into  newly  perceivt 
tiers  resulted  from  their  faith  and  obei 
took  two  of  them  to  launch  the  third  a 
era).  Four  stages  of  mission  strategy  c 
ized  each  of  these  eras.  Two  perplexin 
sitions"  of  strategy  inevitably  appeart 
fourth  stage  of  one  era  contrasted  witl 
stage  of  the  next.  It  is  easier  to  see  thi^ 
gram.  Better  still,  the  story. 

The  First  Era 

An  "under  thirty"  young  man,  Willi, 
i Carey,  got  into  trouble  when  he  beg? 
j the  Great  Commission  seriously.  Wh 
i had  the  opportunity  to  address  a grt 
I ministers,  he  challenged  them  to  giv 
son  why  the  Great  Commission  did  i 
to  them.  They  rebuked  him,  saying, ' 
God  chooses  to  win  the  heathen,  He 
without  your  help  or  ours."  He  was 
speak  again  on  the  subject,  so  he  pat 
wrote  out  his  analysis,  "An  Enquiry 
Obligations  of  Christians  to  Use  Me? 
the  Conversion  of  the  Heathens." 

The  resulting  small  book  convince 
of  his  friends  to  create  a tiny  mission 
the  "means"  of  which  he  had  spoker 
structure  was  flimsy  and  weak,  prov 
only  the  minimal  backing  he  needed 
India.  However,  the  impact  of  his  ex 
verberated  throughout  the  English-s 
I world,  and  his  little  book  became  th< 
I Carta  of  the  Protestant  mission  mov. 


‘••V 


RALPH  D.  WINTER 


255 


William  Carey  was  not  the  first  Protestant 
missionary.  For  years  the  Moravians  had  sent 
people  to  Greenland,  America  and  Africa.  But 
his  little  book,  in  combination  with  the  Evan- 
gelical Awakening,  quickened  vision  and 
changed  lives  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic. 
Response  was  almost  instantaneous:  a second 
missionary  society  was  founded  in  London- 
two  in  Scotland;  one  in  Holland;  and  then 
still  another  in  England.  By  then  it  was  ap- 
parent to  all  that  Carey  was  right  when  he 
had  insisted  that  organized  efforts  in  the 
form  of  missions  societies  were  essential  to 
the  success  of  the  missionary  endeavor. 

In  America,  five  college  students,  aroused 
by  Carey's  book,  met  to  pray  for  God's  direc- 
tion for  their  lives.  This  unobtrusive  prayer 
meeting,  later  known  as  the  "Haystack 
Prayer  Meeting,"  resulted  in  an  American 
"means" — the  American  Board  of  Commis- 
sioners of  Foreign  Missions.  Even  more  im- 
portant, they  started  a student  mission  move- 
ment which  became  the  example  and 
forerunner  of  other  student  movements  in 
missions  to  this  day. 

5 In  fact,  during  the  first  25  years  after 

Carey  sailed  to  India,  a dozen  mission  agen- 
cies were  formed  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlan- 
tic, and  the  First  Era  in  Protestant  missions 
was  off  to  a good  start.  Realistically  speaking, 
however,  missions  in  this  First  Era  was  a piti- 
fully small  shoe-string  operation,  in  relation 
to  the  major  preoccupations  of  most  Europe- 
ans and  Americans  in  that  day.  The  idea  that 
we  should  organize  in  order  to  send  mission- 
aries did  not  come  easily,  but  it  eventually 
became  an  accepted  pattern. 

Carey's  influence  led  some  women  in  Bos- 
ton to  form  women's  missionary  prayer 
groups,  a trend  which  led  to  women  becom- 
ing the  main  custodians  of  mission  knowl- 
edge and  motivation.  After  some  years 
women  began  to  go  to  the  field  as  single  mis- 
sionaries. Finally,  by  1865,  unmarried  Ameri- 
can women  established  women's  mission 
boards  which,  like  Roman  Catholic  women's 
orders,  only  sent  out  single  women  as  mis- 
sionaries and  were  run  entirely  by  single 
gr  Women  at  home. 

..  There  are  two  very  bright  notes  about  the 
1^' First  Era.  One  is  the  astonishing  demonstra- 
; tion  of  love  and  sacrifice  on  the  part  of  those 


who  went  out.  Africa,  especially,  was  a for- 
bidding continent.  All  mission  outreach  to 
Africa  prior  to  1775  had  totally  failed.  Of  all 
Catholic  efforts,  all  Moravian  efforts,  nothing 
remained.  Not  one  missionary  of  any  kind 
existed  on  the  continent  on  the  eve  of  the 
First  Era.  The  grue- 


During  the 
first  25  years 
after  Carey 
sailed  to  India, 
a dozen 
mission 
agencies  were 
formed  on 
both  sides  of 
the  Atlantic. 


some  statistics  of  al- 
most inevitable  sick- 
ness and  death  that 
haunted,  yet  did  not 
daunt,  the  decades  of 
truly  valiant  mission- 
aries who  went  out  af- 
ter 1790  in  virtually  a 
suicidal  stream  cannot 
be  matched  by  any 
other  era  or  by  any 
other  cause.  Very  few 
missionaries  to  Africa 
in  the  first  60  years  of 
the  First  Era  survived 
more  than  two  years. 

As  I have  reflected  on  this  measure  of  devo- 
tion I have  been  humbled  to  tears,  for  I won- 
der— if  I or  my  people  today  could  or  would 
match  that  record.  Can  you  imagine  our  Ur- 
bana  students  today  going  out  into  mission- 
ary work  if  they  knew  that  for  decade  after 
decade  19  out  of  20  of  those  before  them  had 
died  almost  on  arrival  on  the  field? 

A second  bright  spot  in  this  First  Era  is  the 
development  of  high  quality  insight  into  mis- 
sion strategy.  The  movement  had  several  great 
missiologists.  In  regard  to  home  structure, 
they  clearly  understood  the  value  of  the  mis- 
sion structure  being  allowed  a life  of  its  own. 
For  example,  we  read  that  the  London  Mis- 
sionary Society  experienced  unprecedented 
and  unequaled  success,  "due  partly  to  its  free- 
dom from  ecclesiastical  supervision  and  partly 
to  its  formation  from  an  almost  equal  number 
of  ministers  and  laymen."  In  regard  to  field 
structure,  we  can  take  a note  from  Henry  Venn 
who  was  related  to  the  famous  Clapham 
evangelicals  and  the  son  of  a founder  of  the 
Church  Missionary  Society.  Except  for  a few 
outdated  terms,  one  of  his  most  famous  para- 
graphs sounds  strangely  modem: 

Regarding  the  ultimate  object  of  a Mission, 

viewed  under  its  ecclesiastical  result,  to  be 


9 


FOUR  MEN,  THREE  ERAS,  TWO  TRANSITIONS 


hould  be  called  frontier  missions  as  the 
lames  of  many  of  them  still  indicate:  China 
nland  Mission,  Sudan  Interior  Mission,  Af- 
rica Inland  Mission,  Heart  of  Africa  Mission, 
Unevangelized  Fields  Mission,  Regions  Be- 
yond Missionary  Union.  Taylor  was  more 
concerned  for  the  cause  than  for  a career:  At 
the  end  of  his  life  he  had  spent  only  half  of 
his  years  of  ministry  in  China.  In  countless 
trips  back  from  China  he  spent  half  of  his 
time  as  a mobilizer  on  the  home  front.  For 
Taylor,  the  cause  of  Christ,  not  China,  was 
the  ultimate  focus  of  his  concern. 

As  in  the  early  stage  of  the  First  Era,  when 
things  began  to  move,  God  brought  forth  a stu- 
dent movement.  This  one  was  more  massive 
than  before— the  Student  Volunteer  Movement 
for  Foreign  Missions,  history's  single  most  po- 
tent mission  organization.  In  the  1880s  and  90s 
there  were  only  1 / 37th  as  many  college  stu- 
dents as  there  are  today,  but  the  Student  Vol- 
unteer Movement  netted  100,000  volunteers 
who  gave  their  lives  to  missions.  Twenty-thou- 
sand actually  went  overseas.  As  we  see  it  now, 
the  other  80,000  had  to  stay  home  to  rebuild 
the  foundations  of  the  missions  endeavor. 

They  began  the  Laymen's  Missionary  Move- 
ment and  strengthened  existing  women's  mis- 
sionary societies. 

However,  as  the  fresh  new  college  stu- 
dents of  the  Second  Era  burst  on  the  scene 
overseas,  they  did  not  always  fathom  how 
the  older  missionaries  of  the  First  Era  could 
have  turned  responsibility  over  to  national 
leadership  at  the  least  educated  levels  of  so- 
ciety. First  Era  missionaries  were  in  the  mi- 
nority now,  and  the  wisdom  they  had 
gained  from  their  experience  was  bypassed 
by  the  large  number  of  new  college-edu- 
cated recruits.  Thus,  in  the  early  stages  of 
the  Second  Era,  the  new  college-trained 
missionaries,  instead  of  going  to  new  fron- 
tiers, sometimes  assumed  leadership  over 
existing  churches,  not  reading  the  record  of 
previous  mission  thinkers,  and  often  forced 
First  Era  missionaries  and  national  leader- 
ship (which  had  been  painstakingly  devel- 
oped) into  the  background.  In  some  cases 
this  caused  a huge  step  backward  in  mis- 
sion strategy. 

By  1925,  however,  the  largest  mission 
movement  in  history  was  in  full  swing.  By 


then  Second  Era  missionaries  had  finally 
learned  the  basic  lessons  they  had  first  ig- 
nored, and  produced  an  incredible  record. 

They  had  planted  churches  in  a thousand 
new  places,  mainly  "inland,''  and  by  1940  the 
reality  of  the  "younger  churches"  around  the 
world  was  widely  acclaimed  as  the  "great 
new  fact  of  our  time."  The  strength  of  these 
churches  led  both  national  leaders  and  mis- 
sionaries to  assume  that  all  additional  fron- 
tiers could  simply  be  mopped  up  by  the  ordi- 
nary evangelism  of  the  churches  scattered 
throughout  the  world.  More  and  more  people 
wondered  if,  in  fact,  missionaries  weren't 
needed  so  badly!  Once  more,  as  in  1865,  it 
seemed  logical  to  send  missionaries  home 
from  many  areas  of  the  world. 

For  us  today  it  is  highly  important  to  note 
the  overlap  of  these  first  two  eras.  The  45 
year  period  between  1865  and  1910  (compare 
1934  to  1980  today)  was  a transition  between 
the  strategy  appropriate  to  the  mature  stages 
of  Era  1,  the  Coast  lands  era,  and  the  strategy 
appropriate  to  the  pioneering  stages  of  Era  2, 
the  Inland  era. 

Shortly  after  the  World  Missionary  Con- 
ference in  Edinburgh  in  1910,  there  ensued 
the  shattering  World  Wars  and  the  world- 
wide collapse  of  the  colonial  apparatus.  By 
1 1945  many  overseas  churches  were  pre- 
pared  not  only  for  the  withdrawal  of  the 
; colonial  powers,  but  for  the  absence  of  the 
missionary  as  well.  While  there  was  no 
very  widespread  outcry,  "Missionary  Go 
Home,"  as  some  supposed,  nevertheless 
things  were  different  now,  as  even  the 
! people  in  the  pews  at  home  ultimately 
| sensed.  Pioneer  and  paternal  were  no 
longer  the  relevant  stages,  but  partnership 
and  participation. 

In  1967,  the  total  number  of  career  mis- 
| sionaries  from  America  began  to  decline  (and 
I it  has  continued  to  do  so  to  this  day).  Why? 

I Christians  had  been  led  to  believe  that  all 
necessary  beachheads  had  been  established.  *•  gjj 
By  1967,  over  90  percent  of  all  missionaries 
from  North  America  were  working  with 
strong  national  churches  that  had  been  in 
istence  for  some  time.  " *1 

The  facts,  however,  were  not  that  simple.  ^ 
Unnoticed  by  most  everyone,  another  era  in^ 
missions  had  begun. 


Ife  * 


. 'is 


8 § 


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Three  Eras  of  the  Modern  Missions  Movement 


"H 


Second  Era  (1865-1980) 

• "Failhu  mission  agencies 


Third  (Final)  Era  (1934-?) 

• “Specialized"  mission  agencies 

• Non-Western  dominance 

• Non-geographic  strategy 
based  on  people  groups 


William  Carey's 
Hook  Published 


Donald  McCavran 
emphasized 
ethnic  groups 


An  explosion  of  awareness 
among  the  worldwide 
church  to  reach  the 
unreached  people  groups 


RALPH  D.  WINTER  259 


-,.n  ,«  FOUR  MEN.  THREE  ERAV TWO  TRANSITIONS 


The  Third  Era 

This  era  was  begun  by  a pair  of  young  men  of 
the  Student  Volunteer  Movement— Cameron 
Townsend  and  Donald  McGavran.  Cameron 
Townsend  was  in  so  much  of  a hurry  to  get  to 
the  mission  field  that  he  didn't  bother  to  finish 
coUege.  He  went  to  Guatemala  as  a "Second 
Era"  missionary,  building  on  work  which  had 
been  done  in  the  past.  In  that  country,  as  in  all 
other  mission  fields,  there  was  plenty  to  do  by 
missionaries  working  with  established  na- 
tional  churches. 

But  Townsend  was  alert  enough  to  nohce 
that  the  majority  of  Guatemala's  population 

did  not  speak 
Spanish.  As  he 
moved  from  vil- 
lage to  village,  try- 
ing to  distribute 
scriptures  written 
in  the  Spanish  lan- 
guage, he  began  to 
realize  that  Span- 
ish evangelism 
would  never  reach 
all  Guatemala's 
people.  He  was 
further  convinced 

of  this  when  an  Indian  asked  him/'Ifj'our 
God  is  so iif^rtTwh^can^ 
giuigerTle  was  befriended  by  a group  of 


The  task  is  not  an 
American  one, 
nor  even  a 
Western  one.  It 
will  involve 
Christians  from 
every  continent 
of  the  world. 


•-)  V-1C*  . 

oldeTmissionaries  who  had  already  con- 
cluded the  indigenous  "Indian"  populations 
needed  to  be  reached  in  their  own  languages. 
He  was  just  23  when  he  began  to  move  on 
the  basis  of  this  new  perspective. 

Surely  in  our  time  one  person  comparable 
to  William  Carey  and  Hudson  Taylor  is 
Cameron  Townsend.  Like  Carey  and  Taylor, 
Townsend  saw  that  there  were  still  unreached 
frontiers,  and  for  almost  a half  century  he  has 
waved  the  flag  for  the  overlooked  tribal 
peoples  of  the  world.  He  started  out  hoping  to 
help  older  boards  reach  out  to  tribal  people. 
Like  Carey  and  Taylor,  he  ended  up  starting 
his  own  mission,  Wycliffe  Bible  Translators, 
which  is  dedicated  to  reaching  these  new  fron- 
tiers. At  first  he  thought  there  must  be  about 
500  unreached  tribal  groups  in  the  world.  (He 
was  judging  by  the  large  number  of  tribal  lan- 
guages in  Mexico  alone).  Later,  he  revised  his 
figure  to  1,000,  then  2,000,  and  now  it  is  closer 


to  5,000.  As  his  conception  of  the  enormity  of 
the  task  has  increased,  the  size  of  his  organiza- 
tion has  increased.  Today  it  numbers  over 
4,000  adult  workers. 

At  the  very  same  time  Townsend  was  ru- 
minating in  Guatemala,  Donald  McGavran 
was  beginning  to  yield  to  the  seriousness,  not 
of  linguistic  barriers,  but  of  India  s amazing 
social  barriers.  Townsend  "discovered"  the 
tribes-  McGavran  discovered  a more  nearly 
universal  category  he  labeled  "homogeneous 
units,"  which  today  are  more  often  called 
"people  groups."  Paul  Hiebert  has  employed 
the  terminology  of  "horizontal  segmenta- 
tion" for  the  tribes  which  each  occupied  their 
own  turf,  and  "vertical  segmentation"  for 
groups  distinguished  not  by  geography  but 
by  rigid  social  differences.  McGavran's  termi- 
nology described  both  kinds  even  though  he 
was  mainly  thinking  about  the  more  subtle 

vertical  segmentation. 

Once  such  a group  is  penetrated,  dili- 
gently taking  advantage  of  that  missiological 
breakthrough  along  group  lines,  the  strategic 
"bridge  of  God"  to  that  people  group  is  es- 
tablished. The  corollary  of  this  truth  is  the 
fact  that  until  such  a breakthrough  is  made, 
normal  evangelism  and  church  planting  can- 
not take  place. 

McGavran  did  not  found  a new  mission 
(Townsend  did  so  only  when  the  existing 
missions  did  not  properly  respond  to  the 
tribal  challenge).  McGavran's  active  efforts 
and  writings  spawned  both  the  church 
growth  movement  and  the  frontier  mission 
movement,  the  one  devoted  to  expanding 
within  already  penetrated  groups,  and  the 
other  devoted  to  deliberate  approaches  to  the 
remaining  unpenetrated  groups. 

As  with  Carey  and  Taylor  before  them,  for 
twenty  years  Townsend  and  McGavran  at- 
tracted little  attention.  But  by  the  1950s  both 
! had  wide  audiences.  By  1980, 46  years  from 
1934,  a 1910-like  conference  was  held,  focus- 
mg  precisely  on  the  forgotten  groups , these 
two  men  emphasized.  The  Edinburgh-1980 
World  Consultation  on  Frontier  Missions  was 
the  largest  mission  meeting  in  history,  mea 
sured  by  the  number  of  mission  agencies 
sending  delegates.  And  wonder  of  wonde  , ^ 

57  Third  World  agencies  sent  delega  • 

the  sleeper  of  the  Third  Era!  Also,  a simulta- 


RALPH  D.  WINTER 


261 


neous  youth  meeting,  the  International  Stu- 
dent Consultation  on  Frontier  Missions, 
pointed  the  way  for  all  future  mission  meet- 
ings to  include  significant  youth  participation. 

As  happened  in  the  early  stages  of  the  first 
two  eras,  the  Third  Era  has  spawned  a num- 
ber of  new  mission  agencies.  Some,  like  the 
New  Tribes  Mission,  carry  in  their  names  ref- 
erence to  this  new  emphasis.  The  names  of 
others,  such  as  Gospel  Recordings  and  Mis- 
sion Aviation  Fellowship,  refer  to  the  new 
technologies  necessary  for  the  reaching  of 
tribal  and  other  isolated  peoples  of  the  world. 
Some  Second  Era  agencies,  like  Regions  Be- 
yond Missionary  Union,  have  never  ceased  to 
stress  frontiers,  and  have  merely  increased 
their  staff  so  they  can  penetrate  further — to 
people  groups  previously  overlooked. 

More  recently  many  have  begun  to  realize 
that  tribal  peoples  are  not  the  only  forgotten 
peoples.  Many  other  groups,  some  in  the 
middle  of  partially  Christianized  areas,  have 
been  completely  overlooked.  These  peoples 
are  being  called  the  "Unreached  Peoples"  and 
are  defined  by  ethnic  or  sociological  traits  to 
be  people  so  different  from  the  cultural  tradi- 
tions of  any  existing  church  that  missions 
(rather  than  evangelism)  strategies  are  neces- 
sary for  the  planting  of  indigenous  churches 
within  their  particular  traditions. 

If  the  First  Era  was  characterized  by  reach- 
ing coast  land  peoples  and  the  Second  Era  by 
inland  territories,  the  Third  Era  must  be  char- 
acterized by  the  more  difficult-to-define,  non- 
geographical  category  which  we  have  called 
"Unreached  Peoples" — people  groups  which 
are  socially  isolated.  Because  this  concept  has 
been  so  hard  to  define,  the  Third  Era  has 
been  even  slower  getting  started  than  the 
Second  Era.  Cameron  Townsend  and  Donald 
McGavran  began  calling  attention  to  forgot- 
ten peoples  over  40  years  ago,  but  only  re- 
cently has  any  major  attention  been  given  to 
them.  More  tragic  still,  we  have  essentially 
forgotten  the  pioneering  techniques  of  the 


First  and  Second  Eras,  so  we  almost  need  to 
reinvent  the  wheel  as  we  learn  again  how  to 
approach  groups  of  people  completely  un- 
touched by  the  gospel! 

We  know  that  there  are  about  11,000 
people  groups  in  the  "Unreached  Peoples" 
category,  gathered  in  clusters  of  similar 
peoples,  these  clusters  numbering  not  more 
than  3,000.  Each  individual  people  will  re- 
quire a separate,  new  missionary  beachhead. 
Is  this  too  much?  Can  this  be  done? 

Can  We  Do  It? 

The  task  is  not  as  difficult  as  it  may  seem,  for 
several  surprising  reasons.  In  the  first  place, 
the  task  is  not  an  American  one,  nor  even  a 
Western  one.  It  will  involve  Christians  from 
every  continent  of  the  world. 

More  significant  is  the  fact  that  when  a 
beachhead  is  established  within  a culture,  the 
normal  evangelistic  process  which  God  ex- 
pects every  Christian  to  be  involved  in  re- 
places the  missions  strategy,  because  the  mis- 
sion task  of  "breaking  in"  is  finished. 

Furthermore,  "closed  countries"  are  less  and 
less  of  a problem,  because  the  modem  world  is 
becoming  more  and  more  interdependent. 
There  are  literally  no  countries  today  which  ad- 
mit no  foreigners.  Many  of  the  countries  con- 
sidered "completely  closed" — like  Saudi 
Arabia — are  in  actual  fact  avidly  recruiting 
thousands  of  skilled  people  from  other  nations. 
And  the  truth  is,  they  prefer  devout  Christians 
to  boozing,  womanizing,  secular  Westerners. 

But  our  work  in  the  Third  Era  has  many 
other  advantages.  We  have  potentially  a 
world-wide  network  of  churches  that  can  be 
aroused  to  their  central  mission.  Best  of  all, 
nothing  can  obscure  the  fact  that  this  could 
and  should  be  the  final  era.  No  serious  be- 
liever today  dare  overlook  the  fact  that  God 
has  not  asked  us  to  reach  every  nation,  tribe 
and  tongue  without  intending  it  to  be  done. 
No  generation  has  less  excuse  than  ours  if  we 
do  not  do  as  He  asks. 


Study  Questions 

1 . Describe  the  emphasis  of  each  of  the  three  eras  and  explain  the  tensions  inherent  in  the  transition 
from  one  era  to  another. 

. 2.  Name  the  key  figure,  approximate  dates,  and  student  movement  associated  with  each  era. 

: 3*  Explain  the  four  stages  of  mission  activity. 


A History  of  Transformation 


Paul  Pierson 


| ;vl  I Paul  Pierson  is  a 
Senior  Professor 
of  Mission  and 
Latin  American 
Studies  at  the 
School  of  World  Mission  at  Fuller 
Theological  Seminary.  He  was 
Dean  of  the  School  of  World  Mis- 
sion from  1980  to  1993.  He  also 
pastored  churches  and  served  as  a 
missionary  to  Brazil  and  Portugal. 


The  Church  of  Jesus  Christ,  especially  its  missionary 
arm,  has  generally  understood  the  transformation  of 
society  to  be  an  essential  part  of  its  task.  While  the 
focal  point  of  mission  has  always  been  to  communicate  the 
Good  News  of  Christ,  calling  people  to  repent  and  believe 
and  be  baptized  into  the  Church,  Christians  have  always  un- 
derstood their  mission  to  be  fulfilled  in  teaching  the  nations 
"to  observe  all  things"  that  Christ  has  commanded.  Expecta- 
tion of  people  obeying  Christ  has  always  fueled  hope  that 
the  culmination  of  this  process  of  evangelization  would 
bring  about  transformation  of  the  social  situations,  the 
physical  conditions,  and  the  spiritual  lives  of  believers. 
Sometimes  changes  were  remarkable,  at  other  times  disap- 
pointing. But  even  when  there  was  great  cultural  misunder- 
standing and  error,  the  desire  to  bring  individuals  and  soci- 
eties more  into  conformity  with  the  kingdom  of  God  has 
remained  an  integral  part  of  mission. 

Often  missionaries  moved  into  cultures  which  were  al- 
ready undergoing  change.  They  helped  produce  some  of  that 
change,  often  channeling  it  positively,  or  working  against 
some  of  its  harsher  aspects.  Missionaries  often  envisioned  a 
model  of  transformed  communities  that  looked  suspiciously 
like  those  they  had  known  in  their  own  cultures;  however, 
there  is  no  doubt  this  transforming  dimension  was  an  essen- 
tial aspect  of  mission,  and  for  the  most  part,  beneficial. 1 

Monasticism:  Communities 
of  Preservation  and  Transformation 

Nearly  all  missionaries  during  the  period  from  the  fourth  to 
the  eighteenth  centuries  were  monks.  Though  most  of  the 
monastic  movements  were  expressly  missionary,  others  were 
not,  but  nearly  all  of  the  monastic  movements  brought  about 

significant  social  transformation. 

There  were  dozens  of  monastic  movements,  among  them 
were  the  Benedictines  and  those  movements  which  were  born 
out  of  them,  the  Nestorians,  who  moved  from  Asia  Minor  ^ y . 
into  Arabia,  India,  and  across  central  Asia  to  China,  the  r-  _ 
thodox,  who  went  north  into  the  Balkans  and  Russia,  e 
Celts , who  arose  in  Ireland,  then  moved  into  Scotland  an 
England,  and  back  to  the  continent,  and  later,  the 
Franciscans,  Dominicans,  and  Jesuits . 

Even  though  the  Benedictines  were  not  purposely  Vjp 
sionary,  they  and  the  other  groups  moved  into  areas 


262 


Chapter  39 


PAUL  PIERSON 


263 


the  Christian  faith  had  not  yet  penetrated, 
forming  communities  which  modeled  and 
taught  the  Faith  to  the  "barbarian"  tribes 
moving  into  central  and  Western  Europe. 

The  original  intent  of  monasticism  was  to 
encourage  men  to  develop  lives  of  discipline 
and  prayer,  far  from  the  concerns  of  normal 
life.  But  the  monasteries  and  the  soon-to-fol- 
low  women's  houses  became  self-sustaining 
communities  organized  around  rules  for 
daily  life  which  included  both  work  and 
worship.  Work  was  both  manual  and  intel- 
lectual, in  the  fields  and  in  the  library.  This 
was  a revolutionary  concept  in  the  ancient 
world  where  manual  work  was  seen  as  fit 
only  for  slaves.  Monks  also  became  scholars, 
thus  for  the  first  time,  the  practical  and  the 
theoretical  were  embodied  in  the  same  per- 
sons. So  the  monks  have  been  called  the  first 
intellectuals  to  get  dirt  under  their  finger- 
nails! This  helped  create  an  environment  fa- 
vorable to  scientific  development  and  the 
monasteries  became  centers’of  faith,  learn- 
ing, and  technical  progress. 

Monasticisms  contribution  to  learning  is 
well  known,  but  its  impact  on  agricultural 
development  is  not  as  widely  recognized. 
Hannah  wrote  that  in  the  seventh  century  "it 
was  the  monks  who  possessed  the  skill,  capi- 
tal, organization,  and  faith  in  the  future  to 
undertake  large  projects  of  reclamation  over 
fields  long  desolated  by  the  slave  system  of 
village  life... and  the  barbarian  hordes....  Im- 
mense tracts  of  barren  heath  and  water- 
soaked  fen  were  by  the  monasteries'  hands 
turned  into  excellent  agricultural  land."2 

In  the  twelfth  century  the  Cistercians 
withdrew  from  society  and  cultivated  new 
land  in  deserted  places.  They  worked  out 
new  methods  of  agricultural  administration 
and  became  the  greatest  wool  producers  in 
Europe,  furnishing  the  raw  material  for  the 
textile  industry. 

The  Nestorians,  who  flourished  from  the 
fifth  to  the  thirteenth  centuries,  moved 
central  Asia  into  India  and  China, 
in  the  West  know  little  about  this 
movement  because  most  of  the 
of  its  labor  was  lost.  Yet  as  one  scholar 
"Nestorian  missionaries  introduced 
and  learning  among  people  who  were 
illiterate,  including  Turks, 


Vigurs,  Mongols,  and  Manchus,  all  of  whom 
are  said  to  derive  their  alphabets  from 
Syriac,  the  language  of  the  Nestorians."3 

Orthodox  monks  from  the  Eastern  Church 
did  the  same.  Ulfilas  moved  north  of  the 
Danube  in  the  fourth  century  and  was  the 
first  to  reduce  a northern  European  lan- 
guage to  writing,  doing  so,  of  course,  to 
translate  the  Scriptures.  In  the  third  century 
the  Armenians  were  the  first  national  group 
to  adopt  Christianity,  and  in  ad  406  their 
language  was  reduced  to  writing  so  that  the 
Scriptures  and  other  Christian  literature 
might  be  made  available.  Constantine  (later 
known  as  Cyril)  and  his  brother  Methodius 
went  to  the  Balkans  and  devised  two  alpha- 
bets used  to  translate  the  Scriptures  and  es- 
tablish the  Church.  The  Cyrillic  script  is  still 
in  use  in  Russia  today. 

When  Patrick  returned  to  Ireland  from  En- 
gland he  initiated  the  remarkable  Celtic  mis- 
sionary movement  that  would  continue  for 
centuries,  and  which  would  be  a source  of 
missionary  zeal  and  learning.  His  spiritual  de- 
scendants moved  from  Ireland  to  Scotland, 
then  to  England,  across  the  channel  to  the  low 
countries,  and  finally  into  central  Germany. 
They  were  later  instrumental  in  the  con 
version  of  Scandinavia.  They  combined  a deep 
love  of  learning,  spiritual  discipline,  and  mis- 
sionary zeal.  As  a result  "Ireland  became  liter- 
ate for  the  first  time  in  Patrick's  generation."  4 
The  great  monastery  at  Fulda,  founded  in  the 
eighth  century'  bv  St.  Boniface  from  this  tradi- 
tion, became  the  main  center  of  learning  for 
much  of  Germany. 

During  the  Carolingian  Renaissance  un- 
der Charlemagne,  the  monasteries  of  the 
Celtic  tradition  were  again  the  major  cen- 
ters of  education  and  change.  Hannah 
wrote,  "On  the  whole  they  were  able  to 
achieve  their  destiny  as  Christian  leaven  in 
a rude  society,  to  implant  and  preserve  a 
Christian  culture  like  a cultivated  garden 
amid  a wilderness  of  disorder."5 

Forerunners  of  the  Protestant 
Missionary  Movement 

For  nearly  two  centuries  after  the  Reformation 
Protestants  engaged  in  very'  little  missionary 
activity  outside  of  Europe.  But  in  the  late  six- 
teenth century  several  movements  arose,  the 


264  Chapter  39  A HISTORY  OF  TRANSFORMATION 


members  of  which  sought  to  renew  the  Church 
and  carry  the  Reformation  further,  from  doc- 
trine into  life.  These  movements  would  form 
the  launching  pad  of  Protestant  missions,  and 
included  Puritanism , Pietism , Moravianism,  and 
the  Wesleyan/Evangelical  revivals. 

The  Puritans  focused  on  conversion  and  a 
more  authentic  Christian  life.  They  also  de- 
veloped the  first  Protestant  mission  theol- 
ogy. Two  of  their  greatest  mission  advocates 
were  Richard  Baxter, 


cussion  of  the  sermon,  Bible  study,  prayer, 
and  mutual  support,  thus  initiating  a move- 
ment its  opponents  called  Pietism. 

Spener  insisted  that  Christianity  consisted 
not  only  of  knowledge,  but  must  also  include 
the  practice  of  the  Faith.  Along  with  his  empha- 
sis on  the  necessity  of  the  new  birth  and  a holy 
life,  he  included  a great  concern  for  the  needy. 

A.  H.  Francke  was  Spener's  successor  as 
leader  of  the  movement.  He  taught  that  re- 
birth should  lead  to 


an  effective  pastor 
and  prolific  writer, 
and  John  Eliot.  Eliot 
went  to  New  England 
and  became  an  effec- 
tive missionary  to  the 
Algonquin  Native 
Americans,  translat- 
ing the  Bible  into  their 
language  and  forming  a number  of  Chris- 
tian villages.  Rooy  wrote  of  him: 

He  traveled  on  foot  and  horseback,  taxing  his 
strength  to  the  utmost... to  bring  the  gospel 
to  the  natives.  He  brought  cases  to  court  to 
prevent  defrauding  of  Indian  land,  pleaded 
clemency  for  convicted  Indian  prisoners, 
fought  the  selling  of  Indians  into  slavery, 
sought  to  secure  lands  and  streams  for  Indian 
use,  established  schools  for  Indian  children 
and  adults,  translated  books,  and  attempted 
to  show  a deep  humanitarianism  that  accom- 
panied their  concern  for  salvation.6 

Pietism  laid  the  foundation  for  greater 
changes,  and  just  in  time.  In  the  seventeenth 
century  the  Thirty  Years  War  had  devastated 
Germany.  Misery  abounded,  class  differences 
were  exaggerated,  the  level  of  Christian  un- 
derstanding and  life  was  low,  and  the 
Lutheran  Church  was  dominated  by  the 
State.  The  truth  of  faith  was  seen  in  terms  of 
propositions  rather  than  experiential  or  ethi- 
cal event  or  demands.  Thus,  between  the  ir- 
relevance of  the  Church  and  the  widespread 
despair  and  atheism  brought  about  by  the 
Thirty  Years  War,  Christianity  soon  lost  its 
healing  and  transforming  power.7 

Philip  Jacob  Spener,  influenced  by  Puritan 
writers  during  his  theological  studies,  found 
the  situation  of  his  parishioners  deplorable 
when  he  became  the  pastor  in  Frankfort.  He 
began  to  invite  groups  into  his  home  for  dis- 


The  Pietism  Movement  was  the 
parent  of  all  those  saving  agencies 
which  have  arisen  within 
Christendom  for  the  healing  of 
religious,  moral,  and  social  evils. 


transformed  indi- 
viduals and  then  to 
a reformed  society 
and  world.  For  him 
faith  and  action 
were  inseparable. 

He  demonstrated 
this  to  a remarkable 
extent  in  his  influ- 
ence at  the  University  of  Halle  and  his  par- 
ish at  Glaucha.  Piety  meant  genuine  con- 
cern for  the  spiritual  and  physical  well 
being  of  one's  neighbor.  So  the  Pietists  fed, 
clothed,  and  educated  the  poor.  Francke  es- 
tablished schools  for  poor  children,  includ- 
ing girls,  a novelty  at  the  time.  He  also 
founded  an  orphanage  and  other  institu- 
tions to  aid  the  poor.  These  were  supported 
by  faith  alone  and  became  the  model  later 
for  the  ministry  of  George  Mueller  in  Bristol 
and  the  China  Inland  Mission. 

The  first  Protestant  missionaries  to  Asia 
came  from  the  Pietist  movement.  Influenced 
by  his  Pietist  court  chaplain,  in  1706 
Frederick  IV  of  Denmark  sent  two  men  from 
Halle  to  his  colony  in  Tranquebar,  India. 
Bartholomew  Ziegenbalg  and  Heinrich 
Plutschau  were  the  first  of  about  60  Pietists 
who  went  to  India  in  the  eighteenth  century. 
Ziegenbalg,  who  remained  until  his  death  in 
1719,  was  remarkably  holistic  in  his  under- 

■ standing  of  the  task.  He  studied  the  religious 
beliefs  and  practices  of  the  Hindus,  trans- 
lated the  Scriptures,  planted  a church,  advo- 
cated  the  ordination  of  Indian  pastors,  set  up  ‘ ^ 

! a printing  press,  and  established  two  schoo  s.  ^ 

■ The  greatest  of  his  successors,  C.  F.  '-h 
, Schwartz,  not  only  built  up  the  church  but  • 
j worked  with  orphans  and  became  an  am^aS'^ 

sador  of  peace  between  Muslim  rulers  an  • i: 
the  British.  Arriving  in  1750,  he  remained  un- 


* 


PAUL  PIERSON 


265 


til  his  death  in  1798.  A great  German 
missiologist  wrote  that  "Pietism  was  the  par- 
ent of  missions  to  the  heathen... also  of  all 
those  saving  agencies  which  have  arisen 
within  Christendom  for  the  healing  of  reli- 
gious, moral,  and  social  evils... a combination 
which  was  already  typically  exemplified  in 
A.  H.  Francke."8 

The  Moravians,  with  roots  both  in  the  Pre- 
Reformation  Hussite  movement  and  Pietism, 
were  one  of  the  most  remarkable  movements 
in  history.  Known  for  their  24  hour,  100  year 
prayer  watch,  they  were  a highly  disciplined, 
monastic-like  community  of  married  men  and 
women  devoted  to  win  "souls  for  the  Lamb." 
During  their  early  years,  one  of  every  14  mem- 
bers became  a missionary,  often  going  to  the 
most  difficult  fields. 

The  fourth  stream  leading  to  the  Protes- 
tant missionary  movement  flowed  from  the 
Wesleyan/Evangelical  revival  in  England, 
with  John  Wesley  as  its  best  known  leader, 
and  the  First  Great  Awakening  in  North 
America.  Since  the  awakening  in  North 
America  was  in  many  respects  an  out- 
growth of  Puritanism,  we  will  examine  only 
the  movement  in  England. 

Even  before  their  salvation,  the  Wesleys 
and  the  other  members  of  the  "Holy  Club"  at 
Oxford  showed  concern  for  the  poor  and 
prisoners.  At  the  same  time  they  pursued  the 
spiritual  disciplines  which  earned  them  the 
name,  "Methodists." 

John  Wesley  began  to  preach  immediately 
after  his  conversion  in  1734.  While  the  clear 
focus  was  on  evangelism  and  Christian  nur- 
ture, especially  among  the  neglected  poor,  he 
wrote,  "Christianity  is  essentially  a social  reli- 
gion, to  turn  it  into  a solitary  religion  is  in- 
deed to  destroy  it."  9 The  impact  of  the  move- 
ment on  social  reform  in  England  is  well 
known.  Robert  Raikes  started  Sunday  schools 
to  teach  poor  children  to  read  and  give  them 
moral  and  religious  instruction  on  the  only 
day  of  the  week  they  were  not  working.  Oth- 
ers organized  schools  among  miners  and 
colliers.  John  Howard  tirelessly  worked  for 
reform  of  the  appalling  conditions  in  local 
prisons,  then  moved  Parliament  to  pass  laws 
for  prison  reform. 

Evangelicals  worked  to  regulate  child  labor 
m emerging  factories  and  promoted  the 


education  of  the  masses.  A group  of  wealthy 
Anglican  evangelicals  at  Clapham,  a suburb  of 
London,  spent  their  time,  fortunes,  and  politi- 
cal influence  in  a number  of  religious  and  so- 
cial projects,  including  the  long  and  successful 
campaign  of  William  Wilberforce  and  others, 
to  end  slavery  in  the  British  Empire.  The 
Church  Missionary  Society,  the  greatest  of  the 
Anglican  societies,  was  established  in  1799. 
Several  other  societies  were  established,  all 
motivated  by  the  revival. 

The  Protestant 
Missionary  Movement 

William  Carey  is  rightly  called  "the  Father  of 
Protestant  Missions,"  even  though  others  had 
engaged  in  such  missions  earlier.  In  1792  he 
formed  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society;  the  fol- 
lowing year  he  sailed  to  India.  His  writing  and 
example  were  the  catalyst  in  the  creation  of 
similar  societies  in  Europe  and  in  the  United 
States,  leading  to  what  has  been  called  "the 
great  century"  of  missions.  His  primary  goal 
was  to  lead  people  to  personal  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ  and  eternal  salvation;  however  he  saw 
no  conflict  between  that  goal  and  his  other  ac- 
tivities in  education,  agriculture,  and  botany. 

Carey  labored  widely  to  withstand  social 
evils  and  bring  change  in  Asia.  He  was  better 
known  as  a horticulturist  around  the  world 
than  as  a missionary.  He  fought  valiantly 
against  the  practice  of  infanticide,  the  burn- 
ing of  widows,  the  inhuman  treatment  of  lep- 
ers (who  were  often  buried  or  burned  alive), 
and  the  needless  deaths  at  the  great  religious 
pilgrimages  of  the  time.  He  also  founded 
Serampore  College,  which  was  established 
primarily  to  train  pastors  and  teachers,  but 
also  provided  for  the  education  of  others  in 
Christian  literature  and  European  science. 

False  Recognition 

Many  nineteenth  century  missionary  move- 
ments labored  intentionally  for  social  trans- 
formation, most  without  recognition,  except 
at  times  in  a false  and  negative  light.  For  ex- 
ample, at  Andover  Seminary,  Samuel  Mills 
and  his  colleagues  from  the  Haystack  Prayer 
Meeting  took  the  initiative  in  establishing 
the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for 
Foreign  Missions  in  1810.  One  of  the  early 
fields  chosen  was  Hawaii  (then  known  as 


9 


266  Chapter  39 


A HISTORY  OF  TRANSFORMATION 


the  Sandwich  Islands).  Those  early  mission- 
aries were  maligned  by  James  Michner;  but 
the  reality  was  much  different  from  the  pic- 
ture he  painted.  Their  major  focus  was  the 
conversion  of  men  and  women  to  Christ  and 
the  gathering  of  converts  into  churches.  But 
they  also  worked  to  protect  the  Hawaiian 
people  from  the  sexual  and  economic  ex- 
ploitation of  the  sailors  and  traders  who 
came  to  the  islands.  The  missionaries 
worked  to  end  infantacide  and  other  de- 
structive practices.  After  a few  decades  the 
islands  were  dotted  not  only  with  churches, 
but  with  schools  in  which  Hawaiian  chil- 
dren were  taught  by  Hawaiian  teachers. 
Several  years  later  others  devised  a system 
of  writing  the  language  using  Roman  char- 
acters, translating  the  Bible  and  various  text- 
books. By  1873  they  had  published  153  dif- 
ferent works  and  13  magazines,  along  with 
an  almanac  in  the  local  language. 

A Striking  Comparison 

Many  lesser  known  missionaries  have  dem- 
onstrated great  concern  for  the  totality  of 
human  need.  One  of  them  was  Willis  Banks, 
an  obscure  Presbyterian  evangelist  who 
worked  in  a backward  area  of  southern  Bra- 
zil. He  built  the  areas  first  brickyard, 
brought  children  to  live  with  his  family, 
taught  them  to  read,  and  then  sent  them 
back  to  teach  others.  Using  a home  medical 
guide,  he  treated  infections,  tuberculosis, 
malaria,  worms,  and  malnutrition. 

Banks  introduced  better  methods  of  agri- 
culture and  care  of  livestock.  He  build  the 
first  sawmill  in  the  area  and  constructed 
machinery  to  cut  silage.  An  anthropologist 
who  visited  the  area  20  years  after  Banks' 
death  gave  a striking  illustration  of  the  re- 
sulting community  development.  He  visited 
two  isolated  villages,  both  situated  in  virtu- 
ally identical  circumstances,  with  inhabit- 
ants of  the  same  racial  and  cultural  back- 
grounds. The  village  of  Volta  Grande  was 
Presbyterian  and  had  benefited  from  Banks' 
evangelism  and  leadership.  The  people 
lived  in  houses  of  brick  and  wood,  used  wa- 
ter filters  and  in  some  cases  had  home  pro- 
duced electricity.  They  owned  canoes  and 
motor  launches  for  travel  to  a nearby  city 
and  cultivated  vegetables  along  with  the 


traditional  rice,  beans,  com,  manioc,  and 
bananas.  They  had  two  herds  of  dairy  cattle 
and  produced  and  consumed  milk,  cheese, 
and  butter.  They  received  and  read  newspa- 
pers, had  the  Bible  and  other  books  readily 
available,  and  all  were  literate.  The  commu- 
nity had  pooled  its  resources  to  build  a 
school  and  donated  it  to  the  State  with  the 
stipulation  that  a teacher  be  provided  and 
paid.  Consequently  there  was  an  excellent 
primary  school  there  and  many  of  its  gradu- 
ates continued  their  studies  in  the  city.  Reli- 
gious services  were  held  three  times  a week 
even  though  the  pastor  could  visit  only 
once  a month. 

The  inhabitants  of  Jipovura,  the  other  vil- 
lage, lived  in  daub  and  wattle  houses  with  no 
furniture.  They  engaged  only  in  marginal  ag- 
riculture, and  did  not  boil  or  filter  their  wa- 
ter. They  had  no  canoes,  used  tiny  kerosene 
lamps  for  light,  and  were  mostly  illiterate.  A 
school  had  been  donated  to  the  community 
by  a few  Japanese  families  who  had  once 
lived  in  the  area,  but  the  people  showed  no 
interest  in  maintaining  it  and  had  ruined  the 
building  by  stealing  its  doors  and  windows. 
Leisure  time  was  filled  by  playing  cards  and 
drinking  the  local  sugarcane  rum.  Alcoholism 
was  common.10 

Virtually  all  missionary  movements  in  his- 
tory have  been  concerned  about  social  trans- 
formation in  one  way  or  another.  It  has  been 
seen  as  part  of  the  ministry  of  communicat- 
ing and  living  out  the  gospel.  Major  empha- 
sis has  been  placed  on  education,  health  care, 
agriculture,  and  ministries  of  social  uplift  for 
girls,  women,  and  other  neglected  and  op- 
pressed members  of  society. 

Establishing  Education 

Educational  institutions  usually  had  three 
goals:  to  prepare  leadership  for  the  church,  to 
be  an  instrument  to  improve  society,  and  to 
evangelize  non-Christian  students. 

Degrees  of  success  varied,  but  include  the 
following  examples: 

• The  tribal  groups  of  Northeast  India, 
which  became  heavily  Christian  begin- 


ning late  in  the  last  century,  have  the  sec-  , 
ond  highest  literacy  rate  in  the  nation.  " ||j 
In  1915  illiteracy  among  nominal  Roman  jjp 
Catholics  in  Brazil  was  between  60  and  >>.>■& 


PAUL  PIERSON 


267 


80  per  cent,  while  that  of  Protestants 
(who  normally  came  from  the  poor)  was 
one  fourth  of  that  figure.11 
Most  schools  in  Africa  during  the  colo- 
nial period  were  established  by  mission- 
aries. Leslie  Newbegin  pointed  out  in 
the  50s  that  in  a 400-page  United  Na- 
tions document  on  education  in  Africa, 
not  a single  line  revealed  the  fact  that 
90%  of  the  schools  being  described  were 
there  because  of  missionaries.  ** 

• Many  of  the  outstanding  universities  in 
Asia  were  the  result  of  missions,  includ- 
ing Yonsei  University  and  Ehwa 
Women's  University  in  Seoul. 

• Reporting  on  the  educational  work  of 
the  Basel  Mission  in  the  Gold  Coast 
(Ghana),  the  Phelps-Stokes  Commission 
reported  in  1921,  "The  educational  ef- 
fort of  the  Basel  Mission  in  the  Gold 
Coast  has  produced  one  of  the  most  in- 
teresting and  effective  systems  of 
schools  observed  in  Africa....  First  of  all 
their  mechanical  shops  trained  and  em- 
ployed a large  number  of  natives  as 

journeymen Secondly  the  commercial 

activities  reached  the  economic  life  of 
the  people,  influencing  their  agricul- 
tural activities  and  their  expenditures 
for  food  and  clothing." 

• In  addition  to  the  primary  and  secondary 
mission  schools,  teacher  training  institu- 
tions were  established  to  expand  educa- 
tional opportunities. 

Bringing  Medical  Care 

Early  in  the  movement  a limited  amount  of 
medical  knowledge  was  often  regarded  as 
necessary  for  evangelistic  missionaries.  But  by 
the  middle  of  the  last  century  fully  trained 
physicians  were  being  sent  to  the  field.  The 
5?;  first  was  Dr.  John  Scudder,  sent  by  the  Ameri- 
can Board  to  India.  His  granddaughter.  Dr.  Ida 
' Scudder,  later  established  perhaps  the  greatest 
t of  all  missionary  medical  centers  at  Vellore, 

|;  India.  Dr.  Peter  Parker  introduced  eye  surgery 
'%  into  China.  His  successor,  Dr.  John  Kerr,  pub- 
%-  lished  12  medical  works  in  Chinese,  built  a 
% targe  hospital,  and  was  the  first  in  China  to 
*i  open  an  institution  for  the  mentally  ill.  Pres- 
y byterians  in  Thailand  established  13  hospitals 
v 12  dispensaries. 


Touching  the 
Neglected  and  Oppressed 

Along  with  educational,  medical,  and  agricul- 
tural ministries,  others  focused  on  some  of  the 
most  neglected  and  depressed  members  of 
their  societies.  Half  of  the  tuberculosis  work  in 
India  was  done  by  missions,  and  Christian  in- 
stitutions took  the  lead  both  in  treatment  and 
the  training  of  workers  among  those  afflicted. 
Missions  also  took  the 


lead  in  working  with 
lepers  in  several  Asian 
countries,  and  estab- 
lished orphanages  for 
abandoned  children. 

A few  missionaries 
went  beyond  social 
service  and  attacked 
the  political  and  so- 
cial injustices  of  colo- 
nialism. A celebrated 
example  took  place  in 
the  Belgian  Congo  at 
the  turn  of  the  cen- 
tury. Two  Presbyte- 


The Christian 
mission 
movement  has 
had  dramatic 
positive  impact 
on  every 
continent  and 
continues  to 
do  so  in  even 
greater  ways. 


rian  missionaries 
from  the  United  States  observed  the  forced 
labor  of  the  Africans  in  the  rubber  industry, 
and  published  articles  calling  the  monopolis- 
tic economic  exploitation  "twentieth  century 
slavery."  This  garnered  international  atten- 
tion; the  missionaries  were  sued  for  libel, 
with  the  suit  finally  dismissed. 

Serving  Women 

One  of  the  most  significant  results  of  Christian 
missions  in  many  societies  came  through  their 
role  in  ministering  to  and  raising  the  status  of 
women.  In  many  of  the  cultures  women  were 
relegated  to  a very  low  status  and  had  almost 
j no  rights.  Missionaries,  usually  single  women, 
i evangelized  them,  teaching  them  to  see  them- 
selves as  children  of  God.  Then  girls  and 
women  were  encouraged  to  study,  develop 
their  gifts,  and  in  some  cases,  enter  profes- 
sions such  as  education  and  medicine. 

Focusing  first  on  the  evangelization  of 
women  in  cultures  where  men  could  not  have 
contact  with  most  women,  the  missionaries 
soon  branched  out  into  educational  and  medi- 
cal work  with  women.  Soon  women  were  em- 
ployed as  lay  evangelists,  called  'Bible 


rhaoter  39  A HISTORY  OF  TRANSFORMATION 


women/  especially  in  China  and  Korea.  Even 
though  they  were  not  yet  given  equal  status 
with  men,  these  faithful  workers  had  a power- 
ful impact  not  only  on  the  growth  of  the 
Church  but  on  the  status  of  other  women. 
When  the  first  Protestant  missionaries  arrived 
in  Korea  in  1884  and  1885,  a woman  had  virtu- 
ally no  status  in  society  except  as  the  daughter 
of  her  father,  the  wife  of  her  husband,  or  the 
mother  of  her  oldest  son.  By  the  middle  of  this 
century  the  world's  largest  women's  univer- 
sity had  been  established  in  Seoul  and  its 
President,  Dr.  Helen  Kim,  was  recognized  as 
one  of  Korea's  greatest  educators  as  well  as  a 
leader  in  evangelization. 

Women  missionaries  from  the  United 
States  initiated  the  first  medical  work  for 
women  in  India  and  China,  established  the 
first  girls'  schools,  and  eventually  founded 
nursing  and  medical  schools  for  women. 
This  had  a powerful  impact  on  the  medical 
care  of  women,  as  well  as  their  status  in  so- 
ciety. As  a result  medicine  is  among  the 
most  prestigious  professions  open  to 
women  in  India,  and  there  are  thousands  of 
women  physicians  in  that  nation  today.  Dr. 
Clara  Swain,  the  first  woman  medical  mis- 


sionary  appointed  to  a field,  arrived  in  In- 
dia in  1870.  Beaver  makes  it  clear  that 
Swain  and  others  saw  no  separation  be- 
tween their  medical  and  evangelistic  work. 
Their  manifestation  of  loving  concern  for 
their  patients  as  individuals,  and  their  me- 
diation of  the  love  of  God  in  Christ  for  per- 
sons were  as  important  as  their  scientific 
knowledge  and  technical  skill.  The  writings 
and  speeches  of  the  women  medical  mis- 
sionaries make  it  clear  that  they  considered 
themselves  evangelists.13 

The  story  goes  on.  The  Christian  mission 
movement  has  had  dramatic  positive  impact 
on  every  continent  and  continues  to  do  so  in 
even  greater  ways.  Even  though  the  basic 
aim  of  many  of  these  mission  efforts  was  to 
call  people  to  faith  in  Him,  and  plant  the 
1 Church,  the  effects  of  those  efforts  has  been 
seen  to  eventually  extend  to  every  part  of  the 
! societies  in  which  the  church  has  been 
| planted.  There  is  much  to  disappoint  ajid  ad- 
I mire  in  the  record;  but  overall,  the  Christian 
movement  is  bringing  a measure  of  fulfill- 
! ment  of  God's  promise  that  Abraham's  de- 
| scendents  would  bring  blessing  to  all  the 
families  of  the  earth. 


H^tUrmson,  William.  Errand  to  the  World.  Chicago,  Univ.  of  Chicago  Press,  1987. 

2.  Hannah,  Ian.  Monasticism,  London,  Allen  and  Unwin,  1924.  pp.  90,91. 

3 Stewart  |ohn.  The  Nestorian  Missionary  Enterprise.  Edinburgh,  T and  T C a , ■ P- 

4.  Stimson,  Edward.  Renewal  in  Christ.  New  York  Vantage  Press,  1979.  p.147. 

5.  Hannah,  Ian.  Monasticism,  London,  Allen  and  Unwin,  1924.  p.  86.  .gAr 

6 Rooy,  Sidney.  The  Theology  of  Missions  in  the  Puritan  Tradition.  Grand  Rapi  s,  er  ma  , 

7.  Sattler,  Gary.  Cod's  Glory,  Neighbor's  Good.  Chicago,  Covenant  Press.  1 982.  p.  . 

8.  Dubose,  Francis  (ed.)  Classics  of  Christian  Mission.  Nashville,  Broadman,  1979k  p.  • 

9 Bready,  John  W.  This  Freedom  Whence.  New  York,  American  Tract  Society  • P-  . 

,0.  Williams,  Emilio.  Followers  of  the  New  Faith.  Nashville,  Vanderbilt  Univ.  Press.  1967.  pp. 

1 1 . Pierson,  Paul.  A Younger  Church  in  Search  of  Maturity.  San  Antonio,  Trinity  University  Press,  1974. 
pp.  107,108. 

12.  As  reported  by  Ralph  D.  Winter.  Winter,  p.  1 9.9.  . .n_  iq80 

13.  Beaver,  R.  Pierce.  American  Protestant  Women  in  Mission , Grand  Rapids,  Eer 

p.135. 

T^Was^the  education,  economic  and  societal  transformation  which  characterized  early  mission  e 
forts,  seen  as  separate  from  or  integrated  with  evangelistic  work? 

2.  What  unique  contribution  did  the  monastic  movement  bring  in  the  realms  of  the  scienc 
agriculture? 


geria.  She  isl 
thropology 
School  of  1 1 
Biola  Univi| 
Worldview 
tion  of  the  G| 
ing 


years.  Meg  \i 
sion  mobiliJ 
of  the  PerJ 
Tempe,  Arizj 
sion  of  the) 
called  VVor/J 
From  Wcl 
edited  by  K\ 
Used  by  pc 
Carey  Librarl 


Europe's  Moravians: 

A Pioneer  Missionary  Church 


Colin  A.  Grant 


Colin  A.  Grant  was  a missionary 
in  Sri  Lanka  for  twelve  years  with 
the  British  Baptist  Missionary  So- 
ciety. He  was  chairman  of  the  Evan- 
gelical  Missionary  Alliance  and 
Home  Secretary  of  the  Evangelical 
Union  of  South  America.  Grant 
died  in  1976. 

Used  by  permission  from 
"Europe's  Moravians:  A Pioneer 
Missionary  Church,"  Evangelical 
Missions  Quarterly,  1 2 :4,  (October 
1976),  published  by  EMIS,  P.O. 
Box  794,  Wheaton,  IL  60189. 


Sixty  years  before  Carey  set  out  for  India  and  150  years 
before  Hudson  Taylor  first  landed  in  China,  two  men, 
Leonard  Dober,  a potter,  and  David  Nitschmann,  a car- 
penter landed  on  the  West  Indian  island  of  St.  Thomas  to  make 
known  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  They  had  set  out  in  1732 
from  a small  Christian  community  in  the  mountains  of  Saxony 
in  central  Europe  as  the  first  missionaries  of  the  Moravian 
Brethren,  who  in  the  next  20  years  entered  Greenland  (1/33), 
North  America's  Indian  territories  (1734),  Surinam  (1735), 

South  Africa  (1736),  the  Samoyedic  peoples  of  the  Arctic  (1737), 
Algiers  and  Ceylon,  and  Sri  Lanka  (1740),  China  (1742),  Persia 
(1747),  Abyssymafand  Labrador  (1752). 

This  was  but  a beginning.  In  the  first  150  years  of  its  en- 
deavor, the  Moravian  community  jvas  to  send  no  less  than 
2,158  of  its  members  overseas!  In  the  words  of  Stephen  Neil, 
"This  small  church  was  seized  with  a missionary  passion 
which  has  never  left  it." 

The  Unitas  Fratum  (United  Brethren),  as  they  had  been 
called,  have  left  a record  without  parallel  in  the  post-New 
Testament  era  of  world  evangelization,  and  we  do  well  to 
look  again  at  the  main  characteristics  of  this  movement  and 
learn  the  lessons  God  has  for  us. 

Spontaneous  Obedience 

In  the  first  place,  the  missionary  obedience  of  the  Moravian 
Brethren  was  essentially  glad  and  spontaneous,  "the  response  of 
a healthy  organism  to  the  law  of  its  life,"  to  use  Harry  Boer's 
words.  The  source  of  its  initial  thrust  came  as  a result  of  a 
deep  movement  of  God's  Spirit  that  had  taken  place  among 
a small  group  of  exiled  believers.  They  had  fled  the  persecu- 
tion of  the  anti-Reformation  reaction  in  Bohemia  and 
Moravia  during  the  17th  century  and  had  taken  shelter  on 
an  estate  at  Berthesdorf  at  the  invitation  of  Nicolas 
Zinzendorf,  an  evangelical  Lutheran  nobleman. 

The  first  tree  for  their  settlement,  which  was  later  to  be 
named  Herrnhut  ("The  Lord's  Watch"),  was  felled  by 
Christian  David  (himself  to  go  overseas  as  a missionary  at 
a later  stage)  in  1722  to  the  strains  of  Psalm  84.  Five  years 
later,  so  deeply  ran  the  new  tides  of  the  grace  and  Jove  of 
God  among  them  that  one  of  their  number  wrote:  "The 
whole  place  represented  truly  a tabernacle  of  God  among 
men.  There  was  nothing  to  be  seen  and  heard  but  joy  an 
gladness." 


274 


Chapter  41 


COLIN  A.  GRANT 


275 


*4 


This  was  God's  preparation  for  all  that 
was  to  follow.  Challenged  through  meeting 
with  Anton,  an  African  slave  from  St.  Tho- 
mas during  a visit  to  Denmark  for  the  coro- 
nation of  King  Christian  VI,  Dober  and 
Nitschmann  volunteered  to  go  and  were 
commissioned.  To  them  it  was  a natural  ex- 
pression of  their  Christian  life  and  obedience. 

Dr.  A.  C.  Thompson,  one  of  the  main  nine- 
teenth century  recorders  of  the  early  history  of 
Moravian  missions,  wrote:  "So  fully  is  the  duty 
of  evangelizing  the  heathen  lodged  in  current 
thought  that  the  fact  of  anyone  entering  per- 
sonally upon  that  work  never  creates 
surprise... It  is  not  regarded  as  a thing  that  calls 
for  widespread  heralding,  as  if  something  mar- 
velous or  even  unusual  were  in  hand. 

What  a contrast  to  the  hard  worked  for  in- 
terest that  characterizes  much  of  the  mission- 
ary sending  scene  today!  Rev.  Ignatius 
Latrobe,  a former  secretary  of  the  Moravian 
missions  in  the  United  Kingdom  during  the 
last  century,  wrote:  "We  think  it  a great  mis- 
take when,  after  their  appointment,  missionar- 
ies are  held  up  to  public  notice  and  admiration 
and  much  praise  is  bestowed  upon  their  de- 
votedness to  their  Lord,  presenting  them  to 
the  congregations  as  martyrs  and  confessors 
before  they  have  even  entered  upon  their 
labours.  We  rather  advise  them  quietly  to  set 
out,  recommended  to  the  fervent  prayers  of 
the  congregation..."  No  clamor,  no  platform 
heroics,  no  publicity,  but  an  ardent,  unostenta- 
tious desire  to  make  Christ  known  wherever 
his  name  had  not  been  named.  This  became 
knit  into  the  ongoing  life  and  liturgy  of  the 
Moravian  Church,  so  that,  for  example,  a large 
proportion  of  public  prayer  and  subsequent 
hymnology  was  occupied  with  this  subject. 

Passion  for  Christ 

In  the  second  place,  this  surging  zeal  had  as  its 
prime  motivation  a deep , ongoing  passion  and  love 
for  Christ,  something  that  found  expression  in 
the  life  of  Zinzendorf  himself.  Bom  in  1700  into 
Austrian  nobility,  he  came  early  under  godly 
family  influences  and  soon  came  to  a saving 
knowledge  of  Christ.  His  early  missionary  in- 
terest was  evidenced  in  his  founding,  with  a 
friend,  in  his  student  days  of  what  he  called 
"The  Order  of  the  Grain  of  Mustard  Seed"  for 
the  spread  of  Christ's  kingdom  in  the  world. 


He  became  not  only  host  to,  but  the  first 
leader  of  the  Moravian  believers  and  himself 
made  visits  overseas  in  the  interests  of  the  gos- 
pel. "I  have  one  passion,  and  it  is  Him,  only 
Him,"  was  his  central  chord  and  it  sounded 
through  the  more  than  2,000  hymns  he  wrote. 

William  Wilberforce,  the  great  evangelical 
English  social  reformer,  wrote  of  the  Moravians: 
"They  are  a body  who  have  perhaps  excelled  all 
mankind  in  solid  and  unequivocal  proofs  of  the 
love  of  Christ  and  ardent,  active  zeal  in  his  ser- 
vice. It  is  a zeal  tempered  with  prudence,  soft- 
ened with  meekness  and  supported  by  a cour- 
age which  no  danger  can  intimidate  and  a quiet 
certainty  no  hardship  can  exhaust.  Today,  we 
need  a full  theological  formulation  of  our  moti- 
vation in  mission  and  an  adequate  grasp  of 
what  we  believe.  But  if  there  is  no  passionate 
love  for  Christ  at  the  center  of  everything,  we 
will  only  jingle  and  jangle  our  way  across  the 
world,  merely  making  a noise  as  we  go. 

Courage  in  the  Face  of  Danger 

As  Wilberforce  indicated,  a further  feature  of 
the  Moravians  was  that  they  faced  the  most  in- 
credible of  difficulties  and  dangers  with  remarkable 
courage.  They  accepted  hardships  as  part  of  the 
identification  with  the  people  to  whom  the 
Lord  had  sent  them.  The  words  of  Paul,  "I 
have  become  all  things  to  all  men"  (1  Cor  9:22), 
were  spelled  out  with  a practicality  almost 
without  parallel  in  the  history  of  missions. 

Most  of  the  early  missionaries  went  out  as 
"tentmakers,"  working  their  trade  (most  of 
them  being  artisans  and  farmers  like  Dober  and 
Nitschmann)  so  that  the  main  expenses  in- 
volved were  in  the  sending  of  them  out.  In  ar- 
eas where  white  domination  had  bred  the 
faqade  of  white  superiority  (e.g.  Jamaica  and 
South  Africa)  the  way  they  humbly  got  down  to 
j hard  manual  work  was  itself  a witness  to  their 
i faith.  For  example,  a missionary  named  Monate 
I helped  to  build  a com  mill  in  the  early  days  of 
j his  work  in  the  Eastern  Province  of  South  Af- 
| rica,  cutting  the  two  heavy  sandstones  himself, 
i In  so  doing,  he  not  only  amazed  the  Kaffirs 
j among  whom  he  was  working,  but  was  enabled 
to  "chat"  the  gospel  to  them  as  he  worked! 

To  go  to  such  places  as  Surinam  and  the 
West  Indies  meant  facing  disease  and  possible 
death;  the  early  years  took  their  inevitable  toll. 
In  Guvana.  for  instance,  75  out  of  the  first  160 


Florid 
ary  fo 
Costa 
as  the 
Work 
has  st 
lnter\ 
and  C 
Conv( 


Study  Questions 

1 Which  of  the  characteristics  of  the  Moravians  is  most  absent  from  the  Chri: 
Which  is  most  evident? 

2.  What  is  your  answer  to  the  question  posed  at  the  end  of  this  article?  Why? 


276  Chapter  41 


EUROPE'S  MORAVIANS 


missionaries  died  from  tropical  fevers,  poison- 
ing and  such.  Men  like  Andrew  Rittmansberger 
died  within  six  months  of  landing  on  the  is- 
land. The  words  of  a verse  from  a hymn  writ- 
ten by  one  of  the  first  Greenland  missionaries 
expresses  something  of  the  fibre  of  their  atti- 
tude: "Lo  through  ice  and  snow,  one  poor  lost 
soul  for  Christ  to  gain;  Glad,  we  bear  want  and 
distress  to  set  forth  the  Lamb  once  slain." 

The  Moravians  resolutely  tackled  new  lan- 
guages without  many  of  the  modem  aids, 
and  numbers  of  them  went  on  to  become  out- 
standingly fluent  and  proficient  in  them.  This 
was  the  stuff,  then,  of  which  these  men  were 
made.  We  may  face  a different  pattern  of  de- 
mands today,  but  the  need  for  a like  measure 
of  God-given  courage  remains  the  same.  Is 
our  easy-going,  prosperous  society  produc- 
ing "softer"  men  and  women? 

Tenacity  of  Purpose 

We  finally  note  that  many  Moravian  missionar- 
ies showed  a tenacity  of  purpose  that  was  of  a very 
high  order , although  it  must  immediately  be 
added  that  there  were  occasions  when  there 
was  a too  hasty  withdrawal  in  the  face  of  a 
particularly  problematical  situation  (e.g., 
early  work  among  the  Aborigines  in  Austra- 
lia in  1854  was  abandoned  suddenly  because 
of  local  conflicts  caused  by  a gold  rush). 

One  of  the  most  famous  of  Moravian  mis- 
sionaries, known  as  the  "Eliot  of  the  West," 
was  David  Zeisberger.  From  1735,  he  labored 
for  62  years  among  the  Huron  and  other  tribes. 
On  one  occasion,  after  he  had  preached  from 
Isaiah  64:8,  one  Sunday  morning  in  August, 
1781,  the  church  and  compound  were  invaded 
by  marauding  bands  of  Indians.  In  the  subse- 
quent burnings,  Zeisberger  lost  all  his  manu- 
scripts of  Scripture  translations,  hymns  and  ex- 
tended notes  on  the  grammar  of  Indian 
languages.  But  like  Carey,  who  was  to  undergo 
a similar  loss  through  fire  in  India  years  later, 
Zeisberger  bowed  his  head  in  quiet  submission 
to  the  overruling  providence  of  God  and  set 
his  hand  and  heart  to  the  work  again. 


Are  we  becoming  short  on  missionary  per- 
severance today?  By  all  means  let  us  ac- 
knowledge the  value  in  short-term  mission- 
ary assignments  and  see  the  divine  purpose 
in  many  of  them.  But  where  are  those  who 
are  ready  to  "sink"  themselves  for  God  over- 
seas? Let  us  look  at  such  problems  as 
children's  education  and  changing  mission- 
ary strategy  under  the  Lord's  direction  full  in 
the  face;  but  if  men  are  to  be  won,  believers 
truly  nourished,  and  churches  encouraged 
into  the  fullness  of  life  in  Christ,  a great  deal 
of  "missionary  staying  power"  of  the  right 
sort  is  going  to  be  needed  in  some  places. 

Of  course,  these  Moravians  had  their  weak- 
nesses. They  concentrated  more  on  evangelism 
than  on  the  actual  planting  of  local  churches 
and  they  were  consequently  very  weak  on  de- 
veloping Christian  leadership.  They  centered 
their  approach  on  "the  missionary  station, 
even  giving  them  a whole  succession  of  biblical 
place  names,  such  as  Shiloh,  Sarepta,  Nazareth, 
Bethlehem,  etc.  Since  most  of  the  early  mission- 
aries went  out  straight  from  the  "carpenter's 
bench"  because  of  the  spontaneous  nature  of 
their  obedience,  they  were  short  on  adequate 
preparation.  In  fact,  it  was  not  until  1869  that 
the  first  missionary  training  college  was 
founded  at  Nisky,  20  miles  from  Hermhut. 

Despite  all  this,  the  words  of  J.  R.  Weinlick 
bring  home  the  all-pervading  lesson  we  have  to 
leam  from  the  Moravians  today.  "The  Moravian 
Church  was  the  first  among  Protestant  churches 
to  treat  this  work  as  a responsibility  of  the  Church 
as  a whole  (emphasis  mine),  instead  of  leaving 
it  to  societies  or  specially  interested  people." 
True,  they  were  a small,  compact  and  unified 
community,  and  therefore  it  may  be  said  that 
such  a simple  missionary  structure  as  they  pos- 
sessed was  natural.  It  is  doubtful,  however,  if 
this  can  ever  be  made  an  excuse  for  the  low 
: level  of  missionary  concern  apparent  in  many 
1 sectors  of  God's  Church  today,  or  for  the  com- 
plex, and  often  competing,  missionary  society 
system  we  struggle  with  at  the  present  time. 
Have  we  ears  to  hear  and  wills  to  obey? 


Student  Power  in 
World  Missions 


David  M.  Howard 


David  M . 
Howard  is  Presi- 
dent of  the  Latin 
America  Mission 
in  Miami, 
Florida,  having  served  as  a mission- 
ary for  15  years  in  Columbia  and 
Costa  Rica.  For  1 0 years  he  served 
as  the  International  Director  of  the 
World  Evangelical  Fellowship.  He 
has  served  as  Missions  Director  of 
InterVarsity  Christian  Fellowship 
and  Director  of  the  IVCF  Urbana 
Conventions  in  1973  and  1976. 

From  Student  Power  in  World 
Missions,  by  David  M.  Howard 
Copyright  1979  by  InterVarsity 
Christian  Fellowship  of  the  USA 
and  used  by  permission  of  David 
Howard. 


W"  hy  take  time  to  read  about  the  past?  Why  not  get 
down  to  business  to  today's  issues  and  planning 
for  the  future? 

We  learn  from  the  past  so  that  we  can  live  effectively  in 
the  present  and  plan  wisely  for  the  future.  He  who  will  not 
leam  from  history  is  doomed  to  repeat  her  mistakes. 

We  leam  about  the  Lord's  working  in  past  times  so  that 
we  can  understand  him  better  and  trust  him  more  fully. 

We  turn  to  the  Bible  for  basic  information  about  those 
mighty  deeds.  And  since  the  Lord  did  not  cease  those  glori- 
ous workings  when  he  terminated  the  writing  of  the  Bible, 
we  turn  to  later  sources  to  leam  of  his  subsequent  deeds. 

In  particular,  what  has  he  been  doing  over  the  centuries 
in  terms  of  work  among  college  students  in  fulfilling  the 
Great  Commission? 

Earliest  Traces 

Perhaps  the  earliest  traceable  instance  in  which  students  had 
a definite  part  in  promoting  a world  outreach  is  found  in 
Germany  in  the  early  17th  century.  Gustav  Wameck,  the 
great  historian-theologian  of  missions,  writes  of  seven  young 
law  students  from  Lubeck,  Germany,  who,  while  studying 
together  in  Paris,  committed  themselves  to  carry'  the  gospel 
overseas.  At  least  three  of  them  finally  sailed  for  Africa.  All 
trace  has  been  lost  of  two  of  these,  but  the  name  of  Peter 
Heiling  has  survived.  After  a two-year  stay  in  Egypt,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  Abyssinia  in  1634.  He  spent  some  20  years  in  that 
land,  where  he  translated  the  Bible  into  Amharic  and  finally 
died  a martyr. 

Heiling  had  no  successors,  and  thus  there  was  no  con- 
tinuation of  what  he  began.  But  the  translation  of  the  Scrip- 
tures was  a significant  contribution  that  unquestionably 
made  its  impact. 

The  important  thing  to  note  here  is  that  his  original  im- 
petus to  leave  his  own  land  and  carry  the  gospel  to  another 
part  of  the  world  came  when  he  banded  together  with  fel- 
low students  to  pray  and  work  for  the  extension  of  the 
Church  overseas. 

The  Moravians 

The  name  of  Count  Nicolaus  Ludwig  von  Zirtzendorf  (1700- 
1760)  stands  high  in  missionary  annals  as  a leader  of  the 
Moravian  movement— one  of  the  first,  most  effective  and 


Chapter  42 


277 


78  Chapter  42 


STUDENT  POWER  IN  WORLD  MISSIONS 


nost  enduring  of  missionary  enterprises, 
'inzendorf  had  the  good  fortune  to  know  per- 
onaily  both  Spener  and  Francke,  the  great 
eaders  of  the  Pietists.  The  emphasis  on  a per- 
onal  relationship  to  Jesus  as  Lord  became  the 
nost  influential  factor  in  his  early  life.  Before 
he  age  of  ten  he  had  determined  that  his  life- 
ong  purpose  should  be  to  preach  the  gospel 
)f  Jesus  Christ  throughout  the  world. 

From  1710  to  1716,  Zinzendorf  studied  in 
he  Paedagogium  founded  by  Francke  in 
Halle,  Germany.  With  five  other  boys  he 
formed  the  Order  of  the  Grain  of  Mustard 
Seed,  whose  members  were  bound  together 
in  prayer.  The  purposes  were  to  witness  to 
the  power  of  Jesus  Christ,  to  draw  other 
Christians  together  in  fellowship,  to  help 
those  who  were  suffering  for  their  faith,  and 
to  carry  the  gospel  of  Christ  overseas.  The 
same  vision  was  carried  over  in  his  univer- 
sity days  at  Wittenberg  and  Utrecht.  He 
never  lost  sight  of  this  purpose. 

In  April,  1731,  Zinzendorf  attended  the 
coronation  of  Christian  VI  of  Denmark  in 
Copenhagen.  There  he  met  Anthony  Ulrich, 
from  St.  Thomas  in  the  West  Indies,  who 
shared  with  the  Count  his  deep  desire  that 
his  brothers  in  the  West  Indies  should  hear 
the  gospel.  So  deeply  impressed  was 
Zinzendorf  that  he  saw  the  relationship  be- 
tween this  and  the  commitments  he  had 
made  as  a student.  By  August,  1732,  arrange- 
ments had  been  made  for  the  first  two 
Moravian  missionaries  to  sail  for  St.  Thomas. 

Thus,  the  modem  worldwide  missionary 
movement  (which  traces  parts  of  its  roots  to 
the  Moravians  of  1732)  was  actually  bom  in 
the  hearts  of  a group  of  students  who  joined 
together  at  Halle  to  pray  for  world  evangelism. 

The  Wesleys 

At  the  same  time  God  was  also  moving  among 
students  in  England,  Charles  Wesley  entered 
Christ  Church  College,  Oxford,  in  1726,  from 
which  his  brother,  John,  had  just  graduated.  Be- 
cause of  his  desire  to  know  God  better  he 
formed  a small  society  of  students  for  the  study 
of  the  classics  and  the  New  Testament.  They 
became  known  as  the  "Holy  Club"  (in  derision 
from  their  fellow  students)  and  as  the  "Meth- 
odists" (because  of  their  methodical  approach 
to  life).  John  Wesley  returned  as  a teaching  fel- 


low to  Lincoln  College  at  Oxford  and  joined  his 
brother  in  the  activities  of  this  group. 

In  addition  to  worship  and  study,  the 
group  translated  their  piety  into  an  outreach 
to  the  poor,  the  hungry  and  the  imprisoned. 
This  facet  of  the  activities  became  an  increas- 
ingly important  part  of  their  club. 

While  John  Wesley  is  usually  known  as  an 
evangelist  and  theologian  and  Charles  as  a 
hymn  writer,  they  both  began  their  fruitful 
careers  as  overseas  missionaries.  In  October, 
1735,  the  two  brothers  sailed  for  the  colony  of 
Georgia  with  General  Oglethorpe.  John 
Wesley's  journal  indicated  that  he  was  not 
yet  sure  of  his  own  salvation  at  this  point  and 
that  his  sailing  for  Georgia  was  partly  a quest 
for  knowing  God  better.  At  the  same  time,  he 
had  the  desire  to  share  what  he  knew  of 
Christ  with  the  Indians  of  America. 

Shortly  after  Wesley  arrived  in  Georgia, 
the  English  colonists  there  tried  to  persuade 
him  to  remain  in  Savannah  as  their  pastor. 
However,  his  desire  to  preach  the  gospel  to 
the  unevangelized  Indians  caused  him  to 
write  in  his  Journal: 

Tuesday,  November  23  (1736) — Mr. 
Oglethorpe  sailed  for  England,  leaving  Mr. 
Ingham,  Mr.  Delamotte,  and  me  at  Savan- 
nah, but  with  less  prospect  of  preaching  to 
the  Indians  than  we  had  the  first  day  we 
set  foot  in  America.  Whenever  I mentioned 
it,  it  was  immediately  replied,  "You  cannot 
leave  Savannah  without  a minister." 

To  this  indeed  my  plain  answer  was,  "I 
know  not  that  I am  under  any  obligation  to 
the  contrary.  I never  promised  to  stay  here 
one  month.  I openly  declared  both  before, 
at,  and  ever  since,  my  coming  hither  that  I 
neither  would  nor  could  take  charge  of  the 
English  any  longer  than  till  I could  go 
among  the  Indians." 

This  desire  to  share  the  message  of  Chris- 
tianity with  the  Indians  who  did  not  know 
Jesus  Christ  was  apparently  a direct  out- 
growth of  the  fellowship  of  students  at  Ox- 
ford who  sought  to  know  God  better  through 
their  "Holy  Club." 

Charles  Simeon 

No  summary  of  the  movement  of  God  among 
students  in  England  would  be  complete  with- 
out reference  to  Charles  Simeon.  As  a student 


DAVID  M.  HOWARD 


279 


at  Cambridge  University  in  1779,  Simeon 
came  to  know  Christ.  Following  his  gradua- 
tion in  1782,  he  was  appointed  Fellow  of 
King's  College,  ordained  to  the  ministry  and 
named  incumbent  of  Holy  Trinity  Church  at 
Cambridge.  Thus  began  a remarkable  minis- 
try that  was  to  span  fifty-four  years. 

Students  who  came  under  Simeon's  influ- 
ence later  became  some  of  the  great  leaders  of 
the  church  both  in  Great  Britain  and  around 
the  world.  His  informal  gatherings  of  under- 
graduates in  his  home 
for  Bible  study  and 
prayer  were  perhaps 
the  most  influential 
part  of  his  work.  Scores 
of  students  first  came 
to  a personal  relation- 
ship to  Jesus  Christ. 

Here  they  began  to  un- 
derstand the  Word  of 
God  and  its  implica- 
tions for  their  lives. 

And  here  they  received 
their  first  visions  of 
reaching  out  to  others 
with  that  Word. 

This  outreach  took 
very  practical  forms. 

In  1827,  a group  of  five 
students,  strongly  in- 
fluenced by  Simeon's 
preaching  at  Holy 

Trinity  Church,  formed  the  Jesus  Lane  Sun- 
day School  in  an  attempt  to  reach  the  boys 
md  girls  of  the  community.  Among  those 
aTio  taught  in  this  Sunday  School  were  men 
;uch  at  Conybeare,  Howson,  and  Westcott, 
later  to  be  known  through  the  world  for 
biblical  scholarship. 

Another  example  of  outreach  in  which 
Simeon  had  direct  influence  was  the  forming 
of  an  auxiliary  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible 
Society  at  Cambridge  in  1811.  The  purpose  of 
the  Society  had  always  been  to  make  available 
the  Word  of  God  throughout  the  world  in  the 
language  of  the  people.  The  involvement  of 
students  in  this  auxiliary  undoubtedly  served 
to  broaden  their  horizons  and  help  them  see 
how  they  could  relate  to  world  evangelization 
Simeon's  influence  continued  long  after 
His  death  in  1836.  The  "Simeonites"  (as  the 


The  modern 
worldwide 
missionary 
movement 
was  actually 
born  in  the 
hearts  of  a 
group  of 
students  who 
joined 
together  to 
pray  for  world 
evangelism. 


students  who  attended  his  informal  gather- 
ings were  dubbed)  continued  their  activities 
in  the  Jesus  Lane  Sunday  School  and  else- 
where in  an  outreach  with  the  gospel.  In 
1848,  the  Cambridge  Union  for  Private 
Prayer  was  formed  and  became  a vital  factor 
in  the  spiritual  life  and  witness  of  many. 

In  1857,  David  Livingstone  visited  Cam- 
bridge and  delivered  a moving  missionary 
address.  Partly  as  a result  of  this  visit,  the 
Cambridge  University  Church  Missionary' 
Union  was  established  early  in  1858  for  the 
purpose  of  encouraging  "a  more  extended 
missionary  spirit  by  frequent  meetings  for 
prayer  and  the  reading  of  papers,  and  for 
bringing  forward  an  increased  number  of 
candidates  for  missionary  employment." 

The  Inter- Varsity  Fellowship  of  England 
traces  its  origins  directly  to  the  work  begun  by 
Charles  Simeon.  The  Cambridge  Inter-Colle- 
giate Christian  Union  was  formed  in  1877. 

From  small  beginnings,  this  movement  soon 
spread  to  other  British  universities,  then  to 
other  countries  and  finally  around  the  world. 

The  Cambridge  Seven 

In  1882,  the  American  evangelist,  D.  L. 

Moody,  visited  Cambridge  during  a tour  of 
Britain.  The  results  of  one  week  of  meetings 
were  beyond  expectations  as  great  impact 
was  made  at  the  university.  Immediately  af- 
ter his  visit,  there  was  a rapid  increase  in  the 
number  of  students  who  applied  to  the 
Church  Missionary  Society  of  the  Anglican 
Church  for  service  overseas. 

About  the  same  time  there  was  a mount- 
ing interest  in  a new  mission,  the  China  In- 
land Mission,  recently  founded  by  J.  Hudson 
Taylor.  In  1883-84,  a group  of  seven  outstand- 
ing students  (six  of  them  from  Cambridge) 
applied  to  the  China  Inland  Mission.  The\ 
were  all  brilliant  and  talented  men  with  good 
background  and  upbringing  and  a variety  of 
athletic  and  academic  abilities. 

Montagu  H.  P.  Beauchamp,  son  of  Sir  Tho- 
mas and  Lady  Beauchamp,  was  a brilliant 
student.  William  W.  Cassels  was  son  of  a 
businessman.  Dixon  Edward  Hoste  was  con- 
verted under  D.  L.  Moody.  He  held  a com- 
mission in  the  Royal  Artillery  and  was  later 
to  become  the  successor  of  Hudson  Taylor  as 
director  of  the  China  Inland  Mission.  Arthur 


280  Chapter  42  STUDENT  POWER  IN  WORLD  MISSIONS 


Polhill-Tumer  was  the  son  of  a member  of 
Parliament.  Outgoing  and  quick,  he  played 
cricket  and  made  friends  easily  at  Cam- 
bridge. He,  too,  was  converted  under  D.  L. 
Moody.  Arthur's  brother,  Cecil  Polhill-Tumer, 
was  commissioned  in  the  Dragoon  Guards. 
Stanley  P.  Smith,  son  of  a successful  London 
surgeon,  became  captain  of  First  Trinity  Boat 
Club  and  stroke  of  the  Varsity  crew  at  Cam- 
bridge. Although  he  was  brought  up  in  a 
Christian  home,  he  committed  his  life  to 
Christ  under  the  ministry  of  D.  L.  Moody. 
Charles  Thomas  Studd  was  the  son  of 
wealthy  parents  who  knew  every  luxury  of 
life.  He  was  captain  of  the  cricket  team  at 
Cambridge  and  generally  considered  the  out- 
standing cricketer  of  his  day. 

In  a variety  of  ways  the  Spirit  of  God  be- 
gan to  move  upon  each  of  these  men  con- 
cerning going  to  China.  Slowly  but  relent- 
lessly, the  Spirit  brought  each  one  to  a place 
of  commitment  and  subsequently  to  an  appli- 
cation for  missionary  service.  Sensing  a unity 
of  purpose  and  outlook,  these  seven  desired 
to  share  their  vision  with  fellow  students. 
Following  graduation,  they  traveled  exten- 
sively throughout  England  and  Scotland,  vis- 
iting campuses  and  churches.  Their  impact 
for  missionary  work  was  far  beyond  the  few 
months  of  time  they  invested  in  this  tour.  In 
February,  1885,  the  seven  sailed  for  China,  to 
be  followed  in  subsequent  years  by  scores  of 
students  who,  under  their  influence,  had 
given  themselves  to  Jesus  Christ  to  reach 
other  parts  of  the  world. 

Thus  the  forward  movement  of  the  church 
continued  to  be  inspired  by  youth.  Whether  it 
was  among  students  at  Halle  with  Zinzendorf, 
or  at  Oxford  with  the  Wesleys,  or  at  Cam- 
bridge with  C.  T.  Studd  and  his  fellows,  the 
Holy  Spirit  continued  to  use  students  as  spear- 
heads in  awakening  the  church  to  its  world- 
wide responsibilities. 

Samuel  Mills 

On  the  North  American  continent,  the  begin- 
nings of  overseas  interest  on  the  part  of  the 
Church  can  be  traced  directly  to  student  influ- 
ence, and  more  precisely,  to  the  impact  of  one 
student,  Samuel  J.  Mills,  Jr.  (1783-1818).  Bom 
in  Connecticut  as  the  son  of  a Congregational 
minister.  Mills  was  brought  up  in  a godly 


home.  His  mother  reportedly  said  of  him,  "I 
have  consecrated  this  child  to  the  service  of 
God  as  a missionary."  This  was  a remarkable 
statement  since  missionary  interest  was  practi- 
cally unknown  in  the  churches  of  that  day, 
and  no  channels  (such  as  mission  boards)  for 
overseas  service  existed  in  America.  Mills  was 
converted  at  the  age  of  17  as  a part  of  the 
Great  Awakening  that  began  in  1798  and 
touched  his  father's  church.  His  commitment 
to  world  evangelism  seemed  to  be  an  integral 
part  of  his  conversion  experience.  From  the 
moment  of  conversion  on  through  the  years  of 
his  study  and  for  the  rest  of  his  public  minis- 
try, he  never  lost  sight  of  this  purpose. 

The  Haystack  Prayer  Meeting 

In  1806,  Mills  enrolled  in  Williams  College, 
Massachusetts.  This  school  had  been  pro- 
foundly affected  by  the  religious  awakening 
of  those  years,  and  devout  students  on  cam- 
pus had  a deep  concern  for  the  spiritual  wel- 
fare of  their  fellow  students.  Mills  joined  with 
them  in  their  desire  to  help  others. 

It  was  Mills'  custom  to  spend  Wednesday 
and  Saturday  afternoons  in  prayer  with  other 
, students  on  the  banks  of  the  Hoosack  River  or 
in  a valley  near  the  college.  In  August,  1806, 
Mills  and  four  others  were  caught  in  a thun- 
derstorm while  returning  from  their  usual 
meeting.  Seeking  refuge  under  a haystack, 
they  waited  out  the  storm  and  gave  them- 
selves to  prayer.  Their  special  focus  of  prayer 
that  day  was  for  the  awakening  of  foreign  mis- 
sionary interest  among  students.  Mills  directed 
their  discussion  and  prayer  to  their  own  mis- 
sionary obligation.  He  exhorted  his  compan- 
ions with  the  words  that  later  became  a watch- 
word for  them,  "We  can  do  this  if  we  will." 

Bowed  in  prayer,  these  first  American  stu- 
dent volunteers  for  foreign  missions  willed 
that  God  should  have  their  lives  for  service 
wherever  he  needed  them,  and  in  that  self- 
dedication really  gave  birth  to  the  first  stu- 
dent missionary  society  in  America.  Kenneth 
Scott  Latourette,  the  foremost  historian  of  the 
Church's  worldwide  expansion,  states,  "It 
i was  from  this  haystack  meeting  that  the  for- 
I eign  missionary  movement  of  the  churches  o 
; the  United  States  had  an  initial  impulse/  1 

The  exact  location  of  the  haystack  was  un- 
: known  for  a number  of  years.  Then,  in  18  / 


DAVID  M.  HOWARD 


281 


Bryan  Green,  one  of  those  present  in  1806, 
visited  Williamstown  and  located  the  spot.  A 
monument  was  erected  on  the  site  in  1867. 
Mark  Hopkins,  who  was  then  president  of 
the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for 
Foreign  Missions,  gave  the  dedicatory  ad- 
dress in  which  he  said,  'Tor  once  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  world,  a prayer  meeting  is  com- 
memorated by  a monument." 

The  Society  of  Brethren 

Back  at  Williams  College,  students  continued 
to  meet  for  prayer.  They  were  influential  in 
leading  a number  of  other  students  into  a 
commitment  for  overseas  service.  In  Septem- 
ber, 1808,  deciding  to  organize  formally,  they 
founded  The  Society  of  the  Brethren  for  the 
purpose  of  giving  themselves  to  extend  the 
gospel  around  the  world. 

Desiring  to  extend  the  influence  of  this  So- 
ciety to  other  colleges,  one  of  the  members 
transferred  to  Middlebury  College  to  found  a 
similar  society.  In  1809,  following  his  gradua- 
tion from  Williams  College,  Mills  enrolled  at 
Yale  with  the  dual  purpose  of  continuing 
theological  studies  and  of  imparting  mission- 
ary vision  to  the  students  there. 

Here  he  met  Henry  Obookiah,  a Hawaiian, 
who  encouraged  him  with  the  need  of  evan- 
gelizing the  Hawaiian  Islands.  Obookiah  did 
much  in  the  next  few  years  to  stimulate  stu- 
dent interest  in  evangelizing  the  Pacific  Is- 
lands. He  died  prematurely  before  he  was 
able  to  return  to  his  homeland,  but  Latourette 
says  of  him,  "The  story  of  his  life  and  mis- 
sionary purpose  was  a major  stimulus  to  the 
sending,  in  1819,  the  year  after  his  death,  of 
the  first  missionaries  of  the  American  Board 
to  Hawaii."  (James  Michener's  caricature  of 
Abner  Hale  as  the  first  missionary  to  Hawaii, 
in  his  novel  Hawaii,  should  not  be  allowed  to 
obscure  the  commitment  which  led 
Obookiah,  Mills  and  other  students  to  be  con- 
cerned for  the  evangelization  of  those  who 
had  never  heard  of  Christ.) 

tt-'j 

American  Board  of 
Commissioners  for 
^ Foreign  Missions 

% ^ J^e,  1810,  the  General  Association  of  Con- 
'S^ 8regational  Churches  met  in  Bradford,  Mas- 
T ^husetts,  in  annual  meeting.  Samuel  Mills 


(then  studying  at  Andover  Theological  Semi- 
nary), with  several  fellow  students,  including 
Adoniram  Judson,  presented  a petition  re- 
questing the  formation  of  a society  which 
could  send  them  out  as  foreign  missionaries. 
On  June  29,  the  Association  recommended  to 
the  assembly  "That  there  be  instituted  by  this 
General  Association  a Board  of  Commission- 
ers for  Foreign  Missions,  for  the  purpose  of 
devising  ways  and  means,  and  adopting  and 
prosecuting  measures  for  promoting  the 
spread  of  the  gospel  to  heathen  lands."  Al- 
though not  legally  incorporated  until  1812, 
the  Board  began  activities  immediately.  It 
was  interdenominational  in  character,  enjoy- 
ing the  support  of  numerous  church  bodies. 
Volunteers  were  recruited  and  prepared. 

On  February  19, 1812,  Adoniram  Judson 
and  Samuel  Newell  and  their  wives  sailed  for 
India,  and  five  days  later  Samuel  Nott,  Gor- 
don Hall  and  Luther  Rice  also  embarked  on 
another  ship  for  India.  These  first  American 
missionaries  joined  hands  with  the  great  En-  1 
glish  pioneer,  William  Carey,  who  since  1793 
had  been  evangelizing  in  India.  Judson  and 
Rice  subsequently  persuaded  the  Baptists  of 
North  America  to  form  their  own  missionary 
society,  which  became  the  second  foreign 
board  in  the  United  States. 

Thus,  within  four  years  of  the  haystack 
prayer  meeting,  these  students  had  been  in- 
fluential in  the  formation  of  the  first  North 
American  missionary  society,  and  a year  and 
a half  later,  the  first  volunteers  were  on  their 
way  to  Asia. 

The  Student  Volunteer  Movement 

In  the  history  of  modem  missions,  probably 
no  single  factor  has^wielded  a greater  influ- 
ence  in  the  world  wide  outreach  of  the  Church 
than  the  Student  Volunteer  Movement  (SVM). 
ffieliame^onts  great  leaders — men  of  the 
stature  of  John  R.  Mott,  Robert  C.  Wilder,  Rob- 
ert E.  Speer,  to  name  a few — stand  high  in  the 
annals  of  the  foreign  missionary  movement. 

Its  watchword,  "The  evangelization  of  the 
world  in  this  generation,"  was  so  profoundly 
influential  in  motivating  students  for  overseas 
service  that  John  R.  Mott  could  write,  "I  can 
truthfully  answer  that  next  to  the  decision  to 
take  Christ  as  the  leader  and  Lord  of  my  life, 
the  watchword  has  had  more  influence  than 


282  Chapter  42  STUDENT  POWER  IN  WORLD  MISSIONS 


all  other  ideals  and  objectives  combined  to 
widen  my  horizon  and  enlarge  my  conception 
of  the  Kingdom  of  God." 

The  SVM  had  its  distant  roots  in  the  fa- 
mous Haystack  Prayer  Meeting  held  at  Will- 
iams College  in  1806.  Out  of  that  meeting 
grew  two  very  influential  developments. 

First  was  the  Society  of  Brethren  at  Andover 
Theological  Seminary.  Second  was  the  Ameri- 
can Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Mis- 
sions, the  first  North  American  foreign  mis- 
sion agency.  One  of  the  members  of  the 
Society  of  Brethren  in  later  years  was  Ro^al 
Wilder,  who  sailed  for  India  under  the 
ABCFM  in  1846.  Returning  to  the  U.S.  for 
health  reasons  in  1877,  he  settled  in 
Princeton,  NJ,  where  his  son,  Robert,  soon 
formed  the  "Princeton  Foreign  Missionary 
Society."  The  members  of  this  Society  de- 
clared themselves  "willing  and  desirous,  God 
permitting,  -to  go  to  the  unevangelized  por- 
tions of  the  world."  Their  prayers  and  activi- 
ties bore  fruit  in  the  summer  of  1886. 

At  the  invitation  of  D.  L.  Moody,  251  stu- 
dents gathered  at  Mt.  Hermon,  Massachu- 
setts, for  a month-long  Bible  conference  in 
July  1886.  A great  burden  for  world  evangeli- 
zation was  gripping  some  of  these  students. 

A memorable  address  given  by  one  of  the 
Bible  teachers.  Dr.  A.  T.  Pierson,  contained 
the  seed  form  of  the  SVM  watchword,  and  he 
is  generally  credited  with  having  originated 
it.  As  a result  of  Pierson's  challenge,  plus 


other  motivations,  including  "The  meeting  of 
the  Ten  Nations"  and  lengthy  prayer  meet- 
ings, 100  students  volunteered  for  overseas 
service  during  the  conference. 

The  foundations  of  the  SVM  were  laid  that 
summer,  and  the  movement  was  formally  or- 
ganized in  1888.  During  the  school  year  1886- 
87,  Robert  G.  Wilder  and  John  Forman,  both 
of  Princeton,  travelled  to  167  different 
schools  to  share  the  vision  they  had  received 
of  world  evangelization.  During  that  year, 
they  saw  2,106  students  volunteer  for  mis- 
sionary work.  Among  these  were  Samuel 
Zwemer  and  Robert  E.  Speer,  whose  influ- 
ence in  missions  during  the  next  decades  is 
almost  incalculable. 

The  SVM  was  formally  organized  in  1888 
with  John  R.  Mott  as  its  chairman.  A fivefold 
purpose  was  developed: 

The  fivefold  purpose  of  the  Student  Vol- 
unteer Movement  is  to  lead  students  to 
a thorough  consideration  of  the  claims 
of  foreign  missions  upon  them  person- 
ally as  a lifework;  to  foster  this  purpose 
by  guiding  students  who  become  volun- 
teers in  their  study  and  activity  for  mis- 
sions until  they  come  under  the  imme- 
diate direction  of  the  Mission  Boards;  to 
unite  all  volunteers  in  a common,  orga- 
nized, aggressive  movement;  to  secure 
a sufficient  number  of  well-qualified 
volunteers  to  meet  the  demands  of  the 


"The  Mount  Hermon  One  Hundred" 


DAVID  M.  HOWARD 


283 


various  Mission  Boards;  and  to  create 
and  maintain  an  intelligent,  sympathetic 
and  active  interest  in  foreign  missions 
on  the  part  of  students  who  are  to  re- 
main at  home  in  order  to  ensure  the 
strong  backing  of  the  missionary  enter- 
prise by  their  advocacy,  their  gifts  and 
their  prayers.2 

Taking  a cue  from  the  Princeton  Foreign 
Missionary  Society  with  its  "pledge,"  the 
SVM  developed  a declaration  card.  The  pur- 
pose of  the  card  was  to  face  each  student 
with  the  challenge  of  the  "evangelization  of 
the  world  in  this  generation."  The  card 
stated:  "It  is  my  purpose,  if  God  permit,  to 
become  a foreign  missionary."  When  a stu- 
dent signed  this,  it  was  understood  as  his  re- 
sponse to  the  call  of  God.  Every  student  was 
expected  to  face  the  issue  and  either  to  re- 
spond to  it  in  the  affirmative  or  else  show 
that  God  was  clearly  leading  him  elsewhere. 

Growth  and  Outreach 

The  growth  of  the  SVM  in  the  following  three 
decades  was  nothing  short  of  phenomenal.  In 
1891,  the  first  international  student  missionary 
convention  sponsored  by  SVM  was  held  in 
Cleveland,  Ohio.  It  was  decided  that  such  a 
convention  should  be  held  every  four  years  in 
order  to  reach  each  student  generation.  Until 
the  1940's,  this  became  a pattern,  interrupted 
only  by  World  War  I.  The  first  convention  at 
Cleveland  was  attended  by  558  students  rep- 
resenting 151  educational  institutions,  along 
with  31  foreign  missionaries  and  32  represen- 
tatives of  missionary  societies.3 

By  the  time  of  the  Cleveland  convention, 
there  were  6,200  Student  Volunteers  from  352 
educational  institutions  in  the  United  States 
and  Canada.  And  321  volunteers  had  already 
sailed  for  overseas  service.  In  addition,  40  col- 
leges and  32  seminaries  were  involved  in  fi- 
nancial support  of  their  alumni  who  had  gone 
overseas  as  Volunteers.4  All  of  this  had  taken 
place  in  just  five  years  since  the  Mt.  Hermon 
conference.  The  Movement  had  also  reached 
out  and  planted  seeds  of  similar  movements  in 
Great  Britain,  Scandinavia,  and  South  Africa. 

An  educational  program  in  the  schools 
was  initiated  and  spread  rapidly.  Mott  could 
later  write  that  "At  one  time  before  the  war 


the  number  in  such  circles  exceeded  40,000  in 
2,700  classes  in  700  institutions."5 

These- efforts  on  the  local  campuses,  the 
quadrennial  conventions,  plus  literature, 
speaking  tours  and  other  activities,  resulted 
in  thousands  of  students  volunteering  for 
overseas  service.  "By  1945,  at  the  most^on- 
servative  estimate,  20,500  students  from  so- 
called  Christian  lands,  who  had  signed  the 
declaration,  reached  the  field,  for  the  most 
part  under  the  missionary  societies  and 
boards  of  the  churches."0 

In  1920  (the  peak  year  statistically)  2,783 
students  signed  the  SVM  decision  card,  6,890 
attended  the  quadrennial  convention  in  Des 
Moines,  and  in  1921,  637  Volunteers  sailed  for 
the  field,  this  being  the  highest  number  in 
any  single  year.  The  motivations  were  genu- 
ine, the  grounding  in  biblical  principles  was 
solid,  and  the  leadership  had  a burning  vi- 
sion for  world  evangelism. 


•: 

\ 

r 


V) 
u 

!W) 

fw-  ^ 


Confusion  and  Decline 

But  in  1920,  an  ominous  change  began  to 
take  place.  "The  Missionary  Review  of  the 
World"  (a  journal  founded  by  Royal  Wilder 
in  1887)  analyzed  the  SVM  convention  at 
Des  Moines  as  follows: 

The  Des  Moines  Volunteer  Convention... 
was  marked  by  a revolt  against  the  lead- 
ership of  the  "elder  statesman."  That  con- 
vention was  large  in  number  but  the  del- 
egates were  lacking  in  missionary  vision 
and  purpose  and  were  only  convinced 
that  a change  of  ideals  and  of  leadership 
was  needed.  They  rightly  believed  that 
selfishness  and  foolishness  had  involved 
the  world  in  terrible  war  and  bloodshed 
and  they  expressed  their  intention  to  take 
control  of  Church  and  State  in  an  effort  to 
bring  about  better  conditions.  The  prob- 
lems of  international  peace,  social  justice, 
racial  equality  and  economic  betterment 
obscured  the  Christian  foundations  and 
ideals  of  spiritual  service. 

From  the  high  point  of  1920,  the  SVM  ex- 
perienced a rapid  decline,  38  Volunteers 
sailed  for  the  field  in  1934  (as  compared 
with  637  in  1921);  25  Volunteers  enrolled  in 
SVM  in  1938  (as  compared  with  2,783  in 
1920).  In  1940,  465  delegates  attended  the 
quadrennial  convention  in  Toronto  (as  com- 
pared with  the  6,890  at  Des  Moines  in  1920). 

-3 


284  Chapter  42  STUDENT  POWER  IN  WORLD  MISSIONS 


Here  was  a movement  whose  influence  on 
students  and  the  world  mission  of  the 
Church  had  been  incalculable.  Yet  it  could  be 
said  of  SVM  that  "by  1940  it  had  almost 
ceased  to  be  a decisive  factor  either  in  stu- 
dent religious  life  or  in  the  promotion  of  the 
missionary  program  of  the  churches."7 

What  had  happened  to  precipitate,  or  to  al- 
low, such  a drastic  decline? 

Dr.  William  Beahm  has  highlighted  the  fol- 
lowing factors,  while  stating  that  no  one  rea- 
son by  itself  is  an  adequate  explanation  of  the 
steady  decline. 

1 . Many  changes  of  leadership  broke  the 
continuity  of  its  life  and  left  the  subtle 
impression  of  a sinking  ship  from  which 
they  were  fleeing. 

2.  There  was  increasing  difficulty  in  financ- 
ing its  program.  This  was  closely  related 
to  the  depression  and  the  loss  of  Mott's 
leadership. 

The  program  tended  to  become  top- 
heavy.  In  1920  the  Executive  Committee 
was  expanded  from  six  to  thirty  members. 
Its  emphasis  upon  foreign  mission  seemed 
to  overlook  the  glaring  needs  in  America, 
and  so  the  Movement  appeared  to  be  spe- 
cialized rather  than  comprehensive. 

When  the  interest  of  students  veered 
away  from  missions,  it  left  the  Move- 
ment in  a dilemma  as  to  which  interest  to 
follow — student  or  missionary. 

There  was  a great  decline  in  missionary 
education.  One  reason  for  this  was  the 
assumption  that  discussion  of  world 
problems  by  students  was  an  improve- 
ment over  the  fonder  types  of  informa- 
tive procedure.  The  Conventions  came  to 
have  this  discussional  character. 

Their  emphasis  shifted  away  from  Bible 
study,  evangelism,  lifework  decision 
and  foreign  mission  obligation  on  which 
the  SVM  had  originally  been  built.  In- 
stead, they  now  emphasized  new  issues 
such  as  race  relations,  economic  injus- 
tice and  imperialism. 

The  rise  of  indigenous  leaders  reduced 
the  need  for  Western  personnel. 

The  rise  of  the  social  gospel  blotted  out 
the  sharp  distinction  between  Christian 
America  and  the  "unevangelized  por- 
tions of  the  world." 


3. 


8. 


9. 


10.  Revivalism  had  given  way  to  basic  un- 
certainty as  to  the  validity  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith,  especially  of  its  claim  to  exclu- 
sive supremacy.  Accordingly,  the 
watchword  fell  into  disuse  and  the  argu- 
ment for  foreign  missions  lost  its  force.8 
By  the  1924  convention,  attention  was 
turning  rapidly  from  world  evangelism  to  the 
solution  of  social  and  economic  problems. 
"The  Missionary  Review"  stated  that  in  1924 
"they  failed  to  make  much  impression  or  to 
reach  any  practical  conclusions." 

Termination  of  the  SVM 

After  1940,  its  activities  moved  steadily  away 
from  an  emphasis  on  overseas  missions  as 
SVM  became  mqrgT&yplved  in  political  and 
social" matters.  Ir{l959,/the  SVM  merged  with 
theTTruted^tudent  Christian  Council  and  the 
Interseminary  Movement  to  form  the  National 
Student  Christian  Federation  (NSCF).  This  in 
turn  was  allied  with  the  Roman  Catholic  Na- 
tional Newman  Student  Federation  and  other 
groups  uTl966  td  form  the  University  Chris- 
tian Movement  (UCM).  The  purpose  of  the 
UCM  at  its  inception  was  threefold:  "to  pro- 
vide an  ecumenical  instrument  for  allowing 
the  church  and  university  world  to  speak  to 
each  other,  to  encourage  Christian  response  on 
campuses  to  human  issues,  and  to  act  as  an 
agent  through  which  sponsors  could  provide 
resources  and  services  to  campus  life."9  It  is 
obvious  that  these  purposes,  while  legitimate 
in  themselves,  show  little  relationship  to  the 
original  objectives  of  the  SVM  as  spelled  out  at 
Mt.  Hermon  and  in  subsequent  developments. 

On  March  1, 1969,  the  General  Committee 
of  the  University  Christian  Movement  at  its 
meeting  in  Washington,  D.  C.,  took  action  in 
the  form  of  an  affirmative  vote  (23  for,  1 
against,  1 abstention)  of  the  following  resolu- 
tion: "We  the  General  Committee  of  the  UCM, 
declare  that  as  of  June  3(£l969^jhe  UCM 
ceases  to  exist  as  a national  organization....  10 
Thus,  the  final  vestiges  of  the  greatest  stu- 
dent missionary  movement  in  the  history  of 
the  church  were  quietly  laid  to  rest  83  years^ 
after  the  Spirit  of  Gocd  had  moved  so  unmis- 
takably upon  students  at  Mt.  Hermon. 

No  human  movement  is  perfect,  nor  can  it 
be  expected  to  endure  indefinitely.  But  the 
great  heritage  left  by  the  SVM  can  still  speak 


DAVID  M.  HOWARD 


285 


to  our  generation.  The  reasons  for  its  decline 
can  serve  as  warning  signals.  Its  principal  em- 
phases can  redirect  our  attention  to  the  basic 
issues  of  today:  emphasis  on  personal  commit- 
ment to  Jesus  Christ  on  a lifelong  basis;  accep- 
tance of  the  authority  of  the  Word  of  God  and 
emphasis  on  personal  Bible  study;  sense  of  re- 
sponsibility to  give  the  gospel  of  Christ  to  the 
entire  world  in  our  generation;  reliance  on  the 
Holy  Spirit;  emphasis  on  student  initiative 
and  leadership  to  carry  out  these  objectives. 

Recent  Advances 

Yet  God  does  not  leave  himself  without  a wit- 
ness. By  the  mid-1930s,  with  the  decline  in 
missionary  interest,  with  the  Great  Depres- 
sion taking  its  toll,  with  war  clouds  rising 
again  in  Europe,  with  the  liberal-fundamen- 
talist controversy  raging,  the  Church  was 
deeply  discouraged.  But  once  again  God 
moved  upon  students  who  would  not  be  de- 
terred from  fulfilling  God's  call,  in  spite  of 
surrounding  circumstances. 

In  1936  at  Ben  Lippen  Bible  Conference 
grounds  in  North  Carolina,  a group  of  stu- 
dents shared  their  concern  that  SVM  seemed  to 
have  changed  its  original  purposes.  Convinced 
that  they  could  not  sit  idly  by  and  watch  the 
Church  give  up  its  missionary  outreach,  they 
decided  to  act.  The  following  week,  a delega- 
tion from  Ben  Lippen  went  to  Keswick,  N.J.,  to 
share  with  a similar  student  conference  the 
burden  God  had  given  to  them.  After  careful 
consultation  with  some  SVM  leaders,  and  feel- 
ing that  their  purposes  were 
now  different,  they  decided  to 
form  a new  organization. 

Thus,  the  Student  Foreign 
Missions  Fellowship  was  or- 
ganized in  1938  and  SFMF 
was  formally  incorporated 
under  student  leadership, 
and  chapters  were  formed 
throughout  the  country. 

Rapid  growth  was  experi- 
enced, and  once  again  the 
Church  was  awakened 
through  students  who  re- 
fused to  be  daunted  by  the 
circumstances  for  their  times. 

In  1939,  Inter- Varsity  came 
to  the  U.S.  from  Canada.  It 


was  soon  evident  that  one  of  its  purposes, 
that  of  fomenting  missionary  interest  among 
students,  overlapped  directly  with  the  pur- 
poses of  SFMF.  After  several  years  of  prayer 
and  consultation,  both  groups  felt  led  by  God 
to  a merger  that  was  consummated  in  No- 
vember, 1945,  the  SFMF  becoming  the  Mis- 
sionary Department  of  IVCF. 

In  December,  1946,  the  newly-merged 
SFMF  and  IVCF  sponsored  their  first  interna- 
tional missionary  convention,  attended  by 
575  students,  at  the  University  of  Toronto. 

The  first  convention  was  held  in  1948  at  the 
University  of  Illinois,  Urbana,  where  it  has 
been  held  since  that  time. 

Following  World  War  II  there  was  a great 
upsurge  of  missionary  concern.  Veterans  who 
had  fought  in  the  Pacific  and  Europe  re- 
turned to  the  campuses  deeply  desirous  to  go 
back  and  share  the  gospel  with  the  people 
who  so  recently  had  been  their  enemies. 

These  veterans  had  seen  the  world,  life,  and 
death  in  a way  few  students  before  or  since 
had  seen  it.  God  used  them  to  lead  others 
into  an  understanding  of  mission  obligation. 
From  many  campuses  in  the  late  1940s  and 
early  1950s,  more  students  went  overseas  in 
missionary  endeavor  than  at  any  other  com- 
parable period  in  history. 

However,  during  the  1950s  it  seemed  as 
though  the  human  race  was  begging  for  a 
breather.  This  general  lull  took  its  toll  in  mis- 
sionary interest  as  well.  Once  again  there  was 
a decline  in  the  churches  and  among  students. 


286  Chapter  42 


STUDENT  POWER  IN  WORLD  MISSIONS 


In  sharp  contrast,  the  student  world  of 
the  1960s  was  marked  by  activism,  violent 
upheavals,  and  negative  attitudes.  The  anti 
government,  anti-establishment, 
anti-family,  anti-church  attitudes 
were  also  expressed  in  anti-mis- 
sions reactions.  Seldom  have 
missions  been  looked  upon  with 
less  favor  by  students  than  dur- 
ing that  decade. 

However,  early  in  the  next 
decade  a sudden,  unexpected 
change  took  place.  Apparently 
recognizing  that  negativism  was 
not  going  to  solve  the  problems 
of  the  world,  students  began  to 
take  a more  positive  attitude 
and  to  work  for  change  from 
within  "the  system."  Nowhere 
was  this  more  dramatically  seen  than  at  the 
Urbana  student  missionary  conventions.  In- 
ter-Varsity uses  world  evangelism  decision 
cards'  at  these  conventions  as  a regular  part 
of  the  process  of  stimulating  student  re- 
sponses to  missions.  In  1970  seven  percent 


of  the  students  at  Urbana  signed  these 
cards.  Three  years  later,  28  percent  signed 
the  card.  The  number  grew  to  50  percent  by 
the  1976  convention.  This  per- 
centage has  remained  above  50 
percent  since  then. 

Now,  as  we  turn  toward  a 
new  millenium,  we  are  still 
riding  the  crest  of  a great  wave 
of  student  interest  and  activism 
in  missions.  Summer  programs 
and  short-term  assignments 
overseas  have  increased  dra- 
matically in  recent  years.  The 
Perspectives  Study  Program  of 
the  U.S.  Center  for  World 
Mission's  Training  Division,  and 
similar  programs  of  missionary 
preparation,  have  been  attract- 
ing steady  streams  of  candidates. 

Today's  students  have  the  great  privilege 
of  standing  on  the  shoulders  of  their  fore- 
bears to  view  with  thanksgiving  what  God 
has  done  in  the  past  and  to  look  ahead  to  the 
future  with  hope. 


Now,  as  we  turn 
toward  a new 
millenium,  we 
are  still  riding 
the  crest  of  a 
great  wave  of 
student  interest 
and  activism  in 
missions. 


End  Notes 


I . Kenneth  Scott  Latourette,  These  Sought  a Country  (New  York:  Harper  and  Brothers,  1 950),  p.  46. 
John  R.  Mott,  Five  Decades  and  a Forward  View  (New  York:  Harper  and  Brothers,  1 939),  p.  8. 
Robert  P.  Wilder,  The  Student  Volunteer  Movement:  Its  Origin  and  Early  History  (New  York:  The 
Student  Volunteer  Movement,  1935),  p.  58. 

4.  Watson  A.  Omu logoi i,  The  Student  Volunteer  Movement:  Its  History  and  Contribution  (master's 
thesis,  Wheaton  College,  1967),  p.  73. 

5.  Mott,  Op.  cit..,  p.  1 2. 


6.  Ruth  Rouse  and  Stephen  C.  Neill,  A History  of  the  Ecumenical  Movement , 1517-  1948  (Philadel- 
phia: Westminster  Press,  1967),  p.  328. 

William  H.  Beahm,  Factors  in  the  Development  of  the  Student  Volunteer  Movement  for  Foreign 
Missions,  unpublished  Ph.D.  dissertation,  University  of  Chicago,  1941. 

(^8^  Ibid.,  pp.  14-15. 

9.  Report  of  Religious  News  Service,  April  1,  1969. 

10.  News  Notes,  Department  of  Higher  Education,  National  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  the 
U.S. A.,  New  York,  XV,  No.  3,  March,  1969. 


Study  Questions 

1 . Trace  the  roots  of  the  Student  Volunteer  Movement. 

2.  If  another  student  missions  movement  were  to  arise  today,  how  do  you  think  it  would  be  similar  to 
and  different  from  the  SVM  in  its  origin,  characteristics,  and  effects?  What  factors  would  promote 
the  development  of  such  a movement?  What  factors  would  hinder  its  development? 

3.  In  your  own  words,  explain  the  decline  of  the  SVM  and  the  lessons  to  be  learned  by  contemporary 
students. 


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Imperatives  of  Mission  Today 

CiLh  v^us) 

I think  that  probably  most  people  would  say  that  the  first 
imperative  of  mission  today  is  "Go".  "Go  ye  into  all  the  world..". 

That  is  natural.  "Go"  is  the  first  word  of  the  Great  Commission  both  in 
Matthew  and  in  Mark.  But  in  my  list  of  imperatives  for  mission  today  it 
comes  in  third.  In  that  case,  what  are  my  first  two''.  This  will  be 
something  of  an  anticlimax,  but  as  J study  the  way  Jesus  prepared  his 
disciples  for  mission,  I am  beginning  to  reach  the  conclusion  that  the 
first  two  Biblical  imperatives  for  mission  ajSeTnot  "Go  and  preach.."  but 
"Come,  and  Wait".  Kh,J  y. 

But  before  I elaborate  on  that,  let  me  give-yett-my  whole-44st 
for  I may  not  be  able  to  get  to  all  of  them  before  my  time  is  up:  here 

are  Six  Imperatives  of  Mission  Today. 

1.  Come.  "Come  to  me",  said  Jesus  (John  1:39;  Mark  1:17;  Mt  11:28). 

2.  Wait.  "Wait.. [for  the]  power.."  said  Jesus. 

3.  Go.  Then,  only  then,  did  he  say,  "Go  ye  into  all  the  world." 

(Mark  16:15). 

4.  Evangel ize.  "Go.,  and  preach  the  gospel.."  (Mark  16:15). 

5.  Serve.  "Do  as  I have  done  to  you",  said  Jesus  after  washing  his 

disciples  feet,  and  later*"  made  it  clear,  "I  came.. to  serve." 

(John  13:15;  20:21). 

6.  Stay  together;  be  one.  Jesus  prayed,  "that  they  may  all  be 
one..,  that  the  world  may  believe."  (John  17:21).  J-  3 


i Nqw  there  was  a time  when  Christians  didn't  feel  the  need  to 
re-examine  .the -Christian  miss-ion.  They  didn't  need  to  have  -lists-  of 
s-ix-i-mpe-r^t44^Si  They  didn't  need  to  ask  why  they  had  missionaries,  and 
what  missionaries  were  supposed  to  do.  It  was  almost  axiomatic.  It  was 
simple  and  dangerous  and  overwhelmingly  urgent.  It  was  as  simple  as 
the  command  of  Christ,  and  as  urgent  aslife  and  death.  For  millions 
upon  millions  were  dying  without  Christ.  Every  second  saw  more  souls 
slipping  into  c Christless  eternity.  No  one  had  ever  given  them  a 
chance.  No  one  had  ever  told  them  that  they  could  live  forever  in 
Christ.  Faced  with  a challenge  as  simple  as  that,  the  Church  exploded 
into  the  modern  missionary  movement,  a race  against  time  and  against  the 
devil  for  the  greatest  of  all  prizes,  the  eternal  salvation  of  the  human 
soul . 


& 


Dr.  Samuel  Hugh  Moffett,  missionary  to  China  under 
the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  U.  S.  A.,  was  on  the 
faculty  of  Nanking  Theological  Seminary  and  is  cur- 
rently at  Princeton  University. 

This  speech  is  one  of  a series  delivered  at  the  Division 
Assembly  held  at  the  Royal  York  Hotel,  Toronto, 
Canada,  January  3-6,  1952,  by  the  Division  of  Foreign 
Missions  of  the  National  Council  of  the  Churches  of 
Christ  In  the  U.  S.  A.  and  its  related  boards  in  Canada. 


Additional  copies  may  be  obtained  from: 

DIVISION  OF  FOREIGN  MISSIONS 
National  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ 
in  the  U.  S.  A. 

156  Fifth  Avenue  New  Yore  10,  N.  Y. 


w 


HTHERE  was  a time  when  Christians  didn’t  feel 
the  need  to  re-examine  the  Christian  Mission. 
They  didn  t need  to  ask  why  they  had  missionaries, 
and  what  missionaries  were  supposed  to  do.  It  was 
, almost  axiomatic.  It  was  simple,  and  dangerous. 

rtWl  Htguff  H 

command  of  Christ,  and  as  urgent  as  life  and  death. 
For  millions  upon  millions  were  dying  without 
Christ.  Every  second  saw  more  souls  slipping  into 
a Chris tless  eternity.  No  one  had  ever  given  them  a 
change.  No  one  had  ever  told  them  that  they  could 
live  forever  in  Christ.  Faced  with  a challenge  as 
simple  as  that,  the  Church  exploded  into  the  mod- 
ern missionary  movement,  a race  against  time  and 
against  the  devil  for  the  greatest  of  all  prizes,  the 

\ eternal  salvation  of  the  human  soul. 

If  you  are  expecting  me  to  ridicule  that  chal- 
lenge. I am  going  to  disappoint  you.  It  has  never 
seemed  ridiculous  to  me.  As  a matter  of  fact,  in 
large  measure  it  was  the  challenge  which  sent  me 
to  the  mission  field.  But  you  know  as  well  as  I that 
there  came  a day  of  the  shaking  of  the  foundations. 
The  old  urgencies  were  denied,  or  at  least  ignored. 
No  one  seemed  sure  of  anvthing  eternal  any  more. 

So  the  challenge  changed.  The  Jerusalem  Con- 
ference of  the  International  Missionary  Council 
said:  "Our  fathers  were  impressed  with  horror  that 
men  should  die  without  Christ;  we  are  equally  im- 
pressed with  horror  that  they  should  live  without 
Christ."  It  was  a shift  of  balance,  really,  more  than 
a denial— a strategic  withdrawal  to  what  was  con- 
sidered firmer  ground.  Millions  upon  millions  are 
living  in  misery  and  in  filth.  No  one  can  deny  that. 
No  one  has  ever  given  them  a chance.  No  one  has 
ever  helped  them  to  the  life  abundant  that  Jesus 
came  to  give  them.  It  was  a challenge  to  a future 
in  history— a future  without  hunger  and  without 
hate,  without  sickness  and  without  tears,  where  all 
men  are  brothers  and  the  nations  shall  study  war 
no  more.  So  the  Church  went  forth  to  build  the 
Kingdom. 

I do  not  intend  to  ridicule  this  view  either.  It  has 
never  seemed  ridiculous  to  me  to  feed  the  hungry 
and  heal  the  sick  and  work  for  peace.  But  again  you 
know  as  well  as  I how  the  paralysis  of  doubt  struck 
once  more.  The  foundations  shook  and  the  roof  fell 


6 

1 


3 


a 


T'OT' 


in.  Wars,  depressions,  brutalities,  corruptions  in  a 
disheartening  crescendo  of  defeat— and  all  this  with- 
in what  too  many  had  believed  was  the  Kingdom, 
western  civilization.  The  Kingdom  refused  to  stay 
built,  and  the  builders  begun  to  lose  hope. 

Ihuse  twu  Ufulli.4  ..juubul:*  ut  llu. 

missionary:  the  saver  of  souls,  and  the  builder  of 
the  Kingdom.  The  problem  of  our  time  is  that  nei- 
ther is  quite  able  to  carry  all  Christendom  with  him 

(to  the  Mission. 

Actually,  in  basic  motivation,  there  is  not  much 
difference  between  the  saver  of  souls  and  the  build- 
er of  the  Kingdom.  In  both  the  motive  is  love.  But 
I am  beginning  to  question  just  how  far  love  is  the 
motive  of  the  Christian  Mission.  Was  it  the  motive 
I in  the  original  mission  of  the  Church? 

■f  Of  course,  love  is  fundamental.  It  was  love  that 
started  the  mission.  “For  God  so  loved  the  world 
that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son.  that  whosoever 
believeth  in  him  should  not  perish  but  have  ever- 
lasting life.”  But  that  was  the  love  of  God,  the 
Father.  The  missionary  was  God  the  Son. 

Of  course,  I am  not  preparing  to  deny  that  it  was 
love  that  brought  Christ  into  the  world  on  His  mis- 
sion of  reconciliation.  However,  it  may  be  worth 
noting  that  the  Bible  does  not  say  so.  It  is  full  of 
His  love  for  men,  a compassion  that  knows  no 
bounds,  but  where  are  we  told  diat  He  came  to  the 
world  because  He  loved  it?  Insofar  as  the  Bible  dis- 
tinguishes between  the  Son  and  the  Father  in  ref- 
erence to  the  mission,  it  tells  us  that  the  Father 
founds  the  mission  because  He  loves,  the  Son  goes 
on  the  mission  because  He  is  sent.  The  motive  of 
the  Son,  the  missionary,  is  obedience . 

Look  at  the  glimpse  Paul  gives  us  into  the  mind 
of  Christ  before  the  mission.  The  lesson  is  not  love, 
but  humility  and  obedience,  "even  unto  the  death 
of  the  cross.”  (Phil.  2:5-8).  He  loves  the  world,  of 
course,  but  He  goes  because  He  is  sent.  He  loves 
the  whole  world,  but  He  goes  to  the  Jews  because 
He  is  sent.  That  is  the  only  explanation  He  gives  of 
the  narrowness  of  His  mission:  “I  am  not  sent  but 
to  the  lost  sheep  in  Israel.”  He  loves  the  world 
enough  to  die  for  it,  but  He  goes  to  the  cross  be- 
cause He  is  sent:  “Not  my  will,  but  thine,  be  done.” 
The  insistent,  compelling  motive  of  the  mission  is 


obedience.  God  is  love,  but  it  is  obedience  that 
forges  and  focusses  and  incarnates  that  love  into 
a mission. 

The  lesson  is  absolutely  the  same  when  we  turn 
to  the  apostles,  the  first  missionaries  of  the  Church. 

4 )***«-  a fAt-d  th.«t 

sent  Philip  to  the  Ethiopian^?  Not  according  to  the 
record.  “The  angel  of  the  Lord  spake  unto  Philip, 
‘Arise  and  go/  ” And  he  went.  Was  it  love  that  sent 
Peter  to  the  proud  and  unclean,  to  the  centurion? 
Not, according  to  the  record.  “The  spirit  said  unto 
him,  ‘Arise  and  go’  . . .”  And  he  went. 

Was  it  a passion  for  millions  of  lost  Gentile  souls, 
dying  without  hope  and  without  Christ,  that  made 
Paul  the  apostle  to  the  Gentiles?  He  loved  his  own 
people  too  much  for  that.  But  obedience  ^made  him 
a missionary.  “Separate  me  ^Barnabas  and  Saul, 
savs  the  Spirit,  hnd  obedience^ sent  him.  almost  re- 
luctantly, .to^he  Gentiles.  “The  Lord  commanded 
me,  saving.  ‘I  have  set  thee  to  be  a light  of  the  Gen- 
tiles/ ” In  the  strange  new  world  of  the  Bible,  apos- 
tles and  missionaries  are  made  not  by  looking  at  the 
world  ia  love, .but  by  listening  to  God  in  obedience^ 
They  go  in  love.„'but  they  go ‘because  they  obey.  . 

At  this  point  most  of  us  are  inclined  to  change 
the  subject  in  embarrassment  and  go  on  to  more 
practical  tilings  like  techniques  and  methods,  and 
campaigns  and  appeals.  How  can  we  wait  around 
for  missionaries  to  listen  to  the  voice  of  God?  I re- 
member a girl  in  college  who  was  earnest  and  in- 
tense and  desperately  wanted  to  go  as  a missionary 
to  Africa.  But  God  had  not  called  her.  There  were 
no  voices,  no  visions,  and  this  inexplicable  silence 
on  the  part  of  God  was  making  her  almost  ill  with 
anxiety.  So  one  night  a tough-minded,  realistic 
friend  of  mine  stepped  in  to  take  a hand.  She  gath- 
ered a group  of  girls  together,  robed  them  all  in 
white  sheets,  and  at  midnight  stole  into  the  troubled 
girl’s  room,  moaning  in  hollow  tones.  Come  to 
Africa.  Come  to  Africa.” 

Don’t  laugh  at  the  poor  girl,  waiting  for  the  voice 
of  God.  She  was  as  much  right  as  wrong:  wrong 
in  her  stereotyped  ideas  of  how  God  speaks,  but 
completely  right  in  believing  that  without  the  posi- 
tive assurance  of  Gods  leading  she  would  never  be 
a missionary,  even  if  she  did  go  to  Africa.  In  a 


Those  have  been  the  two  most  familiar  imperatives  of  mission 
for  the  last  two  hundred  years:  "Save  souls",  or  "Build  the  Kingdom". 

Put  the  problem  for  most  of  those  two  centuries  neither  imperative  had 
quite  been  able  to  rally  all  Christendom  behind  it  in  a world  mission. 

We  have  let  those  two  imperatives  divide  us:  soul-savers  against 
kingdom  builders,  and  neither  has  been  able  to  finish  the  missionary 
task.  'TW  " /wj.,  i ^ 4 ywwkvAw j wit  /v/- 

We  will  have  to  take  another  look,  soon,  at  those  two 
priori tes.  There  are  on  the  list  of  six,  though  I describe  them 
somewhat  differently.  But  perhaps  the  first  problem  in  arranging 
missionary  priorities  is  that  neither  one  of  those  two  should  be  first 
on  the  list.  So  ^ ^ **  ^ ^ - ^4  * W 4 

1.  Come.  The  first  thing  our  Lord  said  to  his 


jjl  -£c y 


disciples  was  neither  "Go  into  all  the  world  and  save  souls",  or  "Go, 
and  build  the  Kingdom".  His  first  imperative  was  "Come".  It  is  not  the 
Great  C^T^Tion^  lx  is  a simple  invitation,  so  simple  that  we  forget 

Gilbert  Tennent,  despite  impeccable  connections  with  18th 
century  Princeton  back  in  the  exciting  days  of  the  Great  Awakening,  w*s 
was  not  the  most  loveable  of  men,  nor  the  most  tactful  of  evangelists. 

In  fact  he  was  so  prickly  and  belligerent  at  times  that 

scuttled  the  Awakening  before  it  reallyqot  off  the  groun^wirh  a \ 

thundering  sermon  t^smugly  orthodox  ^^r^s-byta^  on 

rather  delicate  subject  "The  Dangers  of  an  Unconverted  Ministry" . ^ No  . 

Philadelphia  pastors  I have  ever  known  take^f  kindly  to  loud  sermons 
questioning  their  conversion.  ^^pinnent  learned  to  be  more  diplomatic 


with  his  fellow  Presbyterians, 
moderator.  Put  in  that 


He  was  even  la£ er  elected  a presbytery  . 
njitdirT^H  sermcn  of  his,  he  managed 


to  put  his  finger  on  something  which  is  extremely  important  still  today 
to  anything  we  say  about  mission. 

For  whatever  else  we  say  about  other  imperatives,  the  first 


step  in 

U ft  fc  / / 1 


mission  is  not  toward  the  world  but  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  not  for 


jur 


iXrt  k vuwJ  w*  ‘tA  * "‘v.'M  w/ii  >*  ** . . 

others,  but  for  ourselves.  And  if  we  are  too  sophisticated,  too 

A 0 A 0 Cfau**  %.  4 lA+A , 

denominationally  proud,  for  that  first  simple,  humbling  step,' then  we  do 
not  belong  in  the  mission  to  which  Jesus  calls  His  disciples. 


34;  The  secrrf*  imperative  is  sti44  -nat  ^to"  ^ntwi  s "Wait".  > ^ 

It  has  long  bothered  my  impatient,  activist,  missionary  soul  that  in 
a no&brr  well  known  verse  when  Jesus  says,  "Come  unto  me",  what  he  asks 
us  to  come  to  him  for  is  not  the  stirring  great  commission  to  world 
mission  I want  to  hear,  but  a disappointing  put-down,  "Come  unto  me.. and 
rest."  "Come  unto  me  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden  and  I will 
give  you  rest"  (Matt.  11:28).  He  calls  them,  he  fires  them  up,  but 
keeps  telling  them  to  wait.  Even  after  the  resurrection,  he  talks  to 
them  about  the  kingdom  of  God,  but  says,  "Don't  leave  Jerusalem,  but 
wait.."  (Acts  1:4).  Wait  for  what?  Wait  for  the  promise  and  the  power 
of  God.  (Acts  1:4,  8).  That  is  how  Jesus  trained  his  disciples  for 
mission.  Learn  how  to  wait. 

They  say  that  a young  man  came  up  to  Dr.  Thomas  Chalmers  after 
that  great  old  Scottish  evangelist  had  preached  his  heart  out  about 
God's  call  to  ministry  and  mission,  and  said,  "I  want  to  leave  school 
and  get  into  the  work  at  once."  "Are  you  sure  about  that?,  said 
Chalmers.  Wouldn't  it  be  better  to  finish  your  education  first?".  "No, 

I can't  wait.  There's  a whole  world  cut  there  waiting  for  the  gospel, 
and  the  Lord  says  "Go",  and  I can't  waste  any  more  time  in  school."  Ami 
the  wise  doctor  said,  "Well,  there's  a lot  to  be  done  all  right,  and 
perhaps  the  time  is  getting  short,  but..,  well,  suppose  you  had  a forest 

dvxi 

out  there  that  needed  cutting,  and  needed  it  quickly,  and  you  asked  two 

men  to  go  out  and  do  the  cutting,  and  one  of  them  picked  up  his  old  axe 

and  raced^t^-dr^^fL  while  the  other  thought  to  himself,  ‘SbetrWi»M;  I 'ia+Jc 
sharpen  my  axe  first??',  and  stopftld  long  enough  to  do  i-f  before  he  raced 
into  the  forest.  By  the  end  of  the  day,  which  of  the  two  do  you  think 
would  have  cut  down  the  most  trees?"  ^ ^ ^ ■ 

The  second  imperative  is  still  not  "Go",  but  "Wait.  Wait  for 

the  call,  and  the  promise  and  the  power.  pored,  ^ ainriUdzkj 


IMPERATIVES  OF  MISSION  TODAY 


Moffett 


OMSC,  New  Haven: 
Evangel i sm: 


1/4/88 


First  Among  Equals 


The  meaning  of  evangelism 
Church  planting 
Church  growth 
Case  study:  Korea 

■^1  Social  Action:  "Faith  Without  Works  Is  Dead" 


Works  of  compassion 

Action  for  freedom  and  justice 

Case  study 


Unity:  "That  They  All  May  Be  One" 

Unity  and  mission:  a contradiction? 

The  Biblical  imperative 

The  evangelistic  and  missionary  imperatives 

Case  study:  China,  Japan  and  Korea 


x.  (W 

'jTf , Geo 


Recommended  reading: 

G.  H.  Anderson,  "A  Moratorium  on  Missionaries". 

Mission  Trends  No.  1,  pp.  133  ff. 

W.  Dayton  Roberts,  Revolution  in  Evangelism 
Moody  Press,  Chicago,  1967 

Gustavo  Gutierrez,  "The  Hope  of  Liberation" 

Mission  Trends  No.  3.  pp.  64  ff. 

Richard  J.  Neuhaus,  "Liberation  Theology  and  the  Captivity  of  Jesus" 
Mission  Trends  No.  3.  pp.  41  ff. 

Paul  A.  Crow,  Jr.,  Chri stian  Unity:  Matrix  for  Mission 
Friendship  Press,  1982 

Lesslie  Newbigin,  "The  Gospel  Among  the  Religions" 

Mission  Trends  No.  5.  pp.  3 ff. 


3 


(D 


(Ur 

3.  Arid— , there  are  those  who  wait 
and  never  go.  For  them,  there^s  the  third  imperative^  "Go  ye  irtc  ell 
the  world.."  (Matt.  16:15).  v{j*As  the  Father  has  sent  me,  so  send  I you." 
(John  20:21).  ^ jirvi^}  /u***  -j  v*  J 

B*tl*lJow  far  do  you  have  to  go  to  be  a missionary? 

^ irvtbv  . 

tc  II  - Yf 

/%  ^ ^ ^ w>  ■ 
\AA^~ ^ *“«•  ^ H " 

•fcfcf  Lyw(  r*fmW‘  ) ^ /w'  hr^~  ^ 

Lx  7'  • .,  j 

f ' , ■,  4'  a 43 

IAJ,  «"v^w 

-1  • 


’ JUS 


But  I must  go  into  more  detail  with  the  other  three 
imperatives : 


4.  ..and  preach  the  gospel  to  the  whole  creation.." 

(Mark  16:15) 

For  I have  given  you  ?n  example,  that  you  should 
also  do  as  I have  done  to  you."  (John  13:15, 
after  washing  their  feet),  "..even  so  send  I 
you."  (John  20:21) 

..that  they  may  all  be  one..,  that  the  world  may 
believe.."  (John  17:21) 


5. 


CM1  . 
6.  Uaste 


Memo  To  Judge  Bork 

Though  nothing  fails  like  failure, 

As  Custer  might  have  said, 

And  all  his  elephants  could  not 
Keep  Hannibal  ahead, 

Please  note  as  you  re-enter 
Those  chambers  you  have  known, 
That  judges  liberals  send  up 
Will  get  grilled  like  St.  Joan. 

W.  H.  von  Dreele 


friend  since  childhood,  wrote  five  years  ago  about 
a trip  with  her,  visiting  first  the  Citadel  in  Charles- 
ton, and  then  Mepkin — “which  used  to  be  the  Luces* 
southern  retreat.  . . . Here,”  Wilfred  Sheed  wrote,  “the 
welcome  is  very  effusive,  in  the  manner  of  priests  in 
old  movies  . . . and  it  looks  for  an  uneasy  moment  as 
if  they  are  buttering  up  the  patron. 

“But  Trappists  are  tricky.  Being  released  from  al- 
most perpetual  silence  by  guests,  the  talk  bubbles 
out  gratefully  like  fizz  from  a bottle.  As  this  subsides, 
they  turn  out  to  be  quite  urbane  and  judicious  talkers. 
. . . They  genuinely  seem  to  love  Clare,**  and  “she 
considered  them  her  last  family.  I have  never  seen 
her  more  relaxed.** 

“.  . . After  her  daughter’s  death,**  Sheed  continued, 
“Clare  could  no  longer  bear  to  go  [to  Mepkin]  for 
pleasure,  and  [giving  it  away  to  a religious  order] 
was  an  ingenious  way  of  keeping  it  and  letting  it  go 
at  the  same  time.  The  expansionist  abbot  of  Gethsem- 
ani,  Kentucky,  . . . was  only  too  happy  to  take  it,  and 
I dimly  remember  the  Luces’  ironic  discussion  of  this 
back  in  1949  while  the  deal  was  being  completed. 
They  were  onto  the  abbot’s  game  but  did  not  think 
less  of  a priest  for  being  a shrewd  businessman.  And 
what  better  way  to  retire  the  place  that  Ann  Brokaw 
had  loved  more  than  any  other  in  the  world? 

“Clare  immediately  moved  both  her  daughter’s  and 
her  mother’s  remains  to  Mepkin,  where  they  now 
share  adjoining  graves.  And  then,  to  everybody’s  sur- 
prise, it  turned  out  sometime  later  that  Presbyterian 
Harry  had  decided  to  join  them,  and  he  was  buried 
in  the  middle,  after  a nervous  ecumenical  service. 
The  cost-conscious  abbot  of  the  moment  suggested 
a double  tombstone  with  Clare’s  name  on  it  too, 
cutting  off,  as  she  noted,  all  possibilities  of  future 
husbands  or  new  religions” — at  this  point  she  must 
have  given  off  that  wonderful,  wry  nasal  laugh. 

Last  Wednesday,  in  Washington,  Clare’s  doctor  con- 
fided to  the  White  House  that  Clare  would  not  live 
out  the  week,  and  that  no  doubt  she  would  be  pleased 
by  a telephone  call.  The  President  called  that  night. 
Her  attendant  announced  to  her  who  it  was  who 
was  calling.  Clare  Boothe  Luce  shook  her  head.  You 


see,  she  would  not  speak  to  anyone  she  could  not 
simultaneously  entertain,  and  she  could  no  longer  do 
this.  The  call  was  diplomatically  turned  aside.  The 
performer  knew  she  had  given  her  last  performance, 
but  at  least  she  had  never  failed. 

And  then  last  Sunday,  her  tombstone  at  Mepkin 
no  longer  sat  over  an  empty  grave.  She  is  there  with 
Harry.  Over  the  grave  is — “a  shady  tree  sculpted 
above  the  names,  and  to  either  side  her  mother,  Ann 
Clare,  and  her  daughter,  Ann  Clare,  in  a grove  of  oak 
and  cypress  and  Spanish  moss  running  down  to  the 
Cooper  River.** 

When  Bill  Sheed  wrote  those  lines,  five  years  ago, 
he  quoted  Abbot  Anthony  telling  him  quietly  as  they 
walked  away,  “She’s  taking  it  pretty  well  this  year. 
She’s  usually  very  disturbed  by  this.” 

Clare  Luce,  now  at  Mepkin  finally,  is  no  longer 
disturbed.  It  is  only  we  who  are  disturbed,  Hank 
Luce  above  all,  and  her  friends;  disconsolate,  and 
sad,  so  sad  without  her,  yet  happy  for  her,  embarked 
finally,  after  stooping  so  many  times,  to  pick  up  so 
many  splinters,  on  her  way  to  the  Cross.  — WFB 


NOTES  & ASIDES 


□ Dear  Mr.  Buckley: 

Three  weeks  ago  I purchased  a new  Mac  II  com- 
puter and  a drawing  program  called  Adobe  Illustrator. 
I have  enclosed  seven  cartoons  drawn  on  my  new 
system  that  I would  like  you  to  consider  for  pub- 
lication in  NR.  Hopefully,  they  are  up  to  your  high 
and  humorous  standards.  I am  not  asking  for  com- 
pensation for  them  (although  I wouldn’t  turn  it  down) 
since  I am  not  a professional  cartoonist.  However, 
with  a little  encouragement  from  NR,  who  knows?  I 
am  drawn  to  try  to  publish  my  work  in  NR  because 
I am  1)  a longtime  subscriber  and  enthusiast,  2)  an 
arch-conservative  who  is  tired  of  liberal-slanted  politi- 
cal cartoons,  and  3)  a fellow  Yalie  (’60)  who  would 
like  to  show  that  Garry  Trudeau  is  an  aberration  of 
our  great  university. 

Please  give  me  your  ordinary  amount  of  considera- 
tion and  I will  look  forward  to  hearing  from  you. 

Sincerely, 
Gilbert  L.  Shelton 
Middleburg,  Va. 

► 

P.S.:  Last  week,  my  wife  and  I received  a telephone 
call  from  James  and  April  Clavell,  our  neighbors  in 
France.  In  the  course  of  the  conversation,  he  men- 
tioned that  you  had  loaned  him  your  Kaypro  with  a 
hard  disk,  but  that  he  still  didn’t  trust  it — I think 
because  he  can’t  see,  touch,  and  feel  the  disk.  We 
encouraged  him  to  try  it  for  a while  and  get  tape 
back-up  or  copy  to  floppies  if  he  feels  nervous  about 


22  National  Review  / November  6,  1987 


R ii 


* . V 

l+v»  )\+q, 

»5.  i 'r' 

• M^Su*1  ^ 


ECU  Missions  Introduction 

II.  Mission  in  the  New  Testament. 

B.  The  Great  Cornmi ssion 

The  classic  Biblical  base  for  the  missionary  imperative  is  the 
Great  Commission.  I have  heard  from  some  people  who  are  critical  of 
recent  missionary  trends  that  we  must  return  to  "Great  Commission 
missions."  What  do  they  mean?  And  more  important,  what  does  the  Great 
Commission  teach  us  about  mission?  That  task  may  be  more  complicated 
than  we  may  think.  After  all,  there  are  five  texts  of  the  Great 
Commission  in  the  flew  Testament,  one  in  each  of  the  four  gospels  and 
another  in  the  Ecck  of  the  Acts: 

Matthew  28:  18-20  Luke  24:45-45 

Mark  16:  15-16  John  20:21  (and  17:18) 

Acts  1 :8 


But 


before  we  focus  on  these  extremely  important  passages,  it 


is  important  to  remember  that  the  church's  world  Christian  mission 


is 


us 


at 


not  based  on  proof-texts.  It  proceeds  from  the  whole  heart  of  the 
revelation  of  God  in  Jesus  Christ  through  the  Holy  Spirit  as  given  to 
ir.  the  entire  Bible.  It  is  trinitarian  and  it  is- Biblical  and  in  its 
complete  force  ana  meaning  it  cannot  be  grounded  in  any  isolated 
passages  cf  cur  cwn  choosing  but  only  in  the  whole  Word  of  God.  But 
since  we  rarely  have  time  to  study  the  whole  Bible  at  any  given  time, 
the  very  least  let  me  urge  you,  when  you  seek  a Biblical  view  of 
missions,  to  link  any  emphasis  you  make  on  the  Great  Commission  with  two 
other  extremely  important  "seed  texts"  in  the  New  Testament  which  will 
give  a broader,  sounder  Biblical  base  to  ycur  search  for  a scriptural 
foundation  for  Christian  mission.  To  the' five  texts  of  the  Great 
Commission,  add  the  Great  Announcement  of  Jesus  in  Luke  4:16-2C,  and 
his  words  about  the  Great  Commandment  in  Matthew  22:36-40. 


1.  The  Great  Announcement. 

■"And 

he  went  to  the  synagogue,  as  his  custom  was. 
and  there  was  oiven  him  the  book  of  the  prophet  Isaiah  [61:1-2]: 


Luke  4:16-20. 

he  came  to  Nazareth,  where  he  had  been  brought  up;  and 

And  he  stood  up  t.o  read; 

'The 


Spirit  of  the  Lora  is  upon  me,  because  he  has  anointed  me  to  preach  good 
news  to  the  poor.  He  has  sent  me  to  proclaim  release  to  the  captives 
and  recovering  of  sight  to  the  blind,  to  set  at  liberty  those  who  are 
oppressed,  to  proclaim  the  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord.'*’"  "And  he 
began  to  say  to  them,  'Today  this  scripture  has  been  fulfilled  in  your 
hearing. 1 " 

The  importance  of  this  passage  is  two-fold.  First,  it  relates 
mission  to  thke  coming  of  the  Kingdom.  It  is  an  announcement  of  the 
coming  of  that  Kingdom,  and  it#  begins  to  describe  what  that  means:  ftwAv 
good  news  to  the  poor,  release  to  the  captives,  sight  for  the  blilnd, 
liberty  ror  the  oppressed".  Here  is  the  justification  for  social  action 
in  Christian  mission,  ard  fcr  the  theme  of  liberation  which  has  become 
so  prominent  a part  of  missionary  theology  in  recent  times,  particularly 
in  Latin  America.  It  is  our  Piblical  justification  for  good  works,  and 
education  and  healing  as  an  integral  part  cf  the  missionary  task.  It 
broadens  the  whole  sccpc-  of  mission.  But  in  so  broadening,  some  have 
begun  to  distort  it  and  take  it  out  of  focus  by  deliberately  omitting 
the  final  phrase,  "the  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord".  This  changes  it 
all,  for  this  is  the  focussing  phrase,  a messianic  phrase,  a cart  of  the 
Isaiah  passage  that  speaks  of  salvation^  "of ‘ 

salvation  not  just  for  Jews,  but  for  the  whole  world.  The  Great 
Announcement  is  an  announcement 

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O US-  L V » 


Lesson  9 

STRATEGY  FOR  WORLD  EVANGELIZATION 

Tk£  ^Hrttr  4aflcs 

We  have  seen  that  Cod's  overwhelming  love  for  the  nations  has  given  us  a 
part  in  his  work.  Our  participation  is  not  from  mere  legal  command.  It  is 
an  opportunity  of  joining  him  in  this  work,  our  right  by  covenant,  our 
privilege  by  commission,  our  obligation  by  his  grace.  That  he  is  giving  us 
such  responsibility  is  almost  as  inconceivable  as  the  mystery  of  the  gospel. 


Moreover,  this  r espons  fc>  il  ity  is  given  to  the  church  with  a goal  in  view. 

His  followers  must  make  disciples  of  all  nations.  The  gospel  of  the 
Kingdom  must  be  proclaimed,  believed,  and  obeyed  by  some  followers  among 
every  people  in  every  generation.  Their  lives  must  bear  fruit  in  society 
and  in  character  and  thus  be  further  witness  to  Cod's  Kingdom.  In  working 
toward  the  evangelization  to  the  world,  we  do  not  overstep  our  authority  nor 
our  commission.  As  a church  we  must  work  together  towards  the 
complet ion  of  world  evangelization. 


How  then  shall  we  live  in  obedience?  This  kind  of  corporate  obedience  can  be 
seen  as  a united  act  of  faith  working  through  love  according  to  hope. 

Obedience  is  faith  at  work— that  is,  faithfulness  to  take  costly  sti^s 
involving  risk.  Obedience  is  faith  working  through  love,  motivated  and 
patterned  after  his  great  love.  Obedience  is  faith  working  according  to 
hoge— that,  is  to  make  bold  statements  of  faith  regarding  the  future 
according  to  his  revealed  will. 

This  kind  of  obedience  requires  the  faith  and  faithfulness 
that  is  strategy. 

But  how  legitimately  can  we  use  "strategies"  in  Cod's  work?  Is  not  the  Holy 
Spirit  sufficient?  Is  it  even  possible  to  suggest  strategies  for  world 
evangelization?  In  this  lesson  we  will  consider  the  place,  value,  and 
natue  of  strategy  in  accomplishing  the  task  of  world  evangelization. 

In  this  and  the  following  lesson,  we  will  focus  on  the  broad  overall  thinking 
and  "same-planning"  that  constitutes  strategy.  In  subsequent  lessons  we 

will  examine  the  more  detailed  methods  and  "how-to's"  that  suqqest  tactics 
of  missions.  — — - 

We  do  all  this  with  a view  to  overcome  the  pall  of  pessimism  that  pervades 
much  of  the  evangelical  world  by  exposing  the  "unwinnable  war"  syndrome.  We 
seek  as  well  to  encourage  you  to  obey  Christ  by  working  with  others  in  the 
body  of  Christ  toward  a common  goal  and  a cooperative  method. 

You  will  find  the  strategic  considerations  which  follow  will  necessarily 
suggest  priorities.  We  trust  that  in  working  through  these  lessons  you  will 
examine  your  own  stated  ideas  of  mission  strategy,  and  expose  your  tacitly 
held,  but  unstated  priorities,  goals  and  methods. 


9-1 


Diring  this  lesson  you  will  read: 


********* 


********* 


******** 


* "T°  Reach  the  Unreached,"  Edward  R.  Dayton,  581-582,  594-596 

* 573-57S°‘rth  Dimensi0n  of  Mi«ions:  Strategy."  C.  Peter  Wagner. 

* 

* "Strategy."  Edward  R.  Dayton  and  David  A.  Fraser.  569-572 

* "The  Work  of  Evangelism."  J.  Herbert  Kane.  564-568 

* 555-56°"  3nd  ‘he  Chlrch'"  Edward  R*  Uayton  and  David  A.  Fraser, 

* 

* mJSS'*  TaSk'  0pP°r,unity'  and  Imperative."  Donald  A.  McCavran. 

* 

* "Evangelism:  The  Leading  Partner."  Samuel  Moffett.  729-731 

““******.*.*,* 

After  studying  this  lesson  you  should  be  able  to: 

° ,aC,°rS  'ha'  shou,d  b«  considered  when  placing  m,ssion 

O State  the  natire.  pirpose  and  goal  of  evangelism, 
o List  and  describe  five  factors  of  evangelization, 
o Distinguish  "evangelism"  and  "evangelization." 

° eCvrngXSa°t?oSn:hy  903,5  be  Stated  * 

7 ° avoided.hOW  3 dkh0t°my  be,ween  social  action  and  evangelism  can  be 
° Evangelization?6  Kin9d°m  °f  C°d  9'VeS  bala"ce  and  dynamic  *o 


y 


9-2 


The  Value  of  Strategy  in  Missions 


Some  Christians  feel  that  planning  ministry  efforts  strategically  cirtails 

that  afhIV,Q^- ° an  attitude  reflects,  in  part  a belief 

mhanV^ffSP/r  °i  .C°d,  Ca"  0n,y  WOrk  in  comP,ete  spontaneity  apart  from 

snirit.nl  °rn  and  ,nteMect#  Thus'  the  making  of  plans  cannot  be  a 
spirit  uai  endeavor. 

But  most  of  those  who  carefully  and  consciously  use  strategy  in  their 
ministry  acknowledge  the  pre-eminent  role  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

o The  Mystery  of  Mission  Strategy 

Thro^oh  aP°rnhoY  ^ °f  Cod  seeki"9  a"  mankind.  yet  with  and 

through  a chosen  people.  The  several  dimensions  of  this  mystery  suaoest 

the  importance  of  clear  and  strategic  obedience.  mystery  suggest 

Strategy  helps  is  state  our  faith  for  what  Cod  will  do. 

Strategy  helps  us  maintain  our  faithfulness  in  what  we  are  to  do 


************ 

* 


********************** 


* ^Tsy^^nd’D^V596  (7ce  Mys,ery  of  Evangelization").  Wagner. 

, b/3  and  Dayton  and  Fraser,  569-570  ("Why  Have  a Strategy") 

******.**.***.,,,**,,**  * * * * . * * * . , 

o The  Nat  ire  of  Mission  Strategy 

1)  Strategy  is  a way  of  approaching  a problem  or  achieving  a goal. 

very  person  and  organization  actually  uses  some  strategy  to  reach 
certain  goals. 

2)  ,^SS.i0n  Jstrate9y  is  the  way  the  body  of  Christ  goes  about  obeying 

e Lord  and  accomplishing  the  objectives  which  he  lays  down. 

o Four  Types  of  Mission  Strategy 

Contrasting  four  different  approaches  to  strategy  demonstrates  the  value 
strategy.9*  m,SSions'  and  flights  basic  feat  ires  of  good  mission 

***.*************,  *************** 


* 

* 


Read  Dayton  and  Fraser,  570-572  ("Types  of  Strategies-) 


****************  + **********11**** 

CD  ^t<VvvjiAA *W  wfr 

* %/  , ^ . ' 

U.x  *-  VVwwty^  Ikj  , tA  A Y ' ' 

© 


9-3 


II. 


The  Process  of  Strategy  In  Missions 

****************** 

★ 


* Read  Dayton,  594-595  and  skim  Wagner,  574-580 
****************************^^^^^ 


Peter  Wagner  describes  what  he  calls  "Four  Strategies  of  Missions."  There 
are,  in  fact,  at  least  four  dimensions  of  any  good  missions  strategy. 

By  expanding  one  of  these  four  strategies,  we  can  readily  see  how  Wagner's 
list  roughly  coincides  with  Ed  Dayton's  five  questions  which  serve  as  steps 
in  developing  mission  strategy: 

o The  Right  Coals What  is  the  Result? 

o The  Right  Place What  People? 

o The  Right  Time What  are  They  L fce? ' 

o The  Right  Personnel  — Who  Should  Reach  Them? 

o The  Right  Methods  — How  Should  They  be  Reached? 

These  five  questions  are  helpful  in  shaping  our  thinking  of  mission 
strategy  on  a global  scale.  They  are  at  the  same  time  the  right 
questions  to  ask  when  developing  strategies  for  the  evangelization  of  a 
particular  group  or  area. 


III.  The  Right  Coals 


The  goal  of  missions  certainly  has  something  to  do  with  evangelism.  But 
what  is  evangelism?  What  is  the  goal  of  evangelism?  We  would  all  agree 
that  evangelism  aims  at  making  disciples. 

*************************#a^a##aa 

* 

* Read  Wagner,  574-576  ("The  Right  Coals")  and  Kane,  564-566 

* "Purpose  of  Evangelism") 

* 

********************************* 

But  beyond  the  conversion  of  individuals,  or  the  making  of  disciples, 
evangelism  has  a broader,  global  purpose  related  to  the  extension  of 
Cod's  Kingdom  rule  everywhere,  the  penetration  of  the  very  last  people 
group.  It  is  this  global  dimension  of  the  gospel  which  suggests  a 
distinction  of  evangelism  (of  particular  people)  and  evangelization 
(of  all  people  groups,  countries,  and  the  world.) 


9-4 


I 

A*  Evangel  ism  Versus  Evangel  izat  ion 

Evangelism  and  Evangelization  share  the  same  nature  (communication  of 
the  gospel)  and  purpose  (to  give  a valid  opportunity  to  accept  Christ) 
but  they  differ,  evangelism  is  an  activity,  evangelization  adds  the 
dimension  of  a goal. 

1.  "Evangelism"  is  making  good  news  known.  How  it  is  made  known  (and 
with  what  aim  it  is  made  known)  has  been  the  subject  of  considerable 
debate.  The  following  three  "P's"  denoting  the  types  of  evangelism 
should  not  imply  that  they  are  mutually  exclusive.  Indeed,  the  most 
effective  evangelism  consists  of  all  three  being  employed 
simultaneously. 

o Presence.  Presence  evangelism  is  that  which  radiates  the 
character  of  Jesus  by  the  guality  of  Christian  character  and 
concern  registered  in  the  life  of  the  evangelist.  To  be  specific, 
it  is  the  type  of  evangelism  reflected  in  the  Christian's  care  of 
the  sick,  his  concern  for  the  uneducated  and  poor,  and  his 
consistent  godly  life  as  a member  of  the  community.  In  itself 
"presence"  evangelism  does  not  denote  a verbal  witness  as  such,  nor 
even  dose  ident if icat ion  with  the  people. 

o Proclamation.  Only  the  genuine  good  news  of  Jesus  Christ  can 
reproduce  the  Church.  Our  task  is  to  be  sure  we  communicate  the 
flg.?P.el  and  to  select  the  appropriate  means  and  media  for  this 
communication.  At  a minimum  this  is  verbal  proclamation  by 
preaching  or  personal  testimony. 

o Persuasion.  To  produce  results,  proclamation  must  intend  to 
evoke  a positive  response  from  those  who  hear  the  gospel.  The 
gospel  confronts  people  with  the  necessity  to  make  a commitment  to 
Jesus  Christ.  People  must  be  urged  to  make  a decision.  The  goal 
of  evangelism  is  the  making  of  disciples. 

Good  evangelism  is  usually  a balanced  "3-Pn  evangelism. 

********************************** 

* 

* Read  Kane,  566-568 

★ 

*******************************^^# 

2.  ^Evangelization"  is  in  fact  evangelism,  yet  has  preminently  a 
"closure"  perspective,  since  it  aims  always  at  a comprehensive 
goal,  such  as  evangelism  throughout  a people  group,  city, 
country,  or  the  world.  Evangelization  then  adds  two  more  "P's" 
to  the  list: 

o Plant ing.  Those  who  believe  the  gospel  and  make  a commitment 
to  Jesus  Christ  must  be  incorporated  into  the  body  of  Christ. 

They  must  become  members  of  a local  assembly  of  believers.  This 
church  is  the  context  in  which  they  can  grow  h Christ  and  in 
which  they  can  properly  serve  Christ. 

o Pr  opagat  ion.  Evangelization  aims  at  the  planting  of  churches 
that  are  able  to  spread  the  gospel  throughout  their  own  people 
group  and  also  beyond  to  penetrate  for  the  first  time  still  other 
people  groups.  The  ultimate  goal  is  always  wor  Id  evangelization. 


9-5 


Take  note  of  Brad  Gill's  challenge  (p.  599)  "It  is  not  enough  for  us 
today  to  go  across  the  world  and  do  a good  job.  We  must  work  toward 
the  goal  of  finishing  the  task  of  evangelization."  World  evangelization 
should  be  the  ultimate  goal  behind  all  mission  activity. 

B.  Evangel  ism  Versus  Social  Action? 

We  trust  that  the  dichotomy  suggested  above  between  evangelism  and  social 
action  strfces  you  as  a false  one.  It  is.  Surely  the  church  is  called 
to  do  more  than  proclaim  the  gospel,  just  as  it  is  certainly  called  to  do 
more  than  social  action. 

********************************^A 

* 

* Read  McGavran,  541-542 

* 

******************************A^A^ 

Scripture  gives  the  churches  literally  hundreds  of  images  and  imperatives 
regarding  what  it  should  be  and  do.  We  must  not  pick  and  choose  our 
marching  orders  from  the  Bble,  setting  up  an  arbitrary,  convenient,  or 
ethnocentric  pr  ior  it  izat  ion  of  activity.  What  shall  we  do  with  the 
amazing  diversity  of  scriptural  demands?  And  how  shall  we  respond 
to  the  even  more  complex  diversity  of  needs  readily  seen  worldwide? 

******************************AAA^ 

* 

* Read  Moffett,  729-731  (especially  "More  Than  Balance") 

* and  Dayton  and  Fraser,  555-559 

* 

*****************************^^^^^ 

o Some  people  have  polar  ized  these  mission  activities  into  mutually 

exclusive  tasks  of  social  action  and  evangelism.  It  is  not  so  possble 
to  polarize  social  action  and  evangel  izat  ion. 

o Some  have  "parallelized"  these  tasks  into  double  thrusts  of  God's 
work  that  are  co-existent,  equal,  yet  distinct  enterprises  which  find 
unity  in  their  mot ive,  not  in  their  goal . This  partnership  under 
the  concept  of  holistic  ministry  is  useful  to  an  extent,  but  it  does 
not  help  greatly  in  specifying  goals  for  a missionary  enterprise. 

o Some  have  pr  ior  it  ized  these  tasks,  affirming  that  all  tasks  have  the 
same  goal  (The  Kingdom  of  God)  and  insisting  that  we  must  be  able  to 
recognize  a primacy  among  activities  if  we  are  to  see  the  goal  of 
God's  Kingdom  rule  truly  realized. 

| We  affirm  the  primacy  of  evangelization  and  the  necessity  of  the 

accompanying  and  resultant  social  action,  best  understood  as  develop- 
' 1 ment. 

*******************************^^A 

* 

* Read  now  the  remainder  of  McGavran,  543-554 

★ 

********************************** 


9-6 


' I , i * 


C.  Evangelism  and  The  Kingdom  of  Cod 


Evangelism  has  its  biblical  goal  in  Evangelization.  Evangelization  only 
makes  sense  in  the  context  of  the  Kingdom  of  Cod.  Social  action,  at  the 
same  time,  finds  its  only  biblical  warrent  in  the  truth  and  teaching  of 
the  Kingdom  of  Cod.  if  we  strive  to  understand  the  reality  of  the 
Kingdom  of  Cod,  and  the  scriptural  roles  given  to  the  church  in  the 
fulfilling  of  the  gospel  of  the  Kingdom,  we  can  be  spared  much  false 
splintering  of  Cod's  work  and  people. 


If  evangelism  is  pitted  against  social  action,  a false  bifurcation  of 
God's  purpose  easily  results. 


If  social  action  is  seen  in  the  scope  of  "5-P"  Evangelization  (carefully 
planned  accompanying  social  action  as  part  of  Presence)  and  (freely 
encouraged  res ultant  social  action  as  part  of  Propagation),  a 
dichotomy  need  not  develop. 


If  both  social  action  and  Evangelization  are  seen  in  Kingdom  context,  we 
can  move  beyond  an  uneasy  and  inert  balance  into  an  active  and  free 
dynamic  of  making  disciples  who  are  committed  to  obey  Christ  the  King 
in  all  that  he  commands. 


********************************** 

* 

* Review  carefully  the  comments  of  Kane  and  Moffett  regarding 

* the  Kingdom  of  God,  564-566  and  729-730. 

* 

* Read  Dayton  and  Fraser,  559-561  ("The  Kingdom  of  Cod  and 

* Mission") 

* 

a***********'******************'*'*** 

Christ  has  promised  to  bring  his  reign  of  justice,  peace,  and  righteousness. 
We  cannot  accomplish  and  must  not  attempt  the  establishment  of  his 
reign.  But  we  who  acknowledge  his  reign  in  our  hearts  must  certainly 
manifest  His  rule  in  society.  We  know  that  when  we  work  towards 
justice,  peace,  and  righteousness  we  work  with  Cod.  However,  we  can 
best  accomplish  that  work  if  we  give  priority  to  that  task  he  has  given 
us:  world  evangelization. 


9-7 


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1 H J.0 


Lesson  10 

THAT  EVERYONE  MAY  HEAR 


Lesson  9 surveyed  the  need  and  nature  of  mission  strategy.  We  saw  that  good 
mission  strategy  gives  attention  to  five  factors: 

The  Right  ^oais) 

— o The  Right  Place, 

" o The  Right  T ime^. 

— o The  Right  Personnel 

— o The  Right  Methods^ 

We  suggested  approaches  to  understanding  the  right  goals  in  missions. 

This  lesson  explores  the  right  place,  time,  personnel  and  methods. 

During  this  lesson  you  will  read: 

* ********************************* 

★ 

* "To  Reach  the  Unreached,"  by  Edward  R.  Dayton,  582-596 

* "The  Fourth  Dimension  of  Missions:  Strategy,"  by  C.  Peter  Waqner 

* 576-580 

* 

* "Today's  Task,  Opportunity,  and  Imperative,"  by  Donald  A.  McGavran, 

* 541-554 

* 

* "What  it  Means  to  Be  a World  Christian,"  by  David  Bryant,  825-827 

* "A  Church  for  Every  People  by  the  Year  2000,"  by  Brad  Gill,  597-600 
********************************* 


After  studying  this  lesson  you  should  be  able  to: 


o 

o 

o 


Define 

fijUf  Uv 


a people  group. 

A#  U 0t  tMph  j vt 


kvu. 

■ft  I # C /V.  L.yv  r / L..  r ( a J '4  i 


Evaluate  the  people  group  approach  to  world  evangelization. 

. * V-  I e ***•*»  m’M 

Use  a receptivity  scale  to  compare  the  responsiveness  of  people  groups, 
given  examples  of  people  groups. 


o Explain  why  it  is  important  that  efforts  be  continued  and/or  begun 

among  all  people  groups,  even  though  they  demonstrate  a resistance  to  the 
gospel. 


o Explain  the  value  of  the  Engel  scale  and  use  the  Engel  scale  to  compare 
two  given  people  groups.  - ^ |4w  * 

o Evaluate  a particular  case  study  of  cross-cultural  evangelism  given  a list 
of  criteria  for  choosing  evangelism  methods. 

p 

o Explain  the  term  "World  Christian".  ^ i/U  ucu ft  (*>  tuuU*y  i . 

i,  OUy  e /[WvjJ[ 

o Explain  the  concept  of  a "strategy  of  closure".  ^ ’>v  ■ 


o 


cLX  - ^ 


I 


The  Right  Place:  The  People  Group  Approach 

A.  Approaching  the  World 


B. 


Our  immense  world  can  frighten  us  from  daring  to  think  of  wor Id 
evangelization.  Perhaps  this  is  a healthy  intimidation.  We  are 
cast  upon  God.  We  have  no  business  developing  grandiose  armchair 
strategies  unfounded  on  facts,  conveniently  scaling  down  the  real 
world  to  fit  our  gifts  and  perspective,  or  unrealistically  (and 
perhaps  arrogantly?)  overestimating  our  own  roles. 

But  world  evangelization  is  without  question  a b ig  job.  Can  you 
think  of  a more  profoundly  difficult  task?  How  shall  we  even 
approach  it? 

********************************** 


* 

********************************** 


0 ^ ca  & flit*; 


o Some  approach  the  world  as  an  assortment  of  world  reliq ions 
to  be  challenged. 

All  of  these  perspectives  are  valid,  but  the  task  is  most  easily 
grasped  and  accomplished  by  fox: us inq  on  sociological  groupings, 
the  way  people  tend  to  view  and  understand^  themselves. 

o Others,  then,  approach  the  world  as  well  over  25,000 
people  groups  (16,750  yet  to  be  reached). 

Defining  a People  Group 

The  Lausanne  Committee  for  World  Evangelization  has  defined 
a "people  group"  as: 

"A  significantly  large  sociological  grouping  of  individuals 
who  perceive  themselves  to  have  a common  affinity  for  one  another 
because  of  their  shared  language,  religion,  ethnicity,  residence, 
occupation,  class  or  caste,  situation,  etc.,  or  combinations  of 
these. " 

Recently,  an  operational  definition  has  emerged: 

"From  the  viewpoint  of  evangelization,  a people  group  is 
the  largest  group  within  which  the  gospel  can  spread  as  a 
church  planting  movement  without  encountering  barriers  of 
acceptance  and  understanding." 

Thus,  we  see  that  in  considering  "the  right  place"  in  mission 
strategy,  our  question  should  not  be  so  much  "Where?"  but  "Who?"! 


* 


Read  Dayton,  582-587 


o Some  approach  the  world  as  167  countr  ies  (221  z 
protectorates,  and  territories)  to  be  penetrated. 


' j 5 ./hi*  **1"  , i-- 


10-2 


II.  The  Right  Thae:  Resistence  and  Receptivity 

A.  The  Concepts  of  Resistence  and  Receptivity. 

Some  people  groups  are  more  resistant  (or  more  receptive)  to  the 
gospel  as  it  has  been  presented. 

Various  social  and  political  factors  may  affect  the  receptivity  of  a 
people  group. 

********************************** 

★ 

* Read  Dayton,  593  and  Wagner,  576-578  ("Right  Place  at  the  Right 

* Time") 

* 

********************************** 

B.  Stewardship:  Recognizing  Cod's  Work 

IM  Ajm1  4 

It  is  important  for  missionaries  to  recognize  Cod's  work  of 
"ripening"  a people  to  respond  to  the  gospel.  Many  mission  leaders 
feel  this  process  suggests  that  a certain  priority  should  be  given  to 
responsive  peoples.  Great  harvests  can  be  overlooked  in  the 
interest  of  keeping  allocations  of  manpower  and  money  evenly 
distributed.  They  insist  that  we  should  not  hesitate  to  respond  with 
additional  resources  to  evangelize  a people  that  have  demonstrated 
interest  in  the  gospel.  Some  Biblical  bases  for  this  emphasis 
emerges  from  Jesus'  parables  and  his  call  to  look  to  ripened 
harvest  fields.  The  point  is  well  taken:  The  time  is  ripe  now 
for  many  people  groups. 

C.  Obedience:  Keeping  at  Our  Work 

Now  is  also  the  time  for  aJJ  people  groups,  whether  they  are 
responsive  or  not.  God  has  charged  us  to  make  disciples  from  every 
nation.  People  thought  to  be  resistant  to  the  gospel  may  be  quite 
open  to  new  methods  of  evangelism  or  different  personnel. 


III.  The  Right  Personnel:  The  Force  for  Evangelization 

A.  The  total  available  force  for  evangelization  should  be  surveyed. 

o We  tend  to  think  of  the  available  force  for  evangelization  in 
terms  of  geography  or  nationality.  If  the  work  force  is  in  the 
country,  or  nearby  geographically,  it  is  easy  to  consider  those 
workers  as  the  primary  work  force. 

o We  need  to  think  of  the  availability  and  suitability  of  workers 
within  the  culturally  and  socially  defined  people  group.  By 
definition  (see  p.  8-3),  an  unreached  people  group  would  not  have 
a strong  church,  although  there  may  be  a few  scattered  believers 
who  might  serve  as  workers. 

o We  need  to  survey  the  potential  mission  force  inside  and  outside 
of  both  the  people  group  and  the  country. 


10-3 


B.  Factors  for  Evaluating  the  Potential  Force  for  Evangelization 

1)  Most  effective  communicators 

o The  most  effective  workers  are  E-l  communicators  of  the  \ 1 A'  ^ 
same  people  group.  f i f\0 . nXAti 

o Oftentimes  the  least  effective  communicators  are  near- 
neighbor workers.  E-3  laborers  sometimes  encounter  less 
prejudice  than  E-2  missionaries. 

2)  Least  opposed  workers 


o In  assessing  the  total  work  force,  it  is  wise  to  estimate  the 
forces  known  to  be  opposed  to  the  work  of  the  gospel. 

o Government  restrictions  and  opposition  are  the  most  obvious 
barriers.  Some  restrictions  are  focused  on  the  national  or 
regional  origin  of  mission  efforts.  Others  are  focused  on 
evangelistic  intentions. 


C. 


o Religious  and  economic  structures  often  pose  the  most  subtle 
threat.  Those  workers  and  organ izat ions  able  to  most  readily 
identify  and  serve  will  probably  do  best.  ■)**»♦* 

Fruitful  Workers 


Much  can  be  said  about  the  spiritual  gifts,  the  qualities  and 
qualifications  of  the  workers.  But  one  essential  characteristic  stands 
out:  the  powerful  fullness  of  the  Spirit  of  God  resulting  in  costly 
obedience  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

********************************** 

* 

* Read  Wagner,  580 

* 

********************************** 


•V.  The  Right  Methods:  Uncovering  God's  Strategies 

We  have  considered  several  dimensions  of  mission  strategy:  grasping 

scriptural  goals,  approaching  the  world  as  a mosaic  of  people  groups, 
recognizing  receptivity,  and  considering  the  forces  available  to 
evangelize  and  those  opposed  to  evangelization.  All  these  are  strategic 
considerations  of  broad,  global  application.  But  how  shall  we  then 
serve?  What  methods  or  tactics  should  we  use? 

We  need  to  discover  God's  strategies,  his  best  way  for  reaching  a 
particular  people. 


10-4 


A.  Approaching  Methodology 

Four  approaches  to  mission  methodology  are  valuable: 
o Bblical  - Begin  with  the  Bble. 


All  sound  methods  of  evangel  iza  ion  find  ample 
warrant  within  the  framework  of  scripture. 
Therefore,  the  cr oss-cultur al  worker  should 
first  search  the  scripture  for  basic 
evangel  ist  ic  pr  incples.  He  should  be  careful, 
however,  not  to  woodenly  imitate  what  he  finds. 


Good  mission  methodology  takes  felt  needs  into 
account  from  the  start  - as  well  as  those  needs 
that  may  not  be  perceived. 

****** 

<3> 


The  Engel  Scale  can  help  in  estimating  the 
spiritual  needs  a particular  people  may  sense. 


The  pragmatic  approach  assumes  that  success  and 
failure  are  both  possble,  and  that  methods  used 
can  be  a factor  in  either.  The  missionary  should 
carefully  study  all  efforts  to  persuade,  change, 
help  a people,  make  disciples,  or  plant  churches. 
If  a given  method  has  worked,  he  may  borrow  it 
(even  from  a secular  source)  or  discard  it  if  it 
is  not  helpful. 


Traditional  methodology  is  similar  to  the  Standard 
Solution  strategy.  Previously  used  methods  are 
never  discarded.  Yet  there  is  a certain  strength 
in  this  methodology. 

But  the  ethnocentric  assumption  that  one's 
methods  are  always  Bblical  can  easily  engender 
an  attitude  of  inflex bility  and  abr as iveness. 


o Need-oriented  - Begin  with  the  needs  of  the  people 


* Read  Dayton,  589-592  ^ 


********************************** 


o Pragmatic  - Observe  what  methods  work 


********************************** 


Read  Wagner,  579-580  ("The  Right  Methods") 


* 


********************************** 


o Traditional  - Do  what  has  been  done  before 


10-5 


B . Choosing  the  Right  Methods 


» 


The  methods  for  world  evangelization  should  be: 

B iblical.  The  methods  must  be  derivable  from  the  Bible  or 
soundly  based  on  principles  derived  from  the  Bible. 

Effective.  The  methods  must  be  those  that  Cod  blesses  with 
success. 

Efficient . Methods  must  represent  the  most  economical  use 
of  funds  and  personnel  available.  There  must  be  little  wastage 
of  time,  money  and  energy. 

Culturally  relevant.  Methods  must  be  sensitive  to  the  culture 
of  the  people  group.  Evangelists  must  know  their  people  group 
thoroughly.  They  should  develop  and  evaluate  methods  in  the 
light  of  this  knowledge. 

In  particular,  the  evangelist  must  be  aware  of  the  needs  of  the 
people  as  the  people  themselves  perceive  them.  In  communicating 
the  gospel  to  a people  we  must  begin  where  they  are.  We  must 
understand  how  they  themselves  perceive  their  spiritual  needs  and 
then  relate  the  gospel  of  Christ  to  this  perception. 

Reproducible.  The  methods  used  should  be  those  that  the 
indigenous  church  can  duplicate  within  the  limits  of  its  own 
resources  and  potentials. 

C.  Designing  Keys  and  Unlocking  Doors 

Unique  solution  strategy  requires  careful  and  continual  planning. 

o The  five  questions  we  have  used  to  guide  us  in  large  scale 

planning  of  strategy  may  also  be  used  in  planning  strategy  for  a 
particular  situation.  v ^ 

o mu 

********************************** 

* 

* Read  Dayton,  594-596 

* 

********************************** 

o We  must  be  continually  reminded  of  the  mystery  of  evangelization. 
We  labor,  but  Cod  gives  the  increase.  This  dependency  on  Cod's 
Spirit  should  shape  all  of  our  thought  and  planning. 

We  must  plan  as  if  we  could  not  pray, 
but  we  must  pray  as  if  we  could  not  plan. 

Thus,  God  alone  will  receive  the  glory. 


10-6 


V.  Participate  in  the  Purpose 

hav.ng  briefly  surveyed  the  Bible  and  different  periods  of  history,  we  have 
o reentlessly  working  in  all  times  and  peoples  according  to  his 
p crpose  to  bring  his  redemptive  rule  to  all  nations.  Throughout  this  studv 
bfve  h°tCd  th°Se  Wh°  resP°nded  to  Cod's  call  to  work  wUh  him  in  V 

yet  ^nf^niTedP?lrP°Se'  Wi"  be  yOUr  response  to  Cod's  9'obal  purpose 

We  want  to  clearly  challenge  you  to  participate  in  Cod's  p crpose. 
"WorW^hriTti^ns0" ib6S  th°Se  Wh°  h3Ve  committed  themselves  in  this  way  as 


********** 

* 


************************ 


* Read  Bryant,  825  - 827.  (Watch  for  the  definition  of  the  term 

Gap  on  page  825#)  oiLo  o~ < <u^>viuL  **^,1*7 

* ^ Cvwwv - CuSd^'  lUif/  Al< 

*********************ilili,i,i,i,i,iliti'tiiii' 

Up  to  this  point  in  the  course  we  have  focused  on  "seeing  Cod’s  world-wide 
p crpose  in  Christ,  and  a world  full  of  people  without  Christ.  The 
remainder  of  the  course  is  given  primarily  to  seeing  a world  full  of 
possibilities  in  order  to  enable  you  to  see  a world  sized  part.  But  we 
want  to  challenge  you  at  this  point  in  the  course  to  sericTSTy  consider 
your  participation  as  we  examine  possibilities.  Some  of  the  fresh 
possibilities  may  explode  some  stereotypes  and  motivate  you  to  be  a nart 
Some  of  the  realities  may  do  the  reverse.  But  consider  your  part  now  and 
throughout  the  remainder  of  the  course*  

VI.  Take  on  the  Task 

It  is  one  thing  to  be  willing  to  be  a part  but  a more  difficult  thing  to 
take  on  personal  responsibility  for  the  completion  of  the  task.  To  do 
so  demands  that  we  not  ju*t  "work  hard"  but  "work  smart,"  spending  our 

I™51  s,rate9lc  avenue  of  obedience.  Obviously  Cod  has  never 
intended  that  one  person  assume  sole  responsibility  for  world 

evangelization.  How  then  can  we  jointly  bear  the  responsibility  that  Cod 
gave  us  for  the  work  of  the  gospel? 

®rad  Gil.'  elplains  5 basic  watchword  that  has  gripped  the  hearts  of  many 
lending  to  their  individual  efforts  the  more  potent  power  of  a movement/' 

********  ************************* 


* 

* 

* 


Read  Gill,  597  - 600  *1 


************** 


******************* 


Cl"  suggests  that  undertaking  such  a task  would  require  three  things: 


o 

o 

o 


Sensitivity  to  Cultire 
Strategy  of  Closure 
Sacrificial  Commitment 


Lessons  11-14  focus  on  the  sensitivity  to  culture.  Lessons  15  - 20 
explore  methods,  tactics,  and  lifestyle  dynamics  related  to  a strategy  of 
ciosire.  But  at  this  point  we  are  asking  you  to  prayerfully  consider  this 
challenge  to  sacrificial  commitment. 


10-7 


Largest  Protestant  Denominations  in  the  Third  World 


1.  Church  of  Christ,  Zaire 

2.  Assemblies  of  God,  Brazil 

3.  Philippine  Independent  Church  (Aglipay) 

4.  Kimbanguist  Church,  Zaire 

3.  Anglican  Church,  Nigeria  (CMS) 

6.  Council  of  Dutch  Reformed  Churches,  S.  Africa 
7*  Protestant  (Reformed)  Church,  Indonesia 

8.  Nigeria  Fellowship  of  Churches  of  Christ  (S.U.M.) 

9.  Church  of  South  India 

10.  Church  of  Christ,  Manalista  (Philippines) 

11.  Anglican  Church  Uganda  (CMS) 

12.  Anglican  Church  of  South  Africa 

13.  Presbyterian  Church  in  Korea  (Tonghap) 

14.  Council  of  Baptist  Churches,  N.E.  India 

15.  Baptist  Convention,  Brazil 

16.  Batak  Christian  Protestant  Church,  Indonesia 

17.  Pentecostal  Churches  of  Indonesia 

18.  Congregations  Crista,  Brazil 

19.  Evangelical  Pentecostals , Brazil  for  Christ 

20.  South  African  Methodist  Church 

21.  Methodist  Church  in  South  Asia  (India) 

22.  Presbyterian  Church  of  Korea,  (Hapdong) 

23.  Madagascar  Church  of  Jesus  Christ 

24.  Burma  Baptist  Convention 

25.  United  Ev.  Lutheran  Churches  in  India 

26.  Church  of  Central  Africa,  Malawi  (Presbyterian) 

27.  Korean  Methodist  Church 

28.  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church,  Brazil 

29.  Presbyterian  Church  of  Brazil 

30.  Zion  Christian  Church,  South  Africa 

31.  Tanzania  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church 


Adherents  (Adults  Adherents 


The  largest  denominations  (World) 

Adherents 

Adult 

1.  Evangelical  Church  in  Germany 

2.  Church  of  England 

3.  Southern  Baptist  (USA) 

4.  United  Methodist  (USA) 

28.500.000 

27.660.000 
14,000,000 
14,000,000 

22,000,000 

9,600,000 

11,600,000 

10,300,000 

- Statistics  adapted  from 
World  Christian  Encylo- 
pedia,  1982 


MISSION 

FRONTIERS 


No»th  Anwlcin  Cantw*  fo»  World  Mission 
Atowto  Csnts.  E An  on  ton.  AB 
Canadian  Cantra.  Taonto.  ON 
Carotna  OMoa.  USCWM.  RMoigri,  NC 
Graat  Lakaa  Cantor.  Cokanbua.  OH 
GUI  Stalaa  Cantor,  Baton  Rouga.  LA 
MxJ-ABanoc  Olfica.  USCWM.  PNtoda<r*M.  PA 
»Adv.aai  Cantor.  Oak  Park.  IL 
Na«*  En^and  Cantor,  Boston.  MA 
Nartowaal  Can  Us.  Vanoouvar.  BC 
Rod  aim  Cantor.  Porland.  OR 
Uppar  Mxtwasl  Offlcto.  USCWM.  ktoinaapd*.  MN 
Rocky  Mountain  Cantor.  Oanvar,  CO 
US  Cantor.  Pasadana.  CA 


January-February  1989 

Recipe:  collect 
300  mission 
leaders  from 
around  the  world, 
ask  them  to  focus 
on  goals  for  the 
year  2000,  and 
stir  vigorously 
for  72  hours. 
What  do  you  get? 
One  prophetic 
manifesto,  an 
assortment  of 
mind-boggling 
materials, 
a web  of  informal 
networks,  and 
(indirectly)  a new 
information 
office  to  sustain 
the  momentum. 

Not  bad  for  a 
long  weekend! 


Bulletin  of  the  U.S.  Center  for  World  Mission 


Singapore's  Amara  Hotel, 
site  of  the  January  5-8  Global  Consultation 
on  World  Evangelization  by  AD  2000  and  Beyond 


GCOWE  2000 


Meeting  of  the 
Century? 


Volume  11,  Numbers  1-2 


Inside: 


Edlorial 2 

Raf>h  D.  Winter 3 

Cover  Story 

Pressing  Forward  to 
AD  2000:  A Global 
Consultation  Advances 
the  Frontier  Missions 
Movement 4 

Great  Commission 
Manifesto 11 

Commentary 

Sparks  from  the 
Lausanne  Covenant 12 

Unreached  Peoples 

Muslims  in  Delhi  and 
Bombay 16 

Missions  in  the  Bible 

Two  Great  Study 
Bibles— And  Yours?....  22 

Mobilization 

ACMC  Prepares  to 
Mobilize  6000  Churches 
by  AD  2000 24 

Opportunities 

Snowbirds  Welcome!....  25 

Book  Service 26 


Editorial 


Friday  evening,  February  24, 1989  (Singapore  time) 


GCOWE  2000  will 
not  necessarily  be 
“the  Meeting  of  the 
Century.” 
Everything 
depends  on  how 
we  all  respond  to 
the  trumpet  call. 


Dear  Friends, 

Does  your  church  give  a quarter  of  a million  dollars  to  missions  EACH  MONTH? 

I am  sitting-as  I write  (his— in  a Friday  evening  service  during  a mission  confer- 
ence in  a church  in  Singapore  which  does  give  that  much!  About  2,000  people  tonight  are  in 
this  former  movie  theater.  (See  further  references  to  this  congregation  across  the  page.) 

OK.  now  the  service  is  over.  (Loren  Cunningham,  who  was  speaking,  was  too  in- 
teres  ling  to  allow  me  to  write  further!) 

Later:  Marvel  of  our  age — I am  writing  these  words  with  a ballpoint  pen  at  mid- 
night Friday,  the  24th  of  February.  In  a moment  I’ll  “fax”  this  (for  just  a few  cents)  from 
Singapore  to  Pasadena.  But  it  is  only  8 a.m.  there.  This  will  go  to  press  probably  within 
three  or  four  hours,  even  before  Pasadena  time  catches  up  with  my  time  here  in  Singapore! 

But  I have  more  important  things  to  tell  you  than  such  fascinating  details. 

"The  Meeting  of  the  Century”  took  place  right  here  in  Singapore.  I re-lived  that 
meeting  reading  through  Darrell  Dorr’s  superb  story  (see  pages  4-11)  just  before  getting  on 
the  plane  yesterday.  He  implies,  and  I’ll  admit,  that  the  January  5-8  Global  Consultation  on 
World  Evangelization  by  AD  2000  and  Beyond”  will  not  necessarily  be  The  Meeting  of  the 
Century.”  Everything  depends  on  how  we  all  respond  to  the  trumpet  call.  No  one  could 
have  predicted  exactly  what  happened,  but  nothing  hoped  for  has  lost  ground,  and  some 
amazing  pluses  are  already  in  the  picture,  not  the  least  of  which  is  the  blow-by-blow  back- 
ground Jay  Gary  has  almost  completed  now  for  the  two  years  that  preceded  this  conference. 
We’ll  tell  you  more  about  that  book  in  our  next  issue. 

Yes,  decisively  yes,  this  event  has  enriched  and  empowered  the  much-larger  confer- 
ence, the  ‘‘Lausanne  IT’  Congress  coming  up  in  July  in  Manila.  Now,  on  that  subject,  don’t 
miss  what  I consider  the  most  perceptive,  brief  summary  ever  written  on  the  meaning  and 
impact  of  the  Lausanne  Covenant  (by  Tom  Houston,  recently  resigned  head  of  World  Vision 
International) — see  pages  12-15. 

Finally,  a couple  of  quick  items:  Did  you  worry  that  this  issue  of  Mission  Frontiers 
had  gotten  lost  in  the  mail?  It  was  delayed  partly  by  the  Singapore  Conference — we  wanted 
to  be  able  to  tell  you  about  videotapes,  etc.,  but  also  (please  pray!)  by  the  loss  of  our  out- 
standing associate  editor,  John  Holzmann,  who  has  joined  a truly  strategic  organization — 
Caleb  Project 

Also,  some  of  you  will  want  to  know  how  the  pledges  for  the  “Last  $1000”  Cam- 
paign are  coming  in.  The  mortgage  will  be  burned  when  just  $295,000  more  in  cash  comes 
in.  Toward  that  amount,  we  have  fairly  certain  pledges-yet-to-be-fulfilled  of  $236,345,  plus 
another  group  of  unconfirmed  pledges  of  $156,387.  Soon  now,  we’ll  be  able  to  celebrate  the 
elimination  of  all  debt,  including  the  burning  of  the  major  mortgage  from  the  Point  Loma 
College. 


Most  Cordially, 

Q UhJtz: 

Ralph  Winter 

P.S.  Nothing  is  more  amazing  than  the  figures  at  the  bottom  of  page  three! 


The  Bulletin  of  the 
U.S.  Center  for  World  Mission 
Volume  11,  Numbers  1-2 
January-February  1989 


Mission  Frontiers  is  published  12  times  a year.  Subscriptions:  $4.00  per  year. 

Contents  copyright  © 1989  by  U.S.  Center  for  World  Mission. 

Editorial  and  business  offices:  1605  Elizabeth  Street.  Pasadena  CA  91104 
Phone  (24  hours):  (818)797-1111. 

Staff:  Ralph  D.  Winter,  Editor;  Darrell  Doit,  Managing  Editor;  Dan  Scribner,  Circulation. 

Th«  U.  S.  Center  lor  World  Mission  Is  a member  ol  the  Interdenominational  Foreign  Mission  Association,  the  Evangelical  Foreign  Missions 
Association,  the  Evangelical  Council  lor  Financial  Accountability,  and  the  Evangelical  Press  Association. 


Ralph  D.  Winter 


It  is  not  easy  to  see  very  far  ahead 
at  this  point  in  world  history.  But 
what  we  do  see  is  staggering. 


This  issue  hums  with  excitement  flowing 
from  the  AD  2000  meeting  in  Singapore 
(January  5-8)  and  with  anticipation  of  the 
upcoming  “Lausanne  IT  congress  in  Manila. 
Just  think:  this  congress  will  feature  20  ma- 
jor “tracks”  focusing  on  different  themes — 
one  on  Unreached  Peoples,  another  on  AD 
2000,  and  another  on  the  heart-warming 
phenomenon  of  Third  World  Missions! 

But  what  if  not  enough  people  take  no- 
tice? What  about  the  mainline  denomina- 
tions? What  about  the  mass  of  charismatic 
fellowships  that  now  dot  our  land  and  that 
often  haven’t  begun  to  think  seriously  about 
missions? 

Well,  let’s  take  a look. 

Can  Old  Dogs  Re-Learn  Tricks? 

In  one  of  the  older  and  more  diversified 
churches  there  is  apparently  room  for  a wide 
diversity  of  things — including  Frontier  Mis- 
sions! 

Let’s  be  honest.  Over  the  years,  decades, 
centuries,  just  a whole  lot  of  strange  people 
have  accumulated  somehow  in  the  Presby- 
terian Church  (USA) — the  3-million  mem- 
ber denomination,  the  Lutheran  Church  (the 
new  mega-church  called  the  ELCA),  the 
Methodist  Church,  etc.  Strange?  Yes, 
strange  to  the  faith.  These  are  cultural 
streams  by  now,  not  just  fellowships  of  the 
recently  converted.  I’ll  bet  not  one  in  100  of 
the  members  of  these  churches  prays  even 
once  a week  for  the  completion  of  the  Great 
Commission. 

In  any  case,  there  is  now — it  is  a fact — a 
“Frontier  Mission  Program”  in  the  PCUSA. 
They  are  doing  their  work  with  funds  raised 
by  the  offerings  associated  with  the  Global 
Prayer  Digest  (a  Presbyterian  version  there- 
of). Over  $1  million  has  come  in  from  that 
source  so  far. 

And  their  “Advisory  Committee”  met 
here  at  the  USCWM  yesterday  and  today. 
Their  “Global  Mission  Unit,”  now  locatkl  in 
Louisville,  has  this  officially  within  their 
purview.  Twelve  different  Unreached  Peo- 
ples are  being  tackled  with  these  funds,  and 
more  is  planned  as  the  word  spreads. 

Furthermore,  the  Presbyterian  Frontier 
Fellowship  (the  group  that  actually  edits  the 
Presbyterian  version  of  the  Global  Prayer 


Digest ) will  have  a full-time  director  begin- 
ning in  June — Harold  Kurtz,  a veteran  mis- 
sionary from  years  of  evangelistic  and 
church-planting  outreach  in  Ethiopia. 

Another  “older  denomination”  that  has 
already  gotten  going  in  unreached  people  ef- 
forts is  the  Lutheran  Church-Missouri  Syn- 
od, the  only  sizable  body  that  stayed  out  of 
the  recent  ELCA  union.  They  took  hold  of 
the  Edinburgh  1980  watchword,  “A  Church 
for  Every  People  by  the  Year  2000,”  shortly 
after  the  1980  meeting.  Their  Synod  voted 
to  triple  their  missionary  force  by  1990,  and 
to  enter  10  new  fields  where  they  could  en- 
gage unreached  people  groups.  Already 
they  have  entered  18  new  fields! 

But  What  About  the  Young  Dogs? 

Was  the  Assemblies  of  God  overseas 
mission  harmed  by  the  Swaggart  affair? 

Yes,  momentarily,  but  this  year  their  mis- 
sion budget  is  up  13%  and  will  likely  ap- 
proach $100  million! 

Phil  Hogan,  who  for  years  has  headed  up 
their  work,  was  a driving  force  in  the  Global 
Consultation  on  World  Evangelization  by 
AD  2000  and  Beyond. 

Or  take  the  Foursquare  International 
board.  Clear  back  in  1976  (the  year  the 
USCWM  was  founded,  and  at  the  same  con- 
ference on  Unreached  Peoples  where  this 
center  was  first  publically  mentioned  as  an 
aspiration),  they  prayerfully  chose  a goal  of 
100  unreached  peoples  engaged  by  1990. 
They  are  now  on  the  160th!  And  their  mis- 
sion program  has  grown  all  out  of  propor- 
tion in  totally  new  ways. 

I expect  to  be  in  Singapore  by  the  time 
this  goes  to  press,  ifie  reason  I am  going  is 
simply  to  encourage  a “mission  field” 
church  that  is  going  all  out  to  send  mission- 
aries (giving  $250,000  per  month  already). 
The  Calvary  Charismatic  Center,  humanly 
speakmgTis  the  work  of  a missionary  kid, 
but  all  the  rest  of  its  20  pastors  are  “mission 
field  Christians.”  I am  asked  to  speak  on  the 
prospect  for  AD  2000.  I'll  tell  them  that  in 
AD  40  there  were  40,000  non-Christians  for 
each  committed  Christian  believer.  In  1900 
there  were  only  100  per  believer.  In  January 
1989  there  are  less  than  10  non-Christians 
per  evangelical  believer  (only  six  in  Un- 
reached Groups).  The  future  is  staggering! 


Strange  and 
marvelous  things 
happened  as  a 
whole  nation  was 
aroused  to 
evangelize  the 
world  in  a few 
short  years — 
a hundred 
years  ago. 
What  things?  New 
missions  focused 
on  forgotten 
frontiers,  and  old 
denominations 
slowly  but 
decisively  shifted 
into  high  gear  as  a 
new  awareness 
flooded  the 
country,  sparked 
by  a student 
mission  movement 
and  by  a lay 
movement  that 
powerfully 
promoted  the 
completion  of  the 
mission  task. 
We  are  seeing  the 
same  thing 
happening  before 
our  eyes. 


January-February  1989/Page  3 


Cover  Story  I 


Pressing  Forward  to  AD  2000 

With  a flurry  of  new  materials  and  a last-minute  surprise , 
a global  consultation  advances  the  frontier  missions  movement 

h\  Da, 


Expectations  were  high  as  314  mis- 
sion leaders  from  50  countries  descended 
on  Singapore’s  Amara  Hotel  during  the 
first  week  of  1989.  But  if  these  partici- 
pants in  the  Global  Consultation  on 
World  Evangelization  by  AD  2000  and 
Beyond  had  high  hopes,  it  was  because 
consultation  organizers  and  promoters  had 
set  the  pace. 

David  Barrett,  editor  of  the  World 
Christian  Encyclopedia  and  Anglican  mis- 
sions researcher,  had  heralded  the  momen- 
tum leading  up  to  the  consultation  as  an 
accelerating  “global  evangelization  move- 
ment.” Panya  Baba,  director  of  the  Evan- 
gelical Missionary  Society  in  Nigeria  and 
a member  of  the  consultation’s  program 
committee,  declared,  “What  we  are  wit- 
nessing today  as  the  AD  2000  plans  start 
to  work  together  is  not  an  accident.  It  is 
the  plan  of  the  Holy  Spirit.”  And  Ralph 
Winter,  director  of  the  U.S.  Center  for 
World  Mission,  had  written,  “Why  would 


I call  this  the  ‘meeting  of  the  century’? 
Simple.  Never  before  has  so  broadly- 
backed  a global  meeting  of  mission  strat- 
egists been  proposed  for  the  single  pur- 
pose of  evaluating  what  could  be  done 
specifically  by  the  end  of  this  century — 
with  both  the  hope  and  confidence  that 
the  task  can  be  finished.” 

But  could  GCOWE  2000  live  up  to 
such  high  expectations?  By  the  end  of 
the  January  5-8  gathering,  answers  were 
mixed.  Participants  had  exchanged  a great 
deal  of  information,  strengthened  working 
relationships,  and  issued  a stirring  “Great 
Commission  Manifesto.”  But  the  con- 
sultation wavered  at  several  key  junctures, 
and  only  a last-minute  initiative  from  the 
floor  ensured  the  creation  of  an  ongoing 
information  office. 

Reasons  for  Optimism 

There  seemed  to  be  ample  reasons  for 
the  wave  of  optimism  undergirding  the 


consultation.  First,  support  for  GCOWE 
2000  mushroomed  after  an  ad  hoc  steering 
committee,  chaired  by  Thomas  Wang,  in- 
ternational director  of  the  Lausanne  Com- 
mittee for  World  Evangelization,  con- 
ceived the  consultation  in  May  1988. 

Second,  as  invitations  were  sent  to 
representatives  of  AD  2000  plans  and  oth- 
er leaders  of  “Great  Commission  net- 
works,” positive  responses  came  from 
across  the  spectrum  of  Christianity.  Par- 
ticipants included  Anglicans,  Baptists, 
Catholics,  Charismatics,  Lutherans, 
Methodists,  Presbyterians,  and  Pentecos- 
tals.  Also  represented  were  the  Lausanne 
Committee,  Campus  Crusade  for  Christ, 
World  Vision  International,  Third  World 
Mission  Advance,  and  180  other  organiza- 
tions. More  than  half  of  the  participants 
came  from  the  non-Westem  world. 

Third,  a flurry  of  new,  exciting  books 
and  working  documents— promising  to 
“turn  heads  from  Nairobi  to  New  York,” 
according  to  Jay  Gary,  consultation  direc- 
tor— came  off  the  press  as  reference  mate- 
rials for  GCOWE.  Participants  received 
some  of  these  in  the  Christmas  mail  and 
others  only  after  arriving  in  Singapore. 

Books  included:  Seven  Hundred  Plans 
to  Evangelize  the  World:  The  Rise  of  a 
Global  Evangelization  Movement , by  Da- 
vid Barrett  and  James  Reapsome;  Count- 
down 1900:  World  Evangelization  at  the 
End  of  the  Nineteenth  Century , by  Todd 
Johnson;  and  Towards  AD  2000  and  Be- 
yond: A Reader , edited  by  Luis  Bush,  Jay 
Gary,  and  Mike  Roberts. 

Two  other  documents  heightened  antic- 
ipation: “Two  Thousand  Plans  Toward 
AD  2000:  a Kaleidoscopic  Global  Plan  to 
See  the  World  Evangelized  by  AD  2000 
and  Beyond,”  prepared  by  a 15-member 
task  force  directed  by  Barrett;  and  “AD 
2000  Global  Goals:  A Selection  of  168 
Proposed  Great  Commission  Goals.” 


Bill  O'Brien  (left),  executive  vice-president  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Foreign  Mission 
Board,  served  as  chairman  of  the  program  committee  for  GCOWE  2000.  Thomas 
Wang  (right),  international  director  for  the  Lausanne  Committee  for  World  Evangeliza- 
tion, led  the  18-member  steering  committee. 

4/Mission  Frontiers 


Cover  Story  I 


GCOWE  2000  had  its  share  of  both  tension  and  laughter.  Here  participants  enjoy  an 
offbeat  news  report  from  Jim  Reapsome,  director  of  the  Evangelical  Missions  Infor- 
mation Service. 


A Call  for  Unprecedented 
Cooperation 

The  common  theme  in  these  docu- 
ments— a plea  that  Christians  from  many 
backgrounds  recognize  each  others’  initia- 
tives, build  upon  them  in  a new  level  of 
cooperation  and  coordination,  and  shun  a 
“standalone,  self-sufficient”  posture — was 
also  the  driving  force  behind  the  consulta- 
tion itself.  Organizers  hoped  to  foster 
networking  and  peer  reviews,  prevent  un- 
necessary duplication,  lay  the  foundation 
for  subsequent  national  and  regional  con- 
sultations, and  promote  the  development 
of  “Biblical,  measurable,  and  strategic” 
AD  2000  goals. 

Pre-consultation  literature  eloquently 
spoke  of  the  need  to  appropriate  the  “cor- 
porate giftedness”  of  the  global  Church 
and  to  give  special  emphasis  to  unreached 
peoples  and  other  unevangelized  popula- 
tions. A December  5 cover  letter  charac- 
terized the  “kaleidoscopic  global  plan”  as 
“a  collective  action  plan  for  the  next  24 
months  or  so  for  those  committed  to 
achieving  ‘something  beautiful  for  God’ 
by  AD  2000.” 

72  Hours  Packed  With  Activity 

These  aspirations  were  fanned  by 
Thomas  Wang’s  opening  address  on  Janu- 
ary 5.  Reminding  participants  of  the  few 
years  remaining  before  AD  2000  and  the 
brevity  of  the  72  hours  of  the  consulta- 
tion, Wang  declared,  “God  is  ringing  a 
bell  in  heaven.  Time  is  up  pretty  soon. 
It’s  time  to  get  serious.”  Decrying  paro- 
chial “turf-ism,”  he  added,  “The  next 
chapter  of  church  history  has  not  yet  been 
written.  How  it  gets  written  depends  very 
much  upon  what  we  do,  or  fail  to  do,  to- 
day.” 

In  response,  participants  plunged  into 
a series  of  presentations  and  discussions 
during  the  next  three  days: 

♦ Six  case  studies  of  AD  2000  plans 
were  put  forward  to  shed  light  on  the  con- 
sultation’s working  documents  and  sug- 
gest lessons  that  could  be  applied  in  other 
contexts.  Plans  described  included:  Hong 
Kong  2000,  a national  plan;  The  World 
By  2000  (international  radio);  AD  2000 
Together  (Pentecostal/charismatic);  New 
Life  2000  (Campus  Crusade  for  Christ); 
Evangelization  2000  (Catholic);  and  Bold 


Mission  Thrust  (Southern  Baptist).  Fol- 
lowing each  presentation,  participants  dis- 
cussed the  plan’s  strengths,  weaknesses, 
and  transferable  concepts. 

♦ Continental  meetings  allowed  par- 
ticipants to  identify  national  and  regional 
AD  2000  goals  and  prayer  strategies. 

Study  was  also  made  of  a proposal  for  a 
series  of  interlocking  national,  regional, 
and  international  AD  2000  consultations 
in  the  1990s.  These  sessions  were  intend- 
ed to  help  participants  see  their  respective 
countries  as  both  mission  fields  and  mis- 
sion bases. 

♦ A task  force  led  by  Floyd  McClung, 
international  director  of  Youth  With  A 
Mission  and  a member  of  the  GCOWE 
program  committee,  worked  through  four 
drafts  of  a “Great  Commission  Manifesto.” 
The  Manifesto,  intended  to  summarize  the 
spirit  and  intention  of  the  consultation  for 
the  benefit  of  the  general  public,  was  pre- 
sented to  participants  at  the  concluding 
session  and  unanimously  affirmed. 

Four  basic  goals  were  highlighted  in 
the  Manifesto: 

“1.  Focus  particularly  on  those  who 
have  not  yet  heard  the  gospel. 

“2.  Provide  every  people  and  population 
on  earth  with  a valid  opportunity  to  hear 
the  gospel  in  a language  they  can  under- 
stand. It  is  our  fervent  prayer  that  at  least 
half  of  humanity  will  profess  allegiance  to 
the  Lord  Jesus. 

“3.  Establish  a mission-minded  church- 
planting  movement  within  every  unreached 


people  group  so  that  the  gospel  is  access- 
ible to  all  people. 

“4.  Establish  a Christian  community 
of  worship,  instruction  in  the  word,  heal- 
ing, fellowship,  prayer,  disciple  making, 
evangelism  and  missionary  concern  in 
every  human  community.” 

♦ Sprinkled  throughout  these  multi- 
ple tracks  were  plenary  addresses  from 
members  of  the  program  committee.  Un- 
der the  theme  of  “Dreaming,”  Bill 
O’Brien,  executive  vice-president  of  the 
Southern  Baptist  Foreign  Mission  Board, 
eloquently  portrayed  the  scenario  of  a 
worldwide  celebration  in  AD  2000  to  re- 
joice in  the  fulfillment  of  the  Great  Com- 


The  Great  Commission  World 

✓ 4,000  mission  sending  agencies 

✓ 56  global  ministries 

✓ 9 global  mega-networks 

✓ 262,300  foreign  missionaries 

✓ $8  billion/year  to  foreign  missions 

✓ 788  global  plans  since  AD  30 

✓ 387  global  plans  now  in  existence 

✓ 254  of  these  plans  making  progress 

✓ 1600  nonglobal  AD  2000  plans 

✓ 400  conferences  a year 

✓ 1,300  citywide  evangelistic 
campaigns  each  year 

✓ 10,000  articles/books  each  year 

✓ 42  million  computers 

Source . Seven  Hundred  Plans  to  Evangelize  the  World 


January-February  1989/5 


Cover  Story  I 


mission.  He  asked,  “Dare  we  dream  to- 
gether? Dare  we  think  this  group  assem- 
bled could  take  some  corporate  action  that 
might  affect  the  destiny  of  the  world?” 
Floyd  McClung,  addressing  the  theme 
of  ‘Targeting,”  declared,  “It  is  essential  to 
focus  our  efforts  to  reach  those  who  have 
never  heard  the  gospel.  This  is  especially 
true  of  the  Muslim,  Buddhist,  and  Hindu 
worlds  but  also  includes  those  peoples 
that  must  be  re -evangelized.  Special  fo- 
cus must  be  given  to  world-class  cities 
and  the  least-evangelized  nations  of  the 
world.” 


And  Luis  Bush,  president  of  Partners 
International  and  director  of  the  1987  CO- 
M1BAM  missions  congress  for  Latin 
America,  covered  the  theme  of  “Fulfill- 
ing” by  enthusing  over  the  “streams”  of 
faith  and  obedience  now  flooding  the 
earth:  “God’s  people  are  in  motion.  They 
are  moving.  They  are  being  mobilized, 
and  all  of  a sudden  we  see  potential  for 
the  completion  of  the  Great  Commis- 
sion.” 

The  Big-Picture  Plan 

But  it  was  the  “kaleidoscopic”  or  “big- 
picture”  global  plan  that  was  the  heart  of 


GCOWE  deliberations.  Fifty  pages  long, 
this  working  document  contained  104  in- 
novative “action  points,”  grouped  under 
29  categories,  that  Barrett  and  his  editorial 
task  force  put  forward  as  a blueprint  for 
collaboration.  Proposals  in  the  plan 
ranged  from  developing  systems  to  match 
evangelizers  and  unreached  peoples  and 
beginning  a new  global  order  of  itinerant 
evangelists  to  creating  a worldwide  elec- 
tronic communications  network  and  a cat- 
alogue of  necessary  resources. 

Central  to  the  plan  was  its  advocacy  of 
a full-time  AD  2000  Global  Task  Force, 


The  “Kaleidoscopic”  Global  Plan:  A Summary 

A central  topic  of  discussion  at  GCOWE  2000  was  the  50-page  “kaleidoscopic  global  plan”  drafted  before  the  consultation  by  a 
15-mcmber  working  group  led  by  David  Barrett.  The  document’s  104  “action  points,”  grouped  under  29  major  headings  (see 
below),  were  “designed  to  help  Christians  to  definitively  overcome  various  crucial  problems,  most  of  which  have  each  sunk  a 
number  of  world  evangelization  plans  in  the  past.”  Working  groups  at  GCOWE  2000  hashed  over  each  category  of  proposals 
and  generated  300  pages  of  suggested  revisions  for  Barrett  and  his  colleagues  to  consider. 

♦ Responsibility:  Proclaim  human  responsibility  to  obey  Jesus’  Great  Commission. 

♦ Present  Status:  Acknowledge  that  current  global  progress  in  evangelization  is  inadequate. 

♦ A New  Start:  Begin  by  acknowledging  the  existence  of  2,000  global  and  local  plans. 

♦ Definitions:  Spread  new,  exciting  definitions  of  key  terms:  “Great  Commission”,  “Evangelization”,  etc. 

♦ Socio-political  Concern:  Monitor  and  measure  the  world’s  status  and  related  ministries. 

♦ The  Unfinished  Task:  Circulate  a detailed  survey  of  unevangelized  populations. 

♦ Great  Commission  Christians:  Recognize  their  massive  presence  among  9,000  peoples. 

♦ Great  Commission  Global  Plans:  Build  on  today’s  387  current  global  plans. 

♦ Multichanneling:  Foster  a parallel  but  cooperative  approach  among  the  world’s  global  plans. 

♦ Goals:  Compile  all  global  AD  2000  goals  and  monitor  their  progress. 

♦ Scenarios:  Draw  out  the  implications  of  alternate  scenarios  for  AD  2000  and  Beyond. 

♦ Failures:  Warn  AD  2000  promoters  that  one  possible  scenario  is  total  failure. 

♦ Modifications:  Encourage  sponsors  of  global  plans  to  change  and  combine  these  plans  as  needed. 

♦ New  Plans:  Suggest  that  upcoming  or  incipient  plans  support  our  big-picture  plan. 

♦ Resources:  Catalogue  all  Christian  resources  and  list  who  benefits  from  them. 

♦ Redistribution:  Press  for  the  redistribution  of  more  resources  towards  the  unevangelized  world. 

♦ Redeployment:  Motivate  missionaries  to  redeploy  to  unevangelized  populations. 

♦ Innovations:  Generate  a continuous  stream  of  new  ideas,  methods,  and  publications. 

♦ Engagement:  Advise  agencies  how  to  engage  new  target  populations. 

♦ Segmentization:  Match  up  workers  with  all  unevangelized  population  segments. 

♦ Nonresidential  Mission:  Help  agencies  develop  ministry  options  to  unevangelized  populations. 

♦ Itineration:  Inaugurate  a new  global  order  of  itinerant  Spirit-led  evangelists. 

♦ Computers:  Establish  electronic  communications  between  Great  Commission  agencies. 

♦ Logistics:  Facilitate  logistics  of  new  forms  of  cooperative  global  mission. 

♦ Programs:  Aid  national  and  regional  task  forces  and  consultations. 

♦ Prioritization:  Assist  agencies  to  prioritize  programs  and  possible  ministries. 

♦ Administration:  Ask  agencies  to  each  implement  one  or  two  points  of  this  overall  collective  plan. 

♦ Materials:  Produce  primary  data,  diagrams,  and  releases  and  disseminate  them  widely. 

♦ Apologia:  Expound  the  revised  big-picture  global  plan  in  all  100  Christian  mega-languages. 


6/Mission  Frontiers 


In  three  separate  sessions,  GCOWE  participants  met  in  small  working  groups  to 
evaluate  and  revise  the  big-picture  plan.  They  generated  300  pages  of  suggestions, 
which  David  Barrett  and  other  GCOWE  organizers  are  now  reviewing. 


a team  of  people  focusing  on  continuing 
research,  publications,  and  consultations 
and  ensuring  that  individual  agencies  take 
responsibility  for  one  or  more  action 
steps.  The  document  presupposed  both 
existing  AD  2000  plans  and  the  necessity 
for  “all  the  background  things  Christians 
already  know  to  be  necessary.” 

In  three  separate  sessions,  GCOWE 
participants  met  in  small  working  groups 
to  review  and  revise  the  big-picture  plan. 
They  generated  300  pages  of  suggestions 
for  Barrett  and  his  task  force  to  consider, 
and  a number  indicated  their  willingness 
to  help  implement  one  or  more  of  the 
104  action  points. 

But  the  big-picture  plan  generated  ten- 
sion as  well  as  excitement  A minority 
of  participants  expressed  concerns  that  the 
plan  could  be  perceived  as  top-down,  ig- 
noring grassroots  input,  that  its  theologi- 
cal base  and  spiritual  emphasis  needed 
strengthening,  and  that  it  was  too  detailed 
to  be  effectively  communicated  to  their 
constituencies.  In  a “review  and  clarifica- 
tion” statement  issued  the  final  day  of  the 
consultation,  the  GCOWE  steering  com- 
mittee switched  gears  and  characterized  the 
kaleidoscopic  plan,  not  as  a collective  ac- 
tion plan,  but  as  something  that  “would 
become  part  of  our  ongoing  ‘tool  boxes,’ 


challenging  our  thinking  and  helping 
equip  us  in  decision-making.” 

Fracas  in  the  Family 

Soon  other  points  of  tension  began  to 
emerge.  Latin  American  participants,  in 
a “statement  of  concern”  about  Roman 
Catholic  participation  in  the  consultation, 
said  “the  religious-political  force  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  is  using  all 
means  available  and  is  in  fact  the  most 
fierce  opponent  to  all  evangelistic  efforts 
on  our  part.”  Only  a half  dozen  Catholics 
were  present  at  GCOWE  2000,  but  the 
Latins  protested  the  inclusion  of  the  Ev- 
angelization 2000  plan  as  a featured  case 
study  and  declared  that  cooperation  with 
Catholics  “goes  beyond  our  historical  and 
biblical  commitment.” 

Gino  Henriques,  a Catholic  priest  from 
India  who  presented  the  Evangelization 
2000  case  study,  responded  by  saying, 
“For  whatever  hurts  they  have  received 
from  Catholics,  I’m  not  only  grieved  but 
I would  beg  pardon  for  those  hurts,  an<?I 
love  them  in  the  Lord.”  A moving  mo- 
ment in  the  consultation  came  when 
Southern  Baptist  Foreign  Mission  Board 
president  Keith  Parks,  due  to  follow  Hen- 
riques on  the  program,  first  brought  the 
priest  back  to  the  lectern  and  publicly  ac- 


knowledged him  as  a brother  in  Christ. 

Another  group  of  participants,  noting 
the  prominence  of  the  proposed  Global 
AD  2000  Task  Force  within  the  big- 
picture  plan,  voiced  their  concern  that 
GCOWE  2000  not  create  an  additional 
structure  that  might  duplicate  the  roles  of 
the  Lausanne  Committee  or  the  World  Ev- 
angelical Fellowship.  Others  responded 
that  they  felt  the  need  for  a movement, 
like  GCOWE,  that  is  broader  and  more  in- 
clusive than  cither  Lausanne  or  WEF. 
Thomas  Wang,  as  director  of  the  Lausanne 
and  chairman  of  GCOWE  2000,  had  earli- 
er stated  his  own  opinion  that  whatever 
happened  at  Singapore  would  enrich  Lau- 
sanne II,  where  an  AD  2000  emphasis  is 
scheduled  to  constitute  one  of  20  “tracks.” 

Many  participants,  while  intellectually 
stimulated  and  spiritually  challenged  by 
the  many  reference  materials,  also  began 
to  suffer  from  bad  cases  of  information 
overload.  One  leader  confessed  in  a small 
group  session,  “After  awhile,  I just  gave 
up  trying  to  digest  all  the  material  and  be- 
gan to  focus  instead  on  getting  to  know 
the  brothers  and  sisters  around  me.”  As  if 
to  acknowledge  the  torrent  of  paper,  the 
consultation’s  first  daily  newsletter  fea- 
tured an  article  entitled,  “How  Am  I Sup- 
posed to  Read  All  This  Stuff?”  The  steer- 
ing committee  acknowledged  procedural 
shortfalls  and  attributed  many  to  the  hasty 
preparations  for  the  gathering. 

Getting  the  Numbers  Straight 

Meanwhile,  in  an  eddy  off  the  main 
current  of  consultation  proceedings,  a 
small  group  of  prominent  mission  re- 
searchers were  meeting  to  clarify  technical 
definitions  and  statistical  estimates  of  the 
unfinished  task  in  world  evangelization. 

Weeks  earlier,  David  Barrett  had 
pulled  together  a GCOWE  2000  task  force 
of  researchers  to  seek  unanimity  in  defin- 
ing the  job  to  be  done.  Barrett’s  success 
in  catalyzing  helpful  discussion  prompted 
Thomas  Wang  to  appointed  him  chairman 
of  a similar  task  force  commissioned  to 
achieve  new  consensus  among  mission  re- 
searchers in  time  for  the  July  1989  “Lau- 
sanne II”  congress  in  Manila.  GCOWE 
2000  thus  provided  a convenient  forum  for 
the  results  of  the  first  task  force  to  be  pre- 
sented in  rough  draft  and  for  a few  mem- 

January-February  1989/7 


Cover  Story  I 


bers  of  the  second.  Lausanne-related  task 
force  to  begin  to  meet. 

In  addition  to  Barrett,  members  of  the 
LCWE  task  force  present  at  GCOWE 
2000  included  Ed  Dayton  of  the  Missions 
Advanced  Research  and  Communications 
Center,  Ralph  Winter  of  the  U.S.  Center 
for  World  Mission,  and  Bob  Waymire  of 
Global  Mapping  Intcmatiqnal.  Other 
members,  including  Patrick  Johnstone, 
author  of  the  well-known  Operation 
World  manual,  were  absent. 

The  view  of  the  unfinished  task  on 
which  GCOWE  2000  itself  was  based 
was  largely  the  result  of  Barrett’s  own 
work.  He  has  divided  the  world  into 

15.000  population  segments  (including 

1 1,500  ethnolinguistic  peoples)  and  esti- 
mated that  approximately  3030  of  these 
segments  (including  2000  peoples)  are 
unevangelized. 

Other  researchers  have  partitioned  the 
world  differently,  often  with  different  em- 
phases in  view.  Winter,  for  example, 
leaning  on  terms  developed  in  a 1982 
Lausanne-sponsored  huddle,  has  preferred 
to  focus  on  the  task  of  planting  church 
movements  among  people  groups  where 
no  such  movements  exist,  and  has  popu- 
larized the  view  that  approximately 

16.000  peoples  are  unrcached  by  this  defi- 
nition. 


Working  under  a heightened  sense  of 
both  external  pressure — represented  by 
Lausanne  II  and  public  confusion — and 
internal  constraints — represented  by  the 
momentum  generated  by  GCOWE,  the 
task  force  began  to  probe  each  other’s 
ethnographic,  missiological,  and  statisti- 
cal assumptions  with  greater  depth  than 
they  had  in  previous,  isolated,  relatively 
sporadic  conversations.  They  agreed  to 
consult  with  each  other  more  often  and  to 
work  more  vigorously  at  presenting  a 
united  front  in  the  preparation  of  materi- 
als. 

A Global  Task  Force? 

As  participants  approached  the  final 
day  of  GCOWE  2000,  attention  was  fo- 
cused on  the  question  of  whether  the 
steering  committee  would  continue  to 
press  for  an  ongoing  Global  Task  Force. 
About  85%  of  the  respondents  to  a con- 
tinuation questionnaire  had  indicated  their 
support  for  the  Task  Force,  but  a vocal 
minority  had  expressed  either  reservations 
or  opposition. 

In  the  afternoon  prior  to  the  closing 
session,  the  steering  committee  met  for  a 
final  time  to  consider  continuation. 

Weary  from  criticisms  of  the  consulta- 
tion’s procedural  shortfalls,  committee 
members  were  also  buffeted  by  conflict- 


ing concerns  that  the  prospective  Task 
Force  would  be  too  inclusive,  exclusive, 
or  competitive  with  existing  bodies. 
Mindful  in  prayer  that  “unless  a kernel  of 
wheat  fall  to  the  ground  and  dies,  it  re- 
mains only  a single  seed,’’  and  confident 
that  the  Holy  Spirit  would  foster  an  AD 
2000  movement  in  His  own  way,  they 
decided  to  not  press  for  a continuation 
structure. 

Floyd  McClung  later  explained,  “We 
sensed  that  the  Lord  was  not  calling  us  to 
a new  structure  but  instead  a new  sense 
of  servanthood  to  one  another.  We  ex- 
perienced a tremendous  sense  of  joy  as 
we  placed  this  in  the  Lord’s  hands.” 

One  Surprise  Follows  Another 

Unaware  of  this  progression  of  events, 
participants  gathered  for  the  closing  even- 
ing session.  Following  the  hearty  ap- 
proval of  the  Great  Commission  Mani- 
festo, Thomas  Wang  came  to  the  lectern 
and  announced  the  steering  committee’s 
decision  to  dissolve  itself  and  not  present 
a proposal  for  continuation.  McClung 
took  the  microphone,  added  a few  explan- 
atory comments,  and  then  led  the  gather- 
ing into  a time  of  worship. 

Participants  were  still  musing  on  the 
unexpected  turn  of  events  when  McClung 
began  to  give  the  benediction.  Was  it 
really  over,  just  like  that,  after  all  had 
been  said  and  done? 

But  then,  just  as  participants  were  pre- 
paring to  leave,  McClung  acknowledged 
a written  request  from  Ralph  Winter  to 
address  the  gathering.  Winter  expressed 
gratitude  for  the  steering  committee’s  hu- 
mility and  sensitivity,  noting  that  partic- 
ipants who  favored  a continuation  office 
ought  not  to  run  roughshod  over  the  mi- 
nority who  disapproved.  But  he  added, 
“There  should  be  Christian  freedom  if 
some  of  us  here  want  to  get  together  to 
encourage  and  fund  a simple,  meek-and- 
mild  information  office  to  help  us  more 
efficiently  help  one  another.” 

He  then  suggested  that  those  interested 
in  such  an  office  gather  at  the  front  of  the 
room  a few  minutes  after  the  final  ses- 
sion concluded.  About  85  participants 
did  so,  and  after  an  hour-long  discussion 
agreed  to  establish  an  information  office 
to  be  staffed  by  Jay  and  Olgy  Gary,  who 
had  served  GCOWE  2000  from  its  incep- 


The  GCOWE  2000  Steering  Committee:  "We  sensed  that  the  Lord  was  not  calling 
us  to  a new  structure  but  instead  a new  sense  of  servanthood  to  one  another  ” 
8/Mission  Frontiers 


' 


Cover  Story  I 


tion  as  project  coordinators.  Four  other 
guidelines  were  developed  for  the  “AD 
2000  Global  Service  Office”: 

♦ The  office  will  be  accountable  to 
an  advisory  committee  comprised  of  as 
many  members  of  the  GCOWE  steering 
committee  as  are  able  to  serve,  plus  addi- 
tional members  as  the  committee  sees  the 
need; 

♦ Financial  support  will  come  from 
as  many  agencies  as  continue  to  believe 
in  the  office’s  importance  and  are  able  to 
contribute. 

♦ The  office  will  assist,  as  requested 
by  the  Lausanne  Committee,  in  prepara- 
tions for  the  AD  2000  track  of  the  “Lau- 
sanne II”  congress  in  Manila. 

♦ The  office  will  undergo  a review  of 
mandate  and  performance  after  6-9 
months. 

Participants  in  this  post-GCOWE  dis- 
cussion agreed  to  avoid  any  claim  that 
their  initiative  is  an  official  result  of 
GCOWE  2000  and  to  honor  the  steps  tak- 
en by  leaders  and  participants  at  the  con- 
sultation. 

Furthermore,  Bill  O’Brien  and  Jim 
Montgomery — two  members  of  the 
GCOWE  steering  committee — pointed 
out  that  this  new  form  of  “ad  hoc-ery” 
supported,  not  contradicted,  the  steering 
committee’s  action  because  it  validated 
the  committee’s  rationale  that  it  was  free 
to  yield  the  AD  2000  movement  as  some- 
thing the  Holy  Spirit  would  forward  in 
His  own  way. 

The  AD  2000  Global  Service 
Office 

In  the  weeks  since  GCOWE  2000,  the 
Global  Service  Office  has  taken  its  initial 
steps.  A working  committee — consisting 
of  former  GCOWE  program  committee 
members — is  in  place,  a larger  advisory 
committee  has  begun  to  take  shape,  and 
plans  are  in  motion  for  a separate  editorial 
committee  for  an  AD  2000  Monitor 
newsletter. 

Gary  has  stated  his  intention  to  pri- 
marily network  with  agencies  with  AD 
2000  plans,  mission  associations,  media 
ministries,  and  foundations.  He  is  now 
completing  work  on  the  GCOWE  2000 
compendium,  due  to  appear  in  early 
April.  The  compendium  will  contain  not 
only  edited  transcripts  of  GCOWE  2000 


addresses  but  also  Gary’s  first-person  ac- 
count of  the  progression  of  events  before, 
during,  and  after  the  consultation. 

Evaluating  the  Consultation 

So  how  to  evaluate  GCOWE  2000? 
Did  it  fulfill  expectations?  For  many, 
yes;  for  others,  no.  The  meeting  of  the 
century?  It’s  still  too  early  to  say. 

The  consultation  was  hastily  orga- 
nized, and  participants  received  reference 
materials  too  late  to  properly  digest  and 
act  upon  them.  The  72  hours  of  the 
event  were  filled  with  more  agendas  and 
expectations  than  they  could  reasonably 
contain.  Diversity  brought  breadth  of 
perspective,  but  also  reduced  many  deci- 
sions to  the  level  of  the  least  common  de- 
nominator. Rigorous  peer  review  and  de- 
velopment of  a collective,  roll-up-the- 
sleeves  action  plan — eagerly  anticipated 
before  the  consultation — gave  way  to  a 
cordial  but  relatively  indiscriminate  affir- 
mation of  one  another  and  an  agreement 
to  keep  talking. 

Comparisons  to  1888 

Ironically,  while  frequently  citing  Todd 
Johnson’s  Countdown  to  1900  as  a key 
reference  tool,  leaders  and  participants  at 
GCOWE  2000  nevertheless  repeated  some 
of  the  same  shortcomings  the  book 
chronicles.  Following  GCOWE  2000, 
Johnson,  himself  a participant  at  the  con- 
sultation and  a member  of  the  task  force 
behind  the  formation  of  the  big-picture 
plan,  lamented  the  consultation’s  lack  of 
a “sense  of  urgency.” 

Prominent  within  Countdown  to  1900 
is  an  assessment  of  a major  conference  in 
London  in  1888,  a conference  remarkably 
similar  to  GCOWE  2000  in  its  scope, 
ambition,  and  results.  Johnson  describes 
the  1888  conference  in  this  way: 

“Because  it  was  so  hastily  organized 
and  because  so  many  speakers  were  on  the 
platform,  there  was  no  opportunity  for 
genuine  strategic  planning.  ‘Dividing  up 
the  world’  was  pushed  aside  as  the  dele- 
gates tended  to  focus  on  what  was  being 
done  and  not  on  what  remained  to  be 
done.  [A.T.]  Pierson’s  rallying  cry  fell 
on  an  auditorium  of  men  and  women  just 
learning  to  listen  to  each  another,  not  on 
Christians  ready  to  plan  the  final  conquest 
of  the  world.” 


In  another  passage  in  his  book,  John- 
son cites  another  assessment  of  the  Lon- 
don conference  by  a leading  periodical  of 
the  day.  This  assessment,  too,  could 
well  apply  to  GCOWE  2000: 

“They  ‘were  of  one  mind  and  one 
soul’  in  desire  and  purpose,  to  ‘preach  the 
gospel  to  every  creature.’  How  best  this 
could  be  done  was  the  dominant  thought. 
Much  information  was  given.  Difficul- 
ties and  obstacles  were  stated  with  great 
candour.  Many  statements  were  made  of 
a most  encouraging  and  stimulating  char- 
acter. 

“But  the  meetings  were  deliberative, 
not  executive.  Therefore  it  was  that  many 
questions  of  great  practical  and  doctrinal 
interest  were  hardly  touched,  and  others 
were  ventilated  only,  not  decided.  The 
conference  was  not  a council,  and  was 
too  large,  miscellaneous  and  popular  to 
develop  into  true  practical  deliberative 
forms,  or  to  elicit  much  boldness  of 
speech  or  freedom  of  opinion.  This,  no 
doubt,  was  felt  by  many  to  be  a want, 
but  it  was  inevitable.” 


AD  2000  Plans 

✓ Throughout  history,  at  least  788 
global  plans  have  emerged  to 
evangelize  the  world. 

✓ These  plans  have  sprung  from 
every  continent  and  every  major 
tradition  of  Christianity. 

✓ More  than  1/2  of  history’s  plans 
have  emerged  since  1948. 

✓ By  1988,  one  new  plan  appeared 
each  week,  of  which  31%  were 
from  the  Two-Thirds  world. 

✓ About  254  global  plans  are  active 
today  and  making  progress,  and  1/2 
have  target  dates  for  AD  2000. 

✓ Of  these,  89  spend  more  than  $10 
million  a year. 

✓ Of  these,  33  spend  more  than  $100 
million  a year. 

✓ Between  now  and  the  year  2000, 
$40  billion  will  be  spent  on  these 
plans. 

Source:  Seven  Hundred  Plans  to  Evangelize  the  World 


January-February  1989/9 


Cover  Story  I 


Thomas  Wang:  Predicted  before 
GCOWE  2000  that  whatever  happened 
in  Singapore  would  strengthen  the  " Lau- 
sanne II"  congress  in  Manila  this  July. 

Looking  on  the  Bright  Side 

But  GCOWE  2000  was  at  least  not 
“large,  miscellaneous  and  popular,”  and 
whereas  the  1888  gathering  featured  too 
many  platform  speakers  and  had  no  con- 
tinuation structure  to  show  for  its  efforts, 
GCOWE  safeguarded  time  for  working 
groups  and  informal  networking  and  also 
resulted,  though  circuitously,  in  an  ongo- 
ing information  office  that  can  maintain 
momentum  toward  the  year  2000.  And 
that’s  just  the  beginning  of  the  consulta- 
tion’s list  of  achievements. 

Jay  Gary  points  out  that  GCOWE 
gave  international  identity  to  the  AD 
2000  movement:  “We’ve  entered  a new 
era  of  Great  Commission  Christians  talk- 
ing and  journeying  together.  Many  of  the 
groups  present  at  the  consultation— such 
as  the  Assemblies  of  God,  the  Southern 
Baptists,  Campus  Crusade  for  Christ,  and 
Wycliffe  Bible  Translators — were  repre- 
sented by  their  top  leaders.  These  organi- 
zations are  big  enough  to  go  their  own 
way,  but  they’ve  chosen  not  to.” 

Other  fruits  of  the  consultation  in- 
clude: 

♦ A remarkable  new  set  of  reference 
tools— “concise,  prophetic,  accurate  docu- 
mentation,” in  Gary’s  words,  and  a new 
emphasis  on  cooperative  AD  2000  goal- 
setting. 

♦ Enthusiasm  for  subsequent  national 
and  regional  AD  2000  consultations  and 
other  initiatives. 

10/Mission  Frontiers 


♦ Heightened  awareness  of  the  “win- 
dow of  opportunity”  the  Church  must  ap- 
propriate in  the  next  2-3  years  if  it  is  to 
seriously  pursue  any  set  of  AD  2000 
goals.  While  the  consultation  itself  may 
have  been  characterized  by  hesitancy  at 
several  points,  participants  have  returned 
home  with  new  sensitivity  to  the 
calendar. 

♦ New  momentum  for  such  crucial 
projects  as  the  proposed  “Adopt-a-People” 
clearinghouse,  long  discussed  but  only 
now  receiving  the  attention  it  deserves. 
Plenary  addresses  and  informal  conversa- 
tions in  Singapore  generated  support  for 
the  March  15-17  Adopt-a-People  sympo- 
sium at  the  U.S.  Center  for  World  Mis- 
sion. And  prior  to  the  consultation, 
about  30  U.S.  participants  agreed  in  ad- 
vance that  a worthy  goal  would  be  to 
press  for  each  unreached  people  to  be 
adopted  in  a church-mission  partnership 
by  1991. 

♦ Additional  breezes  in  the  sails  of 
the  new  Lausanne  Statistical  Task  Force 
as  it  seeks  to  further  cooperative  mission 
research.  Already  clear  is  the  fact  that 
Barrett  has  recently  discovered  far  greater 
linguistic  diversity  in  certain  areas  of  the 
world  than  has  been  published  earlier. 
Among  other  things,  this  discovery  has 
lent  new  credence  to  Winter’s  estimate  of 
16,000  people  groups  remaining  to  be 
reached.  A statistical  picture  of  unprece- 
dented scope  is  expected  to  appear  in  the 
next  few  weeks. 

♦ A mechanism  for  coordinated  prep- 
arations for  the  AD  2000  track  at  “Lau- 
sanne II”  in  Manila  this  July. 

♦ Impact  on  a wide  range  of  addition- 
al gatherings  scheduled  to  occur  within 
the  next  2-3  years.  For  example,  on  the 
heels  of  GCOWE  2000,  the  North  Ameri- 
can Renewal  Service  Committee  met  in 
Orlando,  Florida  January  16-17  and  decid- 
ed on  an  AD  2000  focus  for  its  August 
1990  Congress  on  the  Holy  Spirit  and 
World  Evangelization.  The  committee 
represents  Pentecostal  denominations  and 
renewal  movements  in  Catholic  and 
mainline  Protestant  churches,  and  the 
congress  is  expected  to  draw.  50,000  peo- 
ple to  the  Hoosierdome  in  Indianapolis. 

Vinson  Synan,  chairman  of  the  Re- 
newal Service  Committee,  says  of 


Jay  Gary:  Served  as  consultation  director 
for  GCOWE  2000  and  was  then  ap- 
pointed coordinator  for  the  new  AD 
2000  Global  Service  Office. 

GCOWE  2000,  “This  Consultation  was 
truly  an  historic  moment  for  the  Church. 
Churches  and  ministries  that  had  never 
talked  together  pledged  cooperation  in 
completing  the  task  of  world  evangeliza- 
tion by  the  end  of  the  century....  The  vi- 
sion, data,  and  resources  shared  in  Singa- 
pore will  set  the  agenda  for  the  Church 
until  the  end  of  the  century.” 

Jay  Gary  concedes,  “Those  closest  to 
the  consultation  raised  expectations 
which  were  perhaps  unrealistic.”  But 
consultation  organizers  and  participants 
can  be  forgiven  if  rhetoric  outpaced  reali- 
ty in  this  instance.  For,  like  a group  of 
mountain  climbers  who,  bruised  and 
weary,  fail  to  reach  the  pinnacle  on  the 
first  attempt,  they  at  least  attained  a new 
plateau.  Base  camp  is  now  at  a higher 
altitude,  and  the  summit  waits  for  those 
who  are  able  and  willing  to  try  again  be- 
fore night  comes  and  the  window  of  op- 
portunity is  lost. 

For  further  information  on  GCOWE 
2000  or  the  AD  2000  Global  Service  Of- 
fice, contact:  Jay  Gary,  AD  2000  Global 
Service  Office,  P.O.  Box  129,  Rock- 
ville. VA  23146,  USA,  phone  (818) 
792-9355,  fax  (818)  792-3455. 

To  order  materials  prepared  for 
GCOWE  2000,  see  the  descriptions  on 
page  26  and  the  order  form  on  page  27  of 
this  issue  of  Mission  Frontiers.  I 


Cover  Story  II 


Great  Commission  Manifesto 

January  8, 1989 
Singapore 


We,  the  314  participants  from  50  nations  gathered  for  the  Glo- 
bal Consultation  for  World  Evangelisation  by  A.D.  2000  and 
Beyond,  come  from  many  different  churches,  denominations 
and  ministries  under  the  direction  of  the  Holy  Spirit  for  what 
we  consider  to  be  a singular  moment  in  the  history  of  the 
Church. 

We  identify  ourselves  as  a gathering  of  Christians  who  by 
faith  alone  have  accepted  Jesus  Christ,  true  God  and  true  man, 
revealed  in  the  infallible  and  holy  Scriptures  as  our  Lord  and 
Savior.  We  are  committed  to  biblical  righteousness  in  our  be- 
havior and  to  growth  in  holiness. 

We  gratefully  acknowledge  the  worldwide  witness  and  ministry 
of  faithful  men  and  women  throughout  the  previous  twenty 
centuries. 

We  humbly  confess  our  pride,  prejudice,  competition  and  diso- 
bedience that  have  hindered  our  generation  from  effectively 
working  at  the  task  of  world  evangelisation.  These  sins  have 
impeded  God’s  desire  to  spread  abroad  His  gracious  provision 
of  eternal  salvation  through  the  precious  blood  of  His  Son,  Je- 
sus Christ. 

We  turn  from  these  sins  and  failures  to  express  our  belief  that 
God  has  graciously  opened  to  us  a window  of  opportunity  for 
completing  the  magnificent  task  He  has  given  us.  We  boldly 
seize  this  crucial  moment,  more  impressed  with  God’s  great 
power  than  any  force  arrayed  against  us. 


We  have  listened  to  each  other  and  rejoice  at  what  God  is  doing 
through  many  plans  for  world  evangelisation.  We  learned  that 
there  are  over  2000  separate  plans  relating  to  world  evangelisa- 
tion. 

We  see  afresh  that  cooperation  and  partnership  are  absolute  ne- 
cessities if  the  Great  Commission  is  going  to  be  fulfilled  by 
the  Year  2000.  For  the  sake  of  those  who  are  lost  and  eternal- 
ly separated  from  God,  we  have  dared  to  pray  and  dream  of 
what  might  happen  if  appropriate  autonomy  of  churches  and 
ministries  could  be  balanced  with  significant  partnership. 

Empowerment 

We  acknowledge  that  the  evangelisation  of  the  world  can  be 
carried  out  only  in  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Listening 


and  ready,  we  declare  our  dependence  upon  the  Holy  Spirit  and 
commit  to  undergird  all  efforts  for  world  evangelisation  with 
personal  and  corporate  prayer.  We  recognize  that  human  ener- 
gy cannot  replace  divine  activity  nor  can  spiritual  success  be 
measured  in  terms  of  human  achievement.  The  effectiveness 
of  our  endeavours  does  not  lie  in  human  expertise  but  in  the 
sovereign  activity  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Compassion 

The  Good  News  of  Jesus  Christ  brings  special  meaning  to 
suffering  humanity.  God’s  love  brings  hope  to  those  who 
live  under  the  bondage  of  sin,  and  who  are  victims  of  poverty 
and  injustice.  We  believe  that  Christians  involved  in  world 
evangelisation  should  live  among  people  as  servants  and  mini- 
ster to  the  needs  of  the  whole  person. 

Toward  Fulfillment 

The  revelation  of  God  in  Christ  is  plain.  The  commission  to 
His  Church  is  clear.  The  unfinished  task  is  apparent.* *  The 
opportunity  to  work  together  is  ours. 

We  believe  that  it  is  possible  to  bring  the  Gospel  to  all  peo- 
ple by  the  year  2000.  This  can  be  accomplished  with  suffi- 
cient dedication,  unity,  and  mobilisation  of  available  resourc- 
es, powered  and  directed  by  God. 

To  accomplish  this  objective,  it  will  be  necessary  to: 

1 . Focus  particularly  on  those  who  have  not  yet  heard  the 
Gospel. 

2.  Provide  every  people  and  population  on  earth  with  a valid 
opportunity  to  hear  the  Gospel  in  a language  they  can  under- 
stand. It  is  our  fervent  prayer  that  at  least  half  of  humanity 
will  profess  allegiance  to  the  Lord  Jesus. 

3.  Establish  a mission-minded  church-planting  movement 
within  every  unreached  people  group  so  that  the  Gospel  is  ac- 
cessible to  all  people. 

4.  Establish  a Christian  community  of  worship,  instruction 
in  the  word,  healing,  fellowship,  prayer,  disciple-making, 
evangelism,  and  missionary  concern  in  every  human  commu- 
nity. 

To  God  be  the  glory  for  all  he  enables  us  to  do  by  the  end  of 
this  millennium! 


Cooperation  and  Partnership 


• These  were  our  documents  of  reference: 

• Seven  Hundred  Plans  to  Evangelize  the  World:  The  Rise  of  a Global  Evangelization  Movement , by  David  B.  Barrett  and  James  W 
Reapsome,  New  Hope  Publishers,  1988 

+ Countdown  to  1900:  World  Evangelization  at  the  End  of  the  Nineteenth  Century,  by  Todd  M.  Johnson,  New  Hope  Publishers, 
1988 

• Towards  AD  2000  and  Beyond:  A Reader,  edited  by  Luis  Bush,  Jay  Gary  and  Mike  Roberts  for  the  Global  Consultation  on  World 
Evangelization  by  AD  2000  and  Beyond,  1989 

?ooTW°  Thousand  Plans  Toward  AD  2000:  a Kaleidoscopic  Global  Plan  to. See  the  World  Evangelized  by  AD  2000  and  Beyond  ” 
1988  1 * 

• “AD  2000  Global  Goals:  A Selection  of  168  Proposed  Great  Commission  Goals, “ 1988  January-February  1989/11 


Commentary 


A native  of  Scotland,  Tom 
Houston  has  served  as  a 
pastor  both  in  his  home 
country  and  for  a multi-racial 
Baptist  church  in  Nairobi, 
Kenya.  For  twelve  years  he 
was  director  of  the  British  and 
Foreign  Bible  Society  in 
London.  Having  just 
completed  a five-year  term  as 
president  of  World  Vision 
International,  he  is  currently 
on  sabbatical.  Houston  was  a 
speaker  at  the  1974  Lausanne 
Congress  and  has  served  the 
Lausanne  Committee  in 
several  capacities  since  then. 
He  is  scheduled  to  address  the 
1989  Manila  congress  on 
“Good  News  for  the  Poor" 


Cooperation  in  Evangelism 
and  the  Lausanne  Covenant 


by  Rev.  Tom  Houston 


The  1974  Lausanne  Congress  on  World  Evangelization  rallied  evangelicals 
around  the  world  to  take  new  initiatives  in  both  evangelism  and  missions. 

s.u<rj2  ^native  was  the  founding  of  the  U.S.  Center  for  World  Mission  in 
y/o.  j Now,  as  Christian  leaders  look  back  on  the  fifteen  years  since  this 
landmark  congress  and  also  look  forward  to  " Lausanne  II"  in  Manila  this  July 
there  is  a growing  appreciation  for  the  fruits  of  the  Lausanne  movement  and 
for  the  well-crafted  document  that  has  undergirded  it.  Tom  Houston  here 
shares  his  reflections  on  the  past  and  present  value  of  the  Lausanne  Covenant 
which  is  excerpted  on  page  15. 

The  Lausanne  Covenant  has  a paragraph 
(7)  on  “Cooperation  in  Evangelism,”  but  the 
Covenant  itself  as  a whole,  and  the  way  it 
was  drawn  up,  also  speak  eloquently  about 
this  subject. 


12/Mission  Frontiers 


The  Miracle 

That  the  Lausanne  Covenant  was  agreed 
upon  by  2000-3000  people  from  150  nations 
from  all  branches  of  the  Christian  Church  in 
the  space  of  ten  days  has  to  be  one  of  the 
miracles  of  contemporary  church  history. 
There  are  those  who  say  that  if  we  were  to 
attempt  it  now,  it  would  not  be  possible. 
This  means  that  we  need  to  understand  how 
it  came  to  be  adopted  and  what  was  its  sig- 
nificance. 

The  Secret 

I believe  that,  humanly  speaking,  the 
Covenant  was  adopted  with  such  wide  agree- 
ment because  it  broadened  the  worldview  of 
evangelicals  in  such  a way  as  to  put  together 
under  one  umbrella  matters  that  had  been  in- 
creasingly in  tension  both  in  the  experience 
of  individuals  and  in  relationships  between 
groups. 

Someone  has  said  that  a theology  is  a set 
of  answers  based  on  Scripture  to  the  .set  of 
questions  that  any  generation  is  asking. 

The  trouble  with  some  of  our  theologies  is 
that  they  are  a set  of  answers  taken  from 
Scripture  to  the  set  of  questions  that  an  earli- 
er generation  was  asking.  At  Lausanne,  the 
coming  together  of  different  Christians  from 
so  many  cultures  made  it  possible  for  us  to 
widen  our  concerns  to  include  the  burning 
questions  of  the  day. 

All  the  key  concerns  of  evangelical  state- 


ments of  faith  were  restated  with  commenda- 
ble precision,  and  this  reassured  everyone 
present.  In  the  wake  of  these,  it  became 
possible  to  venture  out  to  statements  on  new 
subjects.  These  subjects  included  evangel- 
ism and  social  concern,  church  and  “para- 
church”  agencies,  culture,  freedom,  persecu- 
tion and  human  rights,  the  theology  of  diver- 
sity and  unity,  church  growth,  and  other 
missiological  concerns. 

A number  of  factors  helped  people  to  be 
comfortable  about  this  innovation.  First, 
there  was  an  intensely  practical  and  ethical 
tone  to  the  wording.  In  this  we  recovered 
the  emphasis  of  the  New  Testament  Letters 
where  doctrine  and  practice  are  never  separat- 
ed 

Second,  the  document  was  presented  as  a 
Covenant  to  be  entered  into  and  not  a creed 
to  be  signed.  We  were  committing  our- 
selves to  a way  to  live  as  well  as  a set  of  be- 
liefs. 

Third,  the  controversial  nature  of  the  new 
themes  was  not  dodged.  Tensions  were  artic- 
ulated about  social  concern,  political  libera- 
tion, and  the  nature  of  reconciliation.  We 
said  what  we  did  believe  and  denied  what  we 
could  not  accept  and  clearly  left  the  door 
open  for  further  light  to  break  forth. 

Fourth,  the  singleness  of  purpose  in  relat- 
ing all  to  World  Evangelization  also  helped. 
We  were  talking  about  the  basis  on  which 
we  could  work  together  to  accomplish  a 
God-given  task  that  was  related  to  the  world 
outside  of  our  churches  and  not  only  to  rela- 
tionships between  us. 

All  of  this  is  one  classic  way  of  enlarging 
an  inadequate  worldview,  a way  recognized 
by  sociologists  such  as  Peter  Berger.  It  was 


a memorable  experience  to  be  part  of  it  It 
gave  us  a covenant  under  which  thousands 
have  been  more  than  happy  to  work  ever 
since.  In  my  view,  the  1974  congress  saved 
the  unity  of  evangelicalism  in  a very  creative 
and  Biblical  way  and  put  in  the  mix  a state- 
ment to  which  anyone  now  would  have  a 
hard  time  saying  “No.” 

A Banner 

There  have  been  numerous  and  diverse  ex- 
amples of  cooperation  under  this  new  banner 
in  the  last  15  years.  Nigeria  presents  one  of 
the  most  striking. 

Nigeria  has  more  than  its  fair  share  of 
churches,  denominations,  and  independent 
groups  with  their  normal  and  sometimes  vir- 
ulent tensions.  Under  the  Lausanne  banner, 
most  of  these  diverse  groups  have  been  able 
to  come  together  for  four  congresses  focused 
on  the  evangelization  of  their  country.  A re- 
markable impetus  has  been  given  to  the 
growth  of  the  churches,  so  much  so  that  Ni- 
geria may  become  the  first  country  since  the 
birth  of  Islam  to  witness  the  growth  of  the 
Christian  population  beyond  that  of  the 
Muslim  population. 

This  is  bringing  its  own  tensions,  but  the 
solidarity  of  Christians  in  the  face  of  these  is 
little  short  of  miraculous.  These  dynamics 
would  have  almost  inconceivable  if  it  had 
not  been  for  the  Lausanne  Covenant  and  the 
congresses  it  brought  about. 

Another  example  of  the  effect  of  the  Lau- 
sanne banner  on  a wider  constituency  can  be 
seen  in  the  Nationwide  Initiative  in  Evangel- 
ism (NIE)  in  England  from  1978  to  1981. 
Methodists  who  attended  the  World  Council 
of  Churches  (WCQ  Assembly  in  Nairobi  in 
1976  came  back  and  asked  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury  to  convene  a group  of  Ecumeni- 
cal, Evangelicals,  and  Catholics  to  explore 
an  apparent  convergence  of  thought  about 
evangelization.  Such  a convergence  was  re- 
flected in  three  documents:  the  Lausanne 
Covenant;  the  Catholics’  “Evangelization  in 
the  Modem  World”;  and  the  WCC  “Confess- 
ing Christ  Today.”  A meeting  of  represen- 
tatives from  the  three  streams  did  take  place, 
with  at  least  three  results. 

First,  a census  of  all  England’s  churches 
was  taken  and  the  results  published — the 
first  study  of  its  kind  since  1851  and  the  ba- 
sis for  evangelistic  planning  by  many 
groups  in  recent  years.  Second,  a study 
group  of  five  ecumenical,  five  Catholic,  and 
five  evangelical  theologians  produced  a pa- 
per, “The  Faith  We  Affirm  Together,”  which 


greatly  clarified  where  tensions  were  present 
and  absent  between  these  three  groups. 
Third,  an  assembly  was  held  to  explore  how 
England  might  be  re-evangelized.  This  was 
a great  meeting,  but  it  had  little  direct  out- 
come, largely  because  leadership  changes  oc- 
curred within  some  of  the  denominations 
within  the  same  year. 

The  whole  process,  however,  made  a sig- 
nificant difference  in  Mission  England,  Billy 
Graham’s  1981-85  evangelistic  campaign, 
both  in  the  degree  of  co-operation  that  was 
accomplished  and  in  the  response  to  the  mes- 
sage which  was  forthcoming.  In  a way,  it 
extended  the  process  I have  described  as  tak- 
ing place  at  Lausanne  to  another,  more  local- 
ized, context. 

For  the  record,  I need  to  add  that  under  the 
banner  of  the  Covenant  significant  confer- 
ences have  taken  place  on  lifestyle,  the  ho- 
mogeneous unit  principle,  culture,  unreached 
peoples,  the  relationship  of  evangelism  and 
social  responsibility,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  and 
conversion.  In  all  of  these  the  same  dis- 
criminating methodology  has  been  employed 
to  widen  still  further  the  practical  application 
of  our  expanded  worldview. 

The  Subject 

The  words  in  the  Covenant  that  relate  to 
cooperation  were  a significant  help  towards 
its  realization.  It  blessed  the  “wide  diversity 
of  evangelistic  approaches.”  It  admitted  that 
we  have  some  “ecclesiastical  ghettos”  that 
we  need  to  get  out  of.  It  spoke  about 
churches  sometimes  being  in  bondage  to  cul- 
ture rather  than  to  Scripture.  It  admitted 
that  “visible  unity  is  in  God”s  purpose”  but 
was  also  quick  to  say  that  many  of  the  forms 
of  organizational  unity  do  not  necessarily 
forward  evangelism.  Individualism  was 
called  sinful  and  duplication,  needless. 

These  were  new  words  for  some  of  us  in  an 
evangelical  document. 

Maybe  the  most  daring  statement  was 
that  our  disunity  undermines  our  gospel  of 
reconciliation.  Time  is  proving  this  state- 
ment to  be  true.  It  is  becoming  apparent 
that  the  way  we  do  evangelism  actually  sows 
the  need  for  reconciliation  later  instead  of 
planting  the  means  of  reconciliation  later.  I 
understand  that  to  evangelize  is  to  get  a per- 
son to  receive  and  follow  Jesus  Christ.  On 
the  other  hand,  to  proselytize  is  to  present 
some  invitation  to  “join  us.”  By  these  defi- 
nitions, there  is  a fairly  strong  element  of 
proselytizing  in  a lot  of  our  evangelism.  It 
is  not  unnatural.  Fellowship  is  vital  for 


Commentary 


In  my  view,  the 
1974  congress 
saved  the  unity  of 
evangelicalism  in  a 
very  creative  and 
Biblical  way  and 
put  in  the  mix  a 
statement  to  which 
anyone  now  would 
have  a hard  time 
saying  “No." 


January-February  1989/13 


Commentary 


To  me  the 
unrecognized 
genius  of  the 
Lausanne 
Covenant  is  that  it 
makes  cooperation 
essential.  The 
Covenant,  if  it  is 
accepted  and 
followed,  makes  it 
inevitable  that  we 
start  to  have  a 
Christian  vision  for 
where  we  are 
placed. 


14/Mission  Frontiers 


Christian  growth.  The  local  church  is  a real- 
ity and  a necessity,  yet  it  tends  to  become  a 
box  that  is  hard  to  get  out  of  in  when  you 
want  to  relate  to  others  outside  the  box. 

In  some  countries,  where  comity  arrange- 
ments led  to  people  from  a single  tribe  com- 
ing into  a single  denominational  box,  the 
gospel  of  reconciliation  really  is  affected  by 
our  disunity.  In  such  cases  we  have  very 
little  ability  to  affect  tribalism. 

In  the  face  of  that  kind  of  reality,  while  I 
welcome  the  Covenant’s  pleas  for  unity  in 
truth,  worship,  holiness,  and  mission,  they 
do  seem  to  be  a bit  weak,  and  yet,  by  impli- 
cation, all  the  elements  to  get  us  really  co- 
operating are  strongly  present  within  the 
Covenant 

We  all  know  that  cooperation  has  to  be  at 
different  levels  and  can  therefore  be  based  on 
different  criteria,  depending  on  the  objective. 
There  are  some  places  where  we  do  better  to 
have  separate  activities.  The  world  we  have 
to  reach  is  so  diverse  that  our  own  diversity 
must  be  appropriated  to  reach  it. 

There  are  some  areas  where  we  at  least 
need  to  know  what  others  are  doing  while  we 
do  our  own  thing.  I,  for  example,  eventual- 
ly realized  that  I could  not  pray  for  revival 
only  for  our  own  church.  The  local  church 
is  not  our  local  denominational  church  but 
the  aggregate  of  true  believers  in  any  given 
geographical  locale.  It  is  the  whole  that 
must  be  renewed  and  grow,  not  just  our  part 
especially  at  the  expense  of  others. 

We  had  to  work  out  a way  of  giving 
meaning  to  this  truth.  It  led  to  a weekly 
contact  with  some  at  least  of  my  brother 
pastors  to  make  sure  that  their  struggles  and 
triumphs  were  regularly  shared  with  our  peo- 
ple in  the  weekly  prayer  bulletin.  Now  that 
was  not  cooperation,  but  it  did  lead  to  the 
kind  of  strategic  planning  that  the  Covenant 
calls  for  and  it  reduced  duplication. 

Then  there  are  areas  where  we  need  joint 
activity  in  the  pursuit  of  common  goals. 

Francis  Schaeffer  used  to  say  that  it’s  possi- 
ble to  be  co-belligerents  even  when  we  can- 
not be  allies. 

To  me  the  unrecognized  genius  of  the 
Lausanne  Covenant  is  that  it  makes  coopera- 
tion essential.  Let  me  put  it  this  way:  the 
Covenant,  if  it  is  accepted  and  followed, 
makes  it  inevitable  that  we  start  to  have  a 
Christian  vision  for  where  we  are  placed. 

That  vision  will  include  belonging  to  a 
church  that  is  winning  people  to  Christ  and 
Rowing  in  numbers,  character,  understand- 
ing of  the  truth,  internal  and  external  rela- 


tionships, and  impact  on  the  community. 
We  will  be  supportive  of  those  who  are  try- 
ing to  clean  up  and  operate  the  political 
units  to  which  we  belong.  We  will  be  ac- 
tive in  caring  about  the  relief  and  develop- 
ment of  the  poor  in  our  neighborhood,  and 
we  will  be  contributing  money  and  people 
for  evangelistic  and  social  purposes  in  other 
countries  as  yet  unreached  by  the  gospel. 

Now  if  that  is  the  vision,  we  cannot  do  it 
on  our  own.  We  need  to  cooperate  with  all 
other  Christians  in  the  same  place.  If,  how- 
ever, our  vision  is  more  limited  and  we  are 
only  looking  for  converts  and  new  members 
for  our  church,  of  course  we  don”t  need  oth- 
ers. In  fact,  we  can  probably  manage  better 
without  them. 

The  Challenge 

Clearly,  the  Lausanne  Covenant  gave  us  a 
bigger  umbrella  of  a worldview  under  which 
we  could  shelter  together  against  the  storms 
that  beset  those  who  undertake  the  work  of 
evangelization.  Some  of  us,  however, 
would  like  to  take  out  some  of  the  panels  of 
this  umbrella,  a prospect  that  would  bring 
discomfort  to  us  all.  As  we  move  towards 
Manila,  I believe  we  need  to  work  more  at 
realizing  all  the  cover  that  our  Covenant 
gives  us  and  to  open  ourselves  even  more  to 
cooperation  in  evangelism  wherever  it  will 
help  us  to  realize  our  Christian  vision  for 
our  city,  our  country,  and  the  world. 

As  I see  it,  we  need  to  give  special  atten- 
tion to  such  areas  as:  genuine  acceptance  of 
evangelism  and  sociopolitical  involvement 
as  two  parts  of  our  Christian  duty;  coopera- 
tion between  those  who  have  different  views 
on  the  person  and  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit; 
the  degree  and  the  areas  of  cooperation  with 
ecumenicals  and  Roman  Catholics;  and  some 
rapprochement  on  the  issue  of  the  roles  of 
women  in  evangelization. 

I do  not  think  we  need  a new  umbrella.  I 
do  think  we  need  to  appreciate  the  umbrella 
we  have  and  not  act  as  though  we  did  not 
have  it.  Otherwise  we  will  get  uncomforta- 
bly wet  and  correspondingly  ineffective. 

To  obtain  copies  of  the  Lausanne  Coven- 
ant ( excerpted  on  the  following  page),  a 
more  extensive  exposition  of  the  Covenant, 
or  further  information  about  the  July  1989 
“Lausanne  II”  congress  in  Manila,  write  to: 
Lausanne  Committee  for  World  Evangeliza- 
tion, 5950  Fairview  Rd.,  Ill  Fairview  Plaza, 
Suite  202,  Charlotte,  NC  28210,  USA.  ■ 


Resources 


To  Get  the  Flavor. . . 

Choice  Phrases  from  the  Lausanne  Covenant 

Introduction 

...  We  are  deeply  stirred  by  what  God  is  doing  in  our  day,  moved  to 

evMeeUza^on111  fd  challenged  by  the  unfinished  task  of 

evangelization....  We  are  determined  by  his  grace  to  obey  Christ’s  commission 

to  proclaim  [the  gospel]  to  all  mankind  and  to  make  disciples  of  every  nation. 

1.  The  Purpose  of  God 

his  nSDle^kTnro  !hng  °U‘m  0nL?u  W°rld  a people  for  himself,  and  sending 
exrePn^nn  of  hk  l ? wo[,dtobe  h>s  servants  and  his  wimesses,  for  the 
hfs  name  ? h kingdom’ the  budding  up  of  Christ's  body,  and  the  glory  of 

2.  The  Authority  and  Power  of  the  Bible 

thC  P?wLer  of  God's  word  t0  accomplish  his  purpose  of 
. message  of  the  Bible  is  addressed  to  all  mankind...  Through  it 

eve^,f  F™SP  l SpCakS  toda£  Te  illumines  the  mind  of  God's  peopled 
eiy  culture  to  perceive  its  truth  freshly  through  their  own  eyes  and  thus 
discloses  to  the  whole  Church  ever  more  of  the  many-colored^, sdomofGod. 

3.  The  Uniqueness  and  Universality  of  Christ 

...  Jesus  Christ  has  been  exalted  above  every  other  name;  we  long  for  the 
y when  every  knee  shall  bow  to  him  and  every  tongue  shall  confess  him. 

4.  The  Nature  of  Evangelism 

„T°  evangelize  is  to  spread  the  good  news  that  Jesus  Christ  died  for  our  sins 
rdmTne I ^dh^T the .dead  according  to  the  Scriptures,  and  that  as  the 
[he8S^  ?nh  u °fferS  ^forgiveness  of  sins  and  the  liberating  gift  of 
the  Spirit  to  all  who  repent  and  believe....  In  issuing  the  gospel  invitation  we 
have  no  liberty  to  conceal  the  cost  of  discipleship....  The  results  of  evangelism 

» “i°„  to  w"S”  St  ™°  Chtoh  and  responsible 

5.  Christian  Social  Responsibility 

...  When  people  receive  Christ  they  are  bom  again  into  his  kingdom  and 

ofZ  urSgC°u1CridXhibit  bUt  3150 10  Spre3d  “S  nghte°USness  in  the  ™dst 

To  get  the  entire 
text  of  this  globally- 
accepted  modern 
statement  of  the 
Christian  faith,  ask 
for  your  free  copy 
of  The  Lausanne 
Covenant:  An 
Exposition  and 
Commentary.  Also 
write  for  a 
subscription  to  the 
most  desirable  of 
all  free 
periodicals — 
World 

Evangelization,  the 
magazine  of  the 
Lausanne 
Committee  for 
World 

Evangelization. 

6.  The  Church  and  Evangelism 

io, peT"toESwS"  Wh0"  “ “ “te  “>« 

7.  Cooperation  in  Evangelism 

and  n^«;nndw.0UrSel^S  ? SCf  3 deePer  unity  in  worship,  holiness 

- f We  urge  die  development  of  regional  and  functional 
cooperation  for  the  furtherance  of  the  Church's  mission,  for  strategic  planning 
for  mutual  encouragement,  and  for  the  sharing  of  resources  and  expenence.  8’ 

Send  orders  and  inquiries  to: 
LCWE 

5950  Fair  view  Road 
III  Fairview  Plaza 
Suite  202 

Charlotte,  NC  28210 
(704)554-6803 

January-February  1989/Page  15 

Unreached  Peoples 


Adapted  by  permission  from  "A 
Call  to  Prayer:  Muslims  in 
I Delhi"  and  "Muslims  in 
Bombay,  A Call  to  Prayer,  A 
Call  to  Action,"  by  Caleb 
Project.  Research  teams  from 
Caleb  Project  spent  three 
months  in  fall  1988  in  these 
two  cities. 


A Tale  of  Two  Cities 

Profiles  of  Muslim  Peoples 
in  Delhi  and  Bombay 


India,  a vast  land  of  unimaginable  diver- 
sity, is  known  as  a Hindu  nation.  Yet  not  all 
of  India’s  millions  bow  to  idols.  Hidden 
among  masses  of  Hindus,  and  virtually 
neglected  by  p, 
missionary 
efforts,  lie 
more  than  one 
hundred 
million 
Muslims. 

Some  unoffi- 
cial estimates 
suggest  that  as 
many 

Muslims  live 
in  India  as  in 
the  entire  Arab 
world!  In  the 
following 

pages  we  will  describe  some  of  the  Muslim 
communities  in  two  major  Indian  cities. 
Names  of  individuals  have  been  changed. 


DELHI 


Delhi,  the  capital  of  India,  displays  the 
diversity  and  contrasts  of  a modernizing  third 

world  urban 
center. 

Imported  cars 
and  city 
buses  share 
crowded 
streets  with 
horse-drawn 
carts  and 
wandering 
cows.  People 
of  varying 
languages, 
educational 
levels,  and 
cultures 

migrate  to  Delhi  from  all  over  India,  drawn 
by  both  economic  and  educational  opportuni- 
ties. Temples  of  all  shapes  and  sizes,  scat- 


1 6/Mission  Frontiers 


tered  steeples  of  ancient  churches,  and 
myriads  of  mosque  minarets  reflect  the  relig- 
ious diversity  in  this  metropolis  of  eight 
million  people. 

More  than  one  million  of  these  people 
are  Muslims.  Unlike  nominal  Muslims  in 
countries  where  they  are  the  majority,  many 
Delhi  Muslims  are  devout  adherents  to 
Islam.  When  the  call  to  prayer  sounds  out 
across  the  city  five  times  a day,  many  men 
head  for  the  mosques  ^ith  white  caps  on  for 
prayer.  Women  at  home  faithfully  read  their 
Quran  and  bow  in  prayer  toward  Mecca. 

Even  so,  a caste  system  and  the  use  of 
charms  and  spiritual  mediators  indicate  the 
influence  of  Hinduism  on  Indian  Islam. 

Dehli  Muslims  themselves,  however, 
display  vast  diversities.  Cultural,  educa- 
tional, and  economic  differences  divide  them 
into  distinct  groups  with  limited  interaction. 
Separate  church-planting  efforts  are  needed  if 
all  these  groups  are  to  be  reached. 

In  a sense,  all  North  Indian  Muslims 
look  to  Delhi  as  the  focal  point  of  Islam. 
Because  of  this,  if  a church  movement  were 
birthed  among  Dehli’s  Muslims,  it  could 
well  ripple  across  the  more  than  one  hundred 
million  Muslims  of  India. 

Old  Delhi  Muslims 

Old  Delhi  is  well  known  as  the  tradi- 
tional Muslim  sector  of  the  city.  The  largest 
mosque  in  India  is  located  at  its  center,  and 
within  its  neighborhoods  can  be  found  fami- 
lies whose  ancestors  walked  these  same 
streets  400  years  ago. 

Many  Old  Delhi  Muslims  pray  daily  at 
the  mosque.  Their  Islamic  steadfastness  is 
seen  in  their  high  regard  for  the  Quran  and 
its  teachings.  The  women  almost  always 
wear  the  bourdka , a black  veil  that  covers 
from  head  to  foot  for  modesty.  Children  also 
go  to  the  mosque  regularly  to  learn  how  to 
pray  and  chant  the  Quran  in  Arabic. 

New  Delhi  Muslims 

Whereas  Old  Delhi  Muslim  families  trace 
their  city  roots  back  centuries,  most  of  the 
200,000  Muslims  in  New  Delhi  are  middle- 
class  families  who  arrived  in  the  city  some 
time  within  the  past  forty  years.  Seeking 
new  educational  and  occupational  opportuni- 
ties, New  Delhi  Muslims  usually  settle  near 
a major  Muslim  university  in  the  suburbs. 

Many  New  Delhi  Muslims  believe  the 
study  of  Islam  is  an  important  part  of  their 
education.  Even  though  they  are  financially 


successful  and  modernizing,  they  still 
choose  to  devoutly  follow  the  Islamic  faith 
and  practices.  Their  high  morals  and 
community  concern  have  earned  them  the 
respect  of  other  Muslims  in  Delhi. 


Unreached  Peoples 


^ - vU 


A breakthrough  among  New  Delhi 
Muslims  may  well  have  long-reaching 
effects.  They  have  strong  influence  on  the 
education  and  direction  of  the  younger  gener- 
ation. Because  of  their  good  reputation  and 
strong  family  ties  in  various  North  Indian 
towns,  an  exciting  spread  of  the  gospel 
could  occur  if  New  Delhi  Muslims  came  to 
Christ. 

East  Delhi  Muslims 

Across  the  Jamuna  River,  away  from  the 
bustling  centers  of  Old  and  New  Delhi,  lies 
East  Delhi,  a newly  settled  and  generally 
despised  area.  Here  thousands  of  Muslim 
migrants  find  low-cost  housing  for  their 
families. 

Thirty  to  forty  thousand  middle-class 
Muslim  businessmen  are  drawn  to  East 
Delhi  by  opportunities  to  make  money.  The 
owners  of  small  manufacturing  or  retail 
enterprises,  they  seldom  interact  with 
Muslims  across  the  river  and  mostly 
befriend  other  East  Delhi  businessmen. 
However,  their  closest  ties  remain  with  rela- 
tives in  the  villages  from  which  they  have 
come. 

East  Delhi  Muslims  can  read  and  write — 
unlike  their  illiterate,  hired  workers.  But 
they  are  less  educated  and  more  traditional 
than  modernized  Muslims  settling  in  New 
Delhi.  East  Delhi  Muslims  are  more 
concerned  with  immediate  financial  success 
than  with  higher  education.  Because  of  these 
values,  other  Delhi  Muslims  consider  East 
Delhi  businessmen  to  be  uncultured  and 
ignorant. 


If  a church 
movement  were 
birthed  among 
Delhi’s  Muslims,  it 
could  well  ripple 
across  the  more 
than  one  hundred 
million  Muslims  of 
India. 


January-February  1989/17 


Unreached  Peoples 


Javed  of  East  Delhi 

Javed  is  one  of  these  businessmen. 
Bom  in  a district  about  100  kilometers 
from  Delhi,  he  came  to  Delhi  when  in 
his  thirties  and  soon  began  a wholesale 


KEYS  TO  BARRIERS 

ED:  Education 
ECON:  Economic 
REL:  Religion 
R.O.:Region  of  Origin 


spice  business.  He  has  hired  young 
men  from  his  village  to  transport 
goods  from  farmers  to  his  shop. 

When  in  Delhi,  Javed’s  workers 
sleep  in  the  warehouse,  while  he  lives 
upstairs  with  his  wife  and  six  children. 
All  the  children  work  in  the  fcroily 
business  after  school.  His  oldest  son  is 
in  his  last  year  of  high  school  and 
hopes  someday  to  take  over  the  family 
business. 

Javed  and  his  family  practice  a less- 
than-orthodox  Islam.  They  believe  that 
charms  worn  around  their  necks  will 
break  curses  and  overcome  sickness. 
With  the  help  of  local  Muslim  holy 
men,  they  seek  to  outsmart  or  escape 


n 


invisible  powers. 


People  Groups 
and 

Barriers  of  Delhi 


At  least  seven  different  people 
groups  can  be  found  in 

Delhi.  Each  group,  f oid-Delhi 
represented  in  this 

diagram  by  an  ellipse,  is  R 

separated  from  other  groups  by 
various  barriers;  these 
barriers  hinder  f Laborers 

communication  and 
effective 

evangelism  across 
groups. 


Poor  Laborers 

Poor  laborers  make  up  approximately 
35%  of  Delhi’s  Muslims,  making  them  the 
largest  group  of  unreached  Muslims  in 
Delhi.  These  unskilled  and  semi-skilled 
laborers  make  up  the  lowest  economic  class. 
Many  spend  twelve  hours  a day  performing 
grueling  manual  labor.  Others  sell  vegetables 
from  a cart  or  work  in  small  factories.  Some 
seek  a better  life,  yet  few  rise  above  their 
low  status.  Most  have  lost  hope  of  ever 
escaping  mundane,  low-  paying  jobs. 

Many  laborers  come  to  Delhi  from 
villages  in  surrounding  states.  They  either 
sleep  in  the  factory  where  they  work  or  rent  a 
small  room  with  other  workers.  Their  earn- 
ings, which  are  sent  back  to  families,  are 
much  more  than  they  could  make  in  the 
villages.  They  try  to  visit  their  families  as 
often  as  possible,  and  eventually  they  move 
their  families  to  Delhi,  where  they  usually 
live  in  small  thatched  huts  or  rented  rooms. 
These  shelters  seldom  provide  electricity  or 
plumbing. 

These  labor- 
ers have  little 
time  to  carry 
out  the  daily 
obligations  of  a 
good  Muslim. 

Many  also  lack 
knowledge  of 
Islamic  teach- 
ings and  add 
superstitions  to 
their  religious 
practices. 

Prayer  Focus  x_ 

0 The  Muslims  in  Delhi  are  committed  to 
their  Islamic  faith,  but  God  is  committed  to 
bringing  them  into  his  kingdom.  Pray  with 
power  for  God  to  break  the  stronghold  of 
Islam  (Mt.  16:18). 

0 Pray  for  the  salvation  of  India’s  highest 
Islamic  leader,  Shahi  Imam  Buchari , living 
in  Delhi. 

0 A movement  beginning  in  Delhi  could 
turn  North  India  upside  down.  Pray  for  a 
powerful  Muslim  convert  church  to  arise  in 
Delhi  among  those  with  the  greatest 
potential  to  influence  other  Muslims. 

0 Pray  that  God’s  people  would  take 
advantage  of  the  Delhi  Muslims’  rare 
openness  to  Christians. 


18/Mission  Frontiers 


BOMBAY 


Diverse  Muslim  Cultures 

"There  are  one  and  one-half  million 
Muslims  in  Bombay... and  only  a handful  of 
persecuted,  scattered  converts.  No  church  has 
yet  been 


effective  in 
reaching  out 
to  them,” 
laments  a 
leading 
national 
Christian. 

Churches 
in  Bombay 
are  filled  with 
Catholics  and 
converted 
Hindus,  but 
devoid  of 

converted  Muslims.  Ever  since  the  Muslims 
invaded  India  800  years  ago,  the  situation 
has  remained  the  same:  no  generation  of 
Muslims  has  yet  been  reached  with  the 
gospel.  The  need  for  compassionate, 
committed  Christians  to  live  and  share  the 
good  news  with  Bombay  Muslims  is  great, 
but  no  one  is  doing  it. 

Each  day  thousands  of  Bombay  Muslims 
make  their  way  to  mosques  to  pray.  Islam 
teaches  them  to  ceremonially  wash  before 
each  of  their  five  daily  prayers.  Many  of 
these  Muslims  earnestly  seek  to  know  the 
one  true  God,  yet  they  fail  to  recognize  their 
need  for  an  intercessor  between  man  and 
God.  They  reject  the  idea  that  to  be  clean 
before  God,  men  must  be  washed  in  Christ’s 
blood.  Unknowingly,  they  are  following  a 
path  that  leads  to  eternity  apart  from  God! 

So  each  day  the  process  continues. . . 
Bombay’s  Muslims  making  their  way  to 
their  mosques,  washing  five  times  a day,  but 
never  really  becoming  clean.  Several  cultu- 
rally distinct  Muslim  groups  live  in  this  city 
of  ten  million  people.  They  include: 

The  Memons 

In  the  15th  century  700  families 
converted  from  Hinduism  to  Islam  and  then 
endured  severe  persecution.  Today  their 
descendants  are  known  as  Memons.  The 
50,000  Memons  in  Bombay  are  highly 
respected  for  their  great  faith,  community 
identity,  and  business  success.  There  are  no 
Memons  known  to  be  followers  of  Jesus, 
and  the  tight  community  structure  would 
make  it  extremely  difficult  for  a few 


Memons  to  stand  alone  if  they  were  to 
choose  such  a path.  What  is  needed  is  a mass 
movement  to  Christ,  similar  to  the 
Memons'  past  movement  to  Islam. 

For  500  years  Memons  have  followed 
Islam.  Today  they  remain  untouched  by  the 

Gospel.  Will 
another  500 
years  pass 
before  they 
have  an 
opportunity 
to  follow 
Christ?  Not 
necessarily. 
Memon 
churches 
could  become 
a reality.  If 
the  Indian 
church  and 

Christians  throughout  the  world  will  whole- 
heartedly seek  God  on  their  behalf,  thousands 
of  Memons  could  well  decide  to  follow 
Jesus.  Rev.  7:9  promises  that  there  will  be 
Memons  before  the  throne  of  God.  Pray  this 
into  being! 


Unreached  Peoples 


The  Chaiwalta 


■ 

Family 


mm 


Living  in  the  very  heart  of  the 
Memon  community  in  Bombay,  the 
Chaiwalla  family 
eagerly  express  their 
pride  in  being  Cutchi 
Memons.  Mrs.  Chai- 
walla, a widow  of  15 
years,  is  a teacher  at  a 
Muslim  school.  Deeply 
respected  and  obeyed  by 
her  children,  she  has 
taught  them  a real  love 
for  life.  But  their  hopes 
and  dreams  for  the 
future,  aJong  with  the 
emptiness  of  Islam, 
will  not  satisfy  their 
spiritual  thirst.  They 
are  in  desperate  need  of 
living  water. 

Prayer  Requests 
0 Pray  for  the  hundreds  of  Memon 
families  like  the  Chaiwalfas. 

OPray  for  a turning  to  Christ  and 
the  emergence  of  a growing,  vibrant 
church  among  the  Memons. 


January-February  1989/19 


Unreached  Peoples 


bound  by  the  restrictions  of  normal  family 
life.  This  freedom,  coupled  with  the  loneli- 
ness of  separation  from  family,  makes 
migrants  ripe  for  the  gospel. 

The  Bohras 

Perhaps  the  most  distinct  Muslim  people 
group  in  Bombay  are  the  50,000  Bohras. 
Their  spiritual  leader  is  the  Syedna , a man 
who  must  approve  of  all  marriages,  business 
endeavors,  and  other  major  decisions  within 
the  community.  The  Syedna  demands 
complete  allegiance  from  his  followers  and 
requires  blind  faith  in  his  decisions.  But 
many  Bohras  are  beginning  to  question  his 
integrity  and  ethics,  and  unrest  and  discon- 
tent are  therefore  on  the  increase  within  this 
people  group. 


20/Mission  Frontiers 


The  Isna  Ashrl 


Approximately 
400,000  followers 
of  the  evangelistic 
Shia  Isna  Ashri  sect 
of  Islam  live  in 
Bombay.  Many  are 
Iranians  who  highly 
revere  the  Ayatollah 
Khomeini  among 
other  leaders.  They 
consider  themselves 
the  only  true 
Muslims,  but  most 
are  not  as  fanatical 
as  their  counterparts 
in  Iran. 

“His  Holiness”  Al-Moosavi  Saheb  heads 
the  Shia  Isna  Ashri  sect  for  all  India  and 
southeast  Asia.  He  maintains  personal 
contact  with  Khomeini  and  in  his  friendly, 
personable  way  serves  as  administrator  and 
spiritual  leader  for  this  Muslim  sect  in 
Bombay.  He  has  persuaded  Muslims  from 
other  sects  to  become  Shia  Isna  Ashri  and 
has  stated  his  regret  that  money  is  not  pres- 
ently available  to  send  out  foreign  mission- 
aries. 


The  Malayans 


Nevertheless, 
there  is  reason  for 
hope  for  the  thou- 
sands of  Malayalis 
and  other  Muslim 
migrants  in 
Bombay.  Compared 
to  others,  they  have  an  amazing  amount  of 
freedom  in  their  lives  since  they  are  not 


The  quarter  million  Malayalis  are  proba- 
bly the  most  prominent  group  of  migrants 
in  Bombay.  They  speak  Malayalam  in  a 
world  of  Urdu-speaking  Muslims.  Eighty 
percent  are  men  who,  leaving  their  families 
behind,  migrate  to  Bombay,  determined  to 
make  money.  They  live  crammed  together, 
fifteen  to  twenty  in  a single  room  (a  lati ) and 
save  their  rupees  to  support  their  wives  and 
children,  whom  they  may  only  see  once 
every  ten  months.  Even  though  there  are 
many  Malayali  churches  in  Bombay,  there  is 
a cultural  chasm  between  Malayalam  Chris- 
tians and  Malayalan  Muslims,  which  no 
Muslim  can  cross 


without  commit- 
ting social  suicide. 


My  Friend  Mohammed 


Each  time  I passed  Mohammed’s 
coconut  stall,  he  would  joyfully  greet 
me, “Salaam alaikum'  (peace  be  upon 
you),  the  universal  Muslim  greeting. 
He  would  then  pull  up  a little  stool, 
and  slash  open  a fresh  coconut  for  me 
to  drink,  indignantly  refusing  my  three 
rupees  payment.  Five  tiroes  a day  he 
would  shut  down  his  stall,  don  his 
white  prayer  cap,  and  walk  a half  mile 
to  the  nearest  mosque  to  pray. 

Prayer  Requests 

0 Pray  for  Mohammed,  his  young 
wife,  and  family  back  in  Kerala.  Pray 
that  they  would  hunger  for  a personal 
relationship  with  the  one  true  God 
through  Christ  Jesus. 

0 Pray  Acts  26: 1 8 for  Mohammed, 
that  his  eyes  would  be  opened  so  that 
he  may  turn  from  darkness  to  light  and 
from  the  dominion  of  Satan  to  God,  in 
order  that  he  may  receive  forgiveness 
of  sins. 


Unreached  Peoples 


A lone  Bohra  Believer 

Farida  pays  a high  price  for  remain- 
ing steadfast  in  her  decision  to  follow 
Christ.  Her  mother  threatens  suicide  if 
Farida  fellowships  with  other  believ- 
ers. Wider  knowledge  of  her  conver- 
sion could  result  in  expulsion  from  her 
family  in  a society  in  which  family  is 
everything.  If  expelled,  little  hope 
remains  for  her  family  and  other 
Bohras  in  the  community  to  see  a rele- 
vant witness  of  a new  life  in  Christ. 
;■■■■ 


Prayer  Requests 

0 Pray  that  Farida  and  those  disci- 
pling  her  would  continually  seek  the 
Lord  as  they  grapple  with  tough  issues 
of  a Bohra  following  Christ. 

0 Pray  for  laborers  to  be  raised  up 
to  plant  a culturally  relevant  church 
among  the  Bohras. 


THE  INDIAN 
CHURCH 


Over  the  centuries  God  has  made  the  name 
of  his  Son  known  in  India.  The  church  has 
existed  in  South  India  for  many  years.  Recent 
revivals  among  tribals  in  Northeast  India 
brought  many  to  faith  in  Christ.  Although 
much  has  happened  to  give  God  glory  in 
these  places,  Jesus  is  not  honored  as  Lord  in 
most  of  North  India. 

The  church  in  Delhi  and  Bombay  has  a 
largely  traditional  and  Western  flavor.  Many 
churches  show  little  signs  of  life,  and  few 
have  organized  outreaches.  Some  fellowships 
are  growing,  rarely  because  of  conversions, 
but  mostly  due  to  South  Indian  Christians 
moving  to  these  cities.  Several  Christian 
communities  exist,  but  they  lack  a concern 
for  reaching  their  Muslim  neighbors. 

The  few  evangelical  churches  in  Delhi  and 
Bombay  do  desire  to  see  Muslims  come  to 
Christ,  but  they  spend  most  of  their  effort  on 


feeding  those  within  the  flock.  Most  evan- 
gelistic outreach  is  focused  on  those  who  arc 
Christian  by  heritage,  not  by  faith.  Some 
believers  may  desire  to  reach  out  to 
Muslims,  but  they  do  not  know  how  to 
begin. 

Even  if  Muslims  did  find  Christ,  they 
would  not  fit  into  the  culture  of  existing 
churches.  By  becoming  Christians,  Muslims 
would  be  forced  unnecessarily  to  leave  their 
culture  and  embrace  a “Christian”  one.  In 
turn,  Indian  Christians  have  historically  been 
suspicious  of  any  Muslim  who  turns  to 
Jesus.  The  prevailing  attitude  is  that 
Muslims  will  always  resist  the  gospel,  and 
that  those  who  profess  to  believe  are  proba- 
bly insincere.  Also,  most  Indian  Christians 
do  not  see  the  need  for  Muslim  converts  to 
have  churches  that  are  culturally  suitable  for 
them.  Mission  agencies  run  by  South  Indian 
Christians  are  doing  solid  cross-cultural 
work.  But  as  yet,  none  are  known  to  have 
targeted  Muslims  in  their  work. 

Prayer  Requests 

0 Dream  with  God  about  an  awakened 
Church  in  India  and  the  creation  of  new 
churches  for  Muslims. 

0 Pray  that  God  might  cause  the  Church 
in  Delhi  and  Bombay  to  be  bom  afresh  with 
life  and  vigor. 

0 Pray  the  Indian  Church  will  reach  out 
to  her  Muslim  neighbors  with  love  and 
sensitivity. 

0 Pray  that  Indian  believers  will  leam 
how  to  share  Jesus  in  a way  that  it  will  be 
“great  news”  for  the  Muslims. 

0 Pray  that  believers  will  live  in  a way 
that  brings  glory  to  God  and  makes  Christ 
known. 


To  obtain  the  Delhi  or  Bombay 
prayer  booklets  excerpted  in  this 
article,  send  $2.50  for  each  booklet 
(includes  postage  and  handling).  More 
complete  strategy  reports,  intended  for 
limited  circulation,  are  also  available. 
For  orders,  inquiries,  and  further  infor- 
mation on  opportunities  for  prayer  or 
involvement,  contact: 

Caleb  Project 
P.O,  Box  40455 
Pasadena,  CA  91114 
(818)  398-2121 


Although  much  has 
happened  to  bring 
God  glory  in  South 
India  and 
Northeastern 
India,  Jesus  is  not 
honored  as  Lord  in 
most  of  North  India. 


January-February  1989/21 


Missions  in  the  Bible 


It  is  not  our  normal 
task  to  discuss  the 
merits  and 
demerits  of  study 
Bibles.  But  the 
Great  Commission 
is  based  in  the 
Bible.  Indeed,  it  is 
the  basis  of  the 
Bible.  If,  on  this 
subject,  these  two 
widely-used  study 
Bibles  give  an 
uncertain  sound, 
then  we  can 
believe  that  a 
whole  lot  more  in 
our  evangelical 
tradition  may  be 
uncertain  about 
what  is  or  what 
ought  to  be  the 
central  focus  of  the 
Christian  faith. 


Page  22/Mission  Frontiers 


Two  Great  Study  Bibles 
— and  Missions 

—Ralph  D.  Winter 


It  is  wonderful  how  many  study  Bibles 
are  in  use  these  days.  Here  are  two  which 
have  very  widespread  backing.  But  how 
well  will  readers  of  these  Bibles  catch  on  to 
the  mission  theme  which  is  basic  to  the 
Bible?  Not  very  well,  although  both  have 
something  to  offer. 

The  NIV  Study  Bible  has  got  to  be  one  of 
the  most  monumental  achievements  in  mod- 
em times. 

One  reason  it  was  now  possible  is  be- 
cause never  in  history  has  there  been  a larg- 
er, more  financially  capable  mass  of  Bible- 
reading  people  than  there  is  in  the  U.S.  to- 
day. This  enables  the  huge,  advance  finan- 
cial investment  necessary  to  produce  Hercu- 
lean efforts  of  this  kind. 

Only  enormous  teamwork  could  have 
produced,  first,  the  new  translation,  the 
NIV — which  is  a story  in  itself — and  then 
the  extensive  study  apparatus  of  this  particu- 
lar study  Bible. 

$22  Bargains 

Just  think,  both  Bibles  have  practically  a 
seminary  education  built  into  their  foot- 
notes! And,  to  be  able  to  buy  them  for  a lit- 
tle over  $20 — when  a single  course  in  semi- 
nary would  cost  $250. 

What  you  get  in  the  case  of  the  NTV 
Study  Bible  is  over  2000  pages,  35  charts,  di- 
agrams and  drawings,  57  maps,  20,000 
study  notes  (its  most  remarkable  asset), 
35,000  concordance  references,  100,000 
cross-reference  entries,  etc. 

But  What  Do  They  Say?  . 

No  longer  do  huge  numbers  of  people 
use  the  long-famous  Scofield  Reference 
Bible.  It  helped  many  people,  and  Scofield 
was  himself  a highly  mission-minded  man. 
He  helped  found  the  Central  American  Mis- 
sion, for  example.  But  what  does  the  Sco- 
field Bible  say  about  missions?  Absolutely 
nothing.  It  faithfully  traces  280  themes  by 
chain  reference  throughout  the  Bible,  not 
one  of  which  has  anything  to  do  with  Mis- 
sions. The  NIV  Study  Bible  does  only  a little 
better.  The  Disciple' s Study  Bible  is  sub- 
stantially better. 

A Quite  Different  Bible 

The  latter  also  employs  the  NIV  text  and 
the  same  cross-references.  But  otherwise  it 
is  a quite  different  type  of  study  Bible.  Its 


comments  at  the  bottom  of  each  page  refer 
in  every  case  to  one  of  27  major  Bible  doc- 
trines, a virtual  systematic  theology  which 
has  been  taught  for  some  years  in  the  Sun- 
day School  program  of  the  Southern  Baptist 
Convention. 

The  disadvantage  of  this  is  that  these 
comments  refer  you  away  from  the  text,  in 
one  sense.  The  advantage  is  that  specialists 
in  each  of  the  27  themes  contribute  the  great 
bulk  of  the  material  in  this  Bible,  rather  than 
scholars  in  the  text  itself.  The  result  is  re- 
markably different.  You  really  need  both 
Bibles,  the  one  to  comment  on  words  and 
phrases  in  the  text,  the  other  to  comment  on 
the  subjects  and  implications  of  the  text. 

In  ihe  Disciple’s  Study  Bible,  the  concor- 
dance is  one-third  as  large,  but  about  200 
pages  have  been  added,  the  large  sections 
covering  the  following: 

♦ 40  pages  of  “Summaries  of  the  (27) 
Doctrines”  (one  page  on  Missions) 

♦ 30  pages  on  “Histories  of  the  Doc- 
trines” (one  page  on  Missions) 

♦ 95  pages  of  “Life  Helps:  Relating 
Doctrine  to  Life”  (2.4  pages  on  Missions) 

♦ 28  pages  giving  the  chain  references 
for  the  27  doctrines.  Here  we  see  references 
to  missions  only  33  times  throughout  the 
Bible,  in  only  6 of  the  Old  Testament  books 
and  9 of  the  NT  books.  By  comparison,  un- 
der the  doctrine  “Christian  Ethics,”  there  are 
over  1,000  references,  giving  three  times  as 
many  to  “Property  Rights”  in  this  section  as 
are  given  to  the  entire  theme  of  Missions! 

But  despite  the  small  content,  since  mis- 
sion specialists  are  the  ones  dealing  with 
their  dimension  of  the  Bible,  the  Missions 
content  in  this  Bible  is  truly  superb.  See  the 
excerpts  on  the  opposite  page. 

Check  Your  Own  Bible 

See  how  your  own  study  Bible  introduc- 
es Genesis.  Look  up  what  is  said  beneath 
Genesis  12:1-3,  Exodus  19:3-6,  Psalms  67, 
Isaiah  49:6.  These  present  the  acid  test  for  a 
study  Bible.  In  each  case  the  Disciple's 
Study  Bible  comes  through  magnificently. 
The  NIV  Study  Bible  misses  out  almost  com- 
pletely on  the  middle  two,  although  it  has  an 
amazing  statement  under  Isa  49:6:  “Togeth- 
er with  Gen  12:3,  Ex  19:5-6,  this  verse  is 
sometimes  called  the  ‘great  commission  of 
the  Old  Testament.’”  Not  bad! 


Missions  in  the  Bible 


From  The  Disciple's  Study  Bible: 

(Produced  by  Holman  Bible  Publishers  and  the  Southern  Baptist  Sunday  School  Board) 

The  Outline  of  Genesis: 

Genesis:  The  Creator  Creates  a People 

I.  The  Nature  of  Human  Life  1:1-11:9 

II.  The  Mission  and  Nature  of  God’s  Family  1 1 : 10-50:26 

“Conclusions/Teaching”  (excerpts) 

“The  book  of  Genesis  expresses  how  God’s  people  received  their  identity 

. . .our  identity  centers  in  missions.  From  the  beginning  God  has  worked  to  bless 
all  peoples.  God’s  people  are  blessed  so  they  can  be  a blessing  to  all  nations.  God 
chose  or  elected  His  people  to  achieve  His  missionary  purpose. 

. . .Genesis  calls  God’s  people  today  to  understand  our  identity  anew.  We  are 
creatures  of  the  one  Creator  God.  As  such,  we  need  to  accept  responsibility  to  care  for 
the  world  God  created  for  us,  to  join  in  God’s  missionary  purpose  of  blessing  all  na- 
tions. and  to  live  as  faithful  family  members  of  God’s  people.” 

Study  Note  under  Genesis  12:1-3: 

“God’s  purpose  and  actions  provide  the  ultimate  source  for  our  missionary  teaching 
and  actions.  With  this  chapter  Genesis  moves  beyond  the  universal  primeval  history  of 
God’s  dealing  with  all  humankind.  ..(to)  a new  direction.  With  Abraham,  God  began  to 
carry  out  His  purpose  through  one  man,  his  family,  and  his  descendants.  While  He 
worked  through  one  family,  God  made  His  universal  purpose  clear.  He  wanted  to  bless 
the  whole  human  race.  In  faith  Abraham  accepted  God’s  challenging  call  and  provedja 
blessing  to  other  nations. . .Israel  often  forgot  their  blessings  were  for  the  purpose  of 
blessing  others. . .As  believers  we  can  follow  Abraham’s  faithful  example  or  easily  for- 
get we  have  been  blessed  to  bless  others. . .The  seed  thought  of  missions  is  here.  All  na- 
tions are  to  be  blessed  in  Christ  Jesus.” 

V J 


The  Southern 
Baptists  chose 
theme  specialists, 
each  commenting 
all  the  way  through 
the  Bible.  That 
way  each  theme 
was  safeguarded 
far  better  than  for 
general  Bible 
scholars  to  give 
notes  on  one  book 
at  a time.  The 
results  are  quite 
different. 


From  The  NIV  Study  Bible: 

The  Outline  of  Genesis: 

I.  Primeval  History  1:1-11:26 

II.  Patriarchal  History  ll::27-50:26 

“Theme  and  Message”  (excerpts) 

“Genesis  speaks  of  beginnings — of  the  heavens 
and  the  earth,  of  light  and  darkness,  of  seas  and  skies, 
of  land  and  vegetation,  of  sun  and  moon  and  stars,  of 
sea  and  air  and  land  animals,  of  human  beings  (made  in 
God’s  own  image,  the  climax  of  his  creative  activity), 
of  sin  and  redemption,  of  blessing  and  cursing,  of  socie- 
ty and  civilization,  of  marriage  and  family,  of  art  and 
craft  and  industry.  The  list  could  go  on  and  on. 

...(Genesis)  is  foundational  to  the  understanding 
of  the  rest  of  the  Bible.  Its  message  is  rich  and  com- 
plex, and  listing  its  main  elements  gives  a succinct  out- 
line of  the  Biblical  message  as  a whole.  It  is  supremely 
a book  of  relationships,  highlighting  those  between  God 
and  nature,  God  and  man,  and  man  and  man.  It  is  thor- 
oughly monotheistic,  taking  for  granted  that  there  is 
only  one  God  worthy  of  the  name  and  opposing  the  ide- 
as that  there  are  many  gods  (poloy theism),  that  there  is 
no  god  at  all  (atheism)  or  that  everything  is  divine 
(pantheism).  It  clearly  teaches  that  the  one  true  God  is 
sovereign  over  all  that  exists  (i.e.  his  entire  creation), 
and  that  by  divine  election  he  often  exercises  his  unlim- 
ited freedom  to  overturn  human  customs,  traditions  and 
plans.  It  introduces  us  to  the  way  in  which  God  ini- 
tiates and  make  covenants  with  his  chosen  people, 


pledging  his  love  and  faithfulness  to  them  and  calling 
them  to  promise  theirs  to  him.  It  establishes  sacrifice  as 
the  substitution  of  life  for  life.  It  gives  us  the  first  hint 
of  God’s  provision  for  redemption  from  the  forces  of 
evil  (compare  3:15  with  Ro.  16:17-20)  and  contains  the 
oldest  and  most  profound  definition  of  faith  (15:6). 
More  than  half  of  Heb  1 1 — the  NT  roll  of  the  faithful — 
refers  to  characters  in  Genesis. 

“Literary  Features”  (an  excerpt) 

...(God)  brings  out  of  the  fallen  human  race  a new 
humanity  consecrated  to  himself,  called  and  destined  to 
be  the  people  of  his  kingdom  and  the  channel  of  his 
blessing  to  the  whole  earth. 

Study  Note  under  Genesis  12:2-3: 

God’s  promise  to  Abram  has  a sevenfold  structure:  (1) 
“I  will  make  you  a great  nation,”  (2)  “I  will  bless  you,” 
(3)  “I  will  make  your  name  great,”  (4)  “you  will  be  a 
blessing,”  (5)  “I  will  bless  those  who  bless  you”  (6) 
“whoever  curses  you  I will  curse,”  and  (7)  “all  peoples 
on  earth  will  be  blessed  through  you.”  God’s  original 
blessing  on  all  mankind  (1:28)  would  be  restored  and 
fulfilled  through  Abram  and  his  offspring.  In  various 
ways  and  degrees,  these  promises  were  reaffirmed  to 
Abram... to  Isaac... to  Jacob... and  to  Moses.  The  sev- 
enth promise  is  quoted  in  Ac  3:25  with  reference  to  Pe- 
ter’s Jewish  listeners  (see  Ac  3:12) — Abram’s  physical 
descendants— and  in  Gal  3:8  with  reference  to  Paul’s 
Gentile  listeners— Abram’  spiritual  descendants. 


January-February  1989/Page  23 


Mobilization 


ACMC  Prepares  to  Mobilize 
6000  Churches  by  AD  2000 

— by  Mike  Pollard 


There  is  a fresh  move  of  God  on  a glo- 
bal level  emphasizing  the  completion  of 
world  evangelization  by  the  year  2000. 
Such  strategies  may  originate  at  the  mis- 
sion agency  level,  yet  personnel  and  fi- 
nances must  come  from  the  church.  The 
mobilization  of  the  North  American 
church  for  world  missions  has  never  been 
more  critical  than  at  this  time. 

Such  was  the  focus  of  the  manage- 
ment, regional  directors,  and  several  board 
members  of  the  Association  of  Church 
Missions  Committees  (ACMC)  when 
they  convened  January  4-7  in  Naperville, 
Illinois  to  assess  their  role  as  catalyst  for 
the  church’s  missions  involvement  during 
the  next  decade.  Ray  Howard,  Mountain 
States  Regional  Director,  left  the  retreat 
encouraged,  feeling  that  the  meeting  “was 
very  helpful  in  focusing  the  staff  and  re- 
sources of  ACMC  on  tackling  the  major 
task  of  mobilization  rather  than  just  on 
the  tasks  of  providing  resources  and  tools. 
We  made  a major  jump  in  our  vision.” 
Tom  Telford,  Northeast  Regional  Direc- 
tor, summed  up  the  meeting  by  noting, 
“ACMC  is  fifteen  years  old — a mere  teen- 
ager. At  this  meeting,  we  began  growth 
into  adulthood.” 

Possibly  the  most  significant  goal 
arising  from  the  retreat  was  that  of  re- 
cruiting 6000  churches  (2%  of  the  church- 
es in  North  America)  into  the  ACMC 
mobilization  movement  by  the  end  of 
this  century.  This  percentage  has  often 
proven  to  be  a “critical  mass”  number  re- 
quired to  begin  and  sustain  a significant 
movement.  Independent  task  forces  were 
assigned  to  report  by  June  1989  on 
ACMC’s  funding,  marketing,  manage- 
ment, publishing,  and  membership  needs. 
The  retreat  also  emphasized  ACMC’s  de- 
sire to  link  up  more  closely  with  the 
U.S.  Center  for  World  Mission  and  the 
Lausanne  Committee  for  World  Evangeli- 
zation. 

Those  attending  the  planning  retreat 
unanimously  affirmed  the  importance  of 

24/Mission  Frontiers 


serving  denominational  missions  pro- 
grams and  developing  more  significant  re- 
lationships with  denominational  leaders. 
The  majority  of  the  churches  in  North 
America  are  denominationally  affiliated, 
and  65%  of  ACMC’s  members  are  de- 
nominational churches.  In  the  past 
ACMC  has  been  branded  “for  independent 
churches”  that  have  no  access  to  denomi- 
national help  and  guidance  for  their  mis- 
sions programs.  Yet  ACMC  offers  help 
to  churches  that  denominational  headquar- 
ters may  be  unable  to  give.  Networking 
with  churches  of  other  denominations  and 
backgrounds  circulates  fresh  new  ideas 
which  can  positively  influence  the  denom- 
ination’s whole  program.  “We  don’t  want 
to  compete  with  denominational  missions 
programs  to  their  detriment  or  ours,”  says 
David  Mays,  Great  Lakes  Regional  Direc- 
tor. Ray  Howard  agrees:  “Most  certainly, 
we  want  to  build  missions  vision  along 
denominational  lines.  That’s  the  path  of 
least  resistance  and  greatest  effectiveness.” 

Bill  Waldrop,  ACMC’s  Executive  Di- 
rector, believes  the  ACMC  can  achieve  its 
goals,  but  not  without  a struggle.  Liken- 
ing the  North  American  church  to  the  Co- 
rinthian church  of  Biblical  times,  he  be- 
lieves the  North  American  church  “is  free 
and  wealthy,  but  has  been  seduced  by  its 
surrounding  culture.”  David  Mays  agrees: 
“People  (in  the  North  American  church) 
are  focused  on  their  own  personal  needs 
and  concerns.  That’s  expressed  in  the  way 
we  worship  and  pray,  in  the  substance  of 
our  curriculum.” 

Despite  the  Corinthian-like  culture  of 
the  late  twentieth  century  in  North  Ameri- 
ca, Waldrop  believes  God  is  developing 
churches  like  the  New  Testament  church 
at  Antioch.  Though  surrounded  by  a mate- 
rialistic, self-centered,  immoral  culture, 
the  Antioch  church  focused  its  vision  and 
efforts  outward.  Similar  churches  today 
will  provide  the  momentum  for  the 
ACMC  movement  of  this  decade.  “Such 
churches,”  he  says,  “while  not  neglecting 
the  personal  needs  of  their  own  people, 


Bill  Waldrop,  ACMC  Executive  Director 

call  them  to  personal  holiness,  local  out- 
reach, and  global  mission.” 

In  many  ways  ACMC  enjoys  distinct 
advantages  as  it  seeks  to  mobilize  local 
churches  for  world  evangelization. 
“Churches  are  comfortable  with  ACMC 
because  they  know  we’re  not  going  to  try 
to  conform  them  to  a model  that  works  in 
another  region,”  says  Tom  Tisher,  North- 
west Regional  Director.  David  Mays  ech- 
oes this  thought.  “We  don’t  have  the  stig- 
ma of  trying  to  sell  a program  to  the 
church.  We  come  to  churches  as  a net- 
working organization  of  their  peers.” 
Possibly  the  greatest  challenge  that 
awaits  ACMC  is  that  of  awakening 
churches  to  Scripture’s  missions  mandate, 
helping  them  see  the  job  is  not  yet  fin- 
ished. Says  Ray  Howard:  “The  church 
needs  to  realize  that  it  exists  to  reach  the 
the  whole  world.  We’ve  decided  to  cultu- 
rally interpret  John  3:16.”  He  continues: 
“The  church  has  the  primary  role  in  world 
evangelization.  Once  it  sees  the  job  isn’t 
done,  isn’t  optional,  and  doesn’t  belong 
to  somebody  else,  and  that  missions  is  a 
key  issue  in  its  obedience  to  Jesus,  then 
all  you  need  to  do  is  organize  the  troops.” 
For  more  information  on  ACMC  or 
the  ACMC  1989  national  conference 
( July  26-29),  contact  ACMC,  P.O.  Box 
ACMC,  Wheaton,  IL,  60189,  (312)  260- 

1660.  m 


Opportunities 


Snowbirds  Welcome! 

(and  Other  Volunteers,  Too) 

— by  Art  McCleary 


Southern  California  is  a nice  place  to 
be,  especially  in  the  wintertime.  Just  ask 
the  retired  couples  who  descend  on  our  cam- 
pus every  year  between  October  and  April! 
Most  are  members  of  the  Mobile  Missionary 
Assistance  Program  (MMAP)  and  come  with 
their  R-Vs  in  groups  of  eight  for  three  weeks 
at  a time.  A few  come  through  contact  with 
our  Personnel  Office  and  stay  longer. 

Just  to  let  you  know  that  such  volun- 
teers are  welcome  and  needed,  we’ve  added 
more  R-V  parking  spaces  and  converted  part 
of  our  dorm  into  furnished  efficiencies. 
Needed?  You  bet!  How  can  snowbirds  help 
at  the  Center?  Here  a few  examples: 

♦ Roger  and  Grace  Hamilton  of  Kansas 
work  in  the  office  of  the  International  Com- 
munity Development  department  at  our  Wil- 
liam Carey  International  University  (WCIU). 
Roger  is  a retired  college  professor  and  Grace 
a nurse.  They  expect  to  be  here  for  several 
months.  In  January,  they  went  to  Mexico 
for  two  weeks  with  a joint  class  from 
BIOL  A University  and  WCIU.  They  plan  to 
take  the  Perspectives  course  on  Tuesday 
evenings  this  spring. 

♦ Mendell  and  Sevilla  Smith  are  back 
again  this  year  from  Colorado  for  a couple  of 
months.  A retired  engineer,  Mendell  helps  in 
Graphics.  Sevilla,  a part-time  realtor,  vol- 
unteers in  the  mailroom. 

♦ Joyce  McKenzie,  a homemaker  from 
northern  California,  does  research  for  two 
agencies  on  campus:  Frontiers  and  the  Insti- 
tute of  Global  Urban  Studies. 

♦ Rags  and  Ronni  Ragland  helped  Wy- 
cliffe  Bible  Translators  for  ten  years  and  now 
want  to  promote  the  Perspectives  course 
back  home  in  Washington  state.  They  are 
volunteering  here  for  a few  months  and  tak- 
ing the  course  themselves.  A retired  forest- 
er, Rags  works  in  maintenance,  while  Ron- 
ni, an  registered  nurse,  works  in  our 
mailroom. 

♦ Lloyd  and  Naomi  Pfander  came  from 
central  California  to  look  us  over  for  two 
months.  They’ve  now  decided  to  stay  on  for 
a year  or  more.  Lloyd  taught  5th  grade  for 
many  years  and  Naomi  was  a school  admin- 


istrator. Lloyd  helps  us  here  in  the  cafeteria 
and  Naomi  at  Frontiers. 

♦ Carl  and  Jenny  Batchelor  served  here 
many  times  in  the  past  with  MMAP.  They 
live  nearby  and  both  work  in  the  mailroom 
at  different  times  each  year. 

♦ Edwin  and  Clara  Olsoe  came  for  two 
months  from  Washington.  He  is  a carpen- 
ter/cabinet  maker,  she  a homemaker.  Ed- 
win’s skill  is  needed  in  maintenance  and  Cla- 
ra is  a blessing  in  our  child-care  center. 

These  volunteers  enjoy  their  work  and 
count  it  a privilege  to  gather  with  us  each 
morning  to  share  what  God  is  doing  within 
the  Center  community.  Their  mission  vi- 
sion grows  further  on  Monday  mornings  and 
Thursday  evenings  as  they  hear  more  reports 
from  throughout  the  campus  and  around  the 
world.  And  the  generational  mix  inspires  all 
of  us! 

With  140  residential  units  and  twelve 
main  campus  buildings,  we  have  about  two 
million  dollars  worth  of  deferred  maintenance 
projects  waiting  for  people  like  you  or  oth- 
ers you  know.  We  can  use  painters,  plum- 
bers, electricians,  tree  trimmers,  upholster- 
ers, interior  decorators,  and  seamstresses  to 
repair  or  upgrade  dorm  rooms,  classrooms, 
houses,  offices,  auditorium  seat  cushions, 
drapes,  blinds,  and  much,  much  more. 

Agencies  and  departments  of  the  Center 
and  university  desperately  need  accountants, 
bookkeepers,  receptionists,  general  office 
clerks,  data  entry  clerks,  researchers,  pro- 
grammers, etc.  The  list  goes  on  and  on. 

Many  vital  ministries  are  crippled  due  to 
lack  of  staff.  Young  people  must  raise  sup- 
port to  work  here,  a process  which  often 
takes  several  months  and  which  can  be  more 
difficult  because  the  work  is  not  overseas. 

Most  positions  on  the  campus  can  be 
filled  by  self-supported  individuals  who  have 
good  health,  a desire  to  be  productive,  and  an 
ability  to  come  quickly.  Whether  you  come 
for  a month,  six  months,  or  two  years,  your 
services  can  make  an  eternal  difference! 

Get  in  on  a blessing.  Call 
Personnel  at  (818)  398-2330  to 
volunteer  your  services.  ■ 


Joyce  McKenzie,  a homemak- 
er from  northern  California, 
does  research  for  two  agencies 
on  the  USCWM  campus. 

USCWM 
volunteers  enjoy 
their  work,  and 
their  mission  vision 
grows  as  they  hear 
reports  of  what 
God  is  doing 
throughout  the 
campus  and 
around  the  world. 


January-February  1989/25 


MF  Book  Service 


"Concise,  Prophetic,  Accurate" — 
Resources  from  the  Global  Consultation  on 
World  Evangelization  by  AD  2000  and  Beyond 


Books 

♦ Seven  Hundred  Plans  to  Evangelize 
the  World:  The  Rise  of  a Global  Evangel- 
ization Movement,  by  David  B.  Barrett 
and  James  W.  Reapsome.  A remarkable, 
readable  reference  tool!  Lists  and  analyzes 
788  global  plans  developed  since  AD  30, 
details  a “catalogue  of  woes”  to  explain 
the  failure  of  many  plans,  segments  the 
unevangelized  world  today,  and  calls  the 
proponents  of  current  plans  to  a new 
commitment  to  cooperation  and  coordina- 
tion. 22  tables,  10  appendixes.  8 1/2”  X 
11”,  123  pages.  Retail  $6.95,  discount 
$4.20. 

♦ Countdown  to  1900:  World  Evan- 
gelization at  the  End  of  the  Nineteenth 
Century,  by  Todd  M.  Johnson.  In  this 
fascinating  story  you’ll  be  transported 
back  100  years  and  plunged  into  the  flurry 
of  discussions  on  the  feasibility  of  world 
evangelization  by  1900.  The  cast  of  char- 
acters features  many  famous  statesmen  of 
the  day,  including  John  R.  Mott,  Robert 
E.  Speer,  J.  Hudson  Taylor,  D.L.  Moody, 
and — most  of  all — the  visionary  A.T. 
Pierson,  who  advocated  grand-scale  action 
in  the  midst  of  what  he  called  “the  crisis 
of  missions.”  Here's  a choice  portrayal  of 
men  and  women  who  dared  to  dream  big 
dreams  but  who  faced  obstacles  and  weak- 
nesses similar  to  those  that  beset  the 
Church  today.  8 1/2”  X 1 1”,  73  pages. 
Retail  $5.95,  discount  $3.80. 

Note:  The  AD  2000  Reader  is  current- 
ly out  of  print.  The  GCOWE  2000  com- 
pendium is  scheduled  to  appear  in  early 
April;  MF  Book  Service  will  announce 
its  availability. 

Papers 

♦ Copies  of  GCOWE  2000  Daily 
Newsletters.  Five  4-page  newsletters  will 
help  you  retrace  the  progression  of  events 
during  GCOWE  2000.  $2.75. 


Note:  the  " Kaleidoscopic  Global  Plan' 
and  "AD  2000  Goals”  documents  will  be 
incorporated  into  a new  book  in  the  AD 
2000  Series  by  New  Hope  Publishers. 
This  book  is  scheduled  to  appear  in  June; 
MF  Book  Service  will  announce  its 
availability. 

Videotapes 

Note:  each  GCOWE  videotape  is  $15, 
with  a discount  price  of  $35  for  all  three. 

♦ Tape  ffl  (2  7/2  hours) 

— Opening  Remarks:  Benjamin  Chew 
— Keynote  Address:  Thomas  Wang 
— Bible  Study/Genesis:  John  Richard 
— Theme/“Dreaming”:  Bill  O'Brien 
— Kaleidoscopic  Global  Plan:  David 
Barrett 

— “Hong  Kong  2000”  Case  Study: 
Philemon  Choi 

— “World  by  2000”  International  Ra- 
dio Case  Study:  Ron  Cline. 

♦ Tape  If 2 (2  7/2  hours) 

— Bible  Study/Acts:  Panya  Baba 
— Theme/Targeting”:  Floyd 
McClung 

— “AD  2000  Together”  Case  Study: 
Vinson  Synan 

— “New  Life  2000”  Case  Study:  Paul 
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Lesson  8 

THE  TASK  REMAINING 

We  have  glimpsed  an  awesome  panorama  of  Cod's  purpose  through  the  ages  We 
have  envisioned  the  end  he  has  in  view:  that  every  person  would  hear  of  H.s 
name  and  that  some  from  every  people  would  believe  in  His  name.  But  where 
is  the  World  Christian  movement?  How  close  are  we  to  accomplishing  world 
evangelization?  As  the  remaining  task  is  measured  and  described  do 
priorities  emerge? 


During  this  lesson  you  will  read: 

★ 

* "World  Mission  Survey,"  by  Winter/Fraser,  329  - 3/46 

* "The  New  Macedonia:  A Revolutionary  New  Era  in  Mission 

* Begins,"  by  Ralph  D.  Winter,  293  - 31  1 

* 

* "The  2. <4  Billion:  Why  Are  We  Still  So  Unconcerned  ■ 

* by  David  Fraser,  327  - 328 


* "The  Task  Remaining:  All  Humanity  in  Mission  Perspective  " 

* by  Ralph  D.  Winter,  312  - 326 

* 

* "To  Reach  the  Unreached,"  By  Ed  Dayton,  587  - 589 

**.**.*«*.***,**,*****,,  ****•*,,*« 


fc  l-/Wt 

v b <• 
£.  i tr 


1 1 1 


After  studying  this  lesson,  you  should  be  able  to: 
o Describe  "people  blindness."  (*r  CU1***  # ' 


o 


Distinguish  countries,  nations,  and  people'  groups. 

Identify  megaspheres,  macrospheres,  and  minispheres. 

Define  a reached  and  an  unreached  people  group.  b 7 

Define  a "viable"  church. 

Use  the  E scale  to  estimate  cultural  distance  of  the  evangelist. 

Use  the  P scale  to  estimate  cultural  distance  of  the  church. 

Define  and  distinguish  Evangelism,  Regular  Missions,  and  Frontier 
Missions. 

Explain  the  rationale  for  a Frontier  Missions  priority. 

State  the  approximate  number  of  people  groups  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
gospel  at  this  time,  and  the  total  population  of  these  groups. 


State  the  approximate  percentages  of  the  mission  force  engaged  in 
Frontier  and  Regular  Missions. 

Evaluate  the  idea  that  Christian  nationals  in  every  country  can  finish 
the  task. 

Evaluate  the  idea  that  reaching  every  people  group  with  a different 
church  would  destroy  Christian  unity. 


8-1 


The  Status  of  the  World  Christian  Movement 


*******************************^^^ 

* 

* Read  Winter  and  Fraser,  329  - 346 

* 

*********************************^ 

More  individuals  confess  the  name  of  Christ  than  any  other  religion. 

An  arm  of  the  church  lives  in  almost  every  land.  The  Christian 
movement  grows  as  never  before,  exceeding  in  many  places,  the  population 
growth.  There  is  no  room  for  pessimism.  But  at  the  same  time  the 
gospel  is  not  known  and  believed  in  most  of  the  world. 


II.  Cultural  Distance  from  the  Gospel 

The  most  stunning  and  awesome  reality  is  that  even  if  Christianity 
flexed  all  of  its  muscle,  and  shouted  the  gospel  to  all  within  its 
sphere,  still  there  would  be  silence  among  over  2.5  billion  people. 

Why?:  Cultural  distances  between  the  evangelizing  force  and  the  people 

without  Christ. 

*********************************^ 

★ 

* Read  Winter,  293  - 306  (2nd  paragraph)  and  Fraser,  327  - 328 
********************************** 


1 1 1 .Perspectives  on  the  Peoples  of  the  World 

Why  don't  Christians  today  know  much  about  the  people  groups  still 
without  the  gospel?  We  will  offer  four  alternate  vantage  points  which 
will  enable  us  to  escape  our  "people  blindness"  and  make  three  basic 
distinctions  which  tend  to  elude  us.  The  four  distinctions  build  on: 

A . Political 

o Common  view:  "nations"  refers  to  countries 

° God's  view:  "nations"  refers  to  peoples 

o Basic  distinction:  countries  and  peoples 

********************************** 

* 

* Read  Winter,  312  - 314 

★ 

********************************** 


B . Strategic 


o Common  view : 
o Strategic  view : 

o Basic  distinction: 


We  tend  to  focus  on  the  actual  count  of 
individuals  (Christians  or  non-Christians). 
We  can  focus  on  the  potential  movement 
to  Christ  within  people  groups 
(reached  or  un re ached) . 

Reached  and  unreached  peoples. 


8-2 


In  1978,  the  Lausanne  Committee's  Strategy  Working  Croup  defined  Unreached 
People  Croup  as  a group  with  less  than  20%  practicing  Christians.  Many 
considered  this  too  loose  a definition,  allowing  almost  all  societies  to 
classify  as  Unreached.  An  alternative  proposal  by  the  USCWM  emphasized  the 
presence  or  absence  of  a church  rather  than  a % of  believers.  The  USCWM 
concept  was  called  a Hidden  People,  and  was  slightly  reworded  by  the 
Edinburgh  1980,  World  Consultation  on  Frontier  Missions  Convening  Committee 
as  follows: 

"Hidden  Peoples:  those  cultural  and  linguistic  sub-groups,  urban 
or  rural,  for  whom  there  is  as  yet  no  indigenous  community  of 
believing  Christians  able  to  evangelize  their  own  people." 

The  Edinburgh  Conference  further  equated  this  with  the  concept  of  frontiers 
and  the  task  of  frontier  missions. 

In  the  Spring  of  1982  the  Strategy  Working  Croup  decided  to  redefine 
Unreached  People  Croups  as  "a  people  group  within  which  there  is  not  yet  and 
indigenous  community  of  believing  Christians  with  the  spiritual  resources  to 
evangelize  this  people  group." 

By  now,  then,  we  can  relax  in  the  awareness  thst  Unreached,  Hidden, 
Frontier,  Unpenetrated,  all  are  synonymous,  the  particular  flavor  of  each 
phrase  not  conflicting  with  the  others  but  illuminating  a slightly  different 
aspect  of  the  phenomena.  Unreached  emphasizes  the  fact  that  these  groups 
constitute  a remaining  task  to  be  performed — of  reaching  out . Hidden 
emphasizes  the  fact  that  these  groups  are  generally  overlooked  by  the  major 
focus  given  to  break-throughs  already  made.  Frontier  emphasizes  the  fact 
that  such  groups  cannot  be  reached  without  crossing  a cultural  barrier  to 
reach  them.  Unpenetrated  stresses  the  fact  that  no  missiological 
break-through  has  taken  place,  so  as  to  reach  the  people  from  within  (on  an 
E0,  E .5  or  El  basis) . 

ft************'**'****'****'**'**'******* 

★ 

* Read  Winter,  315  - 316  (3rd  paragraph)  and  Dayton,  587  - 589 

* (Defining  unreached) 

* 

********************************** 

C . Cultural 

o Common  view:  We  tend  to  define  any  work  that  takes  place  at 

a significant  geographical  distance  as  being 
"missions".  A missionary  is  then  understood 
as  one  who  is  on  a foreign  or  distant  "field". 

o Cultural  view:  It  is  better  to  understand  Christian  workers 

laboring  at  a significant  c ultural  distance 
as  undertaking  "missions"  work. 

o Basic  Distinction:  Evangelism  and  Missions 

We  reserve  the  term  "Missions"  for  cross- 
cultural  work  (E2-E3).  Certainly  evangelism 
takes  place  in  all  mission  work,  but  we  use 
the  term  "E vangelism"to  designate 
evangelistic  work  within  the  same  culture  as 
that  of  the  evangelist. 


8-3 


D.  Missioloqical 


We  can  either  look  on  the  evangelistic  event  from  the 
evangelist's  point  of  view  or  the  evangelized  people's  point  of 
view.  We  must  learn  to  do  both. 

o Our  view:  The  Evangelist's  communication  distance. 

We  tend  to  focus  on  the  cultural  dislocation 
of  the  missionary.  The  "E"  scale  measures 
this  cultural  distance  (E0-E3). 

o Their  view:  The  People's  conversion  distance.  We  must 

learn  to  understand  the  unecessary 
cultural  dislocation  of  the  would-be 
respondents  as  they  consider  becoming  part 
of  the  church  nearest  to  them  culturally. 

The  "P"  scale  measures  this  cultural 
distance  (P0-P3). 

o Basic  distinction:  Regular  and  Frontier  Missions. 

Whenever  a church  is  unecessarily  objection- 
able or  not  culturally  accessible  to  a 
people,  we  consider  this  people  group  to  be 
beyond  the  frontiers  of  the  gospel.  Work 
among  these  people  is  called  Frontier 
Missions.  Foreign  workers  among  a people 
group  which  has  a viable,  indigenous, 
evangelizing  Christian  movement  are  still 
considered  missionaries,  but  we  refer  to 
this  kind  of  work  as  Regular  Missions. 


********************************** 

* 

* Read  Winter,  316  - 319 

* 

********************************** 

IV.  Demographics  of  the  World  Christian  Movement 

It  is  quite  revealing  to  measure  the  extent  and  potency  of  the 
Christian  movement  following  the  three  basic  distinctions. 

A.  How  many  countries  and  peoples? 

Only  a few  dozen  countries  (67  countries,  221  territories, 
protectorates),  but  over  22,000  people  groups. 

B.  How  many  reached  and  unreached  people  groups? 

(Domestic  and  Frontier) 

And  the  corollary  - who  are  they?  The  major  blocs  of  unreached,  frontier 
peoples:  Tribal,  Hindu,  Muslim,  Chinese,  and  Buddhist. 

********************************** 

* 

* Read  carefully.  Winter,  319  - 323 

* 

********************************** 


8-4 


C.  How  many  Regular  Frontier  Missionaries? 

A great  imbalance  exists.  Most  missionaries  work  among 
reached  people  groups.  Few  work  with  unreached  people  groups. 

********************************** 

* 

* Read  carefully.  Winter,  324  - 326 

* 

********************************** 


V.  The  Task  Remaining 

A.  The  Highest  Priority  - A Church  for  Every  People 

1)  Penetrating  Frontier  People  Croups. 

2)  Mobilizing  the  Total  Mission  Force. 

********************************** 

* 

* Read  Winter,  319  ("The  Task,"  1st  paragraph)  and  scan  Winter  and 

* Fraser,  329  - 346,  once  more  noting  the  priorities  reflected 

* 

********************************** 

B.  The  Theological  Problem  - The  Church  for  AN  Peoples? 

1)  Unity  vs.  liberty 

2)  Unity  vs.  uniformity 

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* 

* Read  Winter,  306  - 311 


We  have  problems  with  culture.  One  of  our  greatest  problems  with  culture  is 
that  we  don't  recognize  the  extent  to  which  our  own  culture  colors  all  we  do, 
feel,  and  say.  We  have  all  experienced  the  confusion  of  clashing  cultures, 
but  we  are  seldom  able  to  overcome,  and  even  explain,  such  conflicts  and 
difficulties. 

A more  subtle  problem  then  emerges.  Problems  with  cultural  differences  can 
be  blamed  on  the  reality  of  different  cultures.  The  cultural  diversity  of 
humanity  is  often  viewed  as  the  prime  impediment  for  the  progress  of  the 
gospel.  When  resistance  is  encountered,  culture  can  be  considered  the 
enemy  of  the  gospel,  something  to  be  overcome  or  broken  in  order  that  Christ 
might  reign.  Mission  endeavors  have  often  fought  to  conquer  "culture,"  and 
when  successful,  find  the  victory  empty  and  fruitless.  As  we  shall  see, 
cultural  differences  are  without  question  a barrier  to  communication,  but  if 
gospel  communication  is  to  take  place,  culture  cannot  be  fought  on  every 
count.  Rather,  culture  can  be  understood  as  an  "ally"  to  Cod's  work. 

What  is  culture?  Why  is  it  so  difficult  to  work  cross  culturally?  What 
should  our  attitude  be  toward  culture?  Does  the  gospel  seek  to  use  or 
destroy  human  culture? 

★ ★★****★**★*★*★★★★★★*★******★**★★★ 

★ 

* "Understanding  Culture,"  by  Lloyd  Kwast,  361  - 364 

* 

* "Culture  and  Cross-Cultural  Differences,"  by  Paul  Hiebert, 

* 367  - 374 

* 

* "World-View  and  Contextualization, " by  David  Hesselgrave,  398  - 400 

* 

* "Christ  and  Culture,"  by  David  Hesselgrave,  365  - 366 

★ 

★ ★★A****************************** 


After  studying  this  lesson  you  should  be  able  to: 

o Define  culture  using  a four  layer  model  of  worldview,  beliefs,  values, 
and  behavior. 

o Explain  the  concept  of  worldview. 

o Given  cultural  symbols,  identify  and  distinguish  "form"  and  "meaning." 

o Explain  the  phenomenon  of  ethnocentr ism. 

o Explain  the  phenomenon  of  culture  shock. 

o Explain  the  "neutrality"  of  culture  with  reference  to  the  prospect  of 

making  cultures  new  by  "taking  possession"  of  culture. 


11-1 


I.  The  Concept  of  Culture 

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★ 

* Read  Kwast,  361  - 364;  Hiebert,  367  - 370 

* 

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Culture  is  the  integrated  system  of  learned  patterns  of  behavior, 
values,  beliefs  and  world  view. 

A.  Behavior . What  is  done?  Behavior  includes  customs,  products, 
and  languages  which  are  learned  basically  as  symbol  systems  of 
forms  and  learned  meanings.  The  linkage  of  form  and  meaning 
constitutes  a symbol.  "What  is  done?"  begs  the  question  "What  is 
meant?" 

B.  Values.  What  is  good  or  best?  Much  behavior  is  dictated  by  a 

system  of  values:  standards  of  conduct  and  judgment  which  guide 

in  what  is  good,  best  or  beautiful.  The  value  system  often 
overlaps  with  a given  culture's  felt  needs.  "What  is  good  or 
best?"  is  related  to  the  question  "What  is  needed?"  The  "ought" 
touches  the  "sought." 

C.  Beliefs.  What  is  true?  Values  reflect  an  underlying  system  of 
beliefs,  ideas,  or  cognitive  patterns.  Often  theoretical  beliefs 
are  held  but  do  not  affect  values  or  behavior  as  the  operating 
belief  system.  Beliefs  function  as  a mental  map  of  the  world, 
guiding  in  decisions  and  action. 

D.  World  View.  What  is  real?  Beliefs  are  based  on  the  basic 
assumptions  people  have  made  about  the  nature  of  reality. 

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* 

* Read  Willowbank,  508  - 509  (Section  2);  Hesselgrave,  398  - 400 

* 

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11-2 


II.  Cr oss-Cultur al  Differences 


Cultural  differences  are  profound,  occurring  at  all  four  layers  or  levels. 

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* 

* Read  Hiebert,  370  - 374 

* 

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A.  Misunderstandings  commonly  result  on  the  behavioral  level  because 
of  a confusion  of  form  and  meaning. 

B.  Ethnocentr  ism  can  be  described  as  judging  features  of  another  culture 
by  features  of  one's  own.  Ethnocentr  ism  almost  always  bases  judgment 
of  one  level  of  another  culture  on  a corresponding  but  deeper  level 

of  one's  own  culture.  Most  commonly  "their"  behavior  is  judged  by 
"my"  values,  but  other  levels  can  be  involved. 

C.  The  newcomer  to  a certain  culture  almost  always  experiences  a 
profound  sense  of  disorientation  when  he  tries  to  adopt  the  behavioral 
patterns  of  that  culture.  Such  disorientation  results  because  his 
theoretical  knowledge  of  the  deeper  (less  obvious)  levels  of  that 
culture  may  exceed  his  personal  relationships  which  normally 

would  accompany  and  introduce  these  insights. 


) 


1 1-3 


111.  The  Nature  of  Culture 


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* 

* Read  Hesselgrave,  365  - 366;  Willowbank,  507  - 510 

(Section  1,  and  Section  3,  first  three  paragraphs). 


* * 


************* 


A.  Cod  created  culture. 


o 


o 


Cod  is  above  culture.  He  created  culture,  but  is  not  a 
cultural  being  per  se.  Cod  is  supr acultur al  (above 
culture)  and  yet  is  not  barred  from  it. 


Cod  involves  himself  redemptively  m culture.  The  heart 
of  the  incarnation  of  Christ  is  not  only  that  he  took  on  human 
form,  but  that  he  subjected  himself  to  the  constrictions  of  a 
human  culture. 


B.  Cod  created  man  as  a cultural  being. 

o Cod  created  mankind  in  his  likeness.  He  endowed  him 

with  creative  powers.  He  commanded  him  to  control  nature  and 
organize  society.  Such  is  the  origin  of  culture. 


o 


Man  abrogated  his  vice  regency 
not  mean  the  destruction  of  the 
did  mean  that  only  under  Christ 
culture  renewed. 


in  rebellion.  This  fall  did 
image  of  Cod  in  man.  It 
can  man  be  redeemed  and  his 


o Culture,  though  tainted  by  mankind's  self-centeredness  and 
self  worship,  is  neither  inherently  good  nor  invariably 
evil.  Culture  is,  in  a sense,  "neutral,"  a potential  ally 

and  an  opposing  for ce.  No  "kingdom"  or  fully  godly  culture 
exists. 

C.  Cod  redeems  man  and  renews  culture. 


possesses  culture,  using  it  to  communicate,  and 

transforming  it  to  bring  healing  to  mankind  and  qlorv  to 
himself.  ^ 7 


o Cod  blesses  man  as  he  fulfills  the  cultural  mandate. 

D‘  Jherefore,  we  can  certainly  respect  other  cultures  and  anticipate 
Cods  work  in  and  through  them.  We  must,  on  the  other  hand,  take 
care  not  to  think  too  highly  of  our  own  culture,  confusinq  Cod's 
supr  acultur  al  truth  with  a false  "super  culture"  of  our  own. 


11-4