Missions on Point

Contextualization is a key concept in the communication of the Gospel and its application in the field. It has been often exaggerated in application to the point of heresy. Understanding and communicating in an understandable way within a language and culture is essential. However, losing the moorings of key doctrinal anchors will result in a highjacked version of healthy contextualization. Don't let the modern trends of highjacked contextualization and the vaporous pragmatic results sway you from holding to more time-testing methods and long-lasting results based on biblical truths.

Churches and "investors" are getting inundated by proposals and requests from those wanting to start a business overseas under the banner of "Business As Missions." Just like any business proposal, the hearer needs discernment and should ask hard questions. Among those questions for missions must be questions from a Christian missions perspective: who? what? where? why? when? and how? are all legitimate. The missionary must be a missionary! But the missionary must also be a good business leader.

Business As Missions (BAM) is not only a large issue in missions today, it is an inescapable necessity. Many countries do not allow religious workers. So, Christians must have a legitimate business reason to obtain a long-term residence visa. Missionaries today must be prepared, in these contexts, to either take a job contract or create a business of their own. There are lots of sticky issues related to these opportunities, and the missionary and their supports need to be prepared to navigate those waters.

We highly recommend having a written partnership agreement with your missionary's missions sending agency. But it's more than just the paper. Making a good partnership work requires time, effort, relationship, and prayer. This episode explains some of the challenges and tips for making an effective partnership agreement that really works to the advantage of all involved and to the ministry on the field.

No one talks about this! We should talk about this. Your church, your people, the family members of your missionaries, and the missionaries themselves need to have right and realistic expectations about their accountability, focus, and communication while on the field. It should not be a surprise to anyone that the missionary has a lot of pressure and change to cope with on the field. They also have more expectations of them in accountability, focus, and communication than ever before in their life. We can help now by learning right things about these areas and by building a mindset and tools to help them.

Even before your missionary departs for the field, it's good for you and for them to have realistic expectations for a healthy, pastoral accountability field visit.  This episode will help prepare for the wholistic scope of interests for the sending or supporting church field visit.

So, your missionary is fully prepared and qualified. Now what!  Celebrate! Give God glory publicly! Invite friends and family and all those supporting your missionary. Send him/her/them well.

Also, be aware that de-commissioning is no light matter. Learn how to navigate those reefs and help your missionary, if necessary, understand the gravity and significance of leaving the field. Help them re-acclimate and re-integrate to the home side.

Though it is a challenging topic, it must be discussed with your prospective missionary. It's a good thing for every Christian to think about! Missionaries, though they say they are willing to sacrifice and to suffer for Christ on the mission field, have a very hard time putting into practice the humility and servant spirit required to life in another culture. We all fight against giving up our personal autonomy and independence. Yet, we must do so, under the Lordship of Christ and the constraints of the host culture, for the sake of the Gospel.

It's not all classroom work! Missionary candidates need to embrace and be self-motivated to do some research on their target group before they leave for the field. They need to lay a foundation of practical understanding of the Bible, theology, culture, history, language, and more! You can facilitate and encourage them to dig deep. Lastly, the field or vision trip to the target area is a significant capstone of their studies.

Let's take the mystery out of a training sequence for your candidate. This episode gives an overview of a 40-week curriculum which includes most of the content and experiences you will want to build in to your own curriculum. You won't be able to do all of it in-house; plan on outsourcing or bringing experts in to fill out the course. The capstone is a field visit that exposes your candidate/s to real life on the field.