Missions Final

Question 1

Give a definition of “missiology.”

Answer 1

The study of missions. Which includes both the Mission of God and the Mission of the Church

Question 2

What is Dr. Sheppard’s definition of “missions?” How does it compare to other definitions?

Answer 2

Missions is the plan and act of God for redeeming and making disciples of people from every tongue, tribe, people and nation by sending His people to proclaim the good news of Jesus, to show them the gracious, redeeming love of a glorious God, and organize them into Biblical worshiping churches.

Stott: too much social gospel
Others: not enough focus on church
Christopher Wright: If everything is missions… everything is missions.” Misses the fundamental distinctives.

Question 3

What are the three types of missions presented by Dr. Sheppard? Give examples of each.

Answer 3

M1: Local, same culture ministry.

Example: An American wins his neighbor to Christ. When the Moldovanan family in the neighborhood wins over another Moldovanan family to Christ. Key: Same Culture.

M2: Near cultural ministry, yet some crossing.

Example: When Moldovan family wins the bulgarian family in the neighborhood to Christ. Greater cultural distance crossed.

M3: Complete Crossing of Cultures.

When the Moldovan family moves to Sweden, learns the Swedish language and begins leading people to Christ.

Key: It is not the distance crossed, but the cultural divide traversed.

Question 4

Which Christian doctrine is the starting point of missions?

Answer 4

The Trinity

Question 5

What was God doing before creation? What is the significance of his activity?

Answer 5

God was eternally existing (Psalm 90:2)

Trinitarian exististence

The Father was loving the son.

He was predestining us in his love through union in Christ.

Christ was foreknown for sacrifice as savior

We were foreknown in the book of life of the lamb.

Question 6

How does the doctrine of the Trinity affect how we present the gospel?

Answer 6

The issue is not the existence of God but the Character of God

It helps us to present God not as simply a ruler or “Stallin in the sky” for the Triune God is not that type of God. He is fundamentally the most kind and loving father and only ever exercises His rule as who he is: as a Father.

Question 7

What are some important passages supporting a Trinitarian view of God?

Answer 7

Genesis 1:1-3
Matthew 3:13-17
Matthew 28:16-20
John 17
John 20:19-23

Question 8

Where is the “First Great Commission” in the Bible? How does this relate to Babel?

Answer 8

Genesis 12: Abraham. God says that he will make a people and make Ab’s name great. Instead of the people making a nation (and name) for themselves (Babel)

Question 9

How is God’s grace displayed in the fall despite the harsh consequences?

Answer 9

There is abundant Grace
Grace in being alive.
Grace in being covered.
Grace in being disciplined.
Grace from the East
Grace that they could still do their primary responsibilities, though under the effects of the fall.

Question 10

What are effects of sin/fall?

Answer 10

• Eyes opened, guilt, awareness, shame
• self-covering
• hiding from the Lord
• blame shifting
• Fear.

Question 11

What is the significance of Babel for missions?

Answer 11

It is both a judgment and a grace. That God will provide a nation by His will. He has a heart for the nations.
He is gracious in confusing languages and scattering.

Question 12

How does the covenant sign of circumcision relate to missions?

Answer 12

Genesis 17: Circumcision. It relates because the bible says that the covenant sign is available to the gentiles! (Luke 19:9-10; Gal 3:16; Gal 3:28-29)

Question 13

How do the prophets present Israel’s relationship with the rest of the world? Why is this important for missions? Give examples from Scripture.

Answer 13

OT emphasis is placed upon the fact that Israel shall receive an indescribable Glory and that the nations will come to her rather than Israel being described as a missionary country. (Psalm 67; Isaiah 66:18-19; Joel 2:28) It presents the idea that Israel will go out to share the Glory of God.

Question 14

Trace Themes of Mission from Isaiah

Answer 14

Is 2
- All the nations shall flow to it
Is 19
Is 25
- All peoples and all peoples and all nations will come to this mountain.
- The covering of sin that is over all the people he will swallow up.
Is 42
- The Lord will appoint a servant as a covenant to the peoples.
Is 49
- it’s too small a thing to just redeem Israel
- the servant is to be a light to the nations.
Is 55
- an exception
- a nation that did not know you will run to you.
- missionary call
Is. 66
- God will gather all nations and tongues.
- God will send survivors to the nations and the coastlands far away.
- God will send; not people coming to Israel.

Question 15

What are some passages and/or themes in the gospels that are important for missions? Be able to discuss some examples from each book.

Answer 15

Matthew 1
Traces the genealogy of Jesus to Abraham, who received the promise.
Immanuel- God with us, cf. Isaiah 7.

Matthew 2
The Ruler from Bethlehem
Micah 5:2

Matthew 3
Jesus Baptism

Matthew 4
Jesus temptation
Fulfillment of Isaiah
Jesus calls his disciples

Matthew 9
The harvest is plentiful

Matthew 15
Jesus heals

Matthew 28
The Great Commission

Mark 1
The kingdom of God is at hand
Mark 7
Gospel Priority

Luke 1
Gabriel’s message to Mary
Zechariah’s prophecy
Remember Isaiah 42

Luke 2
The angels bring a message for all people

Luke 3
John the Baptist
Baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sins

Luke 4
Jesus in the synagogue
The fulfillment of Isaiah 61

Luke 10
The seventy two
Jesus saw Satan fall like lightning from Heaven. Deception of nations is over (Rev20)

Luke 24
Jesus appears on the road to Emmaus
Repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

Question 16

EXAM QUESTION: INCLUSIOS OF MATTHEW?

Answer 16

(MATT 1 AND MATT 28; SENDING OF AB, SENDING OF US. ALSO: MATTHEW 4 fishers of men; Matt 28 – be fishers of men. FIRST CHAPTER LAST CHAPTER; FIRST WORDS TO DISCIPLES and LAST WORDS TO DISCIPLES)

Question 17

What “spheres” are presented in Acts? What did these spheres look like in Acts and how are they related to missions today?

Answer 17

Jerusalem

Them: Martyrdom of Stephen resulting from his fearless proclamation of the Gospel to the Sanhedrin, the highest religious authority of the Jewish people (The people in Jerusalem being the first horizon of the apostles’ mission)

The Church Today: The city in which we live

Judea

Them: The 2nd and 3rd horizons- Notice how Luke draws our attention to the way the second and third horizons of the mission were reached first by believers other than the apostles. Ordinary men and women of the Jerusalem church first spread the Gospel in Judea and Samaria.

The Church Today: The country to which we belong.

Samaria

Them: The 2nd and 3rd horizons- Notice how Luke draws our attention to the way the second and third horizons of the mission were reached first by believers other than the apostles. Ordinary men and women of the Jerusalem church first spread the Gospel in Judea and Samaria.

The Church Today: Those people among us and alongside us who are different from us.

The ends of the earth

Them: Once again, it was not the founders of the church, the ones who heard Jesus’ command to go to the nations, but new believers who reached out to this 4th horizon of the Great Commission.

The Church Today: Who are we sending to the nations of the earth? This is for the church as a whole and not just the disciples.

Question 18

Define evangelism and be sure to list key components of evangelism.

Answer 18

Evangelism is normally the verbal proclamation of the Gospel. (It is about the proclamation of a message: Life in Jesus Christ.)

Faith!

Make disciples not just converts

All nations

Question 19

What are some barriers we run into with regard to evangelism?

Answer 19

Barriers within ourselves

Guilt (i.e. our sinful past/pastor heaps guilt)

Lack of confidence

Uncertainty about evangelistic methods

Over commitment (In church and at home)

Spiritual Barriers (Lies of the Evil one)

Barriers between the church and the world.

The Loss of truth (Our society has lost the Christian story)

Faith without life (Integrity of church/scandals put people off from church)

Loss of common language (Bible illiteracy/unfamiliar with bible stories)

Failure of reason (No understanding of logical fallacies/cause-effect/Understanding of truth)

Loss of authority (Church not authoritative/loss of respect for authority.)

Moral uncertainty (relativism) seen in three different ways:

The individual becomes the moral authority

Morality by consensus

Loss of public accountability

Practical idolatry (Mind/will/heart)

Paganism (Neo believisms/Neo-paganism; If one thinks there are no religions that answer our questions or wants, (because we are by nature spiritual beings) he invents or embraces neo-paganism or other forms of humanism. They don’t ask: Is this religion true? Is it sensible? Is it moral? Rather, does this make me feel spiritual?

Question 20

What are key missional passages in Romans?

Answer 20

o Rom 1:16
 shows order of God’s plan
o Rom 1:18-23
o Rom 1:24-25
o Rom 2
o Rom 9-11
o Rom 10:13; 15ff
 “need to send and preach”
o Rom 15

Question 21

Does OT show need for Gentiles?

Answer 21

See Romans 15
 the plan of Christ for the nations (Isaiah 66)
 but there can be culturally issues: i.e., Jews and Gentiles.
* 2 Sam 22
* Deut 32
* Ps 117
* Is 11
 Bless and work in and through Jews to draw Gentiles
 Priestly offering is the Gentiles who have come to faith in Christ.
 A new understanding of Presenting the Gospel; it’s rooted in OT system of worship and sacrifice.
 presenting an offering before the Lord. Another soul. Justified and sanctified.

Question 22

Why do we not need chapters 34/35 in WCF?

Answer 22

• Now defunct chapter 35
  o all this material can be found elsewhere.
  o some said election and reprobation too harsh, this is trying to tone it down.
  o Other things could be added, there’s no stopping it.

Question 23

What are 3/4 main models of theo education on the field?

Answer 23

Three primary models
(1) Sending candidates to the education (from Malaysia to USA)
(2) Bringing the education to the field
(3) Informal education through the field
A fourth newer model
(4) online/ digital education

Question 24

Discuss sending candidates abroad

Answer 24

• (1) Challenges of bringing the student to the Education
  o (i) cost
  o (ii) learning ministry in a different culture where they won’t be serving
   people came from east to west and did not return
   they didn’t have one go back to Bulgaria
  o (iii) package mentality
   seeing how much more US pastors are paid
  o (iv) ulterior motives (better life for me kids)
  o (v) difficulty in return to home culture
  o (vi) language deficiency – not enough English
  o (vii) nationals don’t view them the same upon return
  o (viii) dependency (support has often been raised)
  o (ix) pride

Question 25

Discuss in country

Answer 25

o Challenges to staying in country for Education
 (i) Lower quality of education (if options exist for this)
 (ii) difficulty of getting an accredited degree.
 (iii) cost prohibitive to work/study
o need to pay something to have skin in the game
o (iv) temptation to use heterodox teachers
 (v) lack of qualified in country instructors
o Benefits:
 easy for students
 inexpensive
 minimal disruption to family
 easier for short term instructors
 better than nothing.
o Weaknesses
 Lower quality
 cheapens masters degree
 more work for teacher: work must be translated
 loss of intellectual property
 no libraries and resources other than internet.
o Theological Education in Easter Europe (TE3)
 concept: moving educators to the students
 Advantages:
* instructors live in culture
* cheaper to get instructors to students
* maintains higher standards.
 Disadvantages
* not accredited
* challenges in getting teachers into the wider field.

Question 26

Discuss informal training

Answer 26

Informal Mentoring Programmes
challenges
quality
time of discipler
lose group benefit.

Question 27

What is Dutch Reformer Gisbertus Voetius’ 3-fold purpose of mission?

Answer 27

1) Conversion
2) Church planting
3) Glorification of God’s grace

Question 28

Define church planting

Answer 28

church planting is the ministry of proclaiming the gospel and forming kingdom communities among every nation, to the glory of God in time and eternity.

Question 29

Marks of church

Answer 29

o What qualifies a church as a church?
one
holy
apostolic
catholic
o Marks of the church?
word
sacraments
discipline

Question 30

What is central goal of missions? (EXAM)

Answer 30

Church planting
 not just conversations but churches being gathered for biblical worship and build leaders.

When is a church considered planted?
 no clear picture
 missionary planters often stay too long
 or can leave too early
 locals have been lead to faith in Christ and are being disciples
 qualified local spiritual leadership
 culturally apply Scriptures
 local believers have internalized biblical values and goals.
 Warning: 1 Tim 5, don’t lay hands on too quickly.

Question 31

Discuss pros/cons about family to the field

Answer 31

• Taking the family to the field
  o 1. It’s great family time
   Best of home culture
   best of host culture
  o 2. Best age to go?
   When Lord calls!
   Generally, younger is better
  o 3. Kids just want to be with their parents
• no 1 reason for leaving field
  o children’s education
  o best things teams can do:
   good options for education
• education options (EXAM)
  o national school
  o home school
  o private school
  o start a new school
  o boarding school
• education pros/cons
  o national school: good for language, relationships; subpar education potential
  o home school: kids feel secure; difficult to get materials. Legal issues
  o private school: quality; costs, private school culture.
  o new school: control, quality; time cost, distraction.
• Other points:
  o Live history
  o vision for the world
  o bi-lingual
  -

Question 32

How is church planting biblically mandated? Give scriptural support.

Answer 32

Christ states his explicit will regarding the church in Matt 16:18 “I will be my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” The great commission Matt. 28. Romans 15:18-25, Acts 13:49, 1 Thess 1:8. Acts 19:10; 20.

Question 33

What are Insider Movements? What are some of the key ideas? 1.

Answer 33

A. Begins with the missiological application of the social sciences

1. Perceived scarcity of measurable fruit in Muslim areas

B. Expanded and grew in the 1990s

Question 34

What are Insider Movements? What are some of the key ideas? 2.

Answer 34

A. Definitions and characteristics:

1. “Insider” is a person accepted as a true member of his culture
2. Insider Movement believers in Jesus perceive “Christianity” as a foreign culture. They continue to self-identify as part of the broader Muslim, Hindu, or other community, because they have not changed their name, style of dress and speech, or country of residence.
3. Western apologists for Insider Movement paradigms (IMPs) have sometimes encouraged new believers to continue to think of themselves as Muslims, Hindus, etc., rather than joining with established national churches, or thinking of themselves as Christians.
4. IMP proponents insist on their intention to approach missiology from Scripture
5. There is a strong distinction between Christianity and the church;

a. The church is seen as a social construct

b. This goes against a biblical doctrine of the church

6. IMP proponents are reticent in using classical theological terminology and categories to reflect upon the church

a. Explicit discussions of such ecclesiological matters as an ordained ministry, the administration of the sacraments, and the exercise of church discipline are rare.

b. Prefers terms such as “community” or “movement” instead of “church”

c. To propose any robust exposition on ecclesiological topics on our part, the argument continues, would impose our culturally determined beliefs and practices on these believers.

d. Such a rationale presupposes that these topics are culturally determined rather than biblically legislated

Question 35

What are Insider Movements? What are some of the key ideas? 3.

Answer 35

A. Distinctive IM concepts:

1. Converts should hold fast to various Islamic practices
2. Avoid the identity of “Christian” altogether
3. Remain inside the Islamic religion and retain Islamic cultural and religious identity
4. Converts should carry on cultural and religious practices with the goal of showing Jesus the Messiah
5. Public conversion to Islam by missionaries
6. IM proponents believe they are following Scripture, and they alone honor the gospel’s integrity

Question 36

Who are important proponents of IM and what are some of their ideas/contributions? 1.

Answer 36

1. Charles Kraft, Donald McGavran, Ralph Winter, Kevin Higgins, John and Anna Travis, Dudley Woodberry
2. Rick Brown: translation consultant for Wycliffe/SIL
   a. Articulates sound definitions of the Church and the Kingdom of God but employs an additional category, “religion,” which includes not only non-Christian religions but also specific Christian denominations and Christian religious traditions.
   b. Prefers the concept of “kingdom struggle”
3. Rebecca Lewis
   a. Critiques the allegedly Western “aggregate-church model”—the “gathering together [of] individual believers . . . into new ‘communities’ of faith.’”
4. Kevin Higgins
   a. Pre-existing social structures can become the church
   b. The Kingdom of God includes the church, but is bigger than the church
   c. Higgins understands the Kingdom to be broader or more extensive than the Church, including a specifically religious area in the Kingdom but outside the Church
   d. Two problems with this view:
   i. First, while, for Higgins, the church may be a manifestation of the Kingdom, nothing in his definition requires that the church be the single place to which the New Testament directs us to behold the Kingdom of God. Indeed, his definition appears to be crafted specifically to avoid such an implication.

ii. Second and more importantly, Higgins’s understanding of the Kingdom cannot sustain the exclusivity of the Christian religion. He rightly wishes to “reaffirm . . . that Jesus is the only way of salvation.” But how may one reconcile that affirmation with his subsequent statement that, “If God is active in other religions, then to at least some degree His truth can be found and responded to within the context of those other religions”?

Question 37

Who are important proponents of IM and what are some of their ideas/contributions? 2

Answer 37

1. McGavran’s definition of unreached:

a. An “unreached” ethnos or segment of society is one in which individuals who are Christ’s followers are perceived by their fellows to have “left their own people and traitorously gone off to join another people.”

Question 38

What categories of IM were discussed in the lectures and presented in the appendices?

Answer 38

C1: Believers are open about their new spiritual identity as disciples of Jesus Christ and citizens of God’s eternal Kingdom. They also have a new socio-religious identity as converts to a Christian social group. They follow primarily outsider religious practices. They use an outsiders language and terminology in meetings.

C2: They are much like C1, except that they use insider language, usually with outsider terminology.

C3: They are much like C2, except that they use many insider terms and many religious practices that seem compatible with the Bible, although not ones that are particular to the socio-religious community of their birth.

C4: They are like C3, except that they seek a distinct socio-religious identity that is neither the insider identity of their birth nor the identity of a convert to Christianity.

C5: They are like C4, except that they retain the socio-religious identity of their birth and might use insider terms and practices particular to the community of their birth, as long as they seem compatible with the Bible.

C6: They are usually like C5, except that they are secretive about their new spiritual identity.

Question 39

What are the reasons for omitting the term “Son of God” from Bible translations? Give a critical evaluation of this issue. 1.

Answer 39

A. The omission of “Son of God” from Scriptures

B. “The past two decades have witnessed the birth and proliferation of specialized Scripture translations for Muslims that remove from the text and/or redefine the divine familial terms Father, Son, and Son of God with the substitution of alternative terms such as ‘Guardian’ for Father and ‘Caliph of God’ or ‘Beloved of God’ for Son.” Taken from Rochelle Cathcart Scheuermann and Edward L. Smither. Controversies in Mission: Theology, People, and Practice of Mission in the 21st Century (Evangelical Missiological Society Series Book 24) Evangelical Missiological Society, 2016.

A. The concern: what are the consequences? Textual corruption and heretical views regarding the nature of God, the deity of Jesus, and the Trinity.

B. From the standpoint of Christian mission, this goal of removing offensive language from the biblical witness is a long-standing issue of considerable importance.

1. Many occasions where members of ancient cultures found the gospel offensive, however there is no indication that the Christian church made accommodations to remove the offense of the cross to Judaism or Greco-Roman paganism
2. 1 Corinthians 1:21-24
3. “Jesus is Lord” over against “Caesar is Lord” in ancient Roman society
4. Christian Trinitarian monotheism vs. Roman polytheism vs. Jewish monotheism
5. Examples of Jesus offending the Jews with his claims of divinity (Gospel of John)
6. Why is it now a concern to accommodate Muslim sensitivities? Will this accommodation expand to all other religions?

A. The biblical witness of saving faith in Jesus Christ is inextricably tied to the belief in and confession of Jesus specifically being the Son of God.

1. The witness of the Holy Spirit within the believer, the presence of God in the believer’s life, overcoming the world, having genuine belief in Jesus Christ, possessing eternal life, and enjoying a relationship with God the Father are all contingent on the belief, acceptance, and confession of Jesus Christ as the Son of God (John 20: 31; 4: 15; 1 John 5: 10– 12; 2: 22– 23)

A. Proponents of specialized translations argue that the phrase Son of God and the related terms of “son” and “father” must not be literally translated in the Bible, since to do so conveys incorrect and inaccurate meaning to Muslim readers

1. Meaning-based equivalents must be substituted
2. Errors with this argument:

a. It denies that Father and Son terminology are divinely inspired. This is related to the linguistic fallacy that meaning is not and cannot be communicated by specific words.

b. It presupposes that the text of the Bible does not provide sufficient context for a person to understand the meaning of Father and Son terminology within its pages.

c. It implies that Muslims are intellectually inferior people who cannot understand language in its context.

d. It ignores the role of God the Holy Spirit to give proper understanding of Scripture.

e. It makes relative all biblical doctrines drawn from Father and Son terminology, such as the adoption of believers as sons and children of God.

f. It ultimately denies the Trinity

1. Other practical ramifications:

a. Exposing Christians to the charge of being misleading

b. Damaging the reputation of Christians for having corrupted the word of God

c. Bringing confusion on numerous levels to both Christians and non-Christians

d. Confirming the mistaken views that Muslims have about Son of God

e. Strengthening the Islamic view that Christianity (i.e. the message of the Bible) is false, that Christians cannot be trusted, and that Islam is true.

A. The primary concern: whether or not familial words are divinely inspired or are replaceable terms

1. First, consistency with the verbal inspiration of Scripture requires that the nouns Father and Son, as they are used in the biblical manuscripts, can only be accurate when literally translated in order to convey the meaning that God intended
2. Second, biblical scholars concur that throughout Scripture, God confirms specific truths on the basis of repetition (Gen 41: 32; Deut 19: 15; 2 Cor 13: 1).
3. Third, the argument that the literal translations of Father and Son terminology communicate incorrect, inaccurate, and wrong meaning because they imply biological or sexual connotation, is misleading

A. We cannot truly know God apart from the revelation He has given in the person of His Son Jesus, the Christ (1 John 5: 20; cf. 2: 13)

1. The culmination of salvation history (Hebrews 1:1)
2. Therefore, sonship is not incidental or peripheral, but an essential feature of that eschatological revelation.

What are the reasons for omitting the term “Son of God” from Bible translations? Give a critical evaluation of this issue. 8.

A. The example of Paul

1. After the Damascus road, we find him preaching about Jesus in the synagogues
2. In reference to Jesus, he preaches “that this one is the Son of God”
3. Paul, the fanatical persecutor of the Church, became Paul, the preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ (see also Acts 9: 22; Cf. Gal 1: 23.) Here is one of the first two Christological confessions of faith (Acts 8:37 and 9:20) recorded by Luke and both profess Christ as “the Son of God.”
4. Galatians 1:15-17

A. Conclusion:

1. The issue at hand, then, is much more than a translation strategy with missiological implications.

The practice of removing from the text and/ or redefining the divine familial terms of Father, Son, and Son of God with the substitution of alternative terms in specialized Scripture translations for Muslims (or non-Muslims) changes the very substructure of the gospel itself.

Question 40

What are 5 ways Missionaries can be funded?

Answer 40

o (1) Tent Making
 self-funded
 full time secular work
 bi-vocational
o (2) Raising Support
 (i) Individual Missionary Support Team Development
* Each missionary raises their own support base. Given to Mission and they send out
 (ii) General Fund Support
* You visit churches but that money isn’t just for you.
* when you’re support raising you’re saying support this general fund.
o (3) Self supporting
 they have enough personal wealth.
 they just pay for themselves
o (4) Employee of US church but ministry is (rather than youth) is a foreign assignment
 Missionary on staff of local church but work overseas
o (5) Faith-based
 appeals for funds are not made but the missionary trusts the Lord to provide

Question 41

What are some important principles for missions funding?

Answer 41

Missionaries should have a reasonable and viable plan for the financial support of their families.

Missionaries typically raise all or most of their support at home in order to have a stable income that does not depend on the local church or community of their ministry focus people.

Paul worked as a tentmaker, and God supplemented his revenue with gifts from atleast one church.

Paul wrote about his personal needs and the needs of established churches in distress (See 1 Cor. 16:1-3; 2 Cor. 8:1-5, 9:6-15)

Missionaries should avoid depending for his livelihood on those he is discipling (Keeping with Paul’s model)

Acts 20:33-35; Phil. 4:16; 1 Thess; 2:9

Laborers in ministry are worthy of their wages and can ask for support.

Question 42

How would you demonstrate scripturally that missionaries and ministry workers are worth their wages?

Answer 42

Paul’s Model in 1 Cor. 9:7-14 (Put passage on flashcard)

Paul chose not to do this for several reasons.

He did not want to be a burden to new believers

He wanted to give his opponent NO pretext for questions his motives

He wanted to set an example of hard work

In Paul’s day, people were profiting from the gospel so he needed to set himself apart.

People were not working hard and living off the charity of their church (2 Thess 3:6-12)

In some cases “seed money” help launch new works.

A minimal provision that allows the farmer to begin to work the land.

Proverbs 24:27

Luke 14:28

Question 43

What are some benefits for personal support development? How is this supported scripturally?

Answer 43

Personal relationships and thus better prayer

More consistent support

Churches give more when they have personal relationships

Churches have a clearer choice on where to send short term workers.

In crisis, better help and more personal care

More opportunities to involve individuals support
T
he bible strongly shows that missionaries called to full time service have the right to be supported. We find evidence of this right in the following:

The example of the Levites (Numbers 18:24)

The example of Jesus (Luke 8:2-3)

The teaching of Jesus (Matthew 10:9-10)

The example of Paul (Acts 18:4-5)

The teaching of Paul (1 Corinthians 9:1-18)

Question 44

Are there downsides to personal support development?

Answer 44

More work for the missionary

More exhausting furloughs

Potential for financial problems if support drops, especially if a big supporter drops.

Longer time required to get to the field (18-24 month on average)

Some people struggle with the feeling of begging

Question 45

How can churches communicate with missionaries?

Answer 45

Communicate with them regularly, but give updates of life, Not just a request for information.

Share how the church and people in the church are doing. Demonstrate knowledge that you have read their prayer letters.

Send care packages.

Question 46

Why should a church develop a clear vision for missions?

Answer 46

It provides clear direction, goals, focus, theological convictions, processes for different potential issues that may arise.

Question 47

What are the key components of a missions manual?

Answer 47

Basic Definitions

Basic Commitments

Statement of vision

Statement of Structure

Statement of selection of committee members.

Statement of responsibilities

Statement of Strategy

Statement of Policy on raising support within the congregation

Statement of when support begins and ends

Statement of how we decide where to go and where to invest

Statement on sending your pastors on missions trips.

Question 48

What are some of the criteria for evaluating potential members of a missions committee?

Answer 48

Candidates are normally recommended by members of the committee

Candidates names are presented to the session for approval and, upon approval, are then approached and invited to join the committee.

Standards for members.

Doctrinal subscription of members

Responsibilities of members

Size of committee

Terms of service

Quorum

Question 49

What are the common weaknesses of missions strategies in the local church? How do these relate to a well-developed vision?

Answer 49

No clear goals

No clear focus (Church Planting? Evangelism?)

No clear focus on geographical interest

No clear method for deciding geographical interest

No clear agency commitment

No clear method for vetting and evaluating non traditional missionaries

No clear expectations for supported missionaries

No clear promotion strategy

No clear process for dropping a missionary

No clearly stated guidelines for determining the level of support for a particular missionary

No clear goals regarding the desired balance of missionaries based in the US. vs based on the foreign field.

No clear policy regarding support of non-official church trips

No clear plan to spiritually encourage the missionaries we support.

No clear agreement with the pastor to keep missions before the congregation.

No clear affirmation from the church that it is alright for church members who are going as missionaries to contact members and raise support in the church.

No clear process to select mission committee members

No clear financial plan to encourage pastors to go on missions trips.

Question 50

What are some ways the church can evaluate potential mission fields for short-term trips?

Answer 50

it is important to have an appropriate missions field for your church members to be able to serve in a short term capacity. It is important to decide what kind of trip is this going to be? (i.e. youth trip? more specific ministry/training?) This will help determine where you will go. I think its important to try your best to visit those mission workers that your church supports. This provides a relationship and an opportunity to care for the missionaries as you serve with them. As you look at these you can decide from there whether you are wanting to go national or international? The current needs of your missions partners will be helpful as well so that you can be a blessing in your short term work and not being a burden to them.

Question 51

What are some important characteristics to look for in potential team members?

Answer 51

Spiritual Maturity

Require Maturity- (Some types of trips are not first trip material)

Require godliness- No recent issues or arrests.

Require humility, teachability, and flexibility.

Require training: Evangelism, preparation, assigned tasks, (ESL lesson prep/VBS Prep/elder training material prep.

Question 52

Explain Thornwell’s doctrine of the Priesthood of Christ and how he relates this to the call of missions?

Question 53

Challenges for MKs?

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Answer 53

o Live between culture
o hidden immigrants
 sound American and look American, they’re not fully American.
o advanced maturity
o delayed maturity

Question 54

How to care for MK/TCKs?

Answer 54

Caring/Parenting TCKs
o 1) Let them tell their stories
o 2) Help them experience their passport culture
 keep celebrating thanksgiving (and July 4th) for example
 holidays
 sports
 relationships
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Question 55

What are parental fears in missions?

Answer 55

Parental fears:
o 1) Am I destroying my kids? Will they be able to go to college?
o 2) what about grandparents?
 tough
 Christmas visits
o 3) What about little league?
 start something!
o 4) health care and medicine

Question 56

What’s significant about Ex 12 for missions?

Answer 56

• first place that OT/Bible talks about the church.
• in the context of the blood of the lamb preserving God’s people. Context of passover.

Question 57

What’s significant about Ex 12 for missions?

Answer 57

• first place that OT/Bible talks about the church.
• in the context of the blood of the lamb preserving God’s people. Context of passover.