World Mission of the Church
About This Class
Recognizing the responsibility of all Christians to complete Christ’s commission, this course gives an overview of the strategic and historical progress of worldwide missions today. The ways in which a local congregation can fulfill its worldwide biblical mandate are also considered.
Other Recommended Reading:
To the Golden Shore – Courtney Anderson
Operation World (prayer guide)
The Legacy of William Carey: A Model for the Transformation of a Culture - Vishal and Ruth Mangalwadi
Mission on the Way: Issues in Mission Theology - Charles E. Van Engen
Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader - Ralph D. Winter
More to be Desired than Gold: A Collection of True Stories told by Christy Wilson
Mission in the Old Testament: Israel as a Light to the Nations – Walt Kaiser
The Next Christendom – Philip Jenkins
Mission in the New Testament – William Larkin, Joe Williams
Salvation to the Ends of the Earth: A Biblical Theology of Missions– edited by Peter O'Brien
William Carey as a Missiologist: An Assessment - American Baptist Evangelical Journal, vol. 7 #1, March 1999: 3-10
Top Ten Things You Should Know about Missions in the 21st Century - ABE Journal (Summer, 2003, Vol. 11, #3): 3-17.
Adoniram Judson and the Mission Societies of the Great Century - ABE Journal (Summer, 2003, Vol. 11, #3): 20-24.
The Gospel to the Nations - Peter Bolt and Mark Thompson
The Open Secret – Lesslie Newbigin
Bridges of God - Donald McGavran
Understanding Church Growth - Donald McGavran
The Heavenly Man - (biography of brother Yan)
Translating the Message: The Missionary Impact on Culture, D. Willis James
Through Gates of Splendor - Elisabeth Elliot
My Native My Kinsman - Elisabeth Elliot
Shadow of the Almighty - Elisabeth Elliot
Neighboring Faiths - Winfried Corduan
Websites
About the Professor
Timothy Tennent
Dr. Timothy Tennent, the Methodist Chair of Divinity at Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School, previously served 15 years as president of Asbury Theological Seminary. A former professor at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Tennent is an ordained Methodist pastor and global conference speaker. Tennent is the author of several books on theology and missions. He and his wife, Julie, have two adult children and are actively involved in ministry.
Lessons
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For people who are pastors or will serve as pastors, this course will expose you to what you need to know about missions to be effective in the local church. This is also a foundational course for people who are preparing for missionary service by considering topics dealing with practical and theological aspects of missions. For everyone, regardless of your vocation, this course will challenge you to become a world Christian. (Note: It is helpful to know that a pericope [pair – ik – o – pay] is a section of scripture containing a teaching or describing an event.)
0% Complete Mission is the reconciling work of God in the world. Missions is the obedient, Spirit-led strategy and implementation of plans to fulfill God's mission in the world. The basis of the Torah is not untethered from a global heart of God for the nations of the world. Even in the Writings and the Prophets, the covenant is being celebrated in the context of the nations of the world, including ramifications of both blessing and cursing.
0% CompleteMission is the reconciling work of God in the world. Missions is the obedient, Spirit-led strategy and implementation of plans to fulfill God's mission in the world. The basis of the Torah is not untethered from a global heart of God for the nations of the world. Even in the Writings and the Prophets, the covenant is being celebrated in the context of the nations of the world, including ramifications of both blessing and cursing.
0% CompleteAs the early Christians experience missiological breakthroughs, they will cite the Old Testament because they see these events as a fulfillment of what had already been written. The Abrahamic covenant is cited to demonstrate how God is using the Messiah to bless the nations. The theology of Great Commission found in culminating texts in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and reinforced in Acts 1:8. Jesus repeated the Great Commission to his disciples in different ways and at various times. Matthew’s account begins by saying that Jesus is giving authority by the Father for the extension of His kingdom. God has given us a mandate to present the Gospel publicly to the world, not just to separate into a cultic community. The only main verb in the passage is, “make disciples.” God’s command is to disciple all people groups, not just people in each country.
0% CompleteAs the early Christians experience missiological breakthroughs, they will cite the Old Testament because they see these events as a fulfillment of what had already been written. The Abrahamic covenant is cited to demonstrate how God is using the Messiah to bless the nations. The theology of Great Commission found in culminating texts in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and reinforced in Acts 1:8. Jesus repeated the Great Commission to his disciples in different ways and at various times. Matthew’s account begins by saying that Jesus is giving authority by the Father for the extension of His kingdom. God has given us a mandate to present the Gospel publicly to the world, not just to separate into a cultic community. The only main verb in the passage is, “make disciples.” God’s command is to disciple all people groups, not just people in each country.
0% CompleteThe verses that contain Mark's version of the Great Commission first appear in later copies, but there are good reasons to treat these verses as part of the inspired text of the Gospel of Mark. In Mark, the proclamation is to be made to all creation. The emphasis in Mark is preaching. The emphasis in Luke is witnessing. The emphasis in John is sending.
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Acts 11:20 describes the first time the Gospel is intentionally preached in a cross-cultural situation. A church was planted in Antioch and Saul and Barnabas discipled believers there for a year. The Antioch church sends them out, and they come back and report to them what happened. Both local evangelism to your own people group and cross cultural evangelism are important.
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There have been changes in missions between 1792 and the present. Many people credit William Carey with beginning the modern missions movement. The Moravians were taking the Gospel to places all over the world, even before Carey began his ministry. The eras overlap because it takes a while for new ideas to catch on. A key figure in Beachhead Missions is William Carey. In Carey’s book, “An Inquiry,” he challenges the inaction of the church in cross-cultural missions. He says God has given to the Church, the responsibility of spreading the Gospel to other parts of the world, summarizes missions history, gives anthropological data and discusses practical issues people give for not going. Ultimately, people need to be open to the call of the Holy Spirit and willing to respond to the challenge. Carey’s motto is, “Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God.” He and Judson wanted to plant churches in a new country.
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Hudson Taylor went to China as a first era missionary. Taylor travels inland and pushes the limits of what the missions organizations were willing to do. Frontier missions focused on the interior areas of countries, used a faith missions model for organization and funding, and recruited lay people, including students and women. Contextualization is preaching the Gospel in a way that is sensitive to the recipient.
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The close of the second era, Beachhead Missions, came in 1974 when Ralph Winter gave his address at the Lausanne Conference on world evangelism. As a result, people began looking at missions in terms of people groups rather than geographic areas. The fourth era of missions emphasizes “by whom” the Gospel is presented. Lausanne II and the Global Consultation on World Evangelization took place in 1989.
0% Complete - In this lesson, you will learn that the “ten forty window” is one of the places where there is a concentration of unreached people groups. A window is a way to recognize the big picture while realizing that every local context is unique. The main focus is to look at each of the five mega-spheres and identify what is unique about each one.0% Complete
The “ten forty window” is one of the places where there is a concentration of unreached people groups. A window is a way to recognize the big picture while realizing that every local context is unique. The main focus is to look at each of the five mega-spheres and identify what is unique about each one.
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It’s helpful to summarize what you need to know as a pastor to communicate to people about missions and what the pathway is to getting prepared to serve as a missionary. Every continent should be a sending and receiving continent. Short term missions is the best thing and worse thing that has happened to the local church.
Previous to the beginning of the audio, there was a video shown that is not available to us. It was an account of the breakthrough of the gospel into a culture.
0% Complete - By studying this lesson, you'll gain insights into the top ten key aspects of 21st-century missions, including their holistic approach, indigenous leadership, partnerships, technology, urbanization, short-term missions, Global South's influence, contextualization, business as mission, and diaspora focus.0% Complete
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Some mission boards are associated with a denomination and some are independent. Most missions organizations belong either to the IFMA (Interdenominational Faith Missions Association) or EFMA (Evangelical Foreign Missions Agency). Fundamentalist missions organizations each have a specific focus. The steps you go through before you go to the mission field are designed to help you get good training and build a team that will support you. Churches are tending to provide a larger percentage of support for fewer missionaries. Terms are usually 3-4 years at a time. Your first term is usually spent just learning the language and culture. Missionaries spend time between terms connecting with people and preparing to return. People often are more receptive to the Gospel when they are living in a culture other than their native culture. Air travel and email have made asynchronous relationships possible. People with professional training have access to some countries that won't allow people to come in as missionaries.
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As you consider becoming a missionary, it is helpful to recognize areas in the world where the population predominantly identifies with another religion. Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism are popular with large population groups in the 10-40 window. There are also large immigrant populations in locations throughout the US.
The map referred to in the lecture with the world religions color coded is not available to us.
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Hinduism is practiced by a large percentage of the people in India. It also has an impact on the culture and politics of India. Buddhism teaches that there is one path to spiritual enlightenment, as opposed to Hinduism that teaches that there are many.
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Understanding world religions affects our strategy and the way we do our ministry around the world.
Most people who need a gospel presentation are members of another world religion (e.g., Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism). We study other religions so we know the context of belief of that people group. Identification vs. extractionist model. By understanding the teachings of different religions, you can explain the gospel in terms they can understand. Muslims agree on many parts of the Old Testament but don't believe in the Trinity or that Jesus is God. Religions in China and Japan emphasize sincerity, orderliness and personal and public conduct based on precedent.
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Class Resources
Recommended Books
How God Saves the World: A Short History of Global Christianity
In a world awash with mission statements, the Christian mission is increasingly becoming white noise, lost in a sea of marketing language and organizational best practices....
Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the Twenty-First Century
Invitation to World Missions "combines a strong biblical anchor with practical suggestions. This unique text is arranged in three parts according to the Trinity's...
Encountering Theology of Mission: Biblical Foundations, Historical Developments, and Contemporary Issues
This fresh, comprehensive text fills a need for an up to date theology of mission. It offers creative approaches to answering some of the most pressing questions in theology...
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