World Mission of the Church - Lesson 1

Mission, singular, refers to a divine initiative of God to reconcile His creation according to His elective purposes that He has sovereignly chosen. Missions must flow from God's mission. Missions is part of God's mission that includes the action of the Church bearing witness to the Gospel.

Mission, singular, refers to a divine initiative of God to reconcile His creation according to His elective purposes that He has sovereignly chosen. Missions must flow from God's mission. Missions is part of God's mission that includes the action of the Church bearing witness to the Gospel.

The theology of Great Commission found in culminating texts in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and reinforced in Acts 1:8.  Jesus gives us the mandate and the authority to proclaim the gospel publicly. The church is intended to be a public gathering not a selective cult. Discipling all nations is about affecting whole societies.  "Nations" means people groups, not a geographic or political entity. The emphasis in Matthew is making disciples.

The theology of Great Commission found in culminating texts in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and reinforced in Acts 1:8.  Jesus gives us the mandate and the authority to proclaim the gospel publicly. The church is intended to be a public gathering not a selective cult. Discipling all nations is about affecting whole societies.  "Nations" means people groups, not a geographic or political entity. The emphasis in Matthew is making disciples.

The 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.

Acts 11:20 describes the first time the Gospel is intentionally preached in a cross-cultural situation.

Acts 11:20 describes the first time the Gospel is intentionally preached in a cross-cultural situation.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The mindset of 19th century Europeans included the belief that the government and society of their country was superior to other countries. This was a predominant attitude in these societies, not just in the missionaries. The predominant secular attitude today is that all cultures are equal and no aspect should be criticized. There is a distinction between preaching the gospel to a culture with a viable church and and one without a viable church. Community is  foundational for evangelism and missions.

The material in this lecture is based on the article, "Top Ten Things You Should Know about Missions in the 21st Century" - American Baptist Evangelical Journal (Summer, 2003, Vol. 11, #3):  3-17. The audio covers points 6-10, but the audio for points 1-5 is not available.

Some mission board are associated with a denomination and some are independent. 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.

The chart showing the structure of the mission boards to which Dr. Tennent refers in the lecture is not available.

Some mission board are associated with a denomination and some are independent. 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.

The chart showing the structure of the mission boards to which Dr. Tennent refers in the lecture is not available.

Understanding world religions affects our strategy and the way we do our ministry around the world. Identification vs. extractionist model. By understanding the teachings of different religions, you can explain the gospel in terms they can understand.

The map referred to in the lecture with the world religions color coded is not available to us.

Understanding world religions affects our strategy and the way we do our ministry around the world. Identification vs. extractionist model. By understanding the teachings of different religions, you can explain the gospel in terms they can understand.

The map referred to in the lecture with the world religions color coded is not available to us.