World Christian Partnership. Testimonial of the Journey

World Christian Partnership

Testimonial of the Journey

Presuppositions #1 Presuppositions #1

• The Church is called to do Missions .

• Acts 13:1-4• Now there were at Antioch, in the

church that was there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 And while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."

• Acts 13:3-4 3 Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. 4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus.

Presuppositions #1 Presuppositions #1 • The Church is called to do

Missions Continued.• Matthew 16:18-19 "And

I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it. 19

• "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Prep. #1 Acts11:19-26 Prep. #1 Acts11:19-26 19 So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone.

20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed

turned to the Lord. 22 The news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they

sent Barnabas off to Antioch. 23 Then when he arrived and 1witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; 24 for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. 25. And he

left for Tarsus to look for Saul; 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And

for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.


• The pervasive model in missions and ministry in the New Testament is that of Church planting.

• Churches will penetrate culture through cells that can then create a body.

• That body is suppose to be Jesus to the world not only sharing salvation but also meeting needs.


• What about other orgs. ? • We can partner and work together

– ( More on this later) • As a strategy to reach the world, to minister to

people, and to also penetrate cultures, I believe the “Church” is the best model.

Problem

We are not doing too well at our task.

How Are We Doing?

Spending: • 87% of all church offerings stays here.• 12+% Goes to places that have the gospel.• .03% makes it to the 1.7 Billion with no gospel at all.• From SBC World , 2 cents of every dollar given to one

of our 44,000 churches makes it to the IMB. The pecentage that makes it to the UPG’s is less than that.

How Are We Doing?

Sending:

• 90% of the world’s missionary work force serves in places that already have the gospel.

• 10% serve in places that have no gospel access. ( Some stats show way lower #’s)

• 95% of the worlds pastor serve here in America seeking to reach 5% of the worlds population.

• That is why we have this !

How Are We Doing?

Sending: Another Stat and way of saying it: • Of the 5% of ministers who become

missionaries 80-90% focus on majority Christian groups.

• Only 2.5 – 4% of missionaries are focused on the 25 - 28% of the world who are unreached

Cross-cultural Missionaries per Million in Major Blocs

Source: Todd M. Johnson & Mission Frontiers Magazine, June 2000

Rank Country PIAs/miss

1 Mongolia 222

2 Lebanon 295

3 Singapore 400

4 Niger 451

5 Nepal 458

6 Sri Lanka 479

7 Spain 512

8 Faeroe Is 533

9 Mali 608

10 Thailand 633

11 China, HK 688

12 Canada 696

13 India 842

14 New Zealand 887

15 Korea, S 918

How many Christians to send one missionary?Rank Country PIAs/miss

23 Australia 1546

26 Japan 1806

30 United States 2148

31 Switzerland 2166

37 Finland 3046

40 Brazil 3666

41 UK 3775

42 Norway 3873

43 Sweden 4081

52 Argentina 7059

53 Germany 7226

67 South Africa 9985

73 Romania 12089

75 Nigeria 13204

New Sending Countries• More missionaries are being sent from non-

Western churches than from Western churches.

• There are now about 4,000 Third World mission agencies.

Ralph Winter & Bruce Koch, “Finishing the Task: The Unreached Peoples Challenge,” Perspectives, 3rd ed., p. 509)David B. Barrett & Todd M. Johnson, World Christian Trends AD 30-AD 2200, p. 71).

Yet , Look what Paul Says

Romans 15:20,21

20 And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, so that I would not build on another man’s foundation; 21 but as it is written,

“They who had no news of Him shall see, And they who have not heard shall understand.”

• Yet America is sliding in its missionary ventures. Piper.

What Have You Seen as Reasons for Our Lack of Focus on the

Ethnos?

Why Are We This Way ?

1. We do missions based on us, the witnesser, instead of the lost .

• Needs of the witnesser VS the needs of the lost is a crucial problem in world missions.

• We do what makes us “feel good” VS what will most effectively reach the culture in the long run.

Cheap, Easy, and Makes me good about myself….

More Reasons: 2. Market Driven Missions -

– Missions done for the “customer”.• Finding out what the people want and then providing them

with that “experience”.• Again, focuses upon what the “customer” wants to experience

not what is needed most on the field. • The customer is a person who is already a believer.

– The customer should be the lost not the saved.

More Reasons: 3. We have diluted the word “Missions”

• The word missions has now come to mean any type of “ministry”. Personal definition of ministry is seeking to do “help” type work at home.

• Both are ministry and missions are valid and biblical. • But when we combine the words we take away what

the scriptures intended. • Example: When you call local ministry “missions” then

many churches settle for only doing local ministry.• When asked “Do you do missions? Of course we do” • When in fact we have not come close to a scriptural idea of

penetrating UPG’s.

More Reasons:

4. Pastors , Staff and Key leaders do not understand the scriptural meaning of nations.

– Dr Slack sought to have one bible translator change the word to it’s literal meaning.

– Response:“We know you are correct, but we would not only not sell

bibles if that happens we would receive much criticism”

More Reasons:

5. Mission Leaders doing strategy that is ineffective for reaching a culture.

– Doing trips that please the witnesser are not necessarily effective.

– My goal is 100 years from now.– How will that culture look if I do strategies that do not

get us to church.– Individual response to salvation do not automatically

get us to church.

More Reasons:

6. Fear –– Many Americans fear going overseas.– They fear loss of money.– They fear Muslims– We are a fearful people. – Overall we lack a real risk taking mentality for the

Kingdom.

When it Comes to Risk The American Church is kind of like

this video

Letter So much is said and shared regarding our safety and the safety of the people who may desire to

receive Christ as their savior. Questions constantly arise regarding our own safety as we go to a volatile place and a harsh climate... so many fears, concerns, worries. God has spoken and clearly, to me about HIS heart on the matter :-) It is neat! It is true! I prayed about who to share this with and prayed as i went down the e-mail list. Ya'll are the ones God laid on my heart. Blessings from Him. We are so shortsighted sometimes! I pray that He would use us to help each other look the "right direction" with our HEARTS! God's definition of "safety" is totally different from ours.

We sometimes "expect" God to keep us safe. That can mean many different things. Safety to us can mean that we stay healthy.

It can mean that He keeps our families alive and free from disease. It could mean that He keeps us safe from enemies in this world. It can mean that He keeps us safe from danger. That He protects us from death… that He would never send us into the midst of discomfort, danger or death. BUT Safety to Him means... Saved. That's it. Those that are saved are safe. Those that aren't are in grave danger. The only kind that really matters. AND if we are safe... saved, then anything... ANYTHING could happen and we would still be

SAFE! Forever! Praise God!!!! Do not be afraid. He has promised to be with us always! AND He has SAVED us! Wow There is truly nothing to fear. There is truly no reason to tell Hi "no". He has thought of everything... even possible "consequences" when He calls. And His view of the consequences is that His perfect will is being accomplished. His ways are truly, truly NOT our ways. Aren't ya glad?

Last Reason:

7. The reason the unreached are unreached is because it is very hard.

– Money – It is expensive– Hot

Examples of the Problem: Heard from Churches:• “ If you can show me how missions will grow my

church then I will do it” – This pastor proceeded to cut the missions budget from

$90K to $15K and change the Mission pastors role in the church.

• “ We had a choice to either keep the gym open for our kids to play B-ball or send money to missions. We chose to keep the gym open”

• One lady in a church actually used profanity in a meeting mad about the fact here church was looking to do missions work among UPG’s.

In Honor of These People We Have designed a Church.

Here is the first commercial for this new church plant.

Examples: On the other side:• A well known pastor in Atlanta called a friend to his

church. – After asking how my friend like his building, tears begin

to fill his eyes. – He said this:

• “I have spent the last 20 years building my kingdom, it is time to build Gods”

• They have since hired an M pastor and made the whole front of their foyer in the new sanctuary missions focused.

Part 2 Partnering

Brad

Presups about Partnering

Church , no matter the size needs to engage UPG’s.

• Therefore we will partner with someone– Missionary– An Org.

• Not sure how we get around it . • Matt 28:20 is pretty clear .

– “Make disciples among all the ethnos…”

Before You Partner

You Must have a direction with your strategy. A strategy allows you to know where you are

going. It helps channel your churches activities. It helps you to say no to good things… …..So you can do the best things The ability to set your boundaries is huge. Saying

no is not evil.

Partnering

Keys to determining who to partner with. 1. Like minded theology.

– We do not plant churches with people who have differing theology on:

• Word of God• Nature of the Church

– We will plant churches with people who may have differences on what we call minor points.

Partnering

Keys to determining who to partner with. 2. For missionaries, we look for people who view the

church as an equal partner. • That means we happen to live here in the states

but… we still –– Learn strategy– Learn there lingo … ( CPM, ESL, IMB, Rl, SA etc. )– Learn about our people group.

Partnering

– Learn about our people group. – Learn how to share the gospel with them.

• Such as when David was here a few Saturdays ago to teach the Camel method.

– Therefore you can provide a home base for missionaries when they need you.

–

Story

Partnering Keys to determining who to partner with. 3. For churches we look for similar things in figuring

out who to partner with. Canadian Guys are a perfect example. – Similar Theology– Seeking to reach UPG’s– Strategy is exactly what we seek to do. – Look for pastors who “get it” when it comes to reaching

the ethne.

Types of Partnerships

A Few Models of Partnering

• Alliance Model– A group of churches come together to reach a UPG.– They pool resources , mainly money– They have a board of directors– The group decides where the money goes.– They work together to see who goes to the field and

when. Highly structured– Hired Staff ( Mainly Administrative) – Entrance is based on funding.– Equally church and field driven.

Board of Directors

Church1 Church 2 Church 3 Church 4 Church 5

Other Partners: $ and People

Field Personnel

People Group

Alliances Look Like This

Hired Staff


• Alliance Model Positives– Can mobilize churches– Provides a good support base for projects– Hired help to attend to matters.

• Web• Trip Coordination

– Can be more focused into areas of greatest need.– Can be More organized.


• Alliance Model Negatives– Recreating a mission board that already exists– Larger churches dominate– Bureaucratic– Missionary can tend to lose his voice in the

allocation of funds.– More meetings to attend by the stateside staff.


• Advocacy Networks

• Characteristics– Organic – Loosely connected – Flexible Structure– Highly relational

Another Way to Look at It

FieldChurch B

Church

Group A

Church A

Billy School A

People Group

Another Way to Look AtAnother Way to Look At

Church A + IMB +Field Team

Golden Hills Community

Church

+ WEC

+ SILChurch A

Church B + =

The Team

People Group

}

All groups are seeking to

reach the UPG

Advocacy

• Advantages– Flexible – Allows each group to participate in areas

of expertise. – Allows greater amount of direct participation.

• Disadvantages– Can be disorganized.– Places more on the missionary.

Other Types of Partners

• Funding Only – Simply giving money to a group or individual who

then in turn does a ministry. • Info Sharing Partnership –

– One where we share what we know with those who have info.

Para Church Org’s

• Para church means coming alongside the church.

• Good Para Church & Bad Para Church.

Good Para Church

• They seek to come alongside the church to help the church carry out it’s task.

• Example: – Reed Barton– Has a skill set that he seeks to aid the church .

Bad Para Church

• They seek to take volunteers and money to do the work of the church.

• Many see the church as the place where they can get their volunteers.

• They also see it as a place where they can get money.

• Therefore they usually want access to people in your church for their purposes.

• I cannot recall a one of these asking us – “ What are you already doing?”

Bad Para Church

• Some churches want this type of relationship.– They desire an organization they can turn money over to

do missions on their behalf.• This in my opinion is not biblical. • We are not to pay others to do the great

commission on our behalf.

Questions ?

Documents

World Christian Partnership. Testimonial of the Journey