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Incorporating Cybermissions Strategies Into General Missions
Approaches
By John EdmistonCEO, Cybermissions
Cybermissions
• Cybermissions is the application of digital ministry techniques to cross-cultural missions. Either alone or in partnership and synergy with conventional missions approaches.
• Cybermissions and general missions are alienated. High-tech and high-touch are being pushed apart by a deep theological and missiological misunderstanding of the nature of technology in spreading the fragrance of Christ.
Quality
• The key term in the integration of technology projects into general missions approached is quality assurance; a definition of quality assurance is: “Quality assurance is a system for ensuring a desired level of quality in the development, production, or delivery of products and services.” (Dictionary.com)
The only way to ensure a consistently good result in anything (from washing the dishes to landing a rocket on a comet) - is with a good system - bad systems only produce bad results.
Chokma• The seeking of chokma or practical wisdom and
knowledge means that God teaches people:• The correct way to harvest and process dill and
cumin (Isaiah 28:23-29) • Or to do technical work such as building the
tabernacle (Exodus 28:3, 35:25) • Chokma is defined by Smend as “the art of
reaching one's end by the use of the right means”. Thus godly Cybermissions is chokma (wisdom).
A Path To Quality Results
Technology is not an end in itself. Technology is just one of the means to quality, where quality is defined as “producing consistently good Kingdom results”.
Cooperation & Collaboration
• Technology exists alongside other Kingdom activities and alongside prayer, good doctrine, and holy living.
• This paper will explore how technology can be integrated with general missions approaches so that together they achieve consistently good Kingdom results.
4 Clarifying Concepts
A Complete Package
• Not just excellent information but also spiritual impartation, personal spiritual formation and a community aiming at transformation of themselves and their local community.
• However information is the start of the process. Proclaiming and teaching are the foundations for discipleship and the Great Commission.
The Great Commission Narratives
• Preach the gospel – Information
• Baptizing them – Spiritual Impartation
• Make disciples – Personal Formation
• Teaching them to Obey – Transformation in the church community, living out the one-another commands
Step 1- CREATE• Create a wide range of resources that are excellent, clear,
and structured and which keep people biblical, honest and theologically balanced.
• Curate the resources for cultural relevance, age relevance and situational relevance.
• Check that the resource is in a digital format that people can access on their devices. Safe formats include MP3, html, text and PDF. Video may be difficult in some low-bandwidth areas.
Step 2 - DELIVER• Deliver the resource to the device that most people own
or have direct access to.
• Mobile phones, TVs, radios, tablets, and Internet cafes are among the most common and accessible means of delivery.
• Delivery methods include wireless hotspots, SD cards, BlueTooth, Internet downloads, apps, hard drives full of resources, Internet radio, websites and so on, see http://cybermissions.org/mobilemin/
Step 3 - TRAIN• Information tends not to work very well on its own! You
will need teachers, trainers and facilitators.
• You need to train your trainers in four things:a) The content that you have createdb) The delivery method and how to use itc) How to facilitate a small group welld) How to recruit group members
• The best facilitators are also able to depend on God for their finances or to do business-as-mission.
Step 4 - Catalyze
• Once you start seeing success and have something you can “show off” to others, that is the time to catalyze a discipleship training movement.
• Organize conferences, consultations, and also engage in focused project collaboration with other churches and mission agencies. Global events in many locations.
• Think multiplication not addition • Share a clear vision of transformation and a simple
pathway for achieving it, along with stories of success.• Build trust first, then tackle projects together!
Technical Projects Require TRUST!HIGH TRUST LEVEL LOW TRUST LEVEL
High Speed Slow
Low Cost Expensive
Zero Politics = FUN Politics = MISERY
Trust is NOT NATURAL
Managers don’t trust EngineersEngineers don’t trust MarketingTechnicians don’t trust VisionariesIntercessors don’t trust AccountantsAccountants don’t trust IT SpendingSecurity doesn’t trust Anyone Else
You Must Deliberately Create Trust.
Train Those You Trust
Trust Those You Train
Be Vulnerable To One Another’s Strengths
You have to deliberately be kind, humble, a good listener, ethical, reliable, non-confrontational, wise, demonstrate competence, keep your word, spend face-to-face time together, have written agreements and start with small wins.
