Mission is described as the work of God. It is deeply rooted in God’s desire and whim to reconcile sinful humanity to Himself. Therefore, any understanding of the term mission that excludes God and perceives it as some particular type of human endeavors is erroneous and ill-informed. As such, just like God worked in Egypt to deliver the Israelites and turn them to Him, He continually works through human ambassadors to typically reconcile sinful humanities and turn them to Him. These ambassadors are called missionaries. To this end, this course has provided candid insights on mission, its history, and generally noteworthy takeaways on the general subject of mission and missionary work.
Mission was originally initiated by God Himself, through prophets, judges, and priests in the Old Testament. Later, He further fostered the role of mission in the New Testament through His son Jesus Christ. Notably, God continues to revamp His work on earth through initiating mission through His people, hitherto. Mission can thus be defined as God’s work in reconciling sinful humanity to Himself. It is, therefore, necessary to distinguish it from the term missions, which ideally refers to the plans and endeavors of committed believers to ensure they fully accomplish the task or rather, the work of God. In this regard, mission is typically the theological anchor of missions, which is the practical implementation of God’s purpose. The two terminologies are, therefore, interrelated; missions devoid of the mission is null, void, and empty, and it can be likened to a body without its spirit.
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Background Information on Motivations for Missions
In this regard, it is utterly pivotal to critically look into the various ways through which motivations for missions are dynamically changing. In the past, people usually preached and responded to the gospel essentially out of sheer of hell and its consequent ramifications. Besides, missions were primarily inspired by the fear of the lostness and vices that have filled humanities. Nevertheless, these motivations have since waned tremendously in the postmodern context of today. As such, motivations for missions are predominantly exemplified by postmodern believers and Christians as giving all the glory to God. Additionally, postmodern Christianity motivates the overflowing of gratitude and thankfulness, which greatly inspire missions.
In the past, many missions were primarily driven by the fear of hell, whereby thousands of people ideally responded by contemplating and repenting their sins to avoid being on the wrong side during judgment day. Additionally, many people were motivated to become missionaries and proclaim the work of God majorly to save other people in the world from the painful wraths of hell. On this note, they relied on the notion that if Jesus himself had been sent by God to seek and save the lost, then this should also be people’s motivation to proclaim the work of God. Nevertheless, this notion is fast being debunked by many Christians in the postmodern era, especially with the belief that people were created to fulfill God’s desires and glorify His Holy name. Modern Christianity and missions are categorically based on the philosophy that people should give glory to God. Indeed, this should be the main driving force for individuals to dedicate all their lives to God, and it underscores the pertinent question that regards why people choose to leave their families, friends, cultures, workplaces and other material things to dedicate their lives entirely to God through serving people of different cultures and languages. Further, it also depicts what particular motivations enable missionaries to tolerate and persevere rather harsh and challenging conditions while learning new languages, learning to minister in foreign cultures and ways of life, as well as raising new families in new environments that are different from their own. The motivation is largely distinguished from sensitizing people to turn to God for fear of hell and the adverse consequences that result from turning away from God and his desires, but rather because humanity is meant to dedicate, serve, and give glory to God.
Noteworthy, the early Christian fraternity was significantly motivated and inspired by the eschatological glory of God. In this regard, glory to God categorically refers to the glory that would primarily be revealed and manifested upon the return of Jesus Christ. Therefore, early Christians were thus able to survive uniformly as a people who were prohibited from participating as citizens in their respective larger cultures. The early Christians had typically seen God’s glory through His son Jesus Christ, and in the wake of many sinful inclinations and struggles, they ultimately managed to survive and grow as one people who reflected God’s will and glory.
John’s prologue ideally describes how the world, despite Christ creating it, did not exhaustively recognize or receive him when he came. However, the glory of God was explicitly manifested by His word becoming flesh and taberna-cling amongst humanity, as well as revealing the outright glory of the One and Only who ideally came from the Lord or Father, full of truth and grace. As such, the sole purpose of Jesus Christ was to make God’s fullness of grace known, and this would ensure that all are transformed into his nature.
Early Christian martyrs significantly revealed and manifested the zeal of God’s glory in a plethora of ways. For instance, Polycarp, who was a convert of the bishop of Smyrna and Apostle John, was commanded to readily accept the Roman Emperor as his God. However, he refrained from accepting the Emperor as his God claiming that he would not blaspheme his savior. As such, he was later killed by being burnt at the stake. Taking this into account, it is important to note that acknowledging the Glory of God is what led the early church and Christians to not only survive persecutions but also to proclaim the outright and ultimate allegiance of their respective lives. As depicted in the book of Exodus, therefore, God reigns, and this is His world. God is majestic in His Holiness stature, awesome in all His Glory, and works sheer wonders (Exodus 15:11).
Strategy and Key Issues in Missions in the 21st Century
Having critically analyzed the noteworthy issues regarding the motivations of missions amongst early Christians, it is also cardinal to carefully review the key issues and strategies that fundamentally shape missions in the 21st Century. In respect to the key issues that regard missions today, the most pertinent question revolves around how people can communicate the unchanging gospel of God and Jesus Christ, especially in the midst of a world that is dynamically changing by the day. In the current era, this is arguably one of the greatest and key missiological issues of the day. Even while the world we live in is constantly changing, the Gospel will always remain the same. It is no longer the era when the isolated West sent missionaries to foreign and unknown people and lands. Indeed, modern society is characterized by contacts between ethnic groups as a result of factors such as warfare, immigration, tourism, displacement among other factors and, therefore, times have significantly changed. There are more resources and opportunities today. Nevertheless, the fast-changing face of the globe and society presents its fair share of unique challenges. As such, there exist a wide array of areas that people’s thinking should change to meet the challenges that are inherent in cross-cultural ministries (Davis, 2008) .
One of the key issues to consider with regards to 21st Century missiological subject is that a newer generation characterizes the era for modern times. The generation of today is utterly different from that of previous generations. Indeed, generations today have been raised in times of rapid social, political, technological and many other changes. People in the 21st Century have great prowess in technology issues and are more open to the world. In addition, they tend to put more emphasis on personal relationships, are incredibly creative, sensible, and work under very indigenous leadership. Nevertheless, many come from broken and disunited families and thus carry painful scars on their souls. Self-discipline and stamina are not their strengths, and therefore, they require different concepts when it comes to training. In particular, they need flexible structures, adjusted working assignments with very carefully chosen tasks, sympathetic personal supervision, and generally, a newer type of mission structure or agency.
In this regard, it is thus noteworthy that in this 21st Century, a new type of missionary is instituted. The tremendously rapid political and social changes brought forth by globalization have significantly changed the world, and even the initially rural parts of the world today are characterized by big cities and great penetration of technology and infrastructure. Therefore, if missionaries decide to purposely reach the hearts of the originally uncivilized and underdeveloped areas, then their activities have to be geared towards the people, specifically their various values and needs. As such, missiological works have to address the issues affecting societies today, and this is especially relevant for things like church meetings, Bible correspondence courses, literature, radio, and television programs among many others. Successful missiological works and modalities that were employed in the past by early Christians may be outdated in the current 21st Century. Therefore, there is a great need for missionaries to continually reflect on their ministries, purpose to take over newer and more rigorous tasks, continuously work on re-training, as well as develop candid attitudes of lifetime learning (Blocher, 2013) .
Another notable issue that should be considered in missions primarily in the 21st Century is the fact that communication needs to be regarded highly. New communication modalities and technologies have significantly revolutionized the world, whereby news and pictorials travel at a terrific speed across the globe. As such, this has since seen the dynamic change in the forms of mission work, whereby they currently incorporate things like evangelization through satellite TVs, Bible, and theological literature that is easily available and accessible on the Internet, Christian documentaries and films, theological training through email, and other social media platforms alongside many others. These are pivotal missionary opportunities, although they do not serve as ideal substitutes or alternatives for the living example of Christ’s ambassador (Blocher, 2013) .
Noteworthy also, mission works need to ensure that they are more about evangelism. In the past during early Christianity, powerful prayer movements and programs, especially for unreached populations, have come to the fore, and the Lord has subsequently done remarkable things through them. However, there is an immensely growing awareness with regards to the philosophy that great commission entails more than mere operation plans, techniques, superficial evangelism, or even impressive conversion numbers. The central ideology of the great commission, as prescribed in the Bible, is the command of making disciples (Matthew 28). In this respect, therefore, this entails more than the basic preaching of the gospel or even convincing masses to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. All the aspects of life have to come under Christ’s leadership, and every believer ought to find their place in any local church. It is rather impractical to achieve this through the mass media outlets, although they can be efficient especially in evangelism. There needs to be a living and perfect example of exactly what the grace of God can do in a person’s life and, thus, discipleship should be acted out in people’s daily lives. As such, our personal lives should be transparent in a bid to encourage others to follow Jesus Christ.
The 21st Century and the modern era, in general, are marred with myriad challenges spanning from calamities like floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, diseases, ethnic conflicts, persecution of Christians, spiritually-bound individuals and many others. Also, there are many closed countries, and many individuals have hearts that are closed for the Word of God or God. Therefore, people need evident signs of God’s grace and love to open doors for the gospel and its consequent proclamation. Salvation is only found in having a personal faith in Jesus, and this message must be delivered and communicated through deeds and personality of the ambassador, alongside the word. It should start at the basic interests and needs of the people and, therefore, the sole intent of modern mission works should be tailored on preaching Jesus in everything.
Strategies for Training People Involved In Missions
For mission works to continually progress in the most efficacious manner in this fast-paced and dynamic world, various suggestions and recommendations must be undertaken for the achievement of ultimate success. First, in-depth training must be incorporated into prospective missionaries. As such, training must be conducted in strict adherence to a number of factors. The training should be based on the various precise skills of an individual, although it is an aspect that is more captured or acquired than taught. In addition, training must be specific on the particular job and, thus, missionaries must be adequately trained by people who have apostolic gifts.
In essence, every prospective mission student should have a concise map of the globe, and before short-term mission works or trips are undertaken in a foreign land, the trainees must be duly encouraged in a variety of things. First, they need to learn more about other religions and denominations, observe other people’s religious cultures and practices as well as their forms of worship. The grasp of this knowledge will enable them to relate well with the gospel, especially to those that essentially practice other religious faiths. In addition, the trainees must be open to learning another language if necessary. Most importantly, mission groups and churches that wish to undertake short-term works overseas to reach a specific ethnic group must also learn not to act disinterested or ignorant in their city.
Apart from skill, the character of the mission student should also be critically considered. In this regard, those discerning to be future missionaries should be people of integrity and have a fruitful devotional life. This includes a healthy marriage if at all they are married, a prayerful and utterly caring church, and a spiritual support base. In addition, the missionary needs to be part of a mission agency, which holds its missionaries fully responsible and accountable. Missionaries carry the formidable obligation and stress of swiftly adjusting to different cultures, learning new languages, relating well to locals and expatriates, alongside many other adaptations. Therefore, in the training process, prospective missionaries have to be encouraged to ensure they do not feel racially superior in any way, considering that this is one of the most humbling jobs.
Knowledge is yet another important issue to pay critical attention to with regards to the training process of future missionaries. As Apostle Mark recorded, Jesus Christ appointed twelve disciples that he designated as apostles, so that they may be with him (Mark 3:14). From this verse, being with Jesus meant that they would be duly trained and consequently gain the necessary experience required to undertake their apostolic duties. It is, therefore, important to note that in mission works, it is not necessarily the involvement in programs which matters, but rather, the engagement with other people and communities. While making time for other people and societies is somewhat costly, slow and tedious, it is instrumental in delivering amazing results (Abraham, 2007) .
Ways to Partner with Others in Missionary Work
For mission works to thrive and achieve the intended results, it is essential to consider ways that can enhance partnerships and collaboration. Indeed, partnerships in mission works are important as they amplify the vision of the mission and inform short and long-term commitment to the set goals and objectives. Also, cooperation breeds exemplary side benefits such as closer communication ties across ministries among others. Therefore, establishing effective ways of enhancing partnerships remains instrumental. Through alliances, missionaries demonstrate stewardship and maximize the use of resources. Besides, the credibility of the mission’s message is reinforced and strengthened by a great deal.
First, it is cardinal to create platforms that allow the collaboration, which will boost the consequent formation of partnerships. Devoid of platforms for exchanges and the establishment of healthy relationships, then there will be no partnership. As such, there needs to be the creation of international gatherings and other platforms that essentially provide effective natural platforms necessary for collaboration.
Additionally, it is vital to incorporate bridge agents, especially considering that these gatekeepers play a unique role in constructing formidable partnerships. Setting clear goals and objectives amongst partners is also necessary, as what may be viewed as a failure of undoing using a particular criterion can be considered as a success through another criteria or formulae. Therefore, this implies that setting clear objectives will enable and further promote evaluation, thus making it instrumental.
Collaborations, partnerships, and cross-training can play a significant role in bridging cultural divides. There exist diversified values and worldviews that are involved amongst the different partners and, therefore, people that comprehend multiple worldviews become productive and invaluable. As such, the difficulties and shortcomings that come with collaboration are worth it, and the only way that the mission goals and objectives can be achieved is essentially through incorporating and upholding collaboration and partnership. The Lord desires His Holy body earth, which is the Church, to ideally act in sheer unity, to best make His grace and glory known. Therefore, mission works have the best chance to make formidable impacts by uniting energies of various mission initiatives and programs from many communions and sectors.
In conclusion, ministries and mission work need to join together and create deeper and robustly stronger collaborations with others in terms of alliances, coalitions, networks, and partnerships to better advance and revamp the sole purposes of our Lord.
References
Abraham, K. (2007). Education and Training for Missions and Evangelism. Lausanne World Pulse Archives .
Blocher, D. (2013). World mission in the 21st century. Damit Menschen Gott Begegnen .
Davis, S. (2008). The Challenge of Missions in the Twenty-first Century. Lausanne World Pulse Archives Journals .
