A Common Mission: Healthy Patterns in Congregational Mission Partnerships
by David Wesley Wipf and Stock. 2014. —Reviewed by Alexander K. Zell, adjunct professor, Crown College, St. Bonifacius, Minnesota; former international worker in Brazil with The Alliance. Portuguese-speaking Christian leaders from Angola asked Brazilian Christian leaders to come and strengthen them through theological education. They were recovering from twenty-seven years of civil war where schooling […]
Transition: The Key to Storytelling
Being the master of storytelling, Jesus presents his stories in various ways. So do other storytellers in the Bible. They offer simple ways to transition a normal conversation to Bible storytelling as soon as possible.
Four Ways to Improve Field Staff Retention
If you lead field staff, there are at least four things you can do to improve their likelihood of remaining on the field, productively and with your agency:
Perched on the Shoulders of Giants: Building Legacy for the Sake of Mission
Retaining historical awareness of the church’s mission is especially important in moving forward. Some churches are stuck in the past, or at least attempt to move forward while engrossed with what is behind.
Celebrating Donald A. McGavran: A Life and Legacy
McGavran was a prolific writer of letters, articles, and books, as well as a world traveler. No one, to my knowledge, has visited as many mission fields, conducted as many interviews, or researched the growth and decline of Christian churches as widely as McGavran. He influenced mission theory and practice internationally and the movement he started continues to move forward, empowered by appreciative followers.
How Teams Work: A Case Study in Senegal, West Africa
The concept of North American missionaries serving overseas as part of a team is popular. The present generation of missionaries feels more comfortable working with others rather than launching out on their own. Mission agencies have picked up on this phenomenon and recruit people to be a part of a team for their organization as a mission strategy. While the idea is admirable, what is the difference between a team and a group?
Let’s Leave Shahada to Real Muslims
I write as a follow up to Gene Daniel’s important contribution on shahada confession, which appeared in the July 2014 issue of EMQ. The author notes that among Christian missionaries “there is disagreement about whether a believer in Christ can, with a clear conscience, say the second half, that Muhammad is his [God’s] messenger.”
Is English a Blessing or a Curse in Missions?
Christians are charged with taking the gospel to all nations, and therefore inevitably work in cross-cultural situations. But the current prominence of English as an international language creates potential problems in our approaches to missions and to communicating the gospel.
Learning to Read the Air: Three Ways to Improve Communication in Cultures Where Silence Is Golden
I want to share three things I have had to consider when communicating with my Japanese friends.
Modes of Mission in New and Established Churches
To help clarify, challenge, and encourage church leaders (and their churches) towards missional effectiveness, it may be helpful to consider three modes of mission as embodied by the Petrine Mission (1 Peter 2:9–12), the Johannine Mission (John 20:21), and the Pauline Mission (the life of Paul).