EGN NEWS DESK
In recognition of a brand new period in world missions with larger participation by the Global South, a just lately shaped group of mission, church and market-place leaders from Asia and Latin America issued a communiqué with suggestions for mission follow for the Majority World.
Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, from May 1-3, 2024, the group known as COALA – which stands for “Christ over Africa, Latin America and Asia” – emphasizes the significance of unity and partnership in missions and hopes the suggestions would begin off conversations within the world Church.
The Bangkok assembly that introduced collectively 38 missionaries, mission leaders and pastors from 30 nations was a follow-up to an earlier gathering in June 2023 beneath the auspices of the Korea World Mission Association. Participants from Latin America included leaders from COMIBAM (Cooperación Misionera Iberoamericana), a motion that brings collectively nationwide mission teams or networks in twenty-five Latin American international locations, in addition to Spain, Portugal and Hispanics from the United States and Canada.
“Discussions targeted on the altering form of worldwide mission from a Christendom mannequin to a really poly-centric mission,” the group mentioned, pointing to the “suggestions in the direction of some rules for wholesome majority world mission engagement in a poly-centric period of missions” as one of many key outcomes of the assembly.
With the heading “Greetings to the Global Church of our Lord Jesus Christ, all mission actions & networks,” the communique on COALA 2 begins by outlining the geographic shift in world Christianity in the direction of the Global South, highlighting the position of Majority World missionaries, after which requires unity and genuine partnership in missions throughout the world Church as an entire.
“The twentieth century has witnessed a serious shift within the form of the worldwide church. For the primary time within the trendy interval, the middle of gravity of the church has moved from the West into the non-Western or Majority World (MW: Africa, Asia, Latin America & MENA [Middle East and North America]). Today, two-thirds or extra of worldwide Christians reside within the latter,” the preamble states.
“Side by facet with this shift, we’ve got additionally seen a relative numerical decline of cross-cultural missionaries being despatched out from the West, with the hole more and more being crammed by these despatched out from the MW. The total results of the above is that some international locations that have been mission fields previously are actually more and more being acknowledged as missionary sending nations. Further, some that was sending nations are actually receiving missionaries again from previously receiving nations.”
“Given the above, many within the world church at the moment acknowledge that we are actually dwelling in a brand new period of polycentric missions, whereby missions at the moment is from all over the place to all over the place. The above have vital missiological penalties for the worldwide church, each the Western and the MW church buildings.”
“As a gaggle of missions staff from the MW, we’ve got some actual issues over the involvement of MW church buildings in cross-cultural missions. We want to suggest some suggestions for additional reflection and dialogue by the broader church,” the preamble concludes.
Recommendations emphasize relationship with locals, handle issues about cash in missions
The suggestions start by stating the centrality of the Holy Spirit, emphasizing, “The primacy of the main and energy of the Holy Spirit in mission: In accordance with the Lord Jesus’ instruction (e.g. Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8) and the instance of the Apostles within the New Testament, particularly in Acts, we affirm that missionaries despatched out should go beneath the main of the Holy Spirit and in His energy. It is primarily the work of the Holy Spirit which makes mission doable and fruitful.”
Among the first issues, the suggestions then go on to focus on the connection of the missionary and the native church, the position of funds, and the overall spirit of unity and partnership.
“Missionaries and associated cross-cultural staff ought to at all times go along with a servant coronary heart and angle, and with humility and respect in the direction of the leaders of the native church and their indigenous co-workers. Their reliance ought to at all times be on God and never on their superior instructional background or the sources that they convey from exterior,” one of many suggestions says.
The following then continues alongside the identical traces, saying, “The objective of missions is to construct the native indigenous church which is marked by self-government, self-support, self-propagation and self-theologizing. Therefore, missionaries ought to by no means construct church buildings centered round themselves or their sending our bodies, which stay depending on them and the sources they convey.”
Regarding the connection with current native church buildings, the suggestions state, “As far as doable, a missionary ought to work with native church buildings with a Kingdom mindset which is worried to construct the entire church of God in a specific area or nation. Churches ought to by no means be planted and inbuilt isolation.”
Where doable, missionaries and church planters ought to develop into a part of current denominations or church networks, the suggestions say.
They add that “missionaries ought to at all times maintain themselves accountable to the native church or physique the place they’re working. Thus, missionaries despatched out ought to know easy methods to community with native believers and, and so far as doable, be keen to serve beneath native management.”
Emphasizing that locals are simpler in sharing the gospel due to their understanding of the context, the suggestions say that “Missionaries ought to see themselves as midwives, and never moms. They should due to this fact respect the native church buildings and permit them to make all vital selections in a contextual and culturally-sensitive method, albeit primarily based on scriptural educating.”
“The only witnesses of the gospel are indigenous believers and the native church. To this finish, missionaries ought to encourage all indigenous believers and accessible native church-related establishments to take accountability and initiative for the expansion of the church. The missionary’s main duties are to coach and work alongside native believers and establishments,” they proceed.
Speaking concerning the crucial concern of monetary help, the suggestions acknowledge that “cash is a matter of essential concern in missions. It can convey nice blessings; it could actually additionally trigger a lot harm in the long run.”
“We due to this fact urge missionaries and their sending our bodies to train excessive care on this matter. We must keep away from fashions which result in a lifestyle for the native Christian employee which is increased than the native common or to provoke costly initiatives which the native church will discover troublesome to maintain long-term,” the suggestions emphasize.
Finally, the suggestions name for unity and partnership, saying “we’re known as to unity in Christ (John 17:11,21), which ought to be expressed as real partnership within the work of the Kingdom of God.”
In order to realize such partnerships, they name for critical consideration of two suggestions.
Firstly, “God has given us a transparent mission mandate in Matthew 16:18 and 28:19-20. Together with this, we imagine additionally that God has given all of the sources wanted for the development of the work of the Christ’s mission, be it non secular, human and monetary. Such sources are to be shared as a lot as virtually doable by all concerned: between the native church and the missionary; between the mission sending and the receiving church buildings; and between church buildings and mission businesses working the world over.”
And secondly, the suggestions conclude saying, “In this period of polycentric missions, we affirm that real partnerships should be developed between all church buildings all over the place, between these within the West and the MW, in addition to amongst all church buildings within the MW. The problem earlier than us to fuse all our God-given sources collectively into a strong synergistic entire for world mission.”
Stretching out the hand for partnership between Global South and Global North
In a soon-to-be printed in-depth interview with Christian Daily International, Rev. Jonas Kang, Chairman of the Korea World Mission Association, shared how COALA emerged from the World Evangelical Alliance’s Mission Commission session in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in 2023. Dr. Gina Zurlo’s presentation on the shift of worldwide Christianity to the South sparked conversations amongst a gaggle of mission leaders from Asia and Latin America.
In a comply with up assembly in Korea just a few months later, the Global South leaders got here collectively to speak a couple of new paradigm in missions, with out participation of mission leaders from the Global North at first.
However, Rev. Kang emphasised that the Global South leaders acknowledge and are grateful for the centuries of Western missions that introduced the gospel to the entire world. Therefore, they need for collaboration with these within the Global North and want that the entire Church collectively engages in missions united in partnership.
As one of many first initiatives in pursuit of this new collaboration, Rev. Kang led a delegation of Korean mission leaders that participated within the European Leadership Forum (ELF) in Wisla, Poland from May 25-30, the place they hosted a session titled How Can the European Church and the Korean Church Work Together?, as Christian Daily reported earlier.
Lindsay Brown, who served with the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) for a few years and previously led the Lausanne Movement as International Director, facilitated the session on the ELF.
In his personal feedback to Christian Daily, Brown mirrored on the adjustments in world missions and mentioned “the leaders of one of many largest missionary forces from Korea are saying that they want to accomplice with Western church buildings as equals. Not as subservient cross-cultural staff, however as a physique of people that have an equal say and an equal dedication to the advance of the gospel globally.”
“They want to dialogue collectively about the important thing theological and missiological points that have to be addressed, and to be concerned in lively partnership. They are taking initiative in placing their fingers out, providing to serve collectively,” Brown mentioned, and urged Western leaders to pay attention to that and reply.
“They are stretching out the hand of fellowship and partnership. So, the Western mission leaders and church leaders ought to say, ‘sure, we wish to accomplice!’ And they need to rejoice within the invitation.”
© Christian Daily International
