1. Introduction to World Missions
The Mission of God

2. Missio Dei (Mission of God)
Why was humanity created?
Accident
God was lonely
Needs to be worshipped
To glorify God
God of love (relationship)
God of love
Entering into that relationship and living and serving with Jesus as Lord glorifies God

3. Missio Dei (Mission of God)
Mission began by God
Mission continues with God
Mission ends with God

4. Missio Dei (Mission of God)
What are the challenges in the world?
Pride, hatred and power
Wars, Genocide, Terrorism
Immorality and self-centered desires
Amoral lifestyle, Life unrelated to God, poverty
Disease and natural disasters
Cancer, AIDS, Earthquakes, Sunami
Worldview differences
Pluralism, Secularism, Materialism, Consumerism

5. Missio Dei (Mission of God)
How does God view His creation?
Communicates and interacts with His creation
Provides guidance
Provides means to approach Him
People in need of knowing God and reconciliation
God so loved the world that …..
How should Christians view the world?

6. Missio Dei (Mission of God)
How should Christians view the world?
World created by God
People created in God’s image
People loved by God
Sin is a problem for all cultures of the world
People are worth redeeming
Reconciliation to God is God’s desire
Believers are sent into the world as Jesus was

7. Missio Dei (Mission of God)
What are believers responsibility to the world?
Practice the two greatest commandments
Represent God’s love in the world
Represent God’s life style in the world
Share God’s truth in the world
Share God’s answer to people in the world
Work to do good for greater justice and people’s wellbeing

8. Missio Dei (Mission of God)
“It is not so much the case that God has a mission for his church in the world, as that God has a church for his mission in the world. Mission was not made for the church; the church was made for mission – God’s mission.”
---Christopher Wright, The Mission of God, p. 62)

9. Missio Dei (Mission of God)
The Bible displays the story of God’s mission. A story of God’s work in the world to reconcile humanity to Himself.

10. Missio Dei (Mission of God)
Why study mission/missions?
Mission is God’s action in this world
People are the center of God’s concern (mission)
His followers are participants in His mission
The church’s role is to be missional as God is
Entering God’s mission is central to who we are as Christians

11. Mission Terminology Mission
Mission refers to the mission of God (Missio Dei), God’s work in this world including through human ambassadors to reconcile sinful humanity to Himself (Jn. 3:16-18; 2 Cor. 5:18-20).

12. Mission Terminology Implications of the Missio Dei
God is the theological foundation
God is the source of power
God provides the message
God provides the means of salvation
God defines the mission

13. Mission Terminology Missions
Missions is the plans and strategies used by committed believers to accomplish the mission of God.

14. Mission Terminology Implications for missions
God’s people enter the mission of God
Believers live and share the message
Believers strive to see the world as God does, in need of reconciliation
Going and being sent (Mt. 28:18; Jn. 17:18; 20:21; Rom. 15:20)
Ambassadors of Christ (2 Cor. 5:18-21)

15. Mission Terminology Missionary
The term missionary comes originally from the Greek word “apostles” through Latin “missio” to English meaning sent ones.

16. Mission Terminology Biblical use of apostlos (missionary)
Used to describe the twelve selected from Jesus’ disciples
Used of Paul
Other people in N. T. sent out by churches
Barnabas (Acts 14:14)
James, the Lord’s brother (1 Cor. 15:7; Gal. 1:19)
Janias and Andronicus (Rom. 16:7)
Epaphroditus (Phil. 2:25)

17. Mission Terminology Missionary today
Generally used for Christians sent out cross-culturally
It is a term that can apply to any Christian sent out for ministry
Types of missionary
Cross-cultural
Domestic
Non-resident
Vocational (tent-making)

18. Mission Terminology Ten misunderstandings about missionaries
Super spiritual
Misfits in their own cultures
Adventure seekers
Always good with languages
Always of a strong calling from God
Bigoted, cultural imperialists (Poison Wood Bible, Mitchner - Hawaii)
No longer needed
Always go overseas
Live in the bush
Sign their lives away

19. Mission Terminology Missiology
“The formal study of Christian mission in its theological, biblical, historical, cultural, and strategic dimensions as well as it present and future aspects” (Kaiser).

20. Mission Terminology Elements of Missiology
Biblical – the biblical foundation and mandate – reveals God’s mission
Theological – understanding the word & applying it
Historical – history of it practice
Cultural – the context in which mission takes place
Strategic – principles, strategies, methods used
Present and future oriented – present & eternal dimensions

21. Mission Terminology
Theology – The “discipline which strives to give a coherent statement of the doctrines of the Christian faith, based primarily on scripture, placed within the context of culture in general, worded in contemporary idiom, and related to issues of life.” (Erickson, 1985, p. 21)
Faith seeking understanding (Anselm of Canterbury ; Bevans argues this is theology)

22. Mission Terminology
Contextualization -- communicating the gospel in a new context in a way that is understandable to the recipients in order for them to do theology, develop church life, be involved in ministry that is biblically based and culturally appropriate.

23. Three Disciplines of Missiology
Social Science
Strategy
Study of God’s Revealed Will
Cultural Environment
Communication Application
Method Variable
Medium Variable
Message Non-variable
Acts 4:12
Acts 17:16-22
Acts 17:23-31
Theology

24. Three Disciplines of Missiology
Strategy – Deals with the methods for communication of the message through living, teaching, and serving for God’s purpose in the world
Social Sciences – Study of the cultural environment or medium in which we carry out God’s mission
Theology – Study of God’s message and applying it to living under God’s lordship