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EQUIPPING FOR MISSIONS Daniel W. Bacon OMF, 1992, 219 pp.
ISBN 1-929122-20-9 |
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Dan
Bacon was a church-planting missionary in Japan for 10 years. He currently serves as the International
Director for Mobilization for OMF International. This book is an excellent introduction for anyone considering
the possibility of serving as an overseas missionary. It is “a road map to help you grow in your
commitment to global missions and find concrete ways to explore options, make
wise choices and discern your potential contribution.” (23) Throughout, it
includes opportunities for study and application of appropriate Bible
passages, reflection and response. Chap
1. Aligning your life with the
purpose of God (Biblical overview) “The
critical question we need to ask is, ‘What is the purpose or plan of God and
is my life aligned with that?’” (6) “It
doesn’t take long in reading Scripture to discover that God is a missionary
God and that the Bible is a missionary book.
From Genesis to Revelation we see a God who is seeking his lost
creation.” (7) “The
first eleven chapters of Genesis are foundational to understanding the rest
of the Bible. Here the stage is set
for God’s dealings with mankind. Man
is created in the image of God, and his main role is to glorify God by
exercising God’s dominion over this planet (Gen. 1:27-28). However, man rebels against God’s rule
over him, and this results in spiritual and physical death entering the world
and the human race (see Rom. 5:12).
The good news is that God didn’t abandon man or leave him to suffer
the eternal consequences of his rebellion.
The rest of the Bible is the story of God’s reconciliation of
alienated man and the outworking of his redemptive purpose.” (8) “Instead
of being sent on a missionary journey, Israel was to attract other nations by
her godly and righteous living.” “The
Old Testament not only contains missions but is missions.” (11) “God
gives the very best to those who leave the choice with him.” (18, quoting
Hudson Taylor) “The
New Testament makes it clear that the Great Commission is the responsibility
of the whole church. In this sense
all of us are called to missions, and the church itself is called to be a
missionary church.” (19) “Obviously
our plans for missionary work in the future should be an outgrowth of our
participation in the Great Commission now.” (19) “Not
every vocation is equally strategic in building the church worldwide.” (22) Chap
2. Putting Things into Perspective (a
brief history of Christian expansion) Chap
3. Knowing the Game Plan (The
missionary task and strategy) “From
a biblical perspective, however, the church may have many responsibilities
but only one mission, and that is the evangelization and discipling of all
nations.” (47) The
evangelistic mission of the church occurs in steps: ·
Presence – influencing by the lifestyle of the believe in word, deed,
and attitude ·
Proclamation – preaching the good news of Christ ·
Persuasion – seeking to bring a positive response ·
Planting – gathering the new believers into congregations, a primary
goal of evangelism ·
Propagation – planting churches that will plant other churches and
spread the gospel to their own people and beyond (50-51) Definition
of a people group. “From the
viewpoint of evangelization, a people group is the largest group within which
the gospel can spread as a church-planting movement without encountering
barriers of acceptance and understanding.”
(52) Chap
4. Sensing the Scene (the status of
Christianity in the world, progress, needs and issues) “Asia
is the world’s most unreached continent.
It holds over half the world’s population, yet less than five percent
are even nominally Christian!”
Christianity is the number one religion in 5 continents, but it is 6th
in Asia! (64) The
best resource tool for knowing what is happening in the world is Operation
World by Patrick Johnstone. (65) The
highest priority for missions today is cross-cultural evangelism to the truly
unreached people groups of the world.
(68, citing Ralph Winter) Chap
5. Understanding the Local Church,
Missions, and You (the church’s sending role) “Missionaries
shouldn’t just go, but be sent.” (80) “The
ultimate authority for sending is Christ (Matt.28:19), but the local or home
church becomes the mediating authority through which the call may be
confirmed to you.” (83) “The
so-called missionary call is best recognized and nurtured in a congregation.”
(84) Your church can give you the
right kind of counsel about your suitability and giftedness, help you get the
best equipping for ministry, take ownership of your decisions, and stand
behind you in support. (86) “A
coach does not build a football team by volunteers. He selects the best players available.” (86) “Because
most local churches aren’t in a position to operate their own mission work
directly, they work through agencies.
As a result, the agency can be seen as the implementing authority in
the chain.” (88) Chap
6. Developing a Personal Strategy for
Missions Involvement (includes steps, checklists, needs) You
can assess how far along you are and next steps by the excellent questions
about personal activities, missions awareness, church relationship, and
training and experience, p. 100-101. Chap
7. Deciding if You Should Stay or Go
(understanding the “missionary call” and your suitability) Factors
bearing on suitability 1.
Spiritual gifts 2.
Interpersonal skills 3.
Communication skills 4.
Spiritual maturity and experience 5.
Training and preparation (118-122) How
‘delicate’ or ‘hardy’ are you? The
Hardy Personality Rating on pp. 124-125 is particularly useful. “The
Great Commission was given to the whole church and not just to an elite
few. Not everyone can or should go,
but all of us need to somehow partner in the Great Commission process as a
sender.” (129) Stages
in Becoming a Global Christian 1.
Initial exposure 2.
Biblical and global awareness 3.
Vision of what can be done 4.
General commitment to do something 5.
Specific commitment to a particular ministry 6.
Strategic involvement (go, send, mobilize) (13) Chap
8. Praying for Missions – The Best
Place to Begin “Prayer
for missions is God’s way of giving us opportunities to join a ministry
team—to become part of what he is doing through the work of another.” “We can
multiply and extend our ministries worldwide by praying!” (135) “Do
not expect God to do, apart from prayer, what he has said he would do only if
we pray.” (139, quoting Arnold Geswein) “If
you’re not yet convinced that God hears and answers prayer at home, don’t
expect to believe it on the field.” (139) Chap
9. Finding the Right Track Chap
10. Finding the Right Mission Agency
(It’s a little bit like a marriage.) Suggestion:
Contact three mission agencies. Make
a file for each and evaluate each in regard to their strategy, structure,
ethos, financial policy, personnel policy, relationships with national
churches, relationships with home churches, doctrinal emphases. (Note:
Follow your local church’s guidance.) Chap
11. Training and Preparation for
Missions Some
categories for development: 1.
Development as a person and a disciple 2.
Development of ministry skills and spiritual gifts 3.
Biblical, theological, and missiological education 4.
Exposure to other cultures 5.
Development of relational and communication skills Are
you a likely candidate for doing church planting? Try the skills quiz on pp. 194-96. You might be surprised. Chap
12. Keeping a World Vision How
do you keep the vision alive?
Suggested steps: 1.
Pray daily for mission concerns. 2.
Read one or more books about world missions. 3.
Support a missionary financially or share in a missions project. 4.
Stay available. 5.
Investigate what’s happening. 6.
Keep involved. 7.
Consult godly leadership. 8.
Prepare for what’s ahead. 9.
Pray for guidance. 10.
Make application when the time is right. 11.
Be commissioned by your church.
(208-212) “It
is not a question of whether or not I should participate in the Great
Commission, but how and where.” (212) ***** |
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