Current Trends in Missions
When asked to describe current trends in the missions world, I was a bit reluctant to put pen to paper. Do you want to know why? First, I’m not a big fan of trends. As a kid, I always seemed to be a few months behind the latest trends. As a missions agency leader, I’m weary of the pragmatism that exists in the missions world. Whether it’s a new strategy or vocabulary, it seems like there is always something “new” to engage with. Second, I hope these are not trends. I hope they are a sign of needed corrections in the missions world.
I must also admit that I’m a bit trepidatious because I don’t know if I’m only describing events I’m observing from my position as a leader of a missions agency that serves a narrow group of local churches – namely those that are reformed in their soteriology, baptistic, and complementarian. I know the Lord is using those who hold to the same gospel but theological commitments that those we hold at Reaching & Teaching. That being said, when I show up at missions conferences, I am hearing increased chatter about these things – and that has me excited!
Putting the Church Back in the Centre of Missions
One of the patterns that I’m most excited about is the increased emphasis today on church-centered missions. I’m particularly encouraged by the new series from 9Marks on the subject, beginning with the new volume Prioritizing Missions in the Church by Aaron Menikoff and Harshit Singh, and the new website – www.churchcenteredmissions.org. With all of the church planting emphasis in recent decades, you might be wondering why “the local church” needed to be put back in the center of missions. Well – nomenclature can be deceiving. As the Great Century of Missions (1792-1910) progressed, missions agencies were birthed. As local churches handed over more and more responsibility to agencies, and as agencies gladly took on such responsibility, missions agencies ended up having more and more of the say in global missions. Assessment, strategy, training, and missionary care have comprehensively been assumed by many missions agencies and have been regrettably abdicated by sending churches.
In large part a result of the ministry of 9Marks, local churches have rediscovered the importance of ecclesiology over the last few decades. And as time has gone on, a rediscovered ecclesiology has led to appropriate questions in missiology. As our ecclesiology has been recovered, now we must turn our attention to our missiology. I, for one, will be encouraging local churches to consider how their local church convictions inform their missiological convictions.
An Increased Focus on Practical Training
Most local churches do not have the expertise needed to train aspiring missionaries on the specific skills necessary to take the gospel to the hardest places in the world, to translate the Scriptures into a previously unwritten language, and to plant a church in a language group that has never had one. That is why I am thankful for the work of Radius International and Radical’s Training Program. Both of these institutions are committed to serving local churches who desire to have their missionaries better equipped for the task to come. I have seen the incredible fruitfulness up close as individuals trained by these programs learn a new language at a rate that is much faster than many of their peers. While some might look at these training programs as unnecessary or cumbersome, I am encouraged by the number of individuals considering specialized training.
Sending From the Nations to the Nations
It seems like there is not a month that goes by where I don’t have a conversation with a pastor around the world who is excited about the opportunity to send missionaries from his own local church to an area of gospel need in another region. There are many practical matters to take into consideration, but I am thrilled at the prospect of multinational missionary teams taking the gospel to the ends of the earth. Local churches in the United States can rightly acknowledge the need for healthy local churches in their own region while also sending qualified missionaries to cross boundaries to plant churches around the world. We must be careful to acknowledge that our brother pastors around the world can rightly ask for partnership locally that could result in American churches sending missionaries to join them while also desiring to send missionaries themselves to partner elsewhere.
While I am sure there are other “trends” out there, I am very encouraged by these three. I am praying that in the years ahead, our churches will be able to partner together with the global church to send well-trained missionaries to plant healthy churches all over the world for the glory of God.
Author: Ryan Robertson is the President of Reaching & Teaching International Ministries.
