Global Missions Paper

Flemming shows how the mission of God was lived out by the apostles and the call placed on the community of the early church to live out that mission. Once again, the themes of being and doing come to the surface followed closely by the mandate to proclaim the gospel. The examination of Revelation is particularly interesting in a book about mission. Flemming aptly points out, “John’s vision of heaven and the end set the agenda for the church.” Consequently, living out the mission God is eschatological in its participation in the inbreaking of the coming New

Dana Roberts, in her book, Christian Mission; How Christianity Became A World Religion, makes a multitude of statements and provides very useful insight into how mission, specifically Christian mission, has historically been engaged through politically charged issues. Throughout this paper, I will use several of her examples to explain how Christianity has wiggled its way into the form of mission throughout the world. Examples will be show as to how some mission is indeed, following the statement that Jeremy Besset made in his class, COS Mission 423 in the spring of 2016 that the goal of God’s mission is the restoration of creation to the shape in which God originally made it. The paper will also address areas where mission is not necessarily

In regard to sermon design, Eswine offered several new ideas and concepts. First, he suggested that preachers ask, “Could I now reach who I once was?”. Normally preachers observer their listeners; however, this question causes preachers to exegete themselves, motivating them to recall their journey along the path of sanctification. “Remembering where we’d be without God and then ministering to others out of that knowledge” promotes empathy with listeners (11). As a result, preachers are able to construct sermons tailored to meet the needs of their listeners since they can relate to their struggles and situations as well as their questions and concerns.

Galindo analyzes that the fundamental “mission” of a congregation is the same as any other congregation that exists in any part of the world. He argues that though every congregation has a mission and a vision, at the same time, it shares a basic common mission. (43) This reminds me of my home church The First Church of Evanston and my Field Site, The Evanston Vineyard Church. Both churches have a common mission of welcoming people to the church, irrespective of their ethnic, cultural, racial, and economic and, gender backgrounds. The mission is to help people be received in the house of God with due and deserved Christian love so that they feel loved and welcomed. Both these churches encourage church attendees to attend the service and receive the Eucharist.

Some estimate that 70 percent of the worlds bible-believing Christians (as opposed to nominal or cultural Christians) now live in the majority world.”1 This reality should entirely changes the way we think about missions. If the greater part of Christians no longer live

This book calls the church to rethink and modify its practices, by providing a middle path between the emerging church and the conservative that aims to benefit all. There are major shift happening in the Western Church that has people talking. The problem is that churches fail to follow a mission-centered approach. Chester and Timmis have found that in order to refocus the churches

Lewis’ essay relates to this course as Theology provides a perspective on understanding creation, the transcendent power, and humanity around us. He acknowledges that multiple viewpoints exist from the inside and outside perspectives. Also, one cannot ignore or discount specific inside experiences as it helps us think about something. Therefore, in Theology 205, there will inevitably be many ways to understand life, our purpose, and the people we are becoming. We are also covering the Bible in depth, so some of us will look “at the beam” if they have never read it, while others will look “along the beam” if they are familiar with its interpretations. The students who will look along the beam are those who are Christian or Jew, since they already use the Bible as some guidance in life. In contrast, those who look at the beam are ones who are new to this subject, those willing to view this course from a new lens, and those who do not practice Christianity or Judaism.

The overall purpose of the Roland Allen’s book is to convey the dramatic differences between the methods of modern day missionary organizations

In this paper, I am going to share my ideas of theology. I believe that one of the biggest mistakes I made in the past was that I was afraid of being rejected, so I wrote a theology paper and tried to give the previous COM what I thought they wanted to hear instead of what was truly inside of me. Fortunately for me, even though I was not given a green light in order to see the Eccleastical Council, I was licensed to preach and this gave me time

Subsequently, the church has a mission which is to go into all the nations making disciples, baptizing them, and to teach them to observe the ways of Christ as noted in Matthew 28:19-20. When looking at the differences between the missional model and the attractional model is the missional goes out to win the lost, and the attractional seeks to bring the lost in not focusing the cultural boundaries. Stetzer and Hirsch state, “Missional represents a significant shift in the way we understand the church. As the people of a missionary God, we are entrusted to participate in the world the same way He does—by committing to be His ambassadors.” In retrospect, Hirsch cites that, “The attractional model, which has dominated the church in the West, seeks to reach out to the culture and draw people into the church—what I call outreach and in-grab. But this model only works where no significant cultural shift is required when moving from outside to inside the church.” Both have their uniqueness, however, they are designed to seek and make disciples.

Reading the Bible can help us answer questions we have about our faith. Personally it provides me with a better understanding of what it means to be Christian. Michael Pennock tells us in his book This is Our Faith that Christianity is more than a set of beliefs; it is a way of living. Today, there are many people who claim to be Christian, however, the truth is they do not act like it. Although I believe the majority of Christians are this way there are many exceptions. A great example of this is St. Francis of Assisi, an Italian preacher, who is one of the most respected figures in history. St. Francis was a great man who lived the way a person created in God’s image should live. He provides

I.1. Background: I serve as a pastoral intern at the Vineyard Christian church of Evanston. This marks my second year of internship at this church. I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience of becoming familiar with the culture of a non-denominational setting of the church. The Evanston Vineyard comprises of 57 nations of the world. The church is not only unique because of this particular diversity but also because of the Spanish speaking congregation that gathers together in the LaVina auditorium, every Sunday, in one of the auditoriums in the same building of this church.

David Wesley’s main idea is a set of best practices, or what he terms “healthy patterns,” in congregational mission partnerships. Wesley observes that in the emerging “third way” of missions that began at the end of the 20th century and is coming into its own in the early 21st century is focusing on congregational partnerships. As such, Wesley seeks to lay out “common patterns for healthy global partnerships observed in these congregational partnerships.” Consequently, Wesley presents five healthy patterns around which common mission can flourish.

Missionary expansion throughout the centuries has taken a hard, often violent road. The expansion of Christianity begins with the adherents of Jesus Christ and ended with the premature demise of many of the disciples. In the centuries following the disciples, many missionaries were faced with percussion and death as the gospel was proclaimed. As missionary expansion occurs throughout the centuries, often times facing trial and difficulty, the question comes up; is the capital cost of missionary expansion worth the monetary value? This paper will highlight many trials that have been faced by three missionaries in particular and explain often by the words of these missionaries why the enormous cost of missionary expansion is worth the cost. The thesis of this paper is: everyone is called to preach the gospel; the calling of the missionary is called to live by faith even when facing difficulty.

As I began to read and reflect on Paul Knitter’s book, a conversation from ten years ago surfaced to the front of my memory. This memory was about a conversation with a local Ugandan while doing mission work overseas. It reemerged as my mind was intrigued by Knitter’s thoughts and reflections on world religious theologies. In Knitter’s book Theologies of Religion, one is really challenged to reevaluate what one believes when it comes to their faith and their Theology of Religion. As I reflect on through out this research paper I hope to do a few things: one, discuss some of Kintter’s thoughts and challenges, two, identify where I currently fall in regards to my Theology of Religion, and three, what does this look like in hands on ministry.