A Christian mission has been widely defined, since the Lausanne Congress of 1974, as that which is designed "to form a viable indigenous church-planting movement. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) Christ is the English term for the Greek ( Khristós) meaning "the anointed " The virgin birth of Jesus is a religious Tenet of Christianity and Islam which holds that Mary miraculously conceived Jesus while The crucifixion of Jesus is an event recorded in all four Gospels (;;) which takes place after his arrest and trial and includes his scourging Within the body of Christian beliefs the resurrection of Jesus is a core event on which much of Christian doctrine and theology depend Church (disambiguation Christian Church and the word church are used to denote both a Christian association of people and a Place of worship The term New Covenant (; Greek:, diathēkē kainē is used in the Bible (both in the Hebrew Bible and the Greek New Testament) to refer The Twelve Apostles (Greek apostolos, "someone sent out" e This article is about the canonical books of the New Testament The purpose of this timeline is to give a detailed account of Christianity from the beginning of the current era ( AD) to the present Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. Books of the Bible are listed differently in the canons of Jews and Catholic, Protestant, Greek Orthodox Slavonic Orthodox Georgian Armenian Apostolic A Biblical canon or canon of scripture is a list or Set of Biblical books considered to be authoritative as Scripture by a particular religious The biblical apocrypha (from the Greek word ἀπόκρυφος meaning hidden) are books published in an edition of the Bible whose canonicity Christian Theology is discourse concerning Christian faith Christian theologians use biblical Exegesis, rational analysis and argument SSC RF "Troitsk Institute of Innovative and Termonuclear Research" or TRINITY for shprt Троицкий Институт инновационных и термоядерных In many religions the supreme Deity ( God) is given the title and attributions of Father. Christian views of Jesus consist of the teachings and beliefs held by Christian groups about Jesus including his divinity humanity and earthly life In mainstream Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is one of the three entities of the Holy Trinity which make up the single substance This is an overview of the History of Christian Theology from the time of Christ to the present Christian Theology is discourse concerning Christian faith Christian theologians use biblical Exegesis, rational analysis and argument Christian apologetics is a field of Christian theology that aims to present a rational basis for the Christian faith, defend the faith against objections Christian tradition is a collection of Traditions of practice or belief associated with Christianity. Early Christianity is commonly defined as the Christianity of the three centuries between the Crucifixion of Jesus ( c This is a general introduction to ecumenical councils For the Roman Catholic councils, see Catholic Ecumenical Councils. A creed is a statement of Belief — usually Religious belief — or Faith often recited as part of a religious service The East-West Schism, or the Great Schism, divided medieval Christendom into Eastern (Greek and Western (Latin branches which later became known as the The Crusades were a series of military campaigns of a religious character waged by much of Christian Europe against external and internal opponents The Protestant Reformation was a reform movement in Europe that began in 1517 though its roots lie further back in time Denominationalism|List of Christian denominations|Church (disambiguation A Christian denomination is an identifiable religious body under a common name structure and doctrine within A sermon is an oration by a Prophet or member of the Clergy. Sermons address a Biblical, theological, or religious topic Prayer is an important theme in Christianity, and there are several different forms of prayer Ecumenism (also oecumenism, œcumenism) refers to initiatives aimed at greater Religious unity or cooperation Christianity and other religions appear to share some elements Christian movements are theological, political or philosophical interpretations of Christianity that are not generally represented by a specific church Christian music is music that is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life A Liturgy is a set form of ceremony or pattern of worship Christian liturgy is a pattern for worship used (whether recommended or prescribed by a Christian congregation or The liturgical year, also known as the Christian year, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches which determines when Christian symbolism is defined as the investing of outward things or actions with an inner meaning the expression of Christian ideas Christian art is Art produced in an attempt to illustrate supplement and portray in tangible form the principles of Christianity. Throughout the History of Christianity, a wide range of Christians and non-Christians alike have offered criticisms of Christianity, the Church, and Christians Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings The First International Congress on World Evangelization held from July 16 - 25 July, 1974, is sometimes also called the "Lausanne Congress" " This definition is motivated by a theologically imperative theme of the Bible to make God known, as outlined in the Great Commission. Christian Theology is discourse concerning Christian faith Christian theologians use biblical Exegesis, rational analysis and argument Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin The Great Commission, in Christian tradition is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples, that they spread his teachings The definition is claimed to summarize the acts of Jesus' ministry, which is taken as a model motivation for all ministries. Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE)

The Christian missionary movement seeks to implement churches after the pattern of the first century Apostles. The process of forming disciples is necessarily social. In Christianity, the disciples were the students of Jesus during his ministry. "Church" should be understood in the widest sense, as an organization of believers rather than simply a building. Many churches start by meeting in houses.

Church planting by cross-cultural missionaries leads to the establishment of self-governing, self-supporting and self-propagating assemblies of believers. This is the famous "three-self" formula invented by Henry Venn of the London Church Missionary Society in the 19th century. Henry Venn ( February 10, 1796 - January 13, 1873) was honorary secretary of the Church Missionary Society from 1841 to 1873 The Church Mission Society, known as the Church Missionary Society in Australia and New Zealand is a group of evangelistic societies working with the Anglican Church Cross-cultural missionaries are persons who accept church-planting duties go to people outside their culture, as Christ commanded in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). The Great Commission, in Christian tradition is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples, that they spread his teachings The Gospel of Matthew (Gk Κατά Ματθαίον Ευαγγέλιον is one of the four Canonical gospels in the New Testament and is a Synoptic gospel

However, Christian missions can more broadly mean any activity in which Christians are involved for world evangelization. The historical phenomenon of Christianization (or Christianisation &mdash see spelling differences) the conversion of individuals to Christianity

In addition to theological doctrine, many missionaries promote economic development, literacy, education, health care and orphanages, believing these causes advance the glory of God. Economic development is the development of economic wealth of countries or regions for the well-being of their inhabitants traditional definition of literacy is considered to be the ability to read and write or the ability to use Language to read, write, listen, Education encompasses both the Teaching and Learning of Knowledge, proper conduct, and technical competency Health care is the prevention treatment and management of illness and the preservation of mental health through the services offered by the medical, Nursing An orphanage is an institution devoted to the care of children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable to care for them Christian doctrines (such as the "Doctrine of Love" professed by many missions) may permit the provision of aid without requiring religious conversion.

History of Christian missions

See also Timeline of Christian missions. This timeline of Christian missions chronicles the global expansion of Christianity through a sampling of missionary outreach events

According to the documents of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, the Biblical authority for missions begins quite early in Genesis 12:1-3, in which Abraham is blessed so that through him and his descendants, all the "peoples" of the world would be blessed. Abraham ( Ashkenazi   Avrohom or Avruhom; ابراهيم, {{Unicode|Ibrāhīm}}; Ge'ez: Others point to God's wish, often expressed in the Bible, that all peoples of the earth would worship God. Therefore, Christian missions go where worship is not, in order to bring worship to God.

In this view, the early historical Jewish mission is that of being a people placed in the midst of the other nations, situated so that they could proclaim the Creator God that blessed them. Jewish history is the History of the Jewish people, faith, and culture. This view is confirmed in many OT scriptures, (for example, Exodus 19:4-6, and Psalm 67) as well as the nature of the temple (its outer court was "the court of the gentiles"). In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. Exodus ( Greek: έξοδος eksodos = "departure" is the second book of the Jewish Torah and of the Christian Old Testament. Psalms ( Hebrew: Tehilim, תהילים, or "praises" is a book of the Hebrew Bible (the Christian Old Testament) included Solomon's Temple (בית המקדש transliterated Beit HaMikdash) also known as the First Temple, was according to

Several teachers including John R. W. Stott believe that a prominent prophecy in the Old Testament often unfolds continually and is certainly manifested in three situations, an immediate historical situation following the prophecy, a church-based intermediate situation, and an eschatological, end-of-time situation. John Robert Walmsley Stott, CBE (born April 27, 1921) is a British Christian leader and Anglican clergyman who is noted Of course, Gen. 12:1-3 is such a prominent passage.

One of the first Christian missionaries was St. Paul. A missionary is a member of a Religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary's faith someone who proselytizes. Paul the apostle (שאול התרסי Šaʾul HaTarsi, meaning " Saul of Tarsus " Σαούλ Saul and Σαῦλος Saulos and He contextualized the Gospel for the Greek and Roman cultures, permitting it to reach beyond its Hebrew and Jewish context. This article is about the canonical books of the New Testament The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC

In the early Christian era, most missions were by monks. MONK is a Monte Carlo software package for simulating nuclear processes particularly for the purpose of determining the neutron multiplication factor or k-effective Monasteries followed disciplines and supported missions, libraries and practical research, all of which were perceived as works to reduce human misery and suffering, thus enhancing the reputation of God. This article concerns the buildings occupied by monastics. For the life inside monasteries and its historical roots see Monasticism. For example, Nestorian communities evangelized much of North Africa before Muhammad. Nestorius Nestorius (c  386 &ndashc  451) was a pupil of Theodore of Mopsuestia in Antioch in Syria (modern North Africa or Northern Africa is the Northernmost Region of the African Continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan IMPORTANT PLEASE READ ##### For all questions relating to the addition of (pbuh peace be upon him or other honorifics Cistercians evangelized much of Northern Europe, as well as developing most of European agriculture's classic techniques. Northern Europe is a term for the northern part of Europe. The United Nations defines Northern Europe as (Finland

In the 16th century the proselyization of Asia was linked to the Portuguese colonial policy. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. With the Papal bull Romanus Pontifex the patronage for the propagation of the Christian faith in Asia was given to the Portuguese, who were rewarded with the right of conquest. A Papal bull is a particular type of Letters patent or charter issued by a Pope. Romanus Pontifex is a papal bull written January 8 1455 by Pope Nicholas V to King Afonso V of Portugal. The Portuguese trade with Asia was profitable and as Jesuits came to India around 1540, the colonial government in Goa supported the mission with incentives for baptized Christians. The Society of Jesus ( Latin: Societas Iesu, SJ and SI or SJ, SI) is a Catholic religious order Goa ( Konkani: गोंय /ɡɔ̃j/ is India 's smallest state in terms of area and the fourth smallest in terms of population. ^[1] Later, Jesuits were sent to China and further countries in Asia. The history of the missions of the Jesuits in China in the early modern era stands as one of the notable events in the early history of relations between China and With the decline of the Portuguese power other colonial powers and Christian organisations gain influence.

After the Reformation, for nearly a hundred years, occupied by their struggle with the Roman Catholic Church, the Protestant churches were not missionary-sending churches. The Protestant Reformation was a reform movement in Europe that began in 1517 though its roots lie further back in time Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. But in the centuries that followed, the Protestant churches began sending missionaries in increasing numbers, spreading the proclamation of the Christian message to previously unreached people. " Unreached people group " is a term used most frequently among Evangelical Christians to refer to any ethnic or linguistically distinct culture that does not In North America, missionaries to the native Americans included Jonathan Edwards, the well known preacher of the Great Awakening, who in his later years retired from the very public life of his early career. This article is about the theologian (b 1703 for other uses of Jonathan Edwards see Jonathan Edwards. The Great Awakenings refer to several periods of rapid and dramatic Religious revival in Anglo-American religious history generally recognized as beginning in the 1730s He became a missionary to the Housatonic Native Americans and a staunch advocate for them against cultural imperialism. Cultural imperialism is the practice of promoting distinguishing separating or artificially injecting the Culture or language of one nation into another

As European culture has been established in the midst of indigenous peoples, the cultural distance between Christians of differing cultures has been difficult to overcome. One early solution was the creation of segregated "praying towns" of Christian natives. This pattern of grudging acceptance of converts was repeated in Hawaii later when missionaries from that same New England culture went there. The State of Hawaii ( or həˈwaɪʔiː Hawaiian: Mokuāina o Hawaii) is a state in the United States located on an Archipelago in the In Spanish colonization of the Americas, the Catholic missionaries selected and learned among the languages of the Amerindians and devised writing systems for them. The Spanish colonization of the Americas was Spain 's conquest settlement and rule over much of the Western hemisphere. Catholic is an Adjective derived from the Greek adjective '' / 'katholikos' meaning "whole" or "complete". For indigenous peoples in the United States other than Hawaii and Alaska see also Native Americans in the United States. A writing system is a type of Symbolic system used to represent elements or statements expressible in Language. Then they preached to them in those languages (Quechua, Guarani, Nahuatl) instead of Spanish, to keep Indians away from "sinful" whites. Quechua ( Runa Simi) is a Native American language of South America. Guaraní /gwaraˈni/ (local name avañe'ẽ) is an indigenous language of South America that belongs to the Tupí-Guaraní subfamily of the Nahuatl ( is a group of related languages and dialects of the Aztecan or Nahuan branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family An extreme case were the Guarani Reductions, a theocratic semi-independent region established by the Jesuits. Guaraní are a group of culturally related indigenous peoples of South America, distinguished from the related Tupi by their use of the Guaraní language Related article Indian Reductions The Jesuit Reductions were a particular version of the general Catholic strategy used in the 17th The Society of Jesus ( Latin: Societas Iesu, SJ and SI or SJ, SI) is a Catholic religious order

Around 1780, an indigent Baptist cobbler named William Carey began reading about James Cook's Polynesian journeys. Baptist is a term describing individuals belonging to a Baptist church or a Baptist denomination. William Carey may refer to William Carey (1761&ndash1834 an English Protestant missionary William Carey (c Captain James Cook FRS RN ( – 14 February 1779) was an English Explorer, Navigator and His interest grew to a furious sort of "backwards homesickness," inspiring him to obtain Baptist orders, and eventually write his famous 1792 pamphlet, "An Enquiry into the Obligation of Christians to use Means for the Conversion of Heathen. " Far from a dry book of theology, Carey's work used the best available geographic and ethnographic data to map and count the number of people who had never heard the Gospel. It formed a movement that has grown with increasing speed from his day to ours.

Carey's example was followed by a number of missions to sea-side and port cities. The China Overseas Missionaries and Moravian Church are two of the more famous. This page is about the Moravian Church globally For information about the church in a particular geographic area use the links at Organisation below

Thomas Coke, the first bishop of the American Methodists, has been called "the Father of Methodist Missions". Thomas Coke ( September 9, 1747 &ndash May 2, 1814) was the first Methodist Bishop and is known as the Father of Methodist Missions A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight The United Methodist Church is the largest Methodist denomination and the second largest Protestant denomination in the United States. After spending time in the young American republic strengthening the infant Methodist Church alongside Episcopal colleague Francis Asbury, the British-born Coke left for mission work. Methodism is a movement within Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations Francis Asbury ( August 20 1745 &ndash March 31 1816) was one of the first two bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the During his time in America, Coke worked vigorously to increase Methodist support of Christian missions and raising up mission workers. Coke died while on a mission trip to India, but his legacy among Methodists - his passion for missions - continues.

Missionary preaching in China using The Wordless Book

The next wave of missions, starting in the early 1850s, was to inland areas, led by Hudson Taylor with his China Inland Mission. A Wordless Book is a Christian Evangelistic device Evidence points to it being invented by the famous London Baptist preacher Charles Haddon Youth and early work Taylor was born in Barnsley, Yorkshire, England, the son of a chemist ( Pharmacist) and Methodist OMF International (formerly Overseas Missionary Fellowship and before that the China Inland Mission before 1964 is an interdenominational Taylor was later supported by Henry Grattan Guinness who founded Cliff College which exists today for the purpose of training and equipping local and global mission. Irish roots Guinness was born in Kingstown In Taney, Dublin, Ireland. Hulme Cliff College was established by Henry Grattan Guinness in 1883 following the success of Harley College, which had outgrown its site in Bromley-by-Bow

The new wave of missions inspired by Taylor and Guinness have collectively been called "faith missions" and owe much to the ideas and example of Anthony Norris Groves. Faith mission is a term used most frequently among Evangelical Christians to refer to a missionary or missionary agency with an approach to Evangelism Biography Early life Groves was born in Newton Valance, Hampshire, England Taylor was a thorough-going nativist, offending the missionaries of his era by wearing Chinese clothing and speaking Chinese at home. For nativism as a political force see Nativism. In the field of Psychology, nativism is the view that certain skills or abilities His books, speaking, and examples led to the formation of numerous inland missions, and the Student Volunteer Movement (SVM), which from 1850 to about 1950 sent nearly 10,000 missionaries to inland areas, often at great personal sacrifice. The Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions was an organization founded in 1886 that sought to recruit college and university students in the United States for missionary service Many early SVM missionaries to areas with endemic tropical diseases left with their belongings packed in a coffin, aware that 80% of them would die within two years.

In 1910, the Edinburgh Missionary Conference was held in Scotland. The 1910 World Missionary Conference, or the Edinburgh Missionary Conference was held June 14 to 23 1910. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Presided over by active SVM leader (and future Nobel Peace Prize recipient) John R. Mott, an American Methodist layperson, the conference reviewed the state of evangelism, Bible translation, mobilization of church support, and the training of indigenous leadership. The Nobel Peace Prize ( Swedish, Danish and Nobels fredspris is one of five Nobel Prizes Bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor John Raleigh Mott ( May 25, 1865 &ndash January 31, 1955) was a long-serving leader of the YMCA and the World Student Christian The United Methodist Church is the largest Methodist denomination and the second largest Protestant denomination in the United States. Looking to the future, conferees worked on strategies for worldwide evangelism and cooperation. The conference not only established greater ecumenical cooperation in missions, but also essentially launched the modern ecumenical movement. Ecumenism (also oecumenism, œcumenism) refers to initiatives aimed at greater Religious unity or cooperation

The next wave of missions was started by two missionaries, Cameron Townsend and Donald McGavran, around 1935. William Cameron Townsend ( July 9, 1896 &ndash April 23, 1982) was a prominent Christian missionary whose ministry began in the early Donald A McGavran (1897-1990 was dean emeritus and former senior professor of mission church growth and South Asian studies at the School of World Mission Fuller Theological Seminary These men realized that although earlier missionaries had reached geographic areas, there were numerous ethnographic groups that were isolated by language, or class from the groups that missionaries had reached. Cameron formed Wycliffe Bible Translators to translate the Bible into native languages. Wycliffe Bible Translators is a nonprofit organization dedicated to making a translation of the Bible in every living language in the world especially for cultures with little McGavran concentrated on finding bridges to cross the class and cultural barriers in places like India, which has upwards of 4,600 peoples, separated by a combination of language, culture and caste. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Despite democratic reforms, caste and class differences are still fundamental in many cultures.

An equally important dimension of missions strategy is the indigenous method of nationals reaching their own people. In Asia this wave of missions was pioneered by men like Dr G. D. James of Singapore, Rev Theodore Williams of India and Dr David Cho of Korea. Singapore David Yonggi Cho is a Korean Christian minister. He is Senior Pastor and founder of the Yoido Full Gospel Church ( Assemblies of God South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often referred to as Korea ( Korean: 대한민국 tɛː The "two thirds Missions Movement" as it is referred to, is today a major force in missions.

Most modern missionaries and missionary societies have repudiated cultural imperialism, and elected to focus on spreading the Gospel and translating the Bible. Sometimes, missionaries have been vital in preserving and documenting the culture of the peoples among whom they live.

Often, missionaries provide welfare and health services, as a good deed or to make friends with the locals. Thousands of schools, orphanages, and hospitals have been established by missions. One of the quietest, yet most far-reaching services provided by missionaries started with the Each one, teach one literacy program begun by Dr. traditional definition of literacy is considered to be the ability to read and write or the ability to use Language to read, write, listen, Frank Laubach in the Philippines in 1935. Dr Frank Charles Laubach ( September 2, 1884 &ndash June 11, 1970) was a Christian Evangelical Missionary and The Philippines ( Filipino: Pilipinas, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (fil ''Republika ng Pilipinas'' RP The program has since spread around the world and brought literacy to the least enabled members of many societies.

The word "mission" was historically often applied to the building, the "mission station" in which the missionary lives or works. A religious Mission or Mission station is a location for Missionary work In some colonies, these mission stations became a focus of settlement of displaced or formerly nomadic people. Nomadic people, (from the νομάδες nomádes, "those who let pasture herds" also known as nomads, are communities of people that Particularly in rural Australia, missions have become localities or ghettoes on the edges of towns which are home to many Indigenous Australians. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. A religious Mission or Mission station is a location for Missionary work A ghetto is described as a "portion of a city in which members of a minority group live especially because of social legal or economic pressure Indigenous Australians are descendants of the first known human inhabitants of the Australian continent and its nearby islands. The word may be seen as derogatory when used in this context.

Modern missionary methods and doctrines

A Christian missionary’s objective is to give an understandable presentation of their beliefs with the hope that people will choose to convert from other faiths to Christianity. A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth As a matter of strategy, many evangelical Christians in Europe and North America now focus on what they call the "10/40 window," a band of countries between 10 and 40 degrees north latitude and reaching from western Africa through Asia. Evangelicalism is a theological movement tradition and system of beliefs most closely associated with Protestant Christianity, which identifies with the Gospel Latitude, usually denoted symbolically by the Greek letter phi ( Φ) gives the location of a place on Earth (or other planetary body north or south of the Christian missions strategist Luis Bush pinpointed the need for a major focus of evangelism in the "10/40 Window," a phrase he coined in his presentation at the missionary conference Lausanne 1989 in Manila. Luis Bush is an American Christian strategist-activist and international facilitator of Transform World Connections based The Second International Congress on World Evangelization, often called "Lausanne II" or "Lausanne '89" was held in Manila. Sometimes referred to as the "Resistant Belt," it is an area that includes 35% of the world's land mass, 90% of the world's poorest peoples and 95% of those who have yet to hear anything about Christianity.

In modern missionary strategy, mission stations and/or Mission hospitals are deprecated, because they were historically ineffective. A religious Mission or Mission station is a location for Missionary work Mission stations normally created disaffected individual converts, often seen as an outcast by their family and culture. In many cases, the only source of converts to a mission station were the orphans raised in the station's orphanage. Also, many mission station's converts were so alienated from surrounding cultures that they were unable to get work outside the mission station, let alone act as cultural ambassadors for Christianity. In some cases, these paid "rice bowl Christians" actively impeded Christian conversion in the mission's schools and orphanages so that their own incomes would not be reduced as more Christians came to depend on the mission station.

Modern pioneering missionary doctrines now focus on inserting a culturally adapted seed of Christian doctrines into a self-selected, self-motivated group of native believers, without removing the natives from their culture in any way.

Modern mission techniques are sufficiently refined that within ten to fifteen years, most native churches are natively pastored, managed, taught, self-supporting and evangelizing. The process can be substantially faster if a preexisting translation of the Bible and higher pastoral education are already available, perhaps left-over from earlier, less effective missions. The Bible has been translated into many languages from the Biblical languages of Hebrew and Greek.

A key approach is to let native cultural groups decide to adopt Christian doctrines and benefits, when (as in most cultures) such major decisions are normally made by groups. In this way, opinion leaders in the groups can persuade much or most of the groups to convert. When combined with training in church planting and other modern missionary doctrine, the result is an accelerating, self-propelled conversion of large portions of the culture. Doctrine (Latin doctrina) is a codification of beliefs or "a body of teachings quot or "instructions" taught principles or positions as the

A typical modern mission is a co-operative effort by many different ministries, often including several coordinating ministries, often with separate funding sources. One typical effort proceeded as follows:

1. A missionary radio group recruits, trains and broadcasts in the main dialect of the target culture's language. Broadcast content is carefully adapted to avoid syncretism yet help the Christian Gospel seem like a native, normal part of the target culture. Syncretism consists of the attempt to reconcile disparate or contradictory beliefs often while melding practices of various schools of thought Broadcast content often includes news, music, entertainment and education in the language, as well as purely Christian items.
2. Broadcasts might advertise programs, inexpensive radios (possibly spring-wound), and a literature ministry that sells a Christian mail-order correspondence course at nominal costs. The literature ministry is key, and is normally a separate organization from the radio ministry. Modern literature missions are shifting to web-based content where it makes sense (as in Western Europe and Japan).
3. When a person or group completes a correspondence course, they are invited to contact a church-planting missionary group from (if possible) a related cultural group. The church-planting ministry is usually a different ministry from either the literature or radio ministries. The church-planting ministry usually requires its missionaries to be fluent in the target language, and trained in modern church-planting techniques.
4. The missionary then leads the group to start a church. Churches planted by these groups are usually a group that meets in a house. The object is the minimum organization that can perform the required character development and spiritual growth. Buildings, complex ministries and other expensive items are mentioned, but deprecated until the group naturally achieves the size and budget to afford them. The crucial training is how to set up a church (meet to study the Bible, and perform communion and worship), and how to become a Christian (the finer points of obeying God), usually in that order.
5. A new generation of churches is created, and the growth begins to accelerate geometrically. Frequently, daughter churches are created only a few months after a church's creation. In the fastest-growing Christian movements, the pastoral education is "pipelined", flowing in a just-in-time fashion from the central churches to daughter churches. That is, planting of churches does not wait for the complete training of pastors.

The most crucial part of church planting is selection and training of leadership. Classically, leadership training required an expensive stay at a seminary, a Bible college. Modern church planters deprecate this because it substantially slows the growth of the church without much immediate benefit. Modern mission doctrines replace the seminary with programmed curricula or (even less expensive) books of discussion questions, and access to real theological books. A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is a specialized and often live-in Higher education institution for the purpose of instructing students The materials are usually made available in a major trading language in which most native leaders are likely to be fluent. In some cases, the materials can be adapted for oral use.

It turns out that new pastors' practical needs for theology are well addressed by a combination of practical procedures for church planting, discussion in small groups, and motivated Bible-based study from diverse theological texts. Theology is the study of a god or the gods from a religious perspective As a culture's church's wealth increases, it will naturally form classic seminaries on its own.

Another related mission is Bible translation. The Bible has been translated into many languages from the Biblical languages of Hebrew and Greek. The above-mentioned literature has to be translated. Missionaries actively experiment with advanced linguistic techniques to speed translation and literacy. SIL International (the official name of what was originally the Summer Institute of Linguistics) is a worldwide U Bible translation not only speeds a church's growth by aiding self-training, but it also assures that Christian information becomes a permanent part of the native culture and literature. Some ministries also use modern recording techniques to reach groups with audio that could not be soon reached with literature.

Controversy and Christian missionaries

Objections to missionary work among isolated indigenous populations have been raised by governments, anthropologists and spiritual leaders, claiming consequences such as apostasy from Islam, disloyalty to the Communist Party, cultural assimulation, reduction of native language speakers, and loss of native culture. Christian missionaries have been criticised for a general lack of respect for native cultures, and even actively working to undermine the religious customs and beliefs of many non-Christian countries. This has been called Ethnocide, Cultural genocide and Cultural Imperialism. Ethnocide is a concept related to Genocide. Primarily the term close to Cultural genocide, is used to describe the destruction of a culture of a people as opposed Cultural genocide is a term used to describe the deliberate destruction of the cultural heritage of a people or nation for political military religious ideological ethnical or Cultural imperialism is the practice of promoting distinguishing separating or artificially injecting the Culture or language of one nation into another

The Christian missionary mindset is generally depicted as that of simple religious folk with a pure desire to peacefully spread their gospel and message of love. In reality, their methods of propagation are often anything but peaceful and usually leave behind a native population stripped of their culture and often decimated. . . . In the words of one resident of Thailand, "They [Christian missionaries] seemed that they did not show any interest for our culture. Why? They are just eager to build big churches in every village. It seems that they are having two faces; under the title of help they suppress us. To the world, they gained their reputations as benefactors of disappearing tribes. They built their reputations on us for many years. The way they behaved with us seemed as if we did not know about god before they arrived here. Why do missionaries think they are the only ones who can perceive God?"^[2]

According to Mahatma Gandhi:

In India, Hindu organisations such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh assert that most conversions undertaken by zealous evangelicals occur due to compulsion, inducement or fraud. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ National Volunteers' Organisation) also known as the Sangh or ^[4]. In the Indian state of Tripura, the government has alleged financial and weapons-smuggling connections between Baptist missionaries and rebel groups such as the National Liberation Front of Tripura. ( Bengali script: ত্রিপুরা is a state in North-East India. Baptist is a term describing individuals belonging to a Baptist church or a Baptist denomination. The National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT was formed in December 1989 for the purpose of seceding from India in order to create an independent state of Tripura ^[5]

Says an editorial in the periodical, Christian Century:

The American Baptist Churches/USA not only maintains close relations with the 2 million tribal population, but it even encourages the converts there 'to battle with India for their cultural and religious survival. The Christian Century is a Christian Magazine based in Chicago, Illinois. ' This is tantamount to urging the Nagas to view India as another country that is oppressing them. In his article 'Abuses in Nagaland' (Christian Century, July 15, 1998) the executive director of the ABC's international ministries, John Sundquist, even states that Nagas are a vital Christian nation facing severe pressure from the Indian government. ^[6].

The Vatican, of late, is taking a somewhat different view toward proselytizing.

"In mid-May, the Vatican was also co-sponsoring a meeting about how some religious groups abuse liberties by proselytizing, or by evangelizing in aggressive or deceptive ways. Iraq . . . has become an open field for foreigners looking for fresh converts. Some Catholic Church leaders and aid organizations have expressed concern about new Christian groups coming in and luring Iraqis to their churches with offers of cash, clothing, food or jobs. . . . Reports of aggressive proselytism and reportedly forced conversions in mostly Hindu India have fueled religious tensions and violence there and have prompted some regional governments to pass laws banning proselytism or religious conversion. . . . Sadhvi Vrnda Chaitanya, a Hindu monk from southern India, told CNS that India's poor and uneducated are especially vulnerable to coercive or deceptive methods of evangelization. . . . Aid work must not hide any ulterior motives and avoid exploiting vulnerable people like children and the disabled, she said. "^[7]

In an interview with Outlook Magazine, Sadhvi Vrnda Chaitanya said "If the Vatican could understand that every religious and spiritual tradition is as sacred as Christianity, and that they have a right to exist without being denigrated or extinguished, it will greatly serve the interests of dialogue, mutual respect, and peaceful coexistence. "^[8]

The meeting of religious leaders from the Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Islam, Judaism and Yoruba faiths resulted in an agreement on ten points about proseltyzation, notably that if done, it be with respect for other cultures^[9]

The fictional movie The Mosquito Coast with Harrison Ford depicts this missionary mindset and the damage some feel it can wreak upon native peoples. The article is about the novel and film For the Central American area see Mosquito Coast. Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an Academy Award - and BAFTA -nominated as well as Golden Globe -winning American Another movie, The Journals of Knud Rasmussen, which is factually based, tells of similar destruction brought upon the Inuit culture by missionaries. See also Siqqitiq and these reference works on the subject. Siqqitiq (meaning transforming one's life more specifically adopting Christianity is the ritual of converting Inuit with shamanist beliefs to Christianity See also Evangelism, Christianization A Christian mission has been widely defined since the Lausanne Congress of 1974 as that which

Aid and Evangelism

Another source of conflict regarding missionaries in the third world is the charge that the aid that comes in response to various world disasters comes with a condition: that assistance requires conversion. While there is a general agreement among most major aid organizations not to mix aid with proseltyzing, others see disasters as a useful oppurtunity to spread the word. Innovative Minds, a Muslim software company "specialising in the application of internet and multimedia technology for promoting a better understanding of Islam in the west" has written a report^[10] about just such an occurrence, the tidal wave (tsunami) that devastated parts of Asia on December 26, 2004. Events 1481 - Battle of Westbrook - Holland defeats troops of Utrecht. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again "

"This (disaster) is one of the greatest opportunities God has given us to share his love with people," said K. P. Yohannan, president of the Texas-based Gospel for Asia. In an interview, Yohannan said his 14,500 "native missionaries" in India, Sri Lanka and the Andaman Islands are giving survivors Bibles and booklets about "how to find hope in this time through the word of God. " In Krabi, Thailand, a Southern Baptist church had been "praying for a way to make inroads" with a particular ethnic group of fishermen, according to Southern Baptist relief coordinator Pat Julian. Then came the tsunami, "a phenomenal opportunity" to provide ministry and care, Julian told the Baptist Press news service. . . . Not all evangelicals agree with these tactics. "It's not appropriate in a crisis like this to take advantage of people who are hurting and suffering," said the Rev. Franklin Graham, head of Samaritan's Purse and son of evangelist Billy Graham. ". ^[11]

See also A Dangerous mix: Religion & Development Aid.

The Christian Science Monitor echoes these concerns. . . "'I think evangelists do this out of the best intentions, but there is a responsibility to try to understand other faith groups and their culture,' says Vince Isner, director of FaithfulAmerica. org, a program of the National Council of Churches USA". ^[12]

The Bush administration has in fact recently made it easier for U. S. faith based groups and missionary societies to tie aid and church together.

For decades, US policy has sought to avoid intermingling government programs and religious proselytizing. The aim is both to abide by the Constitution's prohibition against a state religion and to ensure that aid recipients don't forgo assistance because they don't share the religion of the provider. . . . But many of those restrictions were removed by Bush in a little-noticed series of executive orders -- a policy change that cleared the way for religious groups to obtain hundreds of millions of dollars in additional government funding. It also helped change the message American aid workers bring to many corners of the world, from emphasizing religious neutrality to touting the healing powers of the Christian God. ^[13]

Christian counter-claims

Missionaries, say that the government in India has passed anti-conversion laws in several states that are supposedly meant to prevent conversions from "force or allurement", but are primarily used, they say, to persecute and criminalize voluntary conversion due to the government's broad definition of "force and allurement. " Any gift received from a Christian in exchange for, or with the intention of, conversion is considered allurement. Voice of the Martyrs reports that aid-workers claim that they are being hindered from reaching people with much needed services as a result of this persecution. ^[14] Alan de Lastic, Roman Catholic archbishop of New Delhi states that claims of forced conversion are false^[15].

"'There are attacks practically every week, maybe not resulting in death, but still, violent attacks,' Richard Howell, general secretary of the Evangelical Fellowship of India tells The Christian Science Monitor today. 'They [India's controlling BJP party] have created an atmosphere where minorities do feel insecure. '"^[16] According to Prakash Louis, director of the secular Indian Social Institute in New Delhi, "We are seeing a broad attempt to stifle religious minorities and their constitutional rights. . . Today, they say you have no right to convert, Tomorrow you have no right to worship in certain places. "^[17] Existing congregations, often during times of worship, are being persecuted. ^[18] Properties are sometimes destroyed and burnt to the ground, while native pastors are sometimes beaten and left for dead. ^{[19][20][21][22][23][24][25]}

References

Bibliography

Positive or Neutral

• Discovering Missions by Gailey and Culbertson ISBN 083412257X
• Introducing World Missions by Moreau, Corwin and McGree ISBN 0801026482
• Missions by Van Rheenen ISBN 0310208092
• Operation World by Johnstone ISBN 1850783578
• Perspectives on the World Christian Movement edited by Winter and Hawthorne ISBN 0878082891

Critical

• Missionary Conquest: The Gospel and Native American Cultural Genocide by George E. Tinker ISBN 9780800625764
• The Missionaries: God Against the Indians by Norman Lewis ISBN 0140131752
• The Dark Side of Christian History by Helen Ellerbe ISBN 0964487349

See also

• Evangelism
• Christianity and paganism
• Missionary
• List of Protestant missionary societies
• Missions of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• Persecution by Christians
• Proselytism
• Religious conversion
• Short-term missions
• Timeline of Christian missions
• Inner mission
• Open Air Campaigners

External links

• Crusade Watch
• Cross Search Missions Directory - Collection of missions related organizations and websites. Evangelism is the Christian practice of proselytisation. The intention of most evangelism is to effect Eternal salvation to those who do not follow the This article gives overview about the relations between Christians and Pagans. A missionary is a member of a Religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary's faith someone who proselytizes. The following List of Protestant missionary societies below were the most noteworthy Protestant Christian missionary organizations that began between 1691-1900 This article is about a geographical administrative area within the LDS Church This article gives an overview about historical cases of persecution by Christians, also taking a look at cases of Religious warfare and Religious violence. Proselytism is the practice of attempting to convert people to another opinion and particularly another religion Religious conversion is the adoption of a new religious identity or a change from one religious identity to another A short-term mission (STM is the mobilization of a Christian missionary for a short period of time ranging from days to a year many short-term missions are This timeline of Christian missions chronicles the global expansion of Christianity through a sampling of missionary outreach events An inner mission or rescue mission is a project set up by Christian groups to aid the poor and sick in the home country of the group History The roots of Open Air Campaigners goes back to Australia.
• Missiology.org - Resources on missions (Christian) education.
• LFM. Social sciences & missions (academic journal)
• North American Azerbaijani Network - an organization of over 90 groups and churches committed to seeing the Azerbaijani people reached with the gospel of Jesus Christ.