July - August 2010

Editorial Rick Wood, Editor

Every few years major global meetings of mission and church leaders take place in various locations around the globe. I have attended a number of them over the years. They have always been wonderful experiences and great opportunities to meet people, network and learn about how others are viewing the task of world evangelization. But do these global meetings move the cause of world evangelization forward? download pdf of this story

"Come over and help us!" pleaded Stefan Gustavsson, leader of the Swedish Evangelical Alliance, to the delegates at the Tokyo 2010 mission consultation. Echoing the call of the man in Paul’s Macedonian vision almost 2000 years ago, in his plenary address Gustavsson portrayed the stark reality of Europe today, where the vast majority of the population is turning to secularism, atheism and agnosticism. download pdf of this story

Blogging from Tokyo 2010 Allen Yeh

The most powerfully moving moment of the conference:

Stefan Gustavsson of Sweden gave a Macedonian call ("Come over and help us!") about how to evangelize secular Europeans, the "prodigal sons" of Christianity today. It was a good lecture, if a bit academic, but the organizer of the conference, Yong Cho, had a remarkable response. Tearfully, he called for the entire conference to spontaneously pray for Europe to regain its faith, and he invited all the European delegates to come up to the stage. download pdf of this story

The Assumptions Behind The Ten Elements

I want to talk to you today about ten elements which I think outline the global evangelization priorities for the Church. As leaders, we need to know where the Great Commission is not being fulfilled. First, let me give you five assumptions behind these priorities. download pdf of this story

Beyond Christianity: Insider Movements and the Place of the Bible and the Body of Christ in New Movements to Jesus Kevin Higgins

The title I have been given makes reference to "Beyond Christianity" and to "insider movements." The conference organizers have thereby drawn our attention to what God is doing to draw people to Himself at or beyond the edges of what most of us would associate with Christianity. More specifically, some mission thinkers and practitioners, including myself, have experienced and advocated for what we see God to be doing to bring men and women within non-Christian religious traditions to saving faith in Christ outside of the forms and expressions of discipleship that are typical of what we would call "church." download pdf of this story

We, representatives of evangelical global mission structures, being intent on fulfilling the ultimate objective of the Great Commission, have gathered in Tokyo May 11-14, 2010 at this Global Mission Consultation to make the following declaration. We set forth this declaration in obedience to Christ’s final command, as a means of calling Christ-followers everywhere to whole-heartedly embrace and earnestly engage in "making disciples of every people in our generation"... download pdf of this story

It has been a privilege to serve as the first International Director of the Global Network of Mission Structures (GNMS). As we have begun to promote the GNMS within Asia, I see more and more the need and potential for such a structure to be developed; it is essential. From our Korean perspective we are growing to appreciate the need for better coordination in the global mission movement at every level. But not only here, around the world strong momentum is building to see international collaboration to finish the assignment our Lord gave us almost two millennia ago. Indeed, as we approach the 2000-year anniversary of the Great Commission, just 15-20 years away, it is fitting that we give our all to reach the remaining peoples and places that are still without a disciple-making movement in their midst. download pdf of this story

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The Tokyo 2010 Consultation consisted of 967 delegates from 73 countries, not including the 927 Japanese observers. According to David Hupp, Tokyo 2010’s administrator, "Using a definition of 'Non-Western' as any place other than the USA, Canada, Western Europe, New Zealand and Australia, the Non-Western representation ranges from 66% to 75%." This is quite a change from Edinburgh 1910 and was one of the strengths of the meeting. Hupp adds, "At the same time, I would propose that 'Western' and 'Non-Western' is an increasingly blurred distinction, for several factors, and may be worth more study." download pdf of this story

Perspectives has recently placed a strong emphasis on partnering with agencies. The addition of Ryan Emis to the staff as the Director for Ministry Advancement has opened the doors for strategic partnerships with agencies that center around three goals of the Mobilization Division of the USCWM:

1. Engaging: helping agencies use Perspectives as a mobilization tool for their sending churches for both support and new recruits.
2. Equipping: more and more agencies are requiring Perspectives for all candidates, as a strong, foundational component to their training and orientation.
3. Connecting: introducing opportunities for involvement with agencies to Perspectives students and alumni. download pdf of this story

In this centennial year of global mission gatherings from Cape Town to Tokyo, the mandate for mission is under review. Mission and church strategists will be studying all the indicators of change and envisioning directions for mission in the 21st century. The relevance of ethnic and cultural difference is often contested or ignored as new agendas emerge in a global sending Church. download pdf of this story

In Matthew 13:33 and Luke 13:20 Jesus likens the Kingdom of God to yeast, a substance that transforms from the inside out. In the days surrounding His death and resurrection, Jesus instructed His followers to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom to all peoples of the world. Today numbers of Muslims have accepted this good news, allowing the yeast of the Kingdom to transform their lives and their families, while remaining a part of their own Muslim communities. Since there is a variety of perspectives on this phenomenon, even among the Islamic Studies faculty where we teach, we here seek to address some frequently-asked questions about it. download pdf of this story

The Church of Pentecost was begun in West Africa before the middle of the 20 th century. It grew without the unhealthy dependency on outside resources that sometimes characterizes mission established churches. This church went through growing pains in the early years but avoided getting bogged down in its own development. They reached beyond Ghana and have planted churches in 69 other countries with an estimated 1.5 million members in over 13,000 assemblies. In 2007 more than 200,000 came to Christ as a result of their outreach efforts. All of this is to show that churches do not need to be paralyzed by unhealthy dependency on outside funding. download pdf of this story

The Church of Pentecost was begun in West Africa before the middle of the 20 th century. It grew without the unhealthy dependency on outside resources that sometimes characterizes mission established churches. This church went through growing pains in the early years but avoided getting bogged down in its own development. They reached beyond Ghana and have planted churches in 69 other countries with an estimated 1.5 million members in over 13,000 assemblies. In 2007 more than 200,000 came to Christ as a result of their outreach efforts. All of this is to show that churches do not need to be paralyzed by unhealthy dependency on outside funding. download pdf of this story