Modern well-known missionaries, conclusions about missions

1. Missions
History of Missions
Dr. Robert Patton
Missionary to Suriname,
South America

2. Kenneth Strachan & Latin
American Mission
 He changed the direction after the
death of both parents, allowing
intermarriage with Latins, Latins in
leadership, and all business in Spanish.
 He became more ecumenical toward
WCC & the Roman Catholics while
fighting communism. .

3. Kenneth Strachan
 He pushed Evangelism in Depth,
working on mobilizing the local church
to reach out.
 It persisted after his death from
Hodgkins – and also the use of national
leadership

4. Orlando Costas 1942-1987
 Born in Puerto Rico, saved in Billy Graham crusade,
trained and eventually returned to Puerto Rico.
 Served with LAM in Costa Rico. Turmoil came
where he taught; liberation theology was part of
the turmoil. He went to school in Holland, then
taught in England. He returned to Latin America ,
then taught missions in the USA
 He believed the USA needed the simple gospel

5. Donald McGavran
 Born of missionary parents in India; went to
Butler University, influenced by the SVM and
went to India as missionary.
 He taught there for 20 years, and became
especially interested in church growth and
mass movements.
 He started the Institute of Church Growth

6. Donald McGavran
 He felt that the mission compound
fractured Christians into isolated groups
who had minimal effect on their families
 He wanted people movements, which
were resisted by Western missionary
emphasis on individual decisions.
However many disagreed with his
homogonous people groups

7. Donald McGavran

8. Ralph and Roberta Winter
 Born in 1924, went to Cal Tech, got
PhD and theology degree, and went to
Guatemala as a missionary.
 He taught at Fuller for 10 years, and
then started US Center for World
Mission with only $100 to rally people
to see how to reach 17,000 people
groups and establish churches there

9. Dr. Ralph Winter

10. Lesslie Newbigin
 Born 1909 in England, converted and
involved in open air evangelism first
there and then in India. He became the
first bishop of United Church of South
India.
 He agreed with nationals reaching
others but not in homogenous units

11. Lesslie Newbigin
 Age 70 he started a church in
Birmingham reaching the Asians in a
rough neighborhood. He preached a
gospel against the materialistic culture
of England.
 Election – focus on God’s goal and
responsibility, not the reason for God’s
choice

12. Lesslie Newbigin

13. Bob Pierce and World Vision
 He had a very stormy early work and
marriage history, neglecting his wife and
daughters.
 Finally on a trip for youth in China he saw the
needs of orphans and started a humanitarian
outreach.
 He was extremely effective raising money for
hospitals, orphanages, etc.

14. Bob Pierce and World Vision
 His family life was a shambles, and he
resigned from World Vision in a rage. He
later founded Samaritan’s purse, and he
eventually died of leukemia.
 Stanley Mooneyham took over, and organized
the relief organization properly and it is still
effective.
 They want to combine help with self-help and
Christian evangelism

15. World Vision
 Now the one of the largest relief
organizations in the world – total
budget is $2.6 billion dollars

16. World Vision USA
headquarters

17. Bruce Olson
 Left home age 19 to evangelize a tribe
in Columbia.
 He succeeded and translated much of
the Bible, helped with health and
agriculture, etc. 70% of the tribe is
now Christian, reaching 18 other tribes
 He was held by guerillas but released
after a 9 month captivity

18. Brother Andrew - Open Doors.
 He originally survived the Nazis in Holland,
and then was a commando in Indonesia -
foolishly brave. He survived being wounded,
started reading his Bible, and joined WEC
after learning English. While visiting East
Europe, he found the lack of Bibles and
vowed to bring Bibles there.
 He made many trips for 15 years, but after
his book was published, no further trips

19. Bruce Olson – Motilone indians

20. Brother Andrew - Open Doors.
 He continued risky smuggling with God’s help
to communist countries
 The largest smuggling was 200 tons of Bibles
in China to be distributed by 20,000
Christians. The majority were properly
distributed though many Christians were
arrested.
 He continues to speak in his 80s. Open
Doors ministers to the persecuted Christians

21. Brother Andrew

22. Mother Teresa
 Born in Albania 1910 as the youngest of
3, poverty after the death of her father,
she went to India as a nun age 19. She
taught geography and was eventually
headmistress
 She had a vision to help the poor, and
after 2 years, left the mission with three
others.

23. Mother Teresa
 The sisters mixed with the people – not
hiding behind doors. Grew to 100 over
3 decades – Missionaries of charity
 She did not request funds directly but
said people could do something good
for God. Soon thousands of sisters and
places springing up
 She received the Nobel Peace Prize

24. Mother Teresa and Sisters of
Charity

25. Dr. Helen Roseveare
 Born 1925 in England, wealthy family,
well educated and received an MD from
Cambridge. She became an
evangelical, joined WEC, and went to
Congo in 1953.
 In two years, she established a nursing
school at Ibambi. She was moved to
another location; set up another school

26. Dr. Helen Roseveare
 Had problems with role in terms of
relationships with other missionaries.
The mission put Dr. Harris over her to
hold her down and he took over “her”
hospital.
 She wanted to get married, went back
to England after 5 years.
 She returned to Congo in 1960 and
insisted on staying during evacuations.

27. Dr. Helen Roseveare
 She was captured and brutally raped by
Simba soldiers in 1964 and held captive for 5
months.
 She returned on 1966-1973, but nationalism
created many problems for her. She had no
authority as a teacher and clashed with
students who resented her high standards.
 She ended up being a much sought Christian
statesman with great humility and spirituality

28. Dr. Helen Roseveare

29. Jackie Pullinger
 Worked with poor in Hong Kong. She
left England and worked with a mission
group in the worst part of the city –
teaching English, music. She attributes
success to speaking in tongues
 Eventually the walled city was
destroyed and a park placed there, but
the ministry spread elsewhere

30. Jackie Pullinger

31. Don Richardson
 Don Richardson - he wrote Peace Child
and Lords of the Earth. He has
promoted the Redemptive Analogy.
Trained in Prairie Bible Institute.
Worked with his wife under Regions
Beyond Missionary Union. He worked
with the Sawi, headhunters and
cannibals who idealized treachery.

32. Don Richardson
 Language learning was a great
challenge.
 He finally saw peace come between 3
villages when they exchanged children

33. Richardson’s books

34. Don Richardson

35. Nationalism since WWII
 Hastened the indigenous church movement
 The missionary becomes a coworker and/or
servant of the church
 Exposed the tension between national
workers and the missionary
 The genuineness of the national churches
was tested
 The image of Christianity was de-westernized

36. Communism
 Communists took over eastern Europe, China,
much of southeastern asia
 Communists have generally tried to destroy
the church. But actually the church may have
done better under Communist repression in
the east than governmental support in the
west
 In China, the communists released the
Chinese from the bonds of ancestor worship,
which may have actually made them more
receptive to the gospel

37. Resurgence of ancient
religions
 Shinto sects are pushing back
 Muslims are aggressive
 Also some Hindu and Buddhists are
active and aggressive, persecuting
Christians

38. Transitions in Protestantism
 The liberals and neo-evangelicals have
highjacked the missions movement to
become the social gospel
 Many are leaving missions, but infected
the churches overseas with liberalism
 The number has dropped to 10,000
missionaries, and now under 2000

39. Catholicism has been
fragmented
 First they violently opposed the
protestant churches
 Now they are infected with evolution &
liberalism, which has developed into
Liberation theology - violent overthrow
of the government, especially in Latin
America

40. Pentecostal and charismatic
explosion
 Charismatics are overflow of
Pentecostalism into mainline
denominations, as well as the Roman
Catholic church, which may be the
largest group
 .They are aggressive in evangelism
 .They meet the practical need where it is
 Fastest growing group in Latin and South
America

41. Missionary trends
 Postwar surge has occurred, including
now 6700 missionaries in Europe
 .There are a large number of short-termers
as well, with stable or slowly dropping
number of full time missionaries
 Evangelical missionaries have grown to
48,000, while ecumenical ones have
shrunk to less than 2000

42. Missionary trends
 Missionary attitudes
 Allowing nationals to do more, and trusting
the Holy Spirit in the nationals to develop
them
 There is a divided attitude about
Pentecostals
 .2/3 world missionaries - 10x as many
as 1960, now 60,000, esp. Korea, India
& Nigeria

43. Missionary trends
 “2/3 world missionaries”
 10x as many as 1960, now 60,000,
 Korea, India & Nigeria are leading the way
 We anticipate that they will overtake
the west in sending out missionaries