See What It Takes to Produce “Reproducing Fishers of Men.” p. 25 Introducing the Global Great Commission Network. p. 30 May-June 2012 • The U.S. Center for World Mission • 34:3 www.missionfrontiers.org COMING TO A CITY ONLINE CLASSES LEARN MORE AT NEAR YOU THIS FALL NOW AVAILABLE PERSPECTIVES.ORG Contents 4 Editorial Comment Rick Wood 25 Reproducing Fishers of Men Robby Butler 28 Building Momentum: Report from 6 Celebrating 200 Years of Mission Society Sending, 1812-2012 the Global Network of Centers for Missio Nexus Reprint World Mission David Taylor 7 Endurance Personifi ed in the Life of Judson 30 Introducing the Global Great Paul Borthwick Commission Network David Taylor 10 North American Mission from Judsons to Global Christianity 34 Further Refl ections Todd M. Johnson Greg Parsons 13 What Happened to the Others Who Sailed? Marvin J. Newell 14 Three Missionary Wives Marvin J. Newell 16 North American Pioneer Missionaries Before 1812 Marvin J. Newell 18 Learn from Our Mistakes Ralph D. Winter What Have We Learned f 22 From 200 Years of Doing Missions? Various Leaders Share Their Views Mission Frontiers is published 6 times a year. The U.S. Center for World Mission is a member of Missio Nexus as well Address changes, extra copies, donations, call 330-626-3361 as the EPA (Evangelical Press Association). Editorial Offi ce: Phone: 719-785-3625 • E-mail: [email protected] Advertising: E-mail: [email protected] The Bulletin of the E-mail: [email protected] U.S. Center for World Mission Website: www.missionfrontiers.org Vol. 34, No. 3 Rick Wood, Editor • Darrell Dorr, Contributing Editor Amanda Valloza-Hlavaty, Jonathan Pon, Graphic Design May-June 2012 www.missionfrontiers.org Dan Eddy, Circulation • Amanda Valloza-Hlavaty, Advertising Mission Frontiers September-October 2003 ISSN 0889-9436 3 Contents © 2012 by the U.S. Center for World Mission. 3 Editorial Comment Two Hundred Years of Pursuing God's Heart for All Peoples Rick Wood, Editor, Mission Frontiers ith this special bicentennial Even with this uneven record of prog- It’s About Going Cross- issue of MF we celebrate ress, we must never lose heart in striving Culturally to Peoples Wnot only 200 years of mis- to improve what we are doing and to Th anks to the eff orts of missiologists sion society sending of missionaries, discover God’s ways of establishing and like Donald McGavran, Ralph Winter but also the eff orts by thousands of growing His kingdom. In this spirit, we and others, we have learned that we missionaries over the centuries who present a number of respected leaders must cross cultural and linguistic barriers have worked tirelessly to discover the who give us their insights into what we to get the gospel into every unreached strategies and methods that God uses have learned and the mistakes we have people group. Th is means establishing to establish and grow his Church in made in more recent times. indigenous, reproducing churches that every tribe and tongue. We start off on page 18 with an article are eff ectively equipping all believers to It is easy for us in our time to look written by Ralph Winter in 2007 in be disciple-makers and church plant- back and think that we have learned which he gives his own insightful ers so that a Church-Planting Move- so much and we are doing things so overview of the mistakes the Western ment develops in every people. Th is is much better than they did “way back Church has made in the hope that the commission that Jesus gave to us when.” But this process of learning others will learn from them and not in Matthew 28:19-20, and we have no from our mistakes is not a straight line repeat them. Other leaders give us their excuse in our day for not completing it. of progress. In many ways we still have insights starting on page 22. Robby We have come to recognize that at its a lot to learn from the pioneer lead- Butler provides some of the most heart missions is no longer primarily ers in missions, such as William Carey important strategic insights in this issue about crossing geographical barriers, as or Henry Venn and Rufus Anderson, in his article starting on page 25. If we it was in Judson’s day, but rather crossing who developed the idea of establishing do not learn how to turn the average the barriers of the heart and mind— indigenous churches that are self- believer into a disciple-maker, it will be those barriers of culture, language supporting, self-governing and self- very diffi cult indeed to bring access to and understanding. One of the most reproducing. We still struggle today to the gospel to every person. We will talk important mission strategies in our time implement the great thinking of these more about this in an upcoming issue. is to reach out to the unreached peoples pioneers from long ago. Even when we So What Have We Learned in in our midst. In His sovereign plan God identify mistakes that we have made has brought the unreached peoples to in the past, we still struggle not to fall 200 Years of Doing Missions? where we live. He has brought Hindu, back into them, and while the majority Here are my own thoughts. Feel free to Buddhist and Muslim people groups of missionaries may have learned from send me your own. Today we have a far to our neighborhoods. Th ese peoples, if some past mistakes, there will always superior understanding of the unfi n- reached, could signifi cantly impact those be those newcomers who never got ished task of missions than ever before. same people groups wherever they exist the message that the methods they are When Judson and his friends set out around the world. Judson was willing employing today have continually failed in 1812, their understanding of world to travel around the world to reach the over the last 200 years. In our eff orts to religions and culture was extremely unreached of his day. Th e question for grow Christ’s kingdom we manage to limited. At fi rst they did not know us: are we willing to cross the street to make new mistakes that our forefathers the diff erence between a Hindu and a reach the unreached of our time? in the faith may never have envisioned. Muslim. Th e early missionaries believed MF seeks to keep these setbacks from as some still do today that their job was Finding Unreached Peoples happening as much as possible by let- to establish a Western church like they Wherever They Live ting you know in each issue what others had back home. In large part today, Th e level of information on the world, its are learning and discovering about what most missionaries understand that peoples and populations available to Jud- God uses to grow His kingdom quickly their job is rather to make the gospel son and his friends was also very limited. and eff ectively. indigenous to each people and not to Today with the growth in computer and transplant Western cultural forms. 4 May-June 2012 Mission Frontiers USCWM • 1605 E. Elizabeth St. • Pasadena, CA 91104 • 626-797-1111 satellite technology we are on the verge of knowing the church-planting status of every people group and community on earth. David Taylor reported in our Nov.- Dec. 2011 issue on page 26, “Global Calling Christians databases of habitats (cities, towns and villages) now exist for over three million to Pray for Muslims: communities. Surveys to determine the status of evangelism and church-planting have been completed for almost fi fty 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World countries and 350,000 communities.” In the not-too-distant future, we will have July 20 – August 18, 2012 all the information we need to deploy missionaries to go to all the peoples and communities that still need a Church- Planting Movement. It Is Now a Global Mission Force One of the most signifi cant accomplish- Join millions who participate in the largest ments over the last 200 years is that the annual prayer focus on the Muslim world. Coinciding mission fi elds of the world have become with Ramadan, Christians are called to make an the bases for sending missionaries. Africa, intentional effort to learn about, pray for and reach Asia and Latin America, while still out to Muslim neighbors… across the street needing to begin church-planting eff orts and around the world. among the unreached peoples in their midst, have also become a major force in This full-color, informative prayer guide, world evangelization. Th e followers of Je- produced in both adult and kidʼs sus Christ are no longer primarily located versions, is a proven tool to help in Europe and North America, as it was Christians respond with in Judson’s day, and it is no longer just the mind and heart the responsibility of believers from the of Christ. West to be on mission with God. Every believer from every people is now part of God’s family business of proclaiming His glory in all the earth to every people. Th e potential workforce for God’s Kingdom has grown dramatically in 200 years, as has the potential for bringing the gospel to every tribe and tongue. We Can Complete the Task of Reaching All Peoples In Judson’s day, it was likely not physically possible to complete world evangelization. Th ere were simply too many obstacles in terms of distance, knowledge and manpower.