May 01, 1983 by

Ten Essential Components of a Mission Renewal Movement

To achieve the goal of A Church for Every People by the Year 2000, there must be a specific mission effort aimed at each of the 16,750 groups within which there Is no such church currently. Two points underscore the need for a major movement to deal properly with this challenge:

The goal Is eminently feasible. With 258 million Bible believing Christians In the world, the thought of 16,750 new, mission teens   or double that number   is quite believable.

The goal Is hopeless without a significant renewal of prayer, education, and cooperation to enrich the aspirations of the evangelical community. Ten year trends, if unchallenged, show 30,000 retiring in the next decade with only 5,000 replacing than. To stay as we are is to lose ground, to miss the challenge of the century.

Ten components are seen as vital to a major movement reflecting a resurgence of mission concern:

Prayer with Global Vision

1. A Shared Daily Devotional Discipline Probably the most important first step Is to involve evangelicals around the world in shared daily prayer for the frontiers. Burmese Christians have introduced the practice of daily active prayer: prayer for missions accompanied! by a small daily offering. Burmese 'handful of rice" offerings at each meal have been replaced by daily loose change in North America. As Christians pray actively each day and are exposed daily to high quality Information, hearts will be turned to the still untouched frontiers. Coin offerings from a million people, will amount to $100 million per year.

2. Monthly Concerts of Prayer City wide Inter denominational gatherings each month, uniting in prayer around the vision of renewal for finishing the Great Cassi sslon, will produce powerful prayers and further strengthen the sense of shared vision and commitment essential to frontier missions. Such city wide meetings must be developed In cities across the country and internationally. The foundation of a new mission movement must be in such concerted prayer.

Information with Global Content:

3. Global Mapping Project Detailed, computer stored global information on both the Unreached Peoples and the world's churches must be available in maps employing state of the art cam,uter graphics, portraying in any scale the worldwide progress of the completion of the Great Commission. Churches andagencies will then have the information they need to determine strategic participation in the completion of the task.

4. Mass Media: Radio, IV, Film, Magazines, Journals Christians must have access through the media to quaIity Information about the Unreached Peoples the strategies being developed to reach them and how they may get involved. Awl e variety of media tools are needed, from high quality magazines to films, radio and TV broadcasts.

5. A Student Mission Movement As a constituent element in a larger mission renewal movement, it is essential that students carry the initiative in the large scale education end recruitment of other students. Foiiowup support must be provided to give students ongoing information about other potential mission team members, new updates about the area of the world they are interosted In, location of furloughed missionaries as resources for mission education, etc. A sense must be developed of a global network of students committed to reaching the Unreached.

Enrichment of Lives with Global Purpose

6. Enrichment of Existing Programs Sunday School, the Boy Scouts, Pioneer Girls, secular college Programs all must be enriched with regular mission Input. A missions merit badge, a iS minute missions modui e for Sunday School , a credit bearing college I evai course available at any secular college, and so on, will allow concern for the frontiers to penetrate and shape the daily iives of young Christians.

7. A New College Pattern College age Christians constitute the largest group making decisions about the directions, The four years of college are so important that evangel cars need for themselves a new college pattern which will involve the local church, Include six months per year of International experience, and be mission internship structured. Graduates will be both Biblically and internationally experienced   producing a large number of trained, competent World Christians.

8. A New Missionary Associate Lifestyle The large block of Christians who are not missionaries need to discover their challenging role in reaching the unreach ed, if Christians at home join ml ssIon agencies as missionary associates, living at the sane consumption I eel as missionaries on furlough, end make the rest of their income available to new mission work, literally billions of dollars will be freed up for new work.

Cooperation in the Global Task

9. A Global Network of Mission Agency Cooperative Centers Everywhere in the world where Christian resources are concentrated there must be a cooperative center where personnel from many mission agencies can work together to lay plans and develop resources for frontier mission work   something which individual agencies cannot adequately do alone. Agencies can work synergisticalIy to search out the Unreached Peoples of their country and other countries, provide training, end help each agency develop manpower and backing for new work. iO, A Promotional Coalition Unified in a National Frontier Fellowship Office The many organizations note working to establish many of the above Ten Essential Components - TSFM, the NSMC, lntervarslty, Caleb, the USCWM, the Frontier Fellowship, the iSCFM, World Christian, and many others   are being aided by the formation of a unifying coalition. Area Representatives, funding. Media Distribution Centers can be jointly shared. Such a coalition unified in a national "movement" office will greatly aid each aroup's contribution to mobilizing Christians for the Unreached Peoples, This office coordinates the growing number of organizations (now 24) officially sponsoring the Frontier Fellowship daily devotional program. This office receives a small participation fee from these organizations. That income will assist into being and full health the ten components listed here.