Rev. Dr. Peter Lillback, president of Westminster Theological Seminary, PA, and founder of The Providence Forum, joins Dr. Hopkins to chat about the inclusion of young children during the main services in church, the religion and theology of George Washington, and the value of experiencing a mission trip even if you aren't called to be a missionary.

Evangelical Missiological Society, "EMS Southwest Regional Meeting", April 4th 2024

Richard Cook, Logos Evangelical Seminary

Ecclesiology and Evangelical Missionaries: 1900 to the Present (Part 2)

To understand the history of the missionary experience, I compare three classic textbooks on the life of a missionary from distinct eras. Contrasts yield insight into each epoch, whereas consistencies crystallize timeless truths. Scouring each work for insights into ecclesiology and missions reveals a remarkable progression of the understanding of the church.

In 1907, Arthur J Brown provided an entire chapter on the “home” church, discussing its role including letters, furloughs, and adequate support. Later, a second chapter turns its attention to the “native” church. One particularly fascinating section deals with why missionaries might fear allowing for the independence of the Indigenous churches.

Like Brown, in 2008 Steffen and Douglas include a robust discussion of ecclesiology and missions. Nonetheless, the context has transformed. There is no longer a clear dichotomy between the “home” and “native” churches, as missions is constantly evolving in the direction of “from everywhere to everyone (Samuel Escobar).”

Most startling, however, was J Herbert Kane’s contribution in 1980. He does not have a chapter on either home or native churches, and he seems to include little on ecclesiology. I believe he represents a transitional moment in evangelical conceptions of the “church” that is worthy of thoughtful examination.

The three volumes, from 1907, 1980, and 2008, represent the church and missions at three discrete moments in time and, as I will show, reflect the inexorable movement toward our contemporary understanding of the Global Church.

Evangelical Missiological Society, "EMS Southwest Regional Meeting", April 4th 2024

Mikko Sivonen, Agricola Theological Seminary, Finland

Missionaries as Provisional Pastors

As suggested by some missiologists, is it biblically accurate to say that missionaries cannot or should not fulfill a pastoral role? Within the scope of this article, we are not saying that every missionary sent to serve on a church planting team should serve as a pastor in a local church. However, we will argue that missionaries serving provisionally in the office of pastor is a biblical model for healthy church formation. As an implication, some elder qualified missionaries must be sent out to form new churches, serving as pastors temporarily to form sound doctrine, right worship, and model faithful eldering that leads to healthy local leadership in the church.

Evangelical Missiological Society, "EMS Southwest Regional Meeting", April 4th 2024

Daniel Low, Christian Witness Theological Seminary

To the Ends of the Earth: Suffering and Other Key Markers in Chinese Missions

A pervasive marker of the Chinese church, particularly in embodying the Gospel through missions, is suffering (Ahern, 2022). Conceptually to “suffer” in Chinese is to “eat suffering” (吃苦 chi ku) or to “accept suffering” (受苦 shou ku). For a Chinese Christian, to be called to participate in missions (local or global) is to serve without regard for her/his life and die, if necessary. Thus, to stoically suffer is the “ordination of the gospel worker’s testimony in a Chinese context” (Ahern, 2022, 5) and “an occasion to demonstrate their loyalty to Christ within … non-Christian [societies]” (Chow and Wong, 2023, 16).

Among the Chinese pastors and lay leaders in the Bay Area and Chinese students completing their training at a local Chinese seminary, is this marker pertinent to encourage their congregations to participate in missions? What are the characteristics and limitations of this marker in missions? What are the other pertinent markers that the leaders (both pastors and lay leaders) seek to encourage and teach congregations to encourage participation in missions?

This paper seeks to assess (a) the perceptions, characteristics, and limitations of suffering for Christ as a key marker for Chinese missions; (b) the other pertinent markers and their characteristics for Chinese missions; and (c) the narratives (e.g., examples from Scripture and lives of missionaries) that are used to teach these markers and characteristics. Hopefully these distinctives, through interviewing pastors, lay leaders and Chinese seminary student, will add to the dynamic and creative missional expressions of the global Church.

Evangelical Missiological Society, "EMS Southwest Regional Meeting", April 4th 2024

David Ofumbi, Biola University

The Being-Orientation for Reimagining Ecclesiology and Mission for Church Influence and Growth

The Church strives to retain its self-giving mission orientation to maintain its identity as the Body of Christ in the world to function as the embodiment of the gospel and reproduce itself among all nations. The mission orientation also promotes its expression of diversity and the ability to continually evolve as it interfaces with the changing world it is sent into. So, the church cannot honor God in affirming and encouraging the diversity of all he has created without adhering to its life-giving mission orientation, which is the challenge of the human life orientation. However, the church has understood and pursued its life-giving mission orientation mostly as the challenge of doing based on the human life orientation of doing. This misjudgment has cost the church the benefits of both influence in the rest of the world and growth in the West. This paper argues that the life-giving mission orientation of the church is the challenge of being based on the human life orientation of being. Therefore, the paper introduces the human life orientation of being, which the church needs to establish institutions that will allow it to maintain its life-giving mission orientation to unlock the unprecedented era of church influence and growth. Unlike the doing-orientation, which mars the life-giving mission orientation of the church with its corporeal ideas from human experience, the being-orientation uses the incorporeal ideas of being, which are compatible with the ethos of the gospel. So, the paper calls for the adoption of the human life orientation of being.

Jamie Dew, president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, joins Dr. Hopkins on From Here to Eternity to share his testimony of radical transformation. They discuss PhD programs in American and in Britain comparing both of their benefits.

Evangelical Missiological Society, "EMS Southwest Regional Meeting", April 4th 2024

Jamie Sanchez, Talbot School of Theology

Refugee Women: Stories of how Faith and the Faith Community Impact Resilience

Limited research has been conducted specific to women refugees (Freedman, 2015; Gissi, 2018; Marchand, 2008). Resilience, or the ability to successfully overcome adversity (Masten, 2018), is one theme that has emerged in such studies. For example, Hutchinson and Dorsett (2012) asserted that refugee resilience depends on external environments as much as on internal strength. An example of internal and external factors which impact refugee resilience includes participation in their own personal faith and in a community of faith. There are studies connecting faith and well-being (Skalisky, et. al, 2022), other studies which show that refugees benefit by participating in a religion and a religious community (Lusk, et. al, 2021; Muruthi, et. al, 2020; Rayes, et. al, 2021); and that faith-based support for refugees (Nagel, 2023; Tippens, 2022) impacts refugee well-being.

This presentation is derived from a larger study which sought to understand how refugee women describe factors that impact their own resilience. In this section of the study, I present data from interviews with 34 refugee women living in Europe in summer 2023. The specific findings I will present focus on how a personal faith, God’s miracles, churches providing for practical needs, and having a sense of belonging in church are all key factors in helping women refugees overcome their adverse situations with resilience. Data from participants will be shared to substantiate the findings. I will offer implications for church staff, missionaries, missiologists, and NGO personnel working with refugees.

Paul Chitwood, president of the International Mission Board (IMB), joins the podcast this week to talk about the strength of cooperative effort, the call of the entire family into ministry, and the immense joy and blessing of serving Southern Baptists.

To learn more about the IMB's programs or to get involved, go to www.imb.org