Short-term trips are still possible, as the Lord leads and provides for them. And any short-term missions trips taken can accomplish a similar purpose as those taken by non-residential missionaries who live in foreign countries other than that of their target people group. We don't need to live in Europe in order to be missionaries.
Literature Missionaries
The Lord continues to use our online Christian literature ministry in many nations worldwide. With your help, Doulos Missions International (DMI) continues to make disciples, instruct, and encourage laborers throughout Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, North America, and other parts of the world from our base in the US. Through online Christian literature, available through our many blogs listed on Writing for the Master, we provide instruction for disciples and leaders, which is accessed and viewed in many nations worldwide.
In fact, many of those are restricted nations, where the government prevents Christians from obtaining Bibles or other Christian literature. Restricted countries also include those where laws or circumstances sanctioned by the government lead to Christians being harassed, imprisoned, killed or deprived of freedom or possessions. We have also been serving those in hostile nations, which includes those where Christians are victims of violence because of their witness. We also receive visits from nations that were formerly oppressed by communism. All glory be to Jesus Christ forever and ever!
This sort of work is known in the field of missiology as Special Ministries, and is not as widely known about or understood by most Christians. Many people still think that in order to be effective as missionaries, we must permanently reside in a foreign country. However, that is a romanticized myth that is not true. In fact, that is "old-school" thinking. To use an analogy, since the gasoline engine now exists, why would we still rely on the steam engine? Or since jet aircraft exist, why would we still rely on propeller planes for transatlantic travel? There is still a need for residential missionaries in certain, select cases. But it is a very costly and slow approach. In fact, in certain cases, foreign missionaries are doing more harm than good for the cause of Christ.
We are not by any means making a case for eliminating all foreign missionaries, nor do we disesteem them, nor diminish their value, nor elevate ourselves above others. After all, we ourselves are genuinely called by God as foreign missionaries, formerly based in Eastern Europe, and we did not return to the States because we wanted to. Rather, our intent is to dispel the myths that foreign missions always requires the missionary to live abroad, and that all those who go overseas as missionaries are actually called by the Lord to do so. We honor and appreciate those who have truly sacrificed their lives, and followed a genuine call of God to the foreign mission field to help complete the Great Commission, especially those who are preaching the true gospel with the demonstration of the Spirit and power, making disciples of Jesus Christ.
Nevertheless, we need to update the Church's understanding into the 21st century, regarding the current, innovative approaches the Lord has placed in our hands to complete the Great Commission. It is critical that the Church catches this vision, and strongly supports it. Therefore, we would like to present the following information, in order to cast this vision.
First of all, in countries closed to conventional missionary work, Christian literature still plays a large role in sharing the gospel. This includes journalism, writing, distribution, articles, booklets, tracts, etc. The problem is that there are too few literature missionaries.
Theological Education by Extension (TEE)
One type of Special Ministry that uses literature is known as "Theological Education by Extension" (TEE). It is one of the most significant missiological advancements of the late twentieth century. The typical pattern of residential missionaries and Bible colleges historically used by the West for training Christian workers proved to be too costly, slow, and sometimes inappropriate. In fact, it was not necessarily suitable for the ministry in other parts of the world, where the Church was rapidly growing.
TEE was initially utilized as a means of training pastors that remained in active ministry in Latin America. It has since spread rapidly around the world and taken on various forms. Now there are distance-learning courses ranging from “basic” to degree-earning, which are often supplemented by itinerant lecturers, videos, audio recordings, Internet, and various courses on biblical, pastoral, and social concern.
This is what we are currently doing through our online, Doulos Training School (DTS). Through our free, three-year discipleship training school (DTS), we are making disciples of students attending in multiple countries. In fact, all of our students are in foreign countries. In addition to the written, course material that Len has produced, there is a strong emphasis on the practical aspects of becoming a disciple, which are a requirement for all our DTS students.
Moreover, Len continues to produce his monthly publication, Old News That's Still Fresh, containing his latest articles, which he sends out to pastors, elders, and laborers across the world, as well as here in the States. This, too, is a sort of TEE ministry.
The Use of the Internet
The Internet has changed the way the world communicates, making it a powerful tool that has great significance for evangelism. Web growth around the world is phenomenal -- it is no longer just for rich western nations. This includes mobile access to the web via phones and mobile devices. The Internet also enables Christian workers and organizations to network together and to rapidly share information in ways that were never previously possible. Moreover, Skype and other providers of streamed, instant audio or video have also revolutionized international communications.
Online Evangelism
DMI is also conducting online evangelism, which is cutting-edge outreach. It operates in several main ways, including evangelistic web pages accessible by anyone on the worldwide web, one-on-one personal interaction by email, and videos posted online.
Since the Internet is accessible relatively freely in restricted nations, this allows outreach to groups such as Muslims in the Middle East, giving them the opportunity to consider the claims of Christ in a way that is both non-threatening and anonymous.
Regrettably, there are relatively few Christian organizations producing websites. The reason being that, unlike printed literature or video, it is not financially viable. Since there is nothing to sell to the target audience, there is no way to recoup expenses necessary to produce the materials and websites. This is why financial support is so vital to this ministry.
Doulos Missions International is effectively using online evangelism, and our works are even being translated into other languages. The way the Lord is using online evangelism to effectively reach many people with the gospel can be compared to the way He has in the past used radio ministry and printed literature distribution, except the Internet is probably more accessible now and exponentially more rapid as a means of distribution.
Incidentally, some people in foreign countries are distributing Len's articles by hand. For example, a brother in South Africa is distributing DVDs containing these articles, and another brother in Tanzania is distributing printed copies. Others have taken the initiative to create entire web pages with links to Len's articles, in order to direct more traffic to them. They have caught the vision!
Online Counseling and Discipleship
Finally, we also routinely provide free, online counseling and discipleship to those who contact us from around the world with their questions and personal issues, which they are requesting help with. Their feedback and testimonies to us afterward indicate to us that the Lord is using this wonderfully to help people be set free and grow in their walk with Jesus Christ, so that they may stand firm in all the will of God, mature, and fully assured. There is lots of good fruit coming out of it.
Making Disciples that Make Disciples
We are making disciples that make disciples. This sort of multiplication is the goal of all the means we are employing, which we have just outlined. This is the goal of the Great Commission, which the Lord gave to us (Matt 28:19-20).
Support for Special Ministries
Hopefully we have helped to convey the urgent need for this type of Special Ministry and the need for more people to support it, just as they once primarily supported residential missionaries. Please pray that the Lord will raise up financial partners for this important work, so that it may continue, "...so that by all possible means I might save some." (1 Co 9:22b).
If you are interested in financially supporting the Special Ministries of Doulos Missions International, please click here to find out how.
Source: Much of the information herein about the realm of Special Ministries is adapted from Operation World, 21st Century Edition, Patrick Johnstone and Jason Mandryk, Paternoster Publishing, copyright 2001, pp. 696-700
_________________________________________________
Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International. He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.
No comments:
Post a Comment