Does overseas missions strategy need reform? At least one SBC professor says it does

A piece by Will Hall in the Christian Examiner rehearses a journal article published in The Southwestern Journal of Theology by Midwestern professor of missions, Robin Dale Hadaway. Hall's article entitled "Prof calls for SBC overseas missions reform: Does drastic drop in IMB baptisms merit  major remake?" lists among the changes Hadaway proposes:

1. Drop the two percent "reachedness" threshold and return to the original 20 percent or at least adopt a 10 percent baseline.

"Exiting a people group that is more than two-percent evangelical," he said, "is the historical equivalent of the United States declaring victory in the Vietnam War, only to see the country fall three years later."

2. Send missionaries in greater numbers to places more receptive to the Gospel.

3. Appoint a cadre of trainers and professors to teach in churches and seminaries worldwide to increase teaching and discipleship.

4. Deploy missionaries overseas with the following ratios: 40 percent to the resistant unreached; 40 percent among receptive groups; 15 percent for training and theological education; 5 percent to perform administrative functions.

Read Will Hall's informative article

Download the entire fall edition of The Southwestern Journal of Theology courtesy of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary 

Comments

[Max]

"Send missionaries in greater numbers to places more receptive to the Gospel."

Or as Henry Blackaby says "Look for where God is working and join Him there."

Peter, I flinch when I see "reform" in the title of an article these days, but agree with the use of that word here. Overall, I concur with Dr. Hadaway's assessment of foreign mission challenges and his missionary deployment recommendation in point 4. SBC's evangelistic outreach needs to pick up some steam ... the days are short. Paul told Timothy if/when he saw lost humanity turn away their ears from the truth and turn aside to myths, to keep his head and do the work of an evangelist (we are there!).

SBC's "reform" should also include putting more God-called vocational evangelists on both home and international fields. We don't need to discourage itinerant evangelists in SBC's COSBE organization ... we need to support and fund them!

[Scott Shaver]

Looks to me like the greatest current mission field is North America (USA in particular) with disintegration of families, social engineering through public education and cultural division enhanced by political/economic agendas promoted through 24 hour news cycles.

The protestant version of Christianity in America these days appears miles wide and inches deep...largely influenced by popular culture and the mantras of political/social correctness.

If American Christianity loses it's metal inside 200 years what good are foreign based efforts to duplicate the same return?

Call me an isolationist at this juncture but seems better to nurture and rekindle the kind of fire over here that draws as opposed to carrying the embers of a dying flame abroad.

[Max]

"Looks to me like the greatest current mission field is North America (USA in particular)..."

Scott - I've been saying that for years. Christianity Lite has set up camp in America. Our churches need a good shaking and I believe one is on the way. America is in the mess it is in because of the mess the church is in. America is sick because the church is sick. Our nation won't get back on its feet until the church does. Most churches don't have enough spiritual power to blow the dust off a peanut. Most American Christians don't scare the devil when they get up in the morning. Reform overseas mission strategy?! Yep, but don't forget the home front! We need to pray for revival, brother ... but that won't come until millions of church folks humble themselves, pray, repent and seek God afresh.

[Scott Shaver]

Do North American countries like Canada actually send Christian missionaries into the U.S.?