ABSTRACT Matteo Ricci was born on October 16, 1552 in Macerata, Italy just a few months before the death of Francis Xavier. He joined the Society of Jesus on August 15, 1571. He became burdened for mission in the Orient under the influence of Alessadro Valignani. This burden grew into love and service for the…
Category: advance
PROBLEM-SOLVING IN MISSIONS
Missionary work has always had its fair share of problems, and so this article covers the application of general problem-solving skills in missions and draws on my 25 years experience relating to technology in missions and a decade prior to that of more general missions experience. The article’s focus is not so much on prayer,…
FILLING THE GAP: EARLY MODERN REFORMED MISSIONS BEFORE THE 1800s
INTRODUCTION Contributions made by the Reformed Church are inconsistently portrayed in missions history. Historical researches on Reformed accomplishments concerning missions are either sparsely available or non-existent before the 1800s. Instead, there is a time gap between the Protestant Reformation to the arrival of the Moravians and the German Pietists from the University of Halle. This…
RITUAL AS WORSHIP: TOWARDS AUTHENTIC CHRISTIAN WORSHIP IN ASIA
Worship in Asia should not be tied to assumptions and values, imposed from the outside. Rather Christian worship in Asia should utilize rituals intended to ensure meaningful worship empowered by the Holy Spirit who enables people to be who God created them to be in the pluralist contexts Asian Christians find themselves. Beyond worship, the…
KOREAN MISSION CHALLENGES IN THE PHILIPPINES and Opportunities for Korean-Filipino Mission Partnerships
The Korean missionaries started coming to the Philippines as early as late 70’s. They came with enthusiastic hearts to evangelize, plant churches and train pastors and missionaries. I give thanks to God for the sacrificial labors and generous investments that Korean churches, mission agencies and missionaries have made in advancing the Great Commission in the…
MINISTERS AS SERVANT LEADERS “DIAKONOS” IN SECOND CORINTHIANS
Biblical leadership is servant leadership. There is nothing more inconsistent than to separate the concept of Christian leadership from servanthood vis-à-vis the ministers of God/Christ whether in the OT or in the NT. The Bible clearly portrays leaders as servants—hence, servant leadership. This is made clearer by Jesus himself, who said: “The kings of the…
CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF DOING MISSIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES
CULTURAL ORIENTATION IN MANAGEMENT Culture can be defined in many ways. One way, as Brislin elucidates, can be explained as ‘an identifiable group with shared beliefs and experiences, feelings of worth and value attached to those experiences, and a shared interest in a common historical background.’ In working cross-culturally, it is evident that people who…
GOD BRINGS MISSIONARIES: MULTIRELIGIOUS IMPLICATIONS FOR THOSE WHO GO, RECEIVE, AND PRAY
God is passionate to fulfill His mission regarding His wayward world. Because of God’s zeal, those of us who participate in God’s mission are also zealous and passionate. Whether we financially support, send out, pray for, mobilize, or go as missionaries, we are compelled to do so with Spirit-empowered passion. God’s mission is characterized by…
CHRISTIAN MISSION IN THE RELIGIOUS PLURALISTIC URBAN INDIA: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
INTRODUCTION Doing Christian mission in the religiously pluralistic contexts of urban India has always been a challenging and demanding task. Religious plurality has always been an integral part of India and it continues to remain so even today. The land of India has been the birthplace of three major religions, namely, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism,…
A MISSIONS STRATEGY FOR LOCAL CHURCHES TO THE DIASPORA
If we were to combine all the International migrants, they would constitute a nation larger than the population of Brazil – the fifth largest nation in the world. How do we see all this through the lenses of global missions and world evangelization? Is the global church prepared for this phenomenological population shift? What strategies…