Over the past year CrossWay has replaced the term Missionaries with the phrase Mission Partners. I thought it would be good to review some of the reasons why we have adopted the phrase Mission Partners. I have seven reasons.Mission Partners puts the emphasis on working together with others for the progress of the gospel.
The emphasis here is on our partnership in the gospel. When Paul wrote to the church in Philippi he said, “I thank God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel…” Philippians 1:3-5. It acknowledges that we are not spreading the gospel by ourselves but in partnership with others.
Mission Partners takes the emphasis off of missions as traditionally understood and places the emphasis on our overall mission as a church.
Traditionally missions was understood as cross-cultural ministry. Our sending of Ch@d – an American – to work in South Asia would have been considered missions. While we want to continue to include cross-cultural ministry as missions, we also want to broaden our understanding of our mission. CrossWay exists to glorify God through the transformation of lives by the power of the gospel – locally, nationally, and internationally. So missions also includes evangelism to your neighbor next door and across the street.
Mission Partners recognizes that some of our partners are not cross-cultural missionaries, but national pastors who are serving in their home countries.
Although all Christians are missionaries in some sense of the word, it would be unnatural (and possibly offensive) to call Paul Caampued and Nelson Salviano missionaries from CrossWay. Yet we work with these national pastors, Paul a Filipino and Nelson a Brazilian, to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ in the Philippines and Brazil. Paul and Nelson are partners in the gospel.
Mission Partners allows us to not only partner with specific people but organizations of people – near and far - with whom we work.
Some of CrossWay’s support, either in the form of human resources or finances, goes to organizations. In Kenosha we support organizations like New Hope Pregnancy Center and the Washington Manor Nursing Home. Nationally we have supported Desiring God Ministries, Sovereign Grace Ministries, and The ESV Bible Translation. Internationally we have supported Trust In Christ, an organization that trains majority pastors in the majority world.
Mission Partners protects against a colonialism mentality or perception.
Wikipedia defines colonialism like this. “Colonialism is the extension of a nation's sovereignty over territory beyond its borders by the establishment of either settler colonies or administrative dependencies in whichindigenous populations are directly ruled or displaced. Colonizing nations generally dominate theresources, labor and markets of the colonial territory, and may also impose socio-cultural, religious and linguistic structures on the indigenous population.” Our desire is not to displace anything indigenous or impose anything Western into another culture but rather to reach that nation with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Mission Partners acknowledges that the majority of Christians and missionaries now live outside of the West.
Along with a colonialist mentality, the West has traditionally had the mindset that we are the experts and we are the majority of Christians who are reaching the rest of the world. But today, the reality is that the majority of Christians now live outside the West; the majority of Christians live in Asia, Africa and South America. These countries, if they are not already, will soon be sending out more missionaries than the West. In fact, many foreign countries are now sending missionaries to reach the United States.
Mission Partners recaptures the word missionary to be used not just for cross-cultural ministry, but to be used for all Christians.
To be a missionary is to be a “sent one.” Jesus sends all Christians into the world to bear witness to His name and to His saving work. He sends us to the highways and byways, to the cities and villages, to the young and old, to the rich and poor, to all manner of people to bear witness to Him. All Christians are missionaries in some sense of the word. Missionary work is not reserved for super-Christians, but it is for all Christians. At CrossWay, our desire is to send the church out into the world to bear witness to Jesus Christ.
In closing, let me encourage our adoption of the phrase Mission Partners and let me encourage that we all live our lives as missionaries.
