Who Cares?

In the early 1990s, the mission scenario in India was not very ideal. There were many mission agencies that were started but the personnel recruited by them were expected to sacrifice many of their needs. Young men and women enthusiastically left their jobs, extended families and culture to live thousands of kilometers away, learning a new language, living in a new culture and struggling to communicate the good news and disciple people. However, these young people did not realize that many times they had to deny themselves several basic physical, emotional and financial needs. Over the years these young men and women got married and raised children and their needs kept growing. The mission leadership overwhelmed by the enormous challenges on the field and pre-occupied with achieving the goals never realized the brewing storm.

It was difficult to talk about personal needs, since the church and mission leadership assumed that their personnel have sacrificed all their needs and was happy serving the Lord. They were often treated as spiritual heroes. Nobody realized that in some of the fields, a few personnel were no longer enthusiastic and had already left the field mentally, though they remained their physically.

C. B. Samuel* says that caring according to Apostle Paul was two-way. First, he received, feeling encouraged even by new believers. In his letter to the Corinthian church, he wrote that he was refreshed in the company of Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus. (1 Corinthians 16:17, 18) In his letter to the Romans he addressed Rufus’ mother as his own mother – a new family on the field. (Romans 16:13). The emerging church at Philippi gave needed supplies, and found blessings in return. Paul was both relaxed and transparent in requesting his colleagues to get books for writing and reading as well as warm clothes to help him prepare for the winter (2 Timothy 4:13,21).

However, the second aspect, his care for them, is also clear. He gave of himself. When there were misunderstandings in Corinth (2 Corinthians 6:5-13), Paul honestly expressed his concern and affection for the congregation. In crisis, Paul restored relationships. For him member care was both pastoral and holistic. Paul was a care-giving and care-receiving missionary. Who cares to follow Paul’s example?

Eappen John* says that people on the field face much stress in ministry. There may be insufficient staff, a poor job fit, and even misunderstandings in a multi-cultural organisation. Limited cultural adjustment may surface over language, climate, cultural norms, chaotic administration or corruption. Losses may even go unrecognized – grief on separation from close family, loss of security, loss of familiarity, of possessions, of hopes, of stability. Who cares to meet the needs of our front line personnel?

M. C. Mathew* says that the pace and profile of urban life in India have changed. Young professionals in India move jobs to advance, moving up socially and economically. In three years, about 40 percent in any urban setting will be middle class people involved in competitive career growth. But all this engenders stress on lives and life style, resulting in life style related diseases. Families become unstable; turning to substance abuse or descend into anxiety disorders – an epidemic of preventable diseases. This dynamic middle class sustains the prosperity of a society, yet they are lonely and isolated. Desperately they visit resorts and therapy centres, investing time and resources.

Some churches keep their campus open for professionals to pray. Some organize social gatherings on Saturday evenings. Some ‘watch’ families for indications of stress or need. Some Christian professionals serve as “pastors” in the corporate office and market places. We need more innovative ideas to meet these needs and disciple middle class people to follow Jesus Christ. Who cares for such innovative ministry?

Eappen John further adds that interestingly, many field personnel prove resilient in stressful situations, often thriving through their sense of call. Yet some become depressed or anxious leading to burnout and anger. Timely member care is essential. Care can revive motivation and efficiency, enabling them to stay at the task. Member Care should include the entire family including the spouse and children. This will prevent problems, restore confidence, nurture spirituality and develop resilience, skills, and virtue resulting in inner perseverance as well as external interpersonal skills. Do we care for our people?

Member care depends on all of us. God asks all of us to do it daily. ‘But encourage one another daily, while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:13).’ It is a “two-way” street: we receive and we give, and we would hardly survive without it. Rightly so Interserve India has made ‘Excellence in Member Care’ as one of its major goals serving those on the front line ministry as well as serving people in need. Let us model excellence in caring for one another! Compiled & Edited by Beulah W & J Amalraj

(*Mr. C. B. Samuel, former General Director, EFICOR & former Chair of Interserve India Board, Mr. Eappen John, Educationist & Interserve Partner, Dr. M C Matthew, Developmental Paediatrician & Interserve Partner)

I start with a question. When did mission become a task only for 'missionaries' and 'mission agencies'?

Let us look at the biblical history. God chose Abraham and through him Israel as an entire nation to be the missionary that would reach out to the whole world. God sent prophets to remind them of their calling. Then, at the right time, God sent His son Jesus Christ as a missionary. Jesus welcomed disciples to join that mission, "fishing for people". The first disciples were also missionaries, going about Judea announcing the coming of God's kingdom. After Jesus' death and resurrection, and most importantly, with the gift of the Holy Spirit, the mission exploded out from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth, including India.

Wherever the disciples were (all the followers of Christ not just the apostles), at home or anywhere else, they told others about the Saviour they had met, the Spirit they had received, and the Father who loved them. Some spread of the gospel happened because of a deliberate mission thrust to take it to other places. This happened when people migrated to work, and during persecution. (This is probably how Christianity first came to India.) An example is that the church in Antioch assigned Paul and Barnabas to go to other lands to proclaim the message.

However, an even larger part of the spread of the gospel happened because nobody then thought that only a few should proclaim the message of Jesus. Those whose lives were transformed naturally told others in their neighborhood about it.

This can still be our model in our own churches. Local churches can disciple and nurture those whom God brings to faith in Christ. Later these too may nurture and disciple yet more people in their neighbourhood or further away.

Now let us look at Christian history. After Christianity became the state religion under the Emperor Constantine, the disciples of Jesus seemed to lose their missionary zeal. Later, during the crusades against Muslims and Jews, a misguided perception of mission and Christian zeal bound church and state together in a way that twisted mission into imperialism and colonialism which lasted for many centuries.

Glimmerings of change showed in the medieval era when a passion for missions emerged in some Roman Catholic orders, and monks like Francis Xavier went around the globe with the message of Christ. Designated missionaries like Robert de Nobili, Ziegenbalg and his associates were sent out with the purpose of communicating God's kingdom to 'the heathen'.

The coming of William Carey to India in the 18th century revived the passion for missions in its true sense. As a local Baptist pastor Carey, felt that it was the duty of every Christian to spread the gospel. He was rebuked by his contemporaries, who felt that, “When God pleases to convert the heathen, He will do it without your aid or mine” (John Rylond, cited in Timothy George, 1991:53). But Carey's example and methodology spread, and as a result mission-minded people began to set up organizations which would send out men and women to proclaim the gospel. Most established churches in India began through such efforts by denominational and inter-denominational mission societies from the west.

Interserve (then Zenana Bible and Medical Mission) is is an example, founded as an inter-denominational society in 1852 to serve along with churches to seek and disciple new believers. Mission is not about keeping mission societies going, but about churches reaching individuals and communities around them. It is God who makes churches grow, and we are His fellow workers in this process (1 Corinthians 3:7&9).

And what does mission mean today? In earlier days, mission was only understood geographically, joining mission societies and going to distant lands. That thinking, thankfully, is changing. Globalization has made mission possible both locally and across boundaries. We are recovering the true meaning of mission as God's work; we are his disciples wherever we are, participating in God's mission. Disciples learn from the master, and do as he does. As God is a missionary, his followers are also missionaries. As God's people belonging to many different local churches, we are making disciples, whether to our own culture or across cultures.

At least we should be! But most Christians still seem to be stuck thinking that 'the foreigners' are the real missionaries (even the South Indians in North India) and mission is their job. As a result, missions are left to those designated as missionaries. What happened to discipleship and witnessing? Are not all Christians disciples? Have they not had their lives transformed by him? Should not the local church join in transforming the communities they live in? Should they not care for communities who live in distant lands? Every individual Christian and the local church is naturally a participant in God's kingdom mission! If the good news has truly transformed our lives, we must share it in words and actions. We all have a part to play. Mission can be the heartbeat of every disciple of Christ. We need to recover the breath and urgency of the early church, where all were called to proclaim the message of Jesus.

All of us in missions should lead our fellow worshipers in local churches (that means everybody), to revitalize our thinking on missions. Teach it, preach it, run seminars on it, talk to people one to one about it. If every Christian in India took their role as a 'missionary' seriously, we could calculate three missionaries (including children) for every one hundred people. And that would be a pretty good ratio for getting the message out to the whole country!

So, let us remember, you and I and our Christian acquaintances are Christ's missionaries here and now, in your place my place, and their place.

Jessica D

Off the beaten path

As I travel around the country for work, I have a strange identity crisis. I am a trained doctor and development professional and this is how I have always known myself. When working in secular institutions earlier, my principal identity with my audience was my professional one-people knew me no other way. That has changed.

During my first visit to Tezpur in Assam recently, a meeting with several Bodo pastors had been arranged. When my hosts at the hospital introduced me to the church leaders, a few said that they already knew me. I was confused as this was my first visit to this politically troubled area. When a church leader got up to introduce me, he did so not in terms of my professional identity or what I had come there to do, but as someone who wrote articles for some Christian magazines that he and his colleagues had been blessed by. I was uneasy but also secretly pleased: uneasy because I wonder if I am losing touch with my profession and the identity and purpose it gives me; but pleased at the tangible success of my tent making that it is possible to have two equally meaningful identities and somehow integrate them. It is possible to practise a profession and also help in the task of evangelizing and discipling if not directly, then at least working alongside those who do. In this instance, I could never dream of doing anything purposeful among the Bodos, but the fact that whatever I was doing was providing nurture to those who work and serve among them was a great encouragement.

The well beaten path of the modern missions movement is the road of the supported worker. One often hears inspiring testimonies of zealous Christians who laid down their secular employment to enter missions “full time”. The professional missionary, with a Bible School diploma and technical training in development, is the epitome of a successful missions strategy. He or she is also the spiritual icon of the Church, held up as an example of counting the cost and a model of spirituality. However, in the history of the Church, the professional missionary is a recent phenomenon. During its first four hundred years of existence, the Church grew from being an obscure religious sect of Judaism to a dominant global religious influence, principally through people who lived their faith in the marketplace. Paul's missionary efforts had their greatest success among the middle and upper middle classes. The converts were like Lydia, a business woman, who had the freedom to associate and to gather others to hear the good news (Acts 16:15). It is likely that these Christians traveled as merchants and traders to new lands and introduced nations to the gospel as they plied their wares.

All around the world today, men and women are moving across cultures to use their professions and trades in the cause of world mission. There are several ways of looking at this movement. Each may have some truth, but if taken alone can be misleading or even damaging because they are only partial. For example:

Tent making is a substitute for explicit missionary work, necessary because of reduced freedom to enter countries as "missionaries".

Tent makers are just Christians who are part of the worldwide movement of people in trade, service industries etc.

Tent making is a cheaper means of world evangelism, because it is self-supporting.

Each of the above can distort the true picture of what tent making is. It is inadequate to view tent making as simply a new response to the Great Commission of Matthew 28. It is something more. Tent making is one facet of renewal in the church worldwide, essentially a renewed understanding of the priesthood of all believers. This ministry is not for “specialists”, but for every Christian.

This is the road for 21st century missions. It is the obvious road of the future. It is the road once traveled with great success by the Church in its early history. It is the road the Apostle Paul exhorted the church to travel when he stated that the purpose of the church professionals prophets, apostles, evangelists, pastors and teachers is to equip the saints to do the ministry rather than doing the ministry themselves (Eph 4:11-16). However, the influence of a Greek worldview has sometimes caused us to separate ministry from work spiritual work from secular work and reserve the spiritual work for ministry professionals. It has also caused us to reserve ministry to church-based programs rather than seeing our secular work as a ministry. For example, tent making Christians are rarely asked to share about their ministry in the marketplace at church meetings but they are encouraged to “make time” for church ministry in the evenings and on weekends. Those who are especially good at church-based ministry are encouraged to leave their secular employment and join the church so they can minister “full time”. Thus most ministries done by the church are church-based as opposed to marketplace-based, which distances them from the vast majority of people who live and work in the marketplace.

God values secular work, not just so because Christians can witness to unbelievers, but because, through transformed work, glory and honor will be brought into the New Jerusalem. All work has the potential for eternal significance. Tent making offers one way to learn how to become all things to all men, to introduce as many people as possible to the Lord.

Shantanu Dutta

Departure into all the world

When will we stop being a universal recipient and move on to become a universal donor?” This is a question to be debated in India. Lakshmi Mittal, the richest Indian is feared by several European companies. His flagship company, Mittal Steel along with other Indian business groups like TATA and WIPRO are taking over businesses around the world. India is everywhere, from being the world's call centre, back office, bio-medical research centre, to being the world's largest democracy, the youngest nation, and having the maximum English speaking population. By providing the cultural richness through music, movies, and fashion, our country has entered the international arena in a big way. India has become a global consumer market.

The world of Christian ministry has also undergone changes. Indians are in senior positions and even leading Christian ministries in different parts of the world. A country which used to receive funds and other resources has started sending personnel and is even financially supporting other Christian ministries in various parts of the globe.

In the Scriptures we read the mandate given to us, to “go into all the world and make disciples of all nations”. “All the world” does not mean only India. In Acts, the call is to be “witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” There is a world beyond the political boundaries of India, a world which needs Christ desperately and urgently.

Of course, there is a lot of need in India. But, we haven’t been called to fulfil all needs in our land before we go out to other nations. A classic example is Paul, who went out to ‘all the world’ in spite of the real need in Jerusalem. Surely Paul was the best person to reach out to the Jews in Jerusalem, but he was called to reach the Gentiles in Jerusalem and elsewhere too. Since all the world is the Lord's and everything in it, and since He loves the whole world and everyone in it, He may be calling some of us to move beyond our ‘Jerusalems’, cities that we love and are concerned about, and reach out to the ends of the earth.

There is no country in the world better equipped for this task than India. We have a rich heritage of being recipients of God's grace and his gospel. We Indians do not need any cross cultural training, since we live in a culture which is a potpourri of hundreds of different cultures, religions, languages and tribes. Hence, Indians are among the most adaptable people in the world. The presence of NRIs in all corners of the world is proof for that!

We Indians have been known to travel far and wide to find secular employment. As Christians, we need to learn to merge that with God's call of global missions. As a matter of fact, we do not even need to go to the ‘ends of the earth’. The world’s neediest places are part of our ‘Judea’ and ‘Samaria’. Our neighbours in South Asia, the Arab World, Central Asia, East and South East Asia are torn by political turmoil, civil war and poverty. There are millions of people who are hungry for the gospel of love and peace. Let us rise up and be the torchbearers of the Gospel in the 21st century. The world needs us Indians: are we ready?

We have been pioneers in cross-cultural ministry for the past 150 years. It is time that we started a paradigm shift in cross-cultural missions - a shift from the traditional idea of the West reaching out to the rest, to Asians who have been blessed by centuries of mission work reaching out.

To usher in this new era, Interserve (I) has included ‘Mobilising Indians to be Placed Overseas’ as one of its Strategic Goals for the next 5 years. In the past a few of our partners have been working in neighbouring countries. Some of them have been there all their professional life, some for a few years and yet others on short term assignments. We have started the process, and in the next five years are committed to turn it into a movement.

Johns George

I can’t We Can

Two common nets illustrate two important functions of networking - fishing nets that catch fishes and mosquito nets that protect from mosquitoes. Like these two, networking with one another helps us to fulfill common goals as well as protect us from common adversaries. Scripture exhorts us in Ecclesiastes that a cord of three strands is not quickly broken. It has been rightly said, 'United we stand and divided we fall.' Similarly, alone we can accomplish little but together we can move mountains.

The New Buzz Word

Networking is now the buzz word in the business, economic, cultural and political world. It is important to us involved in missions as we strive to fulfill the Great Commission. Networking evolves out of informal relationships, less structured and built on personal relationships that are strategic. We make links with others who have similar goals, for each connection counts. Each individual, organization, church or group can contribute something important to achieve common goals.

Networking in History

Early church history depicts valuable networking way back in the time of Paul. By networking, he established churches throughout Asia Minor, in Greece and even in Rome, often using his skills of tent making to build links. The Reformation Movement started by Martin Luther and others in Europe have many examples of individuals networking to fulfill their common vision, even though each one of them were great stalwarts in their own region. The father of modern missions, William Carey networked widely to achieve major breakthroughs in his pioneer ministry. He also networked with Wilberforce an evangelical Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom to bring social reforms like abolition of the practice of 'Sati' in India. The Indian mission movement which emerged in the late sixties and seventies saw success in reaching many tribal groups because of networking at various levels. In the last decade before the end of the millennium there was a global movement of networking among missions which focused on the unreached people groups through the AD 2000 movement. Recently, the Global Day of Prayer Movement and other similar efforts have resulted in helping Christians around the world to pray together across all kinds of boundaries in a fresh wave of revival.

Network Works Now

Networking is not controlling one another, hijacking ideas, stealing personnel, merging organizations or churches and starting new organizations etc. It is not superiority complex, crossing boundaries or margins and overlooking frameworks or guidelines. Networking is recognizing our diversity, learning to complement each other's strengths, enabling one another and including as many as possible to fulfill our common vision.

The biggest threats to networking are individualism and limited vision. One example is churches that honor only their own denomination and forget that they are only one part of the whole body of Christ. Some self-satisfied organizations do not look beyond their own walls. Trends like these portray any organization in bad light. At the grass root level, staff may find it difficult to network because they are compelled to seek approvals from their leadership. The lack of understanding of networking and the skills of networking can affect networks. At times, the lack of champions, influencers, visionaries, leaders and facilitators can become a major stumbling block for networks to emerge.

We can network at local, regional, national and global levels. Staff of mission organizations, pastors of local churches, can meet together regularly for fellowship, prayer and encouragement. These meetings can prevent competitions and promote pastoral care for one another in times of struggles. Churches and mission organizations can, for example, organize joint programs and projects, learning from one another's experiences, and sharing resources and information. Sharing of information is a major form of networking. Alone we would overlook, fail to collect relevant information, or spend too much time and resources on getting it.

Interserve and Networking

In the year 1960, Interserve (then known as BMMF) made a momentous decision to voluntarily hand over all health care and educational projects run in north and western India to the local leadership. Interserve transformed itself from being project implementers to becoming people facilitators. Interserve networks actively by seconding its personnel to serve with the local Christian institutions, mission agencies, local churches and denominations. Interserve believes that it is called primarily to network and partner with the global church to serve the needs of the peoples of Asia and the Arab world. Interserve India as part of fulfilling its various goals seeks to network with like minded churches and mission mobilisers to recruit Indian Christians to serve across cultures within India and beyond through wholistic ministry. We all have tasks both individual yet corporate. We can and must come together and work. We can together fulfill the vision of transforming individuals and communities in this generation.

Rajesh Agarwal