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The missional church for frontier missions in black South African churches

Geskryf deur Jonas Khauoe | 13 Julie 2011

THE MISSIONAL CHURCH FOR FRONTIER MISSIONS IN BLACK SOUTH AFRICAN CHURCHES

Article prepared by Dr. Molefetsane Jonas Khauoe, on request of Dr. Yonggi Cho, to be translated and published in the KOREAN JOURNAL OF FRONTIER MISSIONS. The article is also to be published in the South African theological journal, VERBUM ET ECCLESIA?

July, 2011

Introduction

South Africa is an incredible country known as the rainbow nation: 49.3 million people of diverse origins, cultures, languages (11 official languages) and beliefs. Two-thirds of South Africans call themselves ‘Christian’, although many churches combine Christian and ancestral worship. Many non-Christians also follow these traditional beliefs (the so-called African Independent Churches). There are a number of other significant religions in South Africa such as Islam, Hinduism and Judaism etc. It is said that South Africa is home to the largest mosque, Hindu temple, and Buddhist temple south of the equator.¹God has called the church to be the ‘salt and light’in this darkness, and bring transformation both within South Africa and beyond. This calls for the frontier missional church.

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Attachments:
Frontier mission in black SA churches.pdf	[Complete article - Dr. MJ Khauoe]	291 Kb

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Mission and Conversion

Geskryf deur Frans Hancke | 10 Augustus 2010

THE IMPACT OF EMERGING GLOBAL MISSIONAL PARADIGMS ON THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MISSION AND CONVERSION

Paper presented at International Conference on MISSION AND CONVERSION
2008

1. Introduction

If approached in a superficial way it is possible to regard Mission and Conversion as two separate, related and unvarying Theological concepts. Such a view can and probably will lead to an attitude towards the missionary task of the church that will be uncontextual, insensitive and ineffective. This statement is supported by the unwavering and mostly unsuccessful attempts of Christians to witness to post-modern and post-Christian populations in ways that are completely irrelevant and alien to modern societies. If the global church is determined to take the whole gospel to the whole world, such a rigid and inappropriate approach would blur its God-given vision.

I believe, as indicated by the subject of this paper, that we should allow for the intimate but ever-adapting relationship between mission and conversion. We should accept that the content of and relationship between mission and conversion reacts and responds continuously to the dynamic, vibrant and vigorously changing world in which and to which the church is called as God’s missionary people. This does not imply that the sound Scriptural foundation of mission and conversion should be compromised or eroded.

To substantiate this statement I need not discuss the in depth meaning of Mission and Conversion, although I will shortly have to consider the implications of various definitions. I also do not want to deliberate on the relation between these two Theological concepts, although I will have to reflect briefly on that as well. I would like to take a somewhat futuristic position in presenting this paper - I would dare to venture into the future of Ecclesiology and Missiology. I would like to attempt to stimulate you with a few thoughts and perspectives on how developing paradigms can, and probably are changing our understanding of mission and conversion.

Therefore the topic of this paper: The Impact of Emerging Global Missional Paradigms on the Perspective of the Relationship between Mission and Conversion. Let me start off by clarifying what I mean by the last part of the topic: Perspective of the Relationship between Mission and Conversion.

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Mission and Conversion.pdf	[Full article]	305 Kb

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Die impak van die plaaslike missionêre gemeente

Geskryf deur Frans Hancke | 10 Augustus 2010

DIE IMPAK VAN DIE PLAASLIKE MISSIONÊRE GEMEENTE

VBO WINTERWEEK

Missionêre gemeentewees - Dr Frans Hancke

Dit was nog altyd so dat heelwat energie geïnvesteer word in semantiese debatte. Hoe betekenisvol dit is, kan natuurlik tot verdere debat lei. Ook gesprekke oor die missionêre gemeente spring nie semantiese debat vry nie, want uitdrukkings soos missionêr, missionaal, missioneel en gestuur probeer iets oordra van kerkwees in die wêreld.
Hierdie, soms verwarrende, kerktaal is ook nie eie aan Afrikaans nie, want uitdrukkings soos Integral Church, Total Church en Missional Church beskryf ook kerkwees op ? wyse wat meermale grootliks oorvleuel.

As ons by hierdie semantiese hindernisse kan verbykom val die lig op iets wat sommige as ? wêreldwye fenomeen in die kerk beskou, en wat na my mening, prakties daartoe kan bydra dat die kerk se impak in die wêreld versnel en groter afmetings sal aanneem as wat ons kan “bid of dink”.

Die enkele gedagtes oor missionêre gemeentewees word onder 6 opskrifte hanteer:

Ongemaklike vrae vir mense met dik velle
Sleutelsuksesfaktore? In die kerk?
Werk dit? Om te meet is om te weet
Wêreldwye herontdekking? – of plaaslike hype?
Gemeentes wat buite tradisionele grense leef – hoe lyk dit buite die box?
Maar om die hoek loer daar…

1. Ongemaklike vrae vir mense met dik velle

Mense met "dun velle" is meestal nie lus vir ongemaklike vrae nie, veral wanneer hierdie vrae, by wyse van spreke, ongerieflik naby aan jou eie lyf kom. Maar, die raamwerk waarbinne ons aan die missionêre gemeente dink, word grootliks gedefinieer deur ongemaklike vrae.

Kom ons vermy kleinserigheid en besluit of ons tevrede is met die status quo in ons gemeenskap, Suid-Afrika en die wêreld - en in die kerk. Is ons ingenome met die impak van die kerk in die wêreld? Is ons gemaklik met die marginalisering van die kerk? Aanvaar ons dat die Christendom meermale as ongeloofwaardig, irrelevant, fundamentalisties en middeleeus beleef word?

Attachments:
Impak van Missionele gemeente.pdf	[Volle artikel]	228 Kb

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Common Critical Success Factors

Geskryf deur Frans Hancke | 10 Augustus 2010

THE COMMON CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS DETERMINING THE MISSION IMPACT OF THE LOCAL CHURCH

Results from an analytical study

Pieter Verster – Professor in Missiology, University of the Free State
Frans Hancke – CEO, ProChristo Global Mission

1. The 21st Century Scenario

There exists an interesting phenomenon in the universal Church as it steps into the new millennium. On the one hand, internationally acclaimed statisticians like Patrick Johnstone and David Barrett (2001:24) clearly indicate phenomenal global Church growth. In a recent publication by Johnstone, The Church is bigger than you think, he indicates that the growth of the so-called Evangelicals are higher than any other religious grouping in the world (1998:112). It is clear that the efforts of ecumenical, mission-minded movements like AD2000 and Beyond had a tremendous impact on purposeful strategies to reach the unreached with the Gospel.

In spite of this inspiring facts, it is also a tragic reality that many congregations and Churches are not involved in the process of expanding the Church via missionary activities. This view is supported by Prof. Dons Kritzinger in a report, “Betrokkenheid van lidmate by sending,” [Involvement of members in mission] on the mission involvement of members of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa at the general synod of the Church in 1994 (Sinodical agenda:1994). It can be accepted that Prof. Kritzinger?s comments are not just applicable to the DRC.

It is therefore clear that the missional involvement of local churches span a quantum ranging from vibrant impact to stony passiveness. It can rightly be asked: What makes the difference? Are there common factors to be determined in Churches actively and successfully involved in the missionary task? If it exist – are these only spiritual factors or can measurable aspects also be determined? Knowledge and understanding of such critical success factors (CSF?s) may benefit the Church at large in its functioning. The identification of such factors could answer the burning question in the hearts of church and mission leaders today – how to involve the uninvolved majority of Churches to evangelise the world? – and in the process, becoming the Church-on-Mission.

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Common Critical Success Factors.pdf	[Full article]	341 Kb

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Comprehensive Witness

Geskryf deur Frans Hancke | 10 Augustus 2010

FACTORS INFLUENCING COMPREHENSIVE PERSONAL WITNESS AND ENLARGING MISSIONAL INVOLVEMENT IN THE LOCAL CHURCH

Ph D 2005

Introduction

In the The Split-Level Fellowship, published in the mid-1960s, Wesley Baker analysed the role of individual members in the Church. He gave a name to a tragic phenomenon with which Church leaders are familiar. He called the difference between the committed few and the uninvolved many, "Factor Beta" (in Van Engen 1991:150). Van Engen describes Factor Beta as “the simple, plain fact that within the recognized corpus of the Church there are two quite different kinds of people - or at least two different sets of motive patterns.” He goes on to describe today?s typical parish as “made up, usually, of a small inner core of believers who assume the necessary posts of leadership with gratitude and devotion (albeit frequently naive).” Surrounded by a “cloud of uninvolved and mildly approving witnesses”, it can move in no prophetic direction as the Church “without doing greater interior battle with the forces of inertia, practically sealed in by the religiously immobile whose grasp of the meaning of the Church is something less than courageous. No local parish is free to be a Church, in the sense of a community holding unspoken, deeply valid affirmations to action, because of the sheer tons of dead weight” (1991:150).

In a previous study (Hancke 2001: 81, 84) it was determined that the existence of Factor Beta is a hindering and demotivating reality in most Churches today. Church leaders were positive to discuss ways and means to mobilise the Church towards becoming a missional Church but frequently the reality of Factor Beta casts a shadow over every effort to become the Church-on-mission. As long as only a small minority of believers accept and understand the responsibility to be living witnesses for the living Lord, the impact of Christianity in the world will be marginal.

On the positive side: If the existing global influence of believers is the witnessing result of only 10% of global believers, the effect of a positive shift can have astonishing effects in the world. Speculating about the effects of a 5%, 10% or even 20% shift can, humanly speaking, change the face of the earth!