Missions and money part iv

Missions and Money

Partially adapted from Missions and Money

Jonathan BonkDr. Robert Patton

Missionary to Suriname, South America

Part IIIAvoiding Dependency

Dr. Robert PattonMissionary to Suriname,

South America

Transition to local ownership

Encourage local creativity Local solutions to local

problems New music from the hearts of

the people Local ways of raising funds Expect some insecurity

Indigenous Church and Missionary Sending Indigenous church = locally

owned and operated: China .Some missionaries had

introduced the ideas of self-supporting and self-propagating churches

.When cut off from other countries, the church became truly indigenous

Indigenous Church and Missionary Sending Indigenous church = locally

owned and operated: China They learned how to live in a

hostile political environment They decided to take the

gospel west - 10/40 window

African independent churches

Often started by leaders of mission-established churches with a “low ceiling” where they could not grow

They rejected foreign control and funding

African independent churches They were usually led by a

charismatic talented leader - a “prophet”

Not all would be called evangelical


The second generation is rethinking the isolationist stance of the first generation

Many churches were not involved in E3 evangelism


They show that churches can exist in Africa on their own resources.

They did not have such a huge superstructure built by foreign funds

Remember An indigenous church should seem

indigenous - not standing out from the culture as a foreign culture institution.

A church cannot be indigenous in its own society if it has the identity of the church from another society

Some have indigenous leadership but not indigenous support structure

Foundation of an Indigenous Outreach Movement It is born out of a full-heart

experience It is the result of WIDESPREAD

church spiritual renewal. The congregation is filled with

the Holy Spirit with spiritual energy left over for others

Foundation of an Indigenous Outreach Movement It requires special emphasis

and training. Pastoral training is not enough

to answer the questions facing cross-cultural missionaries

Foundation of an Indigenous Outreach Movement

It develops a caring sending base - with healthy mission support for those willing to serve at a distance

Faithful reporting back to prayer supporters and financial supporters

Keep the vision of the unreached - especially the 10/40 window

Foundation of an Indigenous Outreach Movement

Be careful of outside support to make your vision possible - they may not believe in the importance of local funding

They are not dependent on foreign funds to start or keep going

Alan Tippett’s marks of an indigenous church A healthy self-image - the Body

of Christ in its own community Self-functioning Self-determining Self-supporting Self-propagating Self-giving - managing its own

service programs

Healthy Indigenous churches

Indigenous theology – which deals with all the elements affecting the lives of their people daily

Indigenous worship - fitting for the culture


Indigenous church structure - it should fit the culture.

Can it support the structure it inherited without foreign funds?

Can the structure be reproduced elsewhere?


Self-image: Does the community look to

the church in times of crisis? Does it have a healthy

reproductive system?

What about a missions sending program?

There is no vision for the unreached

A poverty mentality exists They may have inherited an

expensive structure taking all their resources to maintain

There may be no prayer movement

What about a missions sending program?

Maybe there are no training institutes to prepare people for missionary training

Perhaps the church has no sending agency - usually a special department is necessary to function cross-culturally

There may be no prayer movement

African conversions - especially marginal conversions

Often we leave intact the unsaved person’s basic assumptions of life

A missionary sending movement requires many in the church to make that commitment

Examples: Life forever - descendents remember

your name Many hold two worldviews

simultaneously

Marginal commitments show…

Depth of commitment from beginning .Evidence .Behavior .Ritual .Values .Themes .Basic life presuppositions

Obstacles to genuine conversion

Easy believism - don’t count the cost

Motivation to accepting Jesus Christ - eg learning English, foreign travel, schooling & employment, etc

Conflicting world views

Results of marginal Christian conversions

Rise of independent churches - culturally appropriate and filled with power

Who is the final authority in their lives

Unhealthy fatalism - no local decisions and support


Unlikely to be enthusiastic missionaries

Unlikely to feel that the church deserves much of their income

For a dynamic missionary movement, the Holy Spirit, not the spirits, must be in charge


They will not destroy the sacred objects used in the previous way of life

The former way of solving problems will not be replaced

Christianity will not be seen as a way of life worth dying or living for

Answer: evangelism &/or discipleship

Conflicting World Views and the Problem of Dependency

Societies usually work by consensus - time consuming Man is seen as family, not

individuals West - project-oriented rather

than people-oriented = broken relationships if not careful

We need cross-cultural training


God in his providence places us to do His will and to encourage others to be all that they can be

Personal integrity may be sacrificed to keep the “heavy box” going


Worldview of control? Worldview to be controlled

as victims? Remember God allows some

things in our lives for His purposes in our lives

Problems with world views Power encounter = rendering

the other powers powerless. Sometimes a public

confrontation with the old sources of power is necessary

People movement - larger groups turn to Christ, like villages

Problems with world views Westerners tend to look at

worldviews as either/or Non-westerners often look at

Christianity as merely a supplement of what they already believe

Worldview problems

When you hold a unified worldview, this means that you can do some things, but other things you cannot do

Medicine - example western - what happened and how

did it happen? non-western - why did this happen,

who caused it?

.Ethnicity and Cross-cultural church planting: why dependency develops

A truly indigenous church has deep roots in the culture.

In that society, it is seen as a legitimate wholesome local institution to which they can belong.


Often ethnic churches are depen-dent, and must make decisions acceptable at the foreign support base.

Often the music is not indigenous, or worship service


Church structure is often too expensive

Often the vision comes from outside

We need to be willing to leave behind that which is not essential but determined by the outsider’s culture.


We need to preserve self-respect and allow expression of good things in the target culture.

We need to be careful not to undermine the parents and their role

Suggestions of cross-cultural planters

Inter-ethnic mission societies have a better chance of starting an indigenous church

Train in cross-cultural and inter-ethnic institutions

Role of business people in self-reliance for churches

They must be soundly converted before they will give generously to the Lord

They may be willing to live in a more conservative lifestyle

Enhancing the role of the businessman

Make the purpose of the church clear - separate out business parts.

Church and business need each other

Both groups should promote spiritual renewal

Church leaders must show themselves as hardworking shepherds


Business people must be certain that there is economic justice in how they earn their money.

They can set the example of caring for employees, giving good quality service, and generosity to the church


Business people must make the frame of reference the kingdom of God

Help the unemployed by revolving loan funds. Local funds are preferred - better monitored

What triggers the move to Self-Reliance?

Direct revelation from the Lord - sometimes supernatural

Divine intervention - God removing foreign funds.

It partially depends on the teaching of faithful stewardship

Widespread genuine spiritual revival is needed!

What Triggers the move to Self-Reliance?

Sound teaching initially with those sowing the gospel seed

Sound teaching and practices promoted by committed and creative local leaders

What Triggers the move to Self-Reliance? Not so effective = one-sided

plan initiated by missionaries.

The question is one of true psychological ownership

Outside funds are arbitrarily cut off - be careful that this is not an act of paternalism.

What Triggers the move to Self-Reliance? Serious restructuring of

institutions inherited from the past

Positive shift in the attitude among the missionaries

Avoiding dependency in Cross-cultural church planting

When church planting, E2 or E3 congregations should avoid sending too many persons from the original congregation to help

Avoid well-paid outside church planter beyond the capabilities of the church

Avoiding dependency in Cross-cultural church planting

Things to do: Encourage the church from the

beginning to use stewardship Teach stewardship from

salvation Without adequate base,

finances will prevent building & sending missionaries

Cross-cultural church planting

Don’t pity people that they cannot pay

Don’t surrender leadership to outside wealthier believers

Consider self-supporting church leaders

Consider renting facilities until you can build

Spiritual renewal is vital

Best ideas for change

The funders need to be willing to change

Spirit of anticipation to change Do what you need to do to

precipitate change. Ideally the beginning of stopping

dependence will come from those who are dependent

Best ideas for change

Know the difference between absolute poverty where help is necessary, and relative poverty where change is necessary

You will find those in relative poverty can give to God

What can outsiders do?

The biggest thing outsiders can do is pray. It is a spiritual battle

Remind dependent people about the unreached world.

Ask them to help reach, explain-ing that resources need to be channeled there


Help spiritual maturity resulting in joyful giving.

Those who fund must look at how/why they fund. For example, they be deliberately absent when funding decisions are made.


Cause awareness of local resources

You can work not only to increase income, but also to decrease expenses

Have sermons & seminars, etc on stewardship

Initiating the process of change: Recognize the role of outsiders

in creating the problem Have frank discussions about

the current situation Be humble and admit that

altruism of outsiders may be behind the dependency

Initiating the process of change: Seek advice of local people for

a proper solution True interdependence is best

at the local level among relative equals

Meaningful Ways to Help the Poor

The poor lack margin - financially or spiritually

Building in biblical principles will give you margin against poverty, sickness, demonic possession, and depression

The good news of God is the best way to help those who lack margin

Everyone must pay their debts Christians must pay their taxes Christians should tithe - start

teaching from day 1. This means that we recognize that everything we have comes from God

Christians should put something into savings

Wrong assumptions

The poor have nothing to give back to God

Change your idea of what can go into the offering basket

Christian demeanor and the dependency syndrome

Avoid the mandate to rule syndrome

Be willing to let the nationals take over, even to not showing up at meetings

Defer to the local leadership We urgently need extensive cross-

cultural training and sensitivity Avoid paternalism

Reflections on Bible Societies One Bible society was

supported from the outside by more than 99%

There is a problem of getting funds to go out of the country “blocked cash”

Reflections on Bible Societies We need to work to get the

countries able to print their own Bibles

It is a problem to buy and give away highly subsidized Bibles

Reflections on Bible Societies We need to use sound business

principles to work with Bibles There is a problem when

directors also belong to NPO’s as they are now in competition to raise funds...

Reflections on Bible Societies We need business-minded

directors. There is need of men who can

use tough-minded “bottom-line” mentality

They must be people of integrity

Practical suggestionsfor Bible Societies

Reconsider who should be on Bible society boards.

Avoid dependency mentality. Put in church leaders for questions of translation and interchurch cooperation

Have the general secretary of the Bible society get paid directly by the churches

Practical suggestionsfor Bible Societies

Create a network of market-minded business men of integrity

Experiment with locally printed editions of Bibles at lower cost

Get a “can do” mentality at all levels of Bible Society activity, including costs related to translation, produc-tion, storage and distribution.

Sustainability in Medical Mission Institutions

Dependency in the institutions has its roots in spiritual issues

The road to dependency is often paved with good intentions

Some of the best examples were from places without government subsidy

The key is local ownership with independent board leadership


Short-termers help when visiting teams of specialists come.

Have an atmosphere where doctors can feel at home


Short-termers help when visiting teams of specialists come.

Have an atmosphere where doctors can feel at home

To transfer medical care to local ownership Anticipate a change Precipitate the change - work

proactively Learn how to get change Be prepared to do serious

restructuring if necessary Don’t expect someone to hand you

a ready-made solution

AIDS and Orphanages in Africa

Behavior change is the biggest need to control AIDS - a closed sexual relationship with spouse/spouses

Accurate information of HIV carrier vs. AIDS is important

What to do about orphans - but orphanages may bypass the extended family and the local church

AIDS and Orphanages in Africa

What can outsiders do to strengthen the extended family?

.Increase food production .Stimulate job creation .Give appropriate job training .Revolving loan funds What are the roles of the

nationals in making decisions???

Maximizing the benefit of short-term missions Cultural sensitivity is very important -

both listening and being are important in ministry

Positive methods: Serious training in cross-cultural issues,

including other religions Spiritual warfare training Awareness of how the rest of the world

views Americans Self-examination for areas of personal

strengths and weaknesses.

Problems with short term missions

More doing than being Attitude of superiority We think that we can do the job

better than the local people. We must not undermine local initiative and resources

Ownership of projects Insensitivity to cultural issues

A positive civic organization example

The group went to learn .They were not isolated in western

mission stations or hotels. They lived with Indian hosts

They had preparation to be learners

Suggestions for short term missions Come to learn Remember you are guests, not

specialists Don’t look for simplistic answers to

complex cultural issues Your testimony has value, but share it

discreetly - better to listen to the testimonies from the people where you go

Suggestions for short term missions Who you are is more important

that what you do People in absolute poverty need

help to survive. Relative poverty - they are quite capable of surviving

Take time to learn about the country

The course: Perspectives on the World Christian Movement is helpful

Date post:	22-May-2015
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