"Team missions" concept

[Dondi]

What do you all think about the recent idea of "team missions?

Traditionally, the thought of missions for a church to commission an individual, couple, or family to go out into a specific mission field in a particular country where they feel led. This missionary would go on deputation to gain support from various churches around the country in order to gain enough promised donations to maintain their needs while out in the field. This involve long hours of travel which can be taxing on the family. Then once they gain the needed support, they go out to the field in which they are called to try and start a work. Sometime the results of their efforts are slow, maybe gaining a few souls. Perhaps after a couple of years doing this and with little results of their efforts, a missionary can become burnt out adn discouraged anf have need for furlough. But then that means leaving the work hopefully in good hands by one of the converts raised in that country in hopes that when they return to the field, the work can pick up again where they left off.


But in "team missions", instead of one missionary family, a team of missionaries maybe numbering 20-30 missionaries and their families would concentrate in one field. There would be no deputation because they would be salaried by the sending church (we are assuming they are coming from a "megachurch" and thus gain needed support). the team would also set up not only churches, but Christian schools, for the people of that country with the aim not only to evangelise, but to raise up pastors and evangelist who would in turn expand the field further into the surrounding country. Missionaries would be rotated out from the sending church should they feel they need a break and that would allow the work to continue unintterupted.

Has anyone heard of this or working in a "team mission"?
Sounds like it is a decent idea. just want to know if there are unseen problems with this?

 

[ElElohe]

I have heard of working in teams. Pioneers is a prime example of a sending agency using this model. But the individuals still need to raise their own support. I like their model. Although their teams are smaller (10 or so).

I have heard of large churches taking on all or most of the support of an individual. The historic Park Street Church of Boston does this. I understand, very much, why a church would want to do this and how the missionaries would benefit.

But there are a lot of details and administration that can be easily overlooked by the church, and a lot of responsibility they may not expect. The church would be in certain legal positions. Churches aren't set up to be sending agencies in most cases. They could do it, but I've heard stories of shortsightedness and overwhelmingness . . . Hence, I'm leary of this model (As much as I might want it for myself, as a mission mobilizer!).

I have not heard of this combination, what you are describing. I think it has potential if done carefully and well. I would suggest a certain long-term committment (maybe 6 years?) from the participants. A regular rotation could be harmful to church-planting efforts, and team members would always be in a stage of language learning instead of being able to move on to deeper relationships and clearer communication of the Gospel.

 

[bolo1122]

A regular rotation could be harmful to church-planting efforts, and team members would always be in a stage of language learning instead of being able to move on to deeper relationships and clearer communication of the Gospel.

I agree to this as an unforseen trouble inthe longer run. Within the "team", the focus can easily be turned to plain ol' membership driving, and personal goal, instead of staying focus on God's word and being spiritually increase thru this effort. With more people you cover a larger area, but less work is done between the members and workers as it spreads out thin. Being out in the arena for 2 hrs in turn... may..I stress "may".. be less of a spiritual test to some who had to work at 6 hrs a day.

For example .. liek sports they have almost twice as many men on the roster as can play at a certain time in the game, so therefore some miss some playing time, and others dont get any at all. Becasue of the extra hands, then the strategy is more of individuals gaining time and the organizing of it. Which in turn leads to less spiritual movement and more into organized outreached.

Ahh... Hope you understand te term "organized outreach"

 

[Dondi]

In the rotation of the team concept would not involve a widescale turnover at one time, but rather there would be a commitment for missionary families to stay for a number of years and then rotate out with another family. It would be a staggered rotation so that there would remain a sense of continuity of people in the mission field. That way, there would still be plenty of people who already know the language. There would also be a core of permanent missionaries that would oversee the project. The rotation would give a break for families until such a time that they are refreshed from furlough and can return to the field again, already with experience and knowledge of the language.

The one that our guest speaker talked about involved starting a Christian school in China. In China, they are only allowed to hold house churches and even then with groups of no more than 10 people. The house churches are also monitored for content and thus are restricted about what is preached.

The schools, however, because in the Chinese government's eyes the main purpose is to educate, there is no restriction with what is taught, so the spread of the Gospel is easier than in the house churches.