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Emerging Models of Church-led Global Missions
In part one of this series, we looked at a major shift in global missions that have occurred as our world has changed and globalized in recent decades and with the rise of the megachurch in America. As a result of these phenomena, we have seen a shift from global missions through missions agencies and supported by a network of smaller churches and individuals to global missions through large churches that have the resources to act as their own sending agency. Additionally, there has been a shift from sending long-term field workers to developing international partnerships and sending short-term teams. As a result, the missions pastor role has taken on great significance in the field of global missions. Ultimately, it is missions pastors who are the current driving force in global missions today.
As we’re shifting away from agency-driven missions to church-driven missions, there are three models that I’ve observed emerging in church-led missions. These models describe how missions pastors are attempting to establish healthy and vibrant church-led missions today.
The Partnership Cluster
The first model is called the partnership cluster. A partnership cluster describes when a small number of churches combine efforts to accomplish a mission project together. There are several ways that churches are building these types of partnerships. First, some churches are forming partnerships with a cluster of churches in a specific international location. For example, Mike Constantz of Saddleback Church describes that when they build a partnership with a group of churches, they intentionally place the leadership of the partnership in the hands of one of the local pastors and avoid inserting funding into the partnership in the ...
from Christianity Today Magazine
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