Now, more than ever, the world we live in is becoming “borderless.” Rather than being restricted to one location, travelling across the globe is easier than ever, thanks to the progression of technology to keep us all connected and accelerated global migration. Urbanization, pluralism, and diverse communities have also sparked strategy adjustments among churches and agencies because individual geographic locations no longer have just one culture or primary belief system, so the approach to reach people has had to adapt as well.
M3 Ministries, (Mark and Melanie) is gearing up for a March trip to the Czech Republic. Most of you know that we have made two previous trips and were blown away by how God provided for those trips and blessed the folks at Element Church and us! We were able to cast vision, train leaders, and minister to the young families of the Element Church community.
The 1 for 1 model is often praised as an innovative solution to poverty; however, while the hearts of companies may be in the right place, there are several unintentional consequences that often come hand in hand with this model that could cause more harm than good to those living in poverty.
The landscape of missions is constantly changing, but are we adjusting with it to remain as affective as possible? Do we adhere to the systems of previous generations at the expense of cultivating and empowering those who will carry global missions forward into the future?
As the approach to global missions evolves, heads now turn to the upcoming generation of millennials. While they are not perfect, there is gold to be found in those who will shape the future of the world as we know it.
In the wake of a changing global church, what should the local church keep in mind? How does the landscape of global missions change? How should missions agencies adjust to globalization? Here are a couple of things we found:
1. Mission strategies, approaches, and structures should reflect the global nature of the church and factor in the complexities that can involve.
How one might teach others to live out their faith in one location might look completely different in another city. Many settings are multicultural now and that should be taken into account, so that we can navigate the challenges more efficiently.
