All the Above

A NEW LOOK! One evening a few weeks ago, my living room was full of people, all related to the Alliance, all working in one of the most under-reached populations of the world. It was a pleasant evening as we shared stories of God at work, and discovered some of our mutual friends and contacts in the work we do. It was a blessing to be able to pray together for one another.

I think the picture of that evening that remains in my mind is a telling one regarding the way forward in Alliance work. The five families who gathered that night come from three different national church bodies of the Alliance World Fellowship, including the US C&MA. One of the families runs a business consulting firm. In another family both spouses are educators in institutions of our host country. My family and one family from Latin America are the only ones in roles that we might think of as "traditional missionaries," and the only ones fully supported by the type of giving our Great Commission Fund represents in the US. Yet I came away from the evening impressed that each one of these families are active in a unique sphere of relationships and ministries that God is using to increase access to the Gospel in this country that has so little. And, in fact, in many of the world's remaining least-reached places, it will probably take a variety of types workers to achieve that goal.

Welcome to the new look of Alliance work in this world!

For many, like for me, this is a newer picture. Clergy-types and educators and business people, medical workers, English teachers and specialists in community development will increasingly make up the mosaic of Alliance professionals living and serving among those who need Gospel witness. And it is worth noting that not all of them will be coming from North American churches. Church movements related to the Alliance in over 20 countries send and support workers of various types, through various means, beyond their own borders.

Wow! What a change from 20, 30 or more years ago! But, even longer ago, a key emphasis of early Alliance vision for the world was the sending of "irregulars." While that description sounds rather negative today, the point was that there is room for more than just clergy-types in the harvest field. So today's picture not so far from what we've always believed. It is actually a wonderful opportunity for us to see God use a variety of people in a variety of ways to get the job done.

A CONTINUING NEED

In our own US Alliance, though, I can say it would be nice to see this picture of expanding new opportunities develop without necessarily representing a drop in emphasis on sending clergy-types. After all, I'm one of those clergy types! The sending of a variety of types of workers does not demean the need for people highly trained and experienced in the difficult and delicate processes of discipleship, investing in leaders of character and competence, and the organizing of churches that can stand on their own in hostile environment. In places where the presence of the church is marginal, we will continue to need those who can focus attention on assuring that national churches rise up that reflect their own culture and have the strength to multiply - to move from being the fruit of world missions to being the source of world missions.

This is no easy task. It will likely take more focus, not less, on the art of church planting and multiplication to see unreached people gain the "insider access" that is given only by churches of their own people in their midsts.

ALL THE ABOVE

But that focus must also come together with an increase in the critical mass of initial "outsider access." And, especially in the hard places remaining on this Globe, that critical mass will be reached by the sending of folks whose background and professions make them welcome contributors on an array of levels in these societies.

Can we, the Alliance movement in the world, do all the above? The scene in my living room that night makes me hopeful.