Reformed missions organizations?

[Chris]

I've been reading through some of Trevor's posts here, as I'm struggling with some of the same issues he has posted about.


Here's my question today:

Does anyone know of any missions organizations (other than denominational orgs, such as IMB or PCA's missions org) that are wholly under the authority of a local church?

I'm talking with an organization now that interests me, but the organization isn't under local church authority, they have missionaries from a variety of denominations (do I reaaly want to work alongside an arminian????) and...well, things could be better.

Biblically speaking, how does someone from a small church (unable to support, direct, or oversee a foreign missionary) go? Do I find a larger church with more resources that is willing to partner with my own church?

I'm not, at this point in time, terribly worried about funding. Funding is an issue, but right now it's not the primary issue. My main concern:

I want to be sent by a local church. My local church doesn't have the resources.

Is it acceptable to go, and seek out a local church to work within?

 

[Pilgrim]

There is the Middle East Reformed Fellowship that I believe PB member Steve Rafalsky (Jerusalem Blade) is associated with. I think it is technically a parachurch organization that is supported by several Reformed denominations and churches.

There's also Heart Cry Missionary Society that is headed up by Paul Washer, a Baptist. I believe their primary focus is identifying and supporting indigenous pastors and churches. I believe they are under the authority of a local church, previously in Illinois and now in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.

 

[Guido's Brother]

Does anyone know of any missions organizations (other than denominational orgs, such as IMB or PCA's missions org) that are wholly under the authority of a local church?

I've been on the Canadian board of Reformation Christian Ministries for 10 years. RCM is under the oversight of The King's Reformed Presbyterian Church and Sharon OPC in Hialeah, FL.

 

[larryjf]

World Reformed Fellowship may be able to help you or point you to some organizations.

 

[Chris]

There is the Middle East Reformed Fellowship that I believe PB member Steve Rafalsky (Jerusalem Blade) is associated with. I think it is technically a parachurch organization that is supported by several Reformed denominations and churches.

Thanks - I've never heard of them.

There's also Heart Cry Missionary Society that is headed up by Paul Washer, a Baptist. I believe their primary focus is identifying and supporting indigenous pastors and churches. I believe they are under the authority of a local church, previously in Illinois and now in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.

I'm very familiar with them.

 

[Chris]

Do you work with Baptists?

 

[Chris]

Thanks for the link. I'll have to check them out, too.

 

[Chris]

Hey brother;

Sorry to make you struggle. I do not want to discourage you in anyway from thinking of this calling..

The struggle has been going on for a while. You certainly haven't discouraged me. If I felt any calling to where you're at, I'd probably be bugging you to death right now.

Heart Cry is a calvinistic baptist group connected directly to a local church. You are near them and they do good work.

Also, Mission to the World, MTW, is supervised by the PCA church I believe and is thus under church supervision.

I'm familiar with MTW, vaguely, and very familiar with Heartcry. I had an interesting conversation with one of the men from Heartcry a few weeks ago (at the conference I mentioned...)

Other inter-denom or non-denom orgs like World Team have a board that are from representative churches, so that in a sense they are under the Church , through their representative advisory board. Some of these orgs state in their documents that they exist to serve the church and be a servant to them. These orgs often ask for honest feedback on how to serve the church and look for ways in which they are failing.

I've looked at world team's website before; I'm also looking at pioneers. I've actually contacted the latter and talking to them now. They're open to doing work in an area I'm beginning to feel drawn to.

Others insist that they are partners (perhaps meaning equals). And some operate almost with no regard to the church.

I'm shying away from those.

William Carey in a sense founded a para church, a voluntary society and such voluntary societies have typified events sense the beginning of the "Great Century" of Protestant missions.

Different days, different circumstances. Carey had a necessity.

If a local church can send someone themselves then bravo. But visa paperwork is complicated. Plus, a broader base and more in-country workers can guard you against getting your visa yanked because these long standing orgs have had the same folks going to the country's respective immigration offices for years and they build some "face cred" if that makes sense (some countries are very relational and these old guys from some of the non denom missions can get a visa whereas newer guys cannot).

I'm familiar with what you're saying here. Right now, I'm looking at 2 countries. 1 is uber-easy to get a visa. The other, it's virtually impossible, and has been for many years.

Other factors:

--If you really believe in a worldwide body of Christ then you ought to desire to work with them as much as possible and bless them with your persepctive. You should look for ways in which we can express unity rather than disunity. Some broadly evangelical orgs would be very blessed by more reformed people. This has limits and some orgs are not a good fit...but many ARE.

I agree - no problems here. And that's probably where I fit in. Most hardcore reformed orgs would laugh at me and my credentials - and that's fine. I don't feel led to start a movement to convince reformed folks that seminary isn't an essential. Most evenagelical orgs...I might laugh at them. If I recall correctly, I've shared stories with you about some of the horrors I've seen done in Jesus' name.....but I love those people, and would be perfectly content to work with them, under certain circumstances.

---Some local-church-sent missions try to plant a church of their name rather than a church. They feel free to reduplicate efforts and step on other orgs' toes and work in the same city when there are hundreds of miles of needy area that these locally sent folks would know about if they were in the loop of communication with the broadly evangelical orgs. Mission work ought to avoid reduplication of efforts if possible and divide up the task even in comity agreements if able.

---Some locally sent missionaries are very limited in their knowledge of the broader world around them. Some engage in competition with other Christian groups, some try to discredit the existing works to tell them that they need to become "their" kind of Christian, etc.

And these are the fears I have about going alone. However, if I can be fortunate enough to find a local church - even a small struggling one - these difficulties can be overcome. Actually, I'd like nothing better than to find a small, struggling church I could work within, wholly under their leadership (as I teach them how to lead...??), encouraging them to go plant other churches, discipling them, teaching them. How many indigenous churches would send missionaries if they just had the slightest bit of training, leadership, and encouragement?

I agree that duplicate work and competition isn't good; I know there are actually cases where the IMB will work with smaller orgs instead of working against them, and that would suit me fine.

Some on the PB will not like this, but we are still united to the universal church - consisting even of folks of different denominations.

One of the best times of fellowship I've ever had was with a charasmatic non-denom, and the worst was with fellow SBCers who hated the DoG.

Many of these protestant evangelical orgs are like minded enough to fit with us and we should encourage their works. Many of them will not hinder you from teaching your beliefs and a steady influc of reformed folks would keep these orgs careful in their doctrine and preserve the good that they do.

I agree - to an extent.

Paul Washer said "the goal isn't to send missionaries. The goal is to send TRUTH through missionaries". I heartily agree.

side note: I really wish Heartcry was open to sending westerners. They embody my idea of how a missions org should run, and they're under the authority of a church that embodies my idea of how a church should run. I may call them back and harangue them some more, in good time, about sending me....

(BTW, Trev, those DVDs haven't came in yet, so I finally sent the other stuff without the DVDs. I'll send the DVDs when they come in. Good stuff. You'll love it)

Plus, we could learn a lot from many of the evangelical orgs in church planting, zeal and working with nationals...

On this I agree.

Thanks for the thoughts.


To be honest, I'm beginning to feel a specific call forming, and I'm quite confident that God will work out the details, but working within the western baptist world, from a church too small to provide support or oversight, is a bit frustrating.