Typically, books on Church History would cover the subject by breaking it into the following periods: (i) from Christ to Constantine (AD 31/33-300); (ii) from Constantine to Charlemagne (AD 300-800); (iii) from Charlemagne to Martin Luther (AD 800-1500); (iv) the Reformation and Puritanism (1500-1700); (v) Revivals and Missions (1700-1900); (vi) the Modern period (1900-2000). The periods might be named differently and the termini of each period might be further refined, but such a breakdown is generally recognised and accepted. To be noted is that the Modern period is still being written, the perspective and emphases given depending on the theological and ecclesiastical affiliation of the writers. The period before it ended with vibrant missionary activities. William Carey (1761-1834), who has been called “the father of modern missions”, inspired many to commit their lives to missions. The Particular Baptist missionary body that was formed to send him and his colleagues to India inspired the formation of other missionary organisations on both sides of the Atlantic. This was followed by the activities of missionaries including Adoniram Judson (1788-1850) in Burma, Henry Martyn (1781-1812) in India and Persia, Hudson Taylor (1832-1905) in China, John Paton (1824-1907) in the New Hebrides, and others.
The revival of interest in Reformed theology in the 1960’s to the present has aroused a renewed interest in missions. In the training of preachers and missionaries, the Reformed Baptists (as the Particular Baptists are called today) have relied heavily on books written by the Reformed writers of other communions. At the same time, the Neo-Evangelicals and the New Calvinists have been actively writing on various subjects, including on missiology. A number of them would call themselves “Reformed” when, in reality, they are Calvinistic in soteriology and have come to appreciate the doctrine of the sovereignty of God, without embracing the fulness of Reformed doctrine and practice. Their views on missions are coloured by the pragmatism of the Modern Church Growth movement and the subjectivism of the Charismatic movement. While not decrying any value in their contributions — for a number of them wrote from sacrificial experience in the mission field — is there not a place to contribute to missiology from a Reformed Baptist perspective? The Scripture will be our sole authority in this endeavour, illustrated by experience on the ground and observations made in pioneering situations. The Modern period (1900-2000) will have to be traversed to arrive at the beginning of the Postmodern period where we are now. The framework for discussion on missions must arise from a biblical basis of missions.
Modernism and missions
In the East
The period 1900 to 1930 was a tumultuous one throughout the world. The political, social and religious planes seemed to intersect during that period, producing upheaval. If the Reformation of the 16th century was a major earthquake of scale 7.5, the period 1900 to 1930 may be regarded as a major aftershock. (Incidentally, 1930 was the year when the United States seismologist Charles Richter invented the Richter Scale for measuring earthquakes.) In the Far East, the revolutionary activities of Dr. Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925) against the decadent Qing (Manchu) Dynasty culminated in the proclamation of the Republic of China on 1 January 1912. This was the forerunner to the People’s Republic of China, proclaimed on 1 October 1949 by Mao Zedong (1893-1976). Sun established bases in Tokyo, Singapore, and Penang among the overseas Chinese in his activities. When the Communist Party led by Mao gained the ascendancy, Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) who was leading the Kuomintang Party founded by Sun Yat-sen retreated to the island of Taiwan to establish his base there. Sun Yat-sen was a professing Christian, and so was Chiang Kai-shek.
In the martial arts world, Huo Yuanjia was a towering figure of recent years who managed to unite experts of various fighting styles under the roof of the Chin Woo (Jingwu) Athletic Association in Shanghai, in 1910. A new age of openness to the sharing of knowledge in the martial arts began. Branches of Chin Woo were opened throughout Southeast Asia and has spread throughout the world. After the Second World War, Japan exported its brands of martial arts (Karate, Jujitsu, Judo, and Aikido) to the West, followed by South Korea which exported Taekwondo, Hapkido, and Tangsoodo. All these originated from, or were heavily influenced by, the many styles of Chinese fighting arts. The martial arts took the West by storm. Today, various styles of Chinese Kungfu (martial arts) are in vogue, after Bruce Lee (1940-1973) popularised it through film. The martial arts constituted an important strand undergirding the ethos of Eastern peoples, until recent days when economy and education overshadowed it. Many missionaries and native Christians in China died in the hands of martial arts exponents in the Boxer Rebellion of 1899 to 1901. The highest loss among the missionary agencies was sustained by the China Inland Mission (later Overseas Missionary Fellowship, then OMF International) when 58 adult missionaries and 21 children were martyred in 1900.
From 1907 to 1910 a great spiritual revival came upon the church in Korea. Presbyterian missionaries had laboured long in that land, at that time undivided into North and South. The Holy Spirit swept thousands into the kingdom of God, in preparation for the suffering to be experienced from1910 to 1945. When the Japanese occupied Korea in 1910, it was thought that political reasons were behind the rapid growth of the church. This led to severe persecution upon the church. The Japanese attacked Manchuria in 1931, followed by an all-out war on China in 1937. Shinto worship was imposed upon the people in all the Japanese occupied territories, upon pain of imprisonment and torture. Many Christians, including western missionaries, died as martyrs. After World War II, Korea split along the 38th Parallel. While the Christian faith is suppressed in North Korea, it has thrived in South Korea. Today, South Korea is said to have sent out more Christian missionaries than any country in the world.
In India, Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) began agitating against British rule by non-violent civil disobedience from 1915, after he returned from South Africa. Gandhi’s vision of an independent India based on religious pluralism was challenged by the Muslims who wanted an independent state. When Britain granted independence to the country in 1947, it was split into a Hindu-majority India and a Muslim-majority Pakistan. Pakistan was to split when its eastern wing became independent Bangladesh in 1971. William Carey and his missionary colleagues who laboured to translate the Bible into over 30 Indian languages, agitated for the abolition of the ‘suttee’ (the burning of a widow on her husband’s pyre), and promoted education and culture, had unwittingly contributed to Indian nationalism. In their lifetime the missionaries saw only a handful of converts, estimated at 700 individuals, who became the firstfruit of more converts and more churches planted in later days. The extensive contribution of William Carey to India as a gospel minister, social reformer, educationist, botanist, and cultural anthropologist was acknowledged by the Indian government in 1993 by the publication of a commemorative stamp bearing his image, 200 years after his arrival.
In the West
In the West, political polarisation between the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire) and the Allied Powers (Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Romania, Japan, and the United States) was creating tension. The assassination of the Austrian archduke, Franz Ferdinand and his wife, triggered off the First World War (1914-1918), in which over 16 million people died. After the Allied Powers won the war, the League of Nations was formed in 1919, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, to provide a forum for resolving international disputes. Portugal, Spain, Netherlands, France, and Britain had been exploring the world by sea and colonising nations from the mid-17th century. It was inevitable that the wars that started in the West affected the East. Missionaries had taken advantage of the trading routes and the access to the nations to evangelise, resulting in the common misunderstanding that they were an arm of colonisation and that Christianity is a western religion.
Alas, the League of Nations was unable to prevent the Second World War (1939-1945). Fascism (one-party dictatorship) began to assert itself in Italy, militarism grew in Japan, Nazism (one-party dictatorship plus racism) reared its ugly head in Germany in the 1920’s. The War began when Germany invaded Poland, with the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan) aligned against the Allies (Britain, France, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, India, the Soviet Union, China and the United States of America). The Second World War ended with the unconditional surrender of the Axis Powers. An estimated 80 million people died. The United Nations was formed to promote international co-operation and to create and maintain international order, with its headquarters in New York City, United States.
The ecclesiastical world was shaken by Theological Liberalism (Modernism) which started in Germany in the 19th century. Modernism questioned the inerrancy and infallibility of Scripture by introducing critical studies of the Scripture texts. It denied the miracles and supernatural events of the Bible, e.g. the virgin birth of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, etc. It would seem that Darwin’s “theory of evolution” was having an influence, not only in the social theory of Nazism, but also in the theology of the church. C. H. Spurgeon fought against Modernism in the Downgrade Controversy of 1887, but it continued to spread and infiltrated many churches and seminaries on both sides of the Atlantic. Between 1910 and 1930, the Evangelicals in the United States of America united to counter Modernism in what has been called the Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy (or Evangelical-Liberal Clash). A series of books, called “The Fundamentals”, were written by various conservative writers and sent out to pastors and seminary students, to counter the claims of Modernism. This was the period when the Chinese evangelist, John Sung (1901-1944) studied in Union Theological Seminary and had his faith wrecked, until he was saved by God’s grace in 1927. In Britain, EJ Poole-Connor contended against the inroads of Modernism and founded the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) in 1922.
The advance of Modernism was contained, but not eliminated, in the Evangelical-Liberal Clash of 1910-30. It was followed by the breaking up of the old Evangelicals into three groups, viz. the Fundamentalists, the Reformed, and the Neo-Evangelicals. The Pentecostals arose at this time to form the fourth group. The Fundamentalists are characterised by a tendency to be over-literal in Bible interpretation, the practice of aggressive separation, holding tenaciously to dispensational premillennialism, cessation of the extraordinary gifts, and a lack of patience with those who do not hold to the King James Version of the Bible. The Reformed hold to the Five Points of Calvinism, the Five Sola’s of the Reformation, covenant theology, cessationism, the value of a Confession of Faith, the primacy of preaching, and the Regulative Principle of Worship. The Neo-Evangelicals have a tendency to be ecumenical-minded, emphasise social concerns, are non-cessationist, are open to contemporary worship and the Modern Church Growth approach to missions, and are Postmodernist in outlook. The Pentecostal movement evolved into the Charismatic movement in the 1960’s to influence other denominations with its non-cessationism, its emphasis on subjective experiences at the expense of propositional truths, and the practice of contemporary worship. After the Evangelical-Liberal Clash of 1910-1930, cross-overs took place when individuals changed convictions while churches seceded, a phenomenon (the Evangelical Realignment) that continues to this day.
Reformed Theology and missions
A revival of interest in Reformed theology took place from about 1960, when Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) in Britain called upon individuals and churches to separate from compromised churches and denominations. Not surprisingly, this new interest in Reformed theology spread to North America due to the centuries-old ties across the Atlantic. Accompanying the revived interest in Reformed Theology was an interest in missions. Since then, missions conferences have been organised and practical efforts have been made to send our missionaries and to support nationals in church planting. Despite the attempts to be involved in missions, it remains a matter of regret that a holistic view of missions has not emerged, resulting in sporadic and piecemeal approaches.
In Reformed circles, J. H. Bavinck’s “An Introduction to the Science of Missions” has been a classic. The author is not to be confused with his uncle, Herman Bavinck of “Reformed Dogmatics” fame. Sadly, this valuable book on missions which was first published in 1954 (the English version in 1960) is not known to many today, being treated as somewhat dated. No doubt, not all issues are explored and newer issues have arisen since its publication, but it may be contended that the content is of abiding relevance. It provides a strong biblical foundation to the understanding of missions, without claiming to have said the last words on the subject, especially from the practical point of view.
In the 1960’s Liberation Theology, notably from South America, coloured missions and influenced the ecumenical movement, including the World Council of Churches and the Lausanne Movement. Liberation Theology, as propagated by Latin American Roman Catholics, emphasised social concern for the poor and the political liberation of the oppressed. It was picked up and echoed by Neo-Evangelicals, including the likes of Ron Snider and John Stott, in the 1970’s. The Lausanne Movement, headed by men including Billy Graham and John Stott, encouraged concerted world evangelisation of “unreached peoples” by ecumenical partnership, social actions, and the preaching of a minimalist gospel to avoid disruption to unity among its proponents.
Around the same time, the Modern Church Growth Movement came into prominence. The first leaders were Donald McGavran, Robert Schuller and Peter Wagner. They have produced a new generation of leaders, including the well-known Rick Warren who published the best-seller, “The Purpose Driven Church” in 1995. The Modern Church Growth Movement claims that every healthy local church must be growing numerically, that the “felt needs” of the people should determine the strategy of the church, and that the local church should be popular with the world. Words and expressions such as ‘contextualisation’, ‘redemptive analogies’, ‘homogeneous units’, ‘cell groups’, ‘people movements’, ‘felt-needs’, ‘seeker-sensitive approaches’, ‘growing the church’, and ‘the missional church’ are characteristics of the movement. Notable missionary-writers such as Don Richardson who wrote “Peace Child”, and David Sitton who wrote “To Every Tribe With Jesus” have had considerable influence on the study of missions.
As we enter the Postmodern age in the 21st century, new issues confront us. Relativism, which was pervasive in all cultures and suppressed during the Modern age, is making a comeback in opposition to objective certainty. Individualism is insisted upon in opposition to accepted norms. Youthful zeal is glorified in opposition to the wisdom of age. Pluralism is favoured while monism/homogeneity is frowned upon (“agreeing to disagree”, “inter-faith dialogues”, “gender equality”, “hate-crime laws”). Popular opinion is regarded as more important than expert knowledge (“the customer is always right”, “everything can be found on the internet”, “Dr. Google must right”). These characteristics of Postmodernism are reflected in the importance placed on reader-comments in blogs and webpages, the approaches adopted in “growing the church”, the pursuit of “felt-needs” in outreach, and the emphasis on personal satisfaction in worship at the expense of reverence for God. In this Postmodern atmosphere has arisen the New-Calvinist movement comprising those who call themselves Reformed simply because they hold to the Five-Points of Calvinism while advocating contemporary worship, the non-cessation of the extraordinary gifts (called continuationism, as opposed to cessationism), and the pursuit of personal gratification. The Sovereign Grace Churches which claim to be Reformed and continuationist have been active in missions. The leaders who have had a significant influence upon the New-Calvinist movement include John Piper who wrote “Let the Nations be Glad” and “Christian Hedonism”, Tim Keller who wrote “Redeemer Church Planting Manual”, and Wayne Grudem whose “Systematic Theology” is widely used.
Towards a Reformed Baptist perspective
The revival of interest in Reformed Theology from the 1960’s occurred mostly among the Presbyterians and the Baptists, until in recent days when it began to influence other communions. The Reformed Baptists trace their origin to the Particular Baptists of the 17th century in Britain. Older churches have been revived and newer churches have been planted, the two streams merging into an international Reformed Baptist movement. Understandably, the process of recovering biblical teaching and practice has not been without its trials and tribulations. Mistakes were made, differences in emphasis were encountered, and polarisation around personalities took place. Some individuals and churches were ahead of their time, others were slow to grasp issues, and yet others veer away from the norm because of external influences or human weaknesses. By and large, the Reformed Baptists constitute a coherent movement of autonomous churches that are in fellowship with one another to varying degrees, working towards recovering a confessional Christianity that is both vibrant and modest, and upholding the spirit of “semper reformanda” (always being reformed).
The Reformed Baptists have continued the mission-mindedness of their spiritual forebears. The Particular Baptists of the 17th century were well-known for their evangelism and church-planting efforts. William Carey, “the father of modern missions”, and many other missionaries arose from their ranks, spurred on by the Great Awakening from the 1730’s. The revivals of the following centuries led to co-operation in missions between churches of different denominations, accompanied by an emphasis on social concerns. While commendable in themselves, these caused a loss in doctrinal integrity among the churches. We have seen how Modernism infiltrated and led astray many churches from the 19th century, leading to the Evangelical-Liberal Clash of 1910-1930, and the subsequent Evangelical Realignment which continues to today. With the revival of interest in Reformed Theology in the 1960’s, the Reformed Baptists are again poised to be on the forefront of missions. It is here that a holistic understanding on missions is needed to give direction to the churches and to continue with the momentum of missions. Attempts are being made to formulate a biblical missiology but haziness still prevails. Bavinck’s book (Bavinck, 1960) has been about the most cogent articulation on the subject from the Reformed fold, but none will say it has exhausted the subject. Studies on missions have range from the highly academic, e.g. (Hesselgrave, 1979), (Rooy, 2006), to the popularly practical, e.g. (Joslin, 1987), (Sitton, 2005). It is always hard to strike the balance between these two extremes (with no negative connotation meant). Our approach will have to be convincingly biblical, demonstrating a keen sensitivity to historical, cultural and political factors but not succumbing to the pragmatism and human wisdom of the most experienced missionaries. While we may learn from the contributions of brethren from other communions, have we no contribution to make in the field of missiology?
The root
Reformed theology encompasses a robust Covenant Theology. Covenant Theology, as developed from the Reformation of the 16th century, diverged into two strands — the Baptist strand and the Paedobaptist strand. Covenant Theology provides the unifying understanding of the revelation of God in the Bible, stretching from eternity past into eternity future. It concerns the unfolding and fulfilment of God’s eternal plan of salvation for the elect. It constitutes the root from which missions arises. The imagery of the root is provided by Romans 11:16-18,
For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.
The olive tree is used as a picture of God’s covenant people — spiritual Israel (as in contrast to natural Israel). The elect already gathered in — from the Old Testament period stretching to the point of writing — are regarded as “the firstfruit”, while the tribes of (natural) Israel are regarded as the branches that were broken off. The Gentile believers were from various “branches” of a wild olive tree who were grafted to the cultivated olive tree. All God’s elect — whether natural Jews or Gentiles — partake of the root and fatness of the olive tree. They are supported by the root, which is God’s eternal plan of salvation. A hardening has come upon natural Israel, while the gospel is preached among the nations. As the elect among the nations are called into God’s kingdom, natural Israel is provoked to jealousy so as to seek salvation in Christ. When the full number of the elect among the nations are saved, the full number of the elect among the Jews will be saved. In that way (“and so”, not “and then”, Rom. 11:26), spiritual Israel (God’s elect from all nations) will be saved. Missions is rooted in the eternal purpose of God.
The trunk
In the Bible, trees are used to represent earthly kingdoms which rose and fell (Ezek. 31:3, 10-13). Israel and Judah fell, but from the roots would grow a Branch (Isa. 11:1-2). This is the Messiah who would set up God’s kingdom which shall never be destroyed, that shall consume all worldly kingdoms, and it shall stand forever (Dan. 2:44). We have seen that this kingdom is represented by the olive tree in Romans 11:16-18. The Lord also uses the grapevine to portray the relationship of believers to Himself. John 15:5-8 says,
I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
Whatever plant or tree is used to represent God’s kingdom, Jesus Christ is obviously the trunk to which the branches are attached. The apostle Paul begins the epistle to the Ephesians with an overview of God’s eternal purpose in the salvation of the elect, stretching from eternity past to eternity future (Eph. 1:3-14). All three Persons of the Holy Trinity are involved in this plan, as will be shown the next chapter. The “mystery” of God’s plan is now unfolded in history in the salvation of the elect from all the nations, “according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Eph. 3:11). The trinitarian God is invoked as the apostle prays for the Ephesian Christians to be “rooted and grounded in love”, that they might “be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge” (Eph. 3:17-18). The salvation of the elect is rooted and grounded in the love of Christ, shown by His atoning death for His people. The Lord says, in John 12:23-26,
“The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.”
Jesus Christ is the grain that fell into the ground and died, thereby producing much grain. He is now glorified. His disciples must abide in Him to produce much fruit. He will be with those who follow Him, for “where I am, there My servant will be also”, just as He promises in Matthew 28:20, “and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Missions is grounded in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The crown
In John 14:16-17 we have,
You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. These things I command you, that you love one another.
Spiritual fruit would include godly attitudes (Gal. 5:22-23), righteous behaviour (Phil. 1:11), and praise to God (Heb. 13:15). In particular, it refers to leading others to faith in Jesus Christ (Rom. 1:13-16). In the Parable of the Mustard Seed (Matt.13:31-32), the seed grows into a tree, “so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches”. The church will be a place of shelter to many weary souls. Put together, the branches, the fruit, and also the leaves (cf. Rev. 22:2) — which together constitute the crown of the tree — refer to the founding of churches that are a blessing to many in the world. It will be shown that the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20 is about the local church planting other local churches. We would need to ask why we have to carry out the Great Commission, how the task is to be carried out, and what sort of churches we want to plant. Missions is crowned by the Great Commission.
The methodology and methods
Once a strong biblical basis is established, we will be ready to proceed to the practice of missions. The right place to begin is the Great Commission itself, for built within itself is its own methodology, from which the methods are to be filled up by reference to other parts of Scripture. Believing in ‘sola scriptura’, the principles underlying the methods must be drawn out from Scripture, which can then be applied to the varied situations encountered on the ground. Regardless of whether it is urban outreach or pioneering in the jungles, the word of God is sufficient. Is it not the bane of modern missions that the gospel is deemed essential for salvation while the approach to missions is left to human wisdom and pragmatism? Of course, those who attempt to contextualise even the gospel message itself deserve the censure of all true Evangelicals. However, do we not need to pay attention to the methodology and methods of missions as well? How serious are we in adhering to ‘sola scriptura’?
Consolidation and continuity
We contend that the work of missions is incomplete without attempts being made to consolidate the gains and to prepare for the next generation to continue with the work. After all, do we not believe that the Great Commission is an abiding mandate until Jesus Christ returns to judge the world? Many would leave out this aspect of missions, treating it as belonging to the realm of Christian ministry. In fact, there are many who subconsciously limit the task of missions to the first element of the Great Commission, namely to “going to make disciples of all the nations”, ignoring the other two elements, namely of “baptising” and “teaching”. It cannot be stated too strongly that the church without the vision for missions is a dying church. It might be a numerically big church, but it is a dying church. This unbroken chain of events — of the local church planting other churches — is to go on until the Lord returns. It is imperative that we give attention to consolidation and continuity in missions.
Terminology
We wish to be clear about the terminology used. We use the word ‘missions’ in its plural form to refer to the task of fulfilling the Great Commission (much like the word ‘premises’). The singular form ‘mission’ carries its many meanings as can be seen in any standard dictionary. ‘Mission’ is what we do or intend to do, while ‘missions’ is specific to the mandate the Lord has given to the church in Matthew 28:18-20, and the parallel passages. We may say, “The church has a mission to carry out missions.” We may refer to the place of service as ‘missions field’ or ‘mission field’, depending on whether we are emphasizing on the nature of the task or on the task to be accomplished. It is more common to use ‘mission field’ as it is easier on the tongue. God has a purpose for missions, which is to accomplish a certain end or goal in His plan of salvation. The end or goal of God’s plan of salvation is accomplished in the New Testament age by the Great Commission which has an objective. The objective of the Great Commission is accomplished by methods and principles that constitute a methodology. The fulfilment of the Great Commission constitutes missions. God’s purpose for missions, therefore, is to accomplish the end or goal of His plan of salvation, while the methodology is to accomplish the objective of missions leading to the goal. It will be shown that missions is rooted in the eternal purpose of God, grounded in the atoning death of Christ, and crowned by the Great Commission. Missions has an objective, which is the planting of local churches. The objective consists of three sub-objectives which are the winning of souls to Christ (or evangelism), the founding of a local church, and the training of the disciples. The sub-objectives are integral to the main objective and cannot, therefore be called “secondary objectives”. They are defined by the three elements of the Great Commission. These definitions may be illustrated as follows:
Summary
Missions — i.e. the fulfilment of the Great Commission — may be compared to a sturdy tree, for the Lord has given the assurance that the gates of Hades shall not prevail against His church (Matt. 16:8). The tree has three main parts — the root, the trunk, and the crown. The biblical basis for missions consists of three strands of truth: (i) missions is rooted in the eternal purpose of God; (ii) missions is grounded in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and (iii) missions is crowned by the Great Commission. Each strand needs to be expounded, and the implications drawn out.
The practice of missions builds upon the biblical basis of missions. The Great Commission itself provides its own methodology and points to the biblical methods. The methods or, rather, the principles underlying the methods, may be applied to all situations encountered on the mission field. Attention should be given also to the consolidation and continuation of missions. The Scripture alone is our authority in the doctrine and practice of missions.
References
1. Bavinck, J. H. 1960. An Introduction to the Science of Missions. Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company.
2. Hesselgrave, D. J. 1979. Communicating Christ Cross-culturally. Zondervan Publishing House.
3. Joslin, Roy. 1987. Urban Harvest. Evangelical Press.
4. Sitton, D. 2005. To Every Tribe With Jesus: Understanding and Reaching Tribal Peoples for Christ. Grace and Truth Books.
5. Rooy, S. H. 2006. The Theology of Missions In The Puritan Tradition. Audubon Press.
Recommended Reading
Poh, B. S. 2017. Thoroughgoing Reformation. Good News Enterprise.
Hewlett, Basil. 2016. 1966 And All That: An Evangelical Journey. EP Books.
Glover, Archibald. 1990. A Thousand Miles of Miracle in China. Schmul Publishing Company.
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