Resources for Missionary Recruits Online by Marty Andry, Doug Lucas, and Chris Bushnell

Preliminaries

Acknowledgments

Without the input of scores of individuals, this book would not have been possible. Special thanks goes to Wesley Paddock, who did extensive work during the revising and rewriting process. Wes' 26 years of teaching missions have taken him to locations such as Colorado, Kenya, and Cincinnati Bible College & Seminary, where he now serves as Chairman of the Department of Missions.

Additional appreciation goes to Rondal Smith, Chris DeWelt, Wayne Shaw, Larry, Doggett, Glen Elliott, Chris Bushnell, David Cook, Sherman Pemberton, David Filbeck, Mark Huddleston, Eddie Elliston, Dana Eynon, Curt Nordhielm, and the many, many others who submitted reviews and suggestions. The authors would not have participated in this project had these professionals not contributed.

Finally, a special thanks goes to the Task Force on Missions, chaired by Rondal Smith, called into being by the Open Forum. By commissioning this work, they hope to provide some degree of assistance to new world-changers who venture abroad.

About the Authors

Doug Lucas and Chris Bushnell serve with Team Expansion, a cooperation of interdependent direct-support missionaries. Their role in the preparation of this handbook was that of creating, distributing, compiling suggestions (for revision), then rewriting. Marty Andry served with Team Expansion from 1986 through July, '97.

Marty, currently planting a new church cross-culturally in New York, served with Team Expansion from 1985 through July '97. He graduated from Cincinnati Bible College with a degree in Bible and Missions. He has an MA from Cincinnati Bible Seminary in Practical Ministries. His responsibilities with the mission included recruitment, field research, personnel, discipleship and shepherding. He was involved in evangelism and discipleship in Venezuela, Colombia, Ireland, Ukraine, and Asia.

Doug and his wife, Penny, have two sons, Christopher and Caleb. As Coordinator of International Services, Doug attempts to facilitate the growth and effectiveness of Team Expansion personnel worldwide. Doug's Bachelor's degree is from Kentucky Christian College, and his Master of Arts in Missions is from Cincinnati Bible Seminary. He is presently completing a Ph. D. in Management at California Coast University.

The Lucases served as missionaries in Team Expansion's "flagship" field, Montevideo, Uruguay. Now they are heavily involved with initial field research and the development of additional opportunities for world evangelism, as well as training, recruitment, and local church relations for Team Expansion. The Lucases launched a new work in Ukraine before the fall of the Soviet government. Doug recently launched a missions network called "Brigada," available as a weekly email magazine (to subscribe, see Brigada's page on the worldwide web, point your browser to http://www.brigada.org.

Chris and his wife, Diane, have two children and have another one on the way. Chris currently serves as Vice President of Personnel and Treasurer of Team Expansion. He has led numerous short-term trips to Latin America, including a full summer project in Argentina. Chris is a traner at heart -- he focuses much of his time in International Services with Forwarding Agents, recruits, and missionaries on home service. He's also a very accomplished golfer, having achieved near "pro" status at several points in his life.

Chris was involved in reviewing and rewriting much of the material for the Second Edition. He also contributed the entirety of Chapter 12.

About the Second Edition

This book is a dynamic document. We have tried to include any changes since the first edition in this current one. Please send any corrections, ideas, and additional notes to Team Expansion. New data will then be added to later editions. Thanks!

Dedication

This work is dedicated to the Lord of hosts, who guides world-changers into His harvest fields across the globe.

Forward to the Second Edition

The missionary message really hit home. You stepped out in faith and committed your life to mission work. "Anywhere God can use me," You say. People congratulate you for such a brave move in your life.

Then, all of a sudden, you are standing there alone. The next thought that comes to you is, "Okay, where do I go from here?" "What field is God calling me to?" "How do I get the support I need?" "What is the will of God in my life?" These are all good questions and you need quick answers while you heart is so open to the direction God is leading. Help for you to answer many of these questions is in this book, which I highly recommend. This is one of the books that I use in teaching "Preparation for the Mission Field" at St. Louis Christian College. Doug Lucas has talked to many recruits who have asked these same questions on many occasions. He coordinates Team Expansion, a mission of the Christian churches/Churches of Christ. During the past decade, Team Expansion has grown from eight individuals to over one hundred missionaries, serving in South America, Europe, Africa and Asia. The Task Force on Mission asked them to write such a book because they knew that many recruits are asking these questions may have no one to go to for help.

Go through this easy-to-read book and many of your questions will be answered. Get together with others who are preparing to go to the mission field and ask a mission leader or missions professor to teach it to you in a class of students who are asking these very questions. It will be a very enriching time for you and God will keep you moving into a very fulfilling life of service for Him.

Larry Doggett

Professor of Missions

St. Louis Christian College

January 1994

Forward to the First Edition

The Direct–Support missionary movement of the Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, in the final decade of this century, is approaching 75 years of age. Who would have thought in 1926 that by 1990 this movement would be sending and supporting hundreds of missionaries in over 50 nations around the world.

Perhaps J. Russell Morse, who at this writing is more than 90 years of age, is the only one yet living from among those who served during the first days of independent, Direct–Support missions. The end of this century and the year 2000 have become symbolic for all of us. It is a time of reflection when we ask ourselves this question: As we approach the 21st Century, and should our Lord tarry, what direction should we take in order to be more effective stewards of the ministry that God has given us?

It is good that we as a missionary movement are beginning to think about what our future course should be. However, any such discussion must take into account our own peculiar history, i. e. , how and what we have developed in order to carry out the Great Commission. In other words, we need out ask ourselves the question,"From where did we come?" as well as "Where do we go from here?"

The reason for this is twofold. First, we need to know our history in order to see where we have been strong and to build on that strength for the future. Second, we need to understand our past in order to correct weaknesses and deficiencies, especially in the light of what we see coming upon us in the 21st Century. In short, we must draw upon our experiences, successes, and yes, even our mistakes to meet the challenges of the future. What have been our successes and failures in the Direct–Support missionary movement?

Several years ago, in writing about this, I characterized the successes and weaknesses of Direct–Support missions in terms of fission where there is an initial explosion and a good many particles are thrust outward. But they are only a mass of energy, and as the individual particles recede in time and space from the initial explosion, entropy sets in and the amount of energy contained in the mass actually decreases, eventually ceasing to be a force. (David Filbeck, "A Critical Look at Independent Missions," Christian Standard, Part I, August 18 (pp. 745-748), Part II, August 25 (pp. 771-772, Part III, September 1 (pp. 793-795), 1974.)

Our main success has been our ability to recruit and send out a great number of missionaries. Christian Churches/Churches of Christ do have a good recruitment program. Its strength lies in the fact that it is direct (straight from the missionary to the prospective recruit), forceful and receives wide support and encouragement among churches, camps, colleges, and seminaries.

But this success has unfortunately produced a number of weaknesses. There has been, for example, a high rate of returnees from the mission field, often due to lack of adequate preparation as to what to expect once on the mission field. There has also been a lack of consensus among sending churches and educational institutions regarding goals and what we as a missionary movement should be doing in the world. This has resulted in an inability on our part to discern what is actually mission work (i. e. , making disciples, baptizing and teaching) from what is only good works.

The upshot is that everything and anything gets tagged and supported as mission work which in the end subtracts from our real commission to evangelize the non-Christian peoples of this world. Building on our past in order to improve our future performance as a missionary movement is what authors Doug Lucas and Marty Andry have done in their well–designed book Resources for Mission Recruits.

They have, for example, built on my early writings on this subject, plus others such as Mark Maxey, Mission Services, their own work in Team Expansion and even Alexander Campbell. They have also brought in ideas from such wide sources as J. Herbert Kane, David Hesselgrave, MARC, and Intervarsity Press in order to present a picture of where we should go in the future. Such an integration is refreshing!

Lucas and Andry address several topics in Direct–Support missions. But their discussion is never technical or mundane. Two such topics which they emphasize throughout their book––and which should be remembered throughout one's life as a missionary––are flexibility and persistence. There are too many times, while preparing to become a Direct–Support missionary, that one's resolve is tested.

For example, after writing 500 letters and making 100 telephone calls to churches and missionary committees with little or no support to show for all the effort, discouragement can set in. Trying new strategies and persisting until the job is accomplished is the only way to win. And, of course, what is learned in flexibility and persistence while preparing for mission work will carry over into the mission field. And by being flexible and persistent, a missionary, even one newly arrived on the field, can survive.

The printing of Resources for Mission Recruits is therefore a timely step in the preparation of new missionaries for the 21st Century. The recruits of the 1990s, the time in which this book will be used, will be our missionaries from the year 2000 onward. Moreover, when mission recruits are better prepared, especially along the lines outlined in this book, sending churches will feel more confident in sending them forth into the harvest.

And finally, ministers will also feel better in recommending these recruits to churches and mission committees for financial support. I am encouraged by the continual interest in missions among the Christian Churches/Churches of Christ. This interest is producing a host of new missionaries for the future expansion of God's Kingdom around the world. Now the publication of Resources for Mission Recruits makes me even more optimistic that greater things are in store. All of which should add up to an exciting 21st Century for missions of the Christian Churches/Churches of Christ.

David Filbeck, Ph. D.

Chiang Mai, Thailand

February 15, 1989

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