INDIGENOUS: Bringing balance to the Christian mission!
Global Baptist Training Foundation is now in its ninth full year of operation. God has allowed us to expand the ministry of training indigenous pastors into 12 countries on three continents in that time. It has been an amazing journey of faith and hard work. Over fifteen hundred pastors have been trained or are presently being trained for ministry all over the world. GBTF trained pastors have started scores of churches with hundreds more planned over the next five years.
In late 2019 I wrote a new book aimed at not only chronicling what has happened through GBTF but also challenging churches and church leaders to consider the concept of training nationals as a key component of their missions outreach and Great Commission philosophy. Many of our mission fields have existing populations of Christians who do not need to be reached with the gospel. These nationals simply need to be trained and then commissioned to reach their own cultures for Christ!
The book, entitled Indigenous, challenges churches to begin striking a balance between the sending of western missionary personnel and the training of on-site nationals. We believe nationals present on many mission fields are best suited in local ministry because they already know the language, understand the cultures in which they live, and already love the people they serve. Who better can effectively reach their populations with the gospel? Western missionary families take years to learn the language, navigate the culture in order to then ultimately impact the people. Not only that, but indigenous pastors can successfully reach their populations for pennies on the dollar for what it takes a western missionary to be maintained on a foreign field month after month and year after year.
In late 2019 I wrote a new book aimed at not only chronicling what has happened through GBTF but also challenging churches and church leaders to consider the concept of training nationals as a key component of their missions outreach and Great Commission philosophy. Many of our mission fields have existing populations of Christians who do not need to be reached with the gospel. These nationals simply need to be trained and then commissioned to reach their own cultures for Christ!
The book, entitled Indigenous, challenges churches to begin striking a balance between the sending of western missionary personnel and the training of on-site nationals. We believe nationals present on many mission fields are best suited in local ministry because they already know the language, understand the cultures in which they live, and already love the people they serve. Who better can effectively reach their populations with the gospel? Western missionary families take years to learn the language, navigate the culture in order to then ultimately impact the people. Not only that, but indigenous pastors can successfully reach their populations for pennies on the dollar for what it takes a western missionary to be maintained on a foreign field month after month and year after year.
We understand and are thankful for western missionaries who are pioneering and reaching unreached people groups. We are not discounting that value. This is a call for balance! For instance, in the past three years, GBTF, with its partner Advance church planting ministries, has successfully started 130 new churches in Liberia for fifty dollars a month per pastor! These new churches are reaching hundreds of people with the gospel. On the other hand, western missionary families on the average require six thousand dollars a month to live and usually have limited impact for many years, and that is being conservative!
Indigenous has been written to impact churches and their leaders. Simply put, this book is a plea for balance in Evangelical churches in how they do missions as we continue to move into the 21st century. Want to see what can happen when you train nationals? Pick up a copy for yourself and then pass it on to your church missions team and pastoral staff!
Indigenous has been written to impact churches and their leaders. Simply put, this book is a plea for balance in Evangelical churches in how they do missions as we continue to move into the 21st century. Want to see what can happen when you train nationals? Pick up a copy for yourself and then pass it on to your church missions team and pastoral staff!
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