Missions
Holy discomfort is fueling a much-needed critical assessment of typical "missions" practices. Local ministry leaders, long-term American missionaries, and missiologists have long been calling for fundamental change. Summit's missions community will explore how congregations can faithfully respond to that critique. What would it look like to reorient our own church communities away from “missions” and toward life together in Jesus's kingdom on earth? And what would that mean for how modern American churches understand themselves within their own local contexts? We’ll start close to home, exploring principles and characteristics for American churches to embody within our local communities. We'll then ask how these same principles could transform our interactions with our global neighbors so that our cross-cultural relationships and partnerships nurture humility, mutuality, dignity, and faithful long-term transformation. Join us as we explore Kingdom-oriented approaches to our participation in God's mission.
COMMUNITY SCHEDULE
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. | Session 1 | Convener: Zane McGee
10:00 - 10:30 a.m. | Introduction” A Theological Framework for Relational Missions | Zane McGee
10:30 - 11:30 a.m. | “Local Outreach as Missions” | Nathan Nelson
11:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. | “Exploring Our Own Local Outreach” | Group Discussion
2:00 - 5:30 p.m. | Session 2 | Convener: Larry Henderson
2:00 - 3:00 p.m. | “Short Term Missions (STM) in Long-Term Relationships” | Nathan Nelson
3:00 - 3:15 p.m. | Break
3:15 - 4:00 p.m. | “Exploring Our Own STMs” | Group Discussion
4:00 - 5:00 p.m. | “Case Studies in STMs” | Larry Henderson
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13
8:45 - 10:45 a.m. | Session 3 | Convener: Joel Ruch
8:45 - 9:15 a.m. | “A Reality Check on Long-Term Missions Approaches” | Omar Palafox
9:15 - 10:15 a.m. | “Relational Long-Term Missions” | Ali and Mark Kaiser
10:15 - 10:45 a.m. | “How Can We Do That?” | Q & A Session with the Kaisers
FACILITATORS
ZANE MCGEE
Zane McGee serves as the director for the Halbert Center for Missions and Global Service at Abilene Christian University. After studying missions in college, Zane and his wife, April, lived as church planters in Niterói, Brazil, where he worked on ministries geared toward discipleship and adult education. Upon returning to the U.S., Zane continued his interest in religious education by pursuing a masters and then Ph.D. in New Testament at Emory University. He loves the interaction of teaching in the classroom and his academic interests include the Pauline letters and the imagery of the church as family. Zane enjoys the ongoing engagement with missions and education provided through the various programs offered by the center. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia, where he and April stay busy wrangling their many children, though you’ll spot him on the ACU campus throughout the semester. Whenever free time presents itself, Zane appreciates catching up on lost sleep and enjoys all things related to art.
JOEL RUCH
Joel Ruch is the global service director for the Halbert Center for Missions and Global Service at ACU. Before coming to ACU, Joel and his wife, Jessica, were 14-years into a culturally immersive kingdom effort when they were shut out of their large East Asian host country. After spending two years trying to get back in, they returned to North America to begin serving through the Halbert Center. Joel has a B.A. and an M.A. from ACU’s College of Biblical Studies and an M.A. from Hope International University in California. He is fluent in Mandarin, loves helping others discover and experience life together in Jesus’s kingdom, and is ardent about women and non-Western Jesus-followers contributing their voices, cultural riches, and presence as fully equal participants in the kingdom (Matt 4:17–7:29; John 8:12, 31–32; and Rev 21:23–26). Joel and Jessica live in Abilene with their three children.
session information
In addition to opportunities for discussion and reflection led by Zane McGee and Joel Ruch, the mission community can look forward to the following sessions:
NATHAN NELSON
Pastor of Mission and Outreach, Bethany Community Church (Seattle, WA)
Session 1: “Local Outreach as Missions”
Session 2: “Short-Term Missions in Long-Term Relationships”
LARRY HENDERSON
Worldwide Witness Director (ACU)
Session 2 Case Studies: “Case Studies in Short-Term Missions”
OMAR PALAFOX
Professor, Department of Bible, Missions, and Ministry and Graduate School of Theology (ACU)
Session 3 Discussion: “A Reality Check on Long-Term Missions Approaches”
MARK & ALI KAISER
Founders and Directors of Crescimento Limpo (Itu, Brazil)
Session 3: “Relational Long-Term Missions”