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Articles 151 - 180 of 566
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From Rural To Urban: Critical Differentiations In Ministry Contexts Within Rural And Urban Environments, Conrad A. R. Vine
From Rural To Urban: Critical Differentiations In Ministry Contexts Within Rural And Urban Environments, Conrad A. R. Vine
Journal of Adventist Mission Studies
"This article seeks to delineate three critical dimensions of ministry that impact ministry strategies in predominantly rural and in predominantly urban contexts for AFM Front Line Workers (FLWs). First, the community contexts within rural and urban environments. Second, the ministry strategy considerations for FLWs in rural and urban environments. Third, personal factors impacting FLWs in rural and in urban environments. The article provides in summary form the three key critical dimensions of ministry that are shared with AFM FLWs during initial training and that are utilized post-launch by AFM FLWs with their supervisors when prayerfully demonstrating urban ministry strategies within …
Youth Participation In Urban Mission And Ministry, Michelet William
Youth Participation In Urban Mission And Ministry, Michelet William
Journal of Adventist Mission Studies
"The God of Scripture consistently called faithful youngsters to participate in his redemptive mission on earth. The mission of God is not only carried out by young men and women but also intentionally aims at reaching out to them. Drawing on biblical examples, this article advocates a youth-focused approach to urban ministry whereby young people are both actors and recipients of all activities. Youth participation is beneficial for society because their alienation is a cause of social and political disruption, of gang formation and criminal behavior in many contexts. Youth participation is beneficial for the church because, as reported in …
The Rise Of The Digital Neighbor: A Theoretical Concept For Mission Renewal In The Digital Age, Paulo C. Oliveira
The Rise Of The Digital Neighbor: A Theoretical Concept For Mission Renewal In The Digital Age, Paulo C. Oliveira
Journal of Adventist Mission Studies
"This paper deals with shifts in the concept of neighborhoods and communities. I propose that the field of social network studies is useful to aid missiological considerations in contemporary global societies. Furthermore, I argue for the thesis that current social shifts require mission studies to move from notions of homogeneous or quasi-homogenous geographically bounded groups, neighborhoods, and communities towards giving attention to the networks of networked individuals—the digital neighbor. The underlying question addressed is, How does this redefinition of community foster mission renewal in the digital age? Answering this question supplies rudimentary material to build a theoretical concept of mission …
Short Term Travel To The Holy Land: Questions Of Potency, Pilgrimage, And Potential, Sherene Hattingh, Phil Fitzsimmons, Paul Hattingh
Short Term Travel To The Holy Land: Questions Of Potency, Pilgrimage, And Potential, Sherene Hattingh, Phil Fitzsimmons, Paul Hattingh
Journal of Adventist Mission Studies
"There has been a significant impact on the two participants who took part in this research project. There is no doubt that this short-term travel to the Holy Land has resulted in transformative learning where both individuals experienced contextualizing through a visual perspective, which has enhanced and contributed to a deeper meaningful understanding of their personal and spiritual journey. The results show that the impact has been positive and that planning, group membership, and active engagement through reading and journaling have made this trip unlike any other. This study although limited to two related individuals from the same faith does …
Towards A Theology Of Bi-Vocational Mission With Missiological Applications To Creative Access Cities, Abner Perez Dizon
Towards A Theology Of Bi-Vocational Mission With Missiological Applications To Creative Access Cities, Abner Perez Dizon
Journal of Adventist Mission Studies
"Bi-vocational mission is not only an innovative and useful model to use in creative access cities. Even though this approach may not be for everyone, and even though Paul himself saw the need for church-supported mission, this chapter has shown that the model itself is biblical. In order for this approach to be effective, however, it needs to be grounded on a strong belief in the mission of God, an understanding of the Great Controversy, willingness to obey the Great Commission, an implementation of the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers, and a sound theology of work."
Urban Church Planting: Three Functional Shifts From The New Testament, Anthony Wagenersmith
Urban Church Planting: Three Functional Shifts From The New Testament, Anthony Wagenersmith
Journal of Adventist Mission Studies
"Indeed, the very pulse of Adventist ministry beats strongest through apostolic mission. A basic consideration of the practical and exegetical link between the second advent of Christ and the apostolic witness for Christ must generate significant shifts in thinking and practice. Describing these as functional shifts rather than paradigm shifts—to emphasize the connection between theology and practice—what better framework to reflect upon urban church planting than that of the New Testament Church. Looking through a disciple-making and church planting lens, one can be challenged by three functional shifts for urban mission today: from places to people, from performers to equippers, …
Toward A Post-Religious Urban Theology: The Missionary Movement Ethos In Secularized Contexts, Marcelo E. C. Dias
Toward A Post-Religious Urban Theology: The Missionary Movement Ethos In Secularized Contexts, Marcelo E. C. Dias
Journal of Adventist Mission Studies
"An urban theology should be the center of conversation with the current post-religious context that takes into serious consideration people’s search for meaning and the new spirituality in this age. Perhaps popular culture can give clues about contemporary meaning-making as well (Shannahan 2014:207-217). On the one side, history assures that an urban setting does not need to feel like a threat to the Christian faith. “Early Christianity was primarily an urban movement. The original meaning of the word pagan (paganus) was ‘rural person,’ or more colloquially ‘country hick.’ It came to have religious meaning because after Christianity had triumphed in …
A Theological Framework For Adventist Urban Ministry, Kelvin Okey Onongha
A Theological Framework For Adventist Urban Ministry, Kelvin Okey Onongha
Journal of Adventist Mission Studies
"Early Adventism typically advocated the need to flee the cities for simple rural living because cities were regarded as Babylon (Jer 50:1-3; Rev 18:2-3). Consequently, in those regions of the world where the church’s presence has the longest history with sometimes larger congregations, many church properties are located in the countryside or rural areas. A major reason why the Adventist Church is only so lately coming to terms with the exigency of urban ministries is the deficiency of a theological framework for engagement in missions to the cities. Stone (2015) agrees that the failure to develop a theology for the …
Multicultural Urban Ministry In The Post-Apartheid Era:A Search For Identity And Unity In Diversity, Diói Cruz
Multicultural Urban Ministry In The Post-Apartheid Era:A Search For Identity And Unity In Diversity, Diói Cruz
Journal of Adventist Mission Studies
"This article explores the cultural-ethnic diversity of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in South Africa and its development in urban centers since the end of Apartheid. It examines challenges and opportunities for the transition to multicultural churches, and concludes by arguing that the culture of racial prejudice and suspicion can only be eradicated with the weapons of trust, faith, hope, and love."
Missional Apologetics: Keys To The Hearts And Minds Of Urban Young Professionals?, Sven Östring
Missional Apologetics: Keys To The Hearts And Minds Of Urban Young Professionals?, Sven Östring
Journal of Adventist Mission Studies
"research study in Australia indicated that one of the top spiritual repellents for non-Christian people is a focus on philosophical discussions and debating ideas. In spite of this, a significant percentage of Australian young professionals are still willing to consider changing their worldview if presented with the right circumstances and evidence. This article explores how apologetic material can missionally connect with the hearts and minds of urban young professionals. The Greater Sydney Conference and the South Pacific Division Adventist Media Center developed this approach based on a preliminary qualitative research study of an evangelistic series."
Country Versus City Tension: Historical And Socio-Religious Context Of The Development Of Adventist Understanding Of Urban Mission, Allan Novaes, Wendel Lima
Country Versus City Tension: Historical And Socio-Religious Context Of The Development Of Adventist Understanding Of Urban Mission, Allan Novaes, Wendel Lima
Journal of Adventist Mission Studies
"The Adventist engagement in the evangelization of cities has been timid and, for many decades, even discouraged by an anti-urban attitude. This mentality of criticism and resistance to the cities was largely sustained through an incomplete and/or misreading of Ellen White’s writings (Jones 2013:716). This article seeks to describe Adventist rural/urban tension, the historical and social context of its origin, and how it has been softened by a contrasting broader view of Adventist urban mission."
Discipleship In Urban Contexts, Boubakar Sanou
Discipleship In Urban Contexts, Boubakar Sanou
Journal of Adventist Mission Studies
"With the current state of discipleship, congregations can no longer afford to rely on their church-centered programs as their main means of growing disciples. Programs do not disciple people; people disciple people. Becoming authentic communities who create intentional spaces where believers of all ages and stages in their faith journey can effectively and meaningfully connect with one another and with God, grow spiritually, and reach out to the world around them is of vital importance in urban discipleship. With the imperative to share the gospel in the cities, urban congregations need to objectively do their own discipleship reality assessment in …
In These Cities Are Jewels: Lessons From Adventist City Missions—1880–1915, David J. B. Trim
In These Cities Are Jewels: Lessons From Adventist City Missions—1880–1915, David J. B. Trim
Journal of Adventist Mission Studies
"As Ellen White’s words of 1909 imply, urban-focused mission has a long history in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It goes beyond the work of Dr. John Harvey Kellogg in Chicago, the one exemplar which is reasonably well known but which comes with proverbial baggage, given what happened with Kellogg. I will touch on the Chicago mission, but it was not unique; in fact, our pioneers established many city missions. And while they stressed practical experience they also valued analytical approaches. For example, in 1910, the first two days of the annual council were given over to what was essentially a …
"The Challenge Of Urban Mission", Bruce L. Bauer
"The Challenge Of Urban Mission", Bruce L. Bauer
Journal of Adventist Mission Studies
"Many Adventists struggle with an anti-city bias for a number of reasons. High on the list of reasons is the book, Country Living, published in 1946 in which a very unbalance a view of what Ellen White had to say about cities was presented as the ideal. In the article “Country Versus City Tension: Historical and Socio-religious Context of the Development of Adventist Understanding of Urban Mission” Allan Novaes and Wendel Lima provide excellent background material that should help Adventists better understand the basis of that anti-city bias."
Editorial, Bruce L. Bauer
Editorial, Bruce L. Bauer
Journal of Adventist Mission Studies
"This issue of the Journal of Adventist Mission Studies focuses on case studies of various attempts to communicate God’s message in understandable ways in a variety of cultural settings. One of the challenges facing the Seventh-day Adventist Church is that since it was founded and grew out of a North American environment most church practices, ceremonies, art, architecture, methods for presenting the gospel, appropriate dress, and many other areas of Adventist life are dominated by the American way of doing things."
Thai Contextualized Art, Gregory P. Whitsett, Amy Whitsett
Thai Contextualized Art, Gregory P. Whitsett, Amy Whitsett
Journal of Adventist Mission Studies
"In the 1980s, a set of four murals depicting four specific and unique Adventist teachings and beliefs was commissioned by Pastor Clifton Maberly who was serving as a missionary in Thailand. His goal was to have these events depicted in a medium familiar to local Thai buddhists so they could wrestle with the new concepts without being distracted by Western art styles. His hope was that if Jesus, Satan and the angels could be depicted using characters similar to those already familiar to the Thai, the viewer would be better able to focus on and understand the truth portrayed in …
Jewelry In Hinduism: A Mission Challenge, J. L. Samir
Jewelry In Hinduism: A Mission Challenge, J. L. Samir
Journal of Adventist Mission Studies
"The issue of adornment and jewelry is a point of contention between Western and Eastern Christians. When Hindus accept Jesus Christ, they are expected to dispose of all adornment and jewelry before becoming members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. To Hindus, this is one of the confirmations that the Seventh-day Adventist Church is an agent of Western culture trying to replace their Eastern values and way of life. The Adventist position on adornment and jewelry is a challenge to many Hindus because of the different cultural ideals and meanings behind adornment within the South Asian context."
Critical Contextualization: A Case Study Of Lobi Funeral Rites In Burkina Faso, Boubakar Sanou
Critical Contextualization: A Case Study Of Lobi Funeral Rites In Burkina Faso, Boubakar Sanou
Journal of Adventist Mission Studies
"It is very difficult to be relevant in our Christian witness if we do not know and address the issues with which the people we are trying to reach are wrestling. For the gospel to meaningfully engage recipients with the purpose of transforming their worldviews, Christian witnesses must always encode the biblical message in such a way that its content remains faithful to biblical principles but also makes sense to its receptors in terms of its relevance. Such new experiences often challenge them in their social location. The rationale for this is that because the gospel is always received from …
Can I Get An “Amen”? Affirming The Contemporary Ghanaian Usage Of Amen, Agana-Nsiire Agana
Can I Get An “Amen”? Affirming The Contemporary Ghanaian Usage Of Amen, Agana-Nsiire Agana
Journal of Adventist Mission Studies
"Altogether then, the claim that amen as used in the instances we have discussed is inappropriate is found to lack firm biblical or etymological foundation. Neither does the suggestion that if it is a vestige of African worship culture then that provides a reasonable ground for thus condemning it. While it is recognized that amen is often babbled from mental laxity, it is suggested that the problem lies not in amen, as a word, but in the person, as a worshipper. Amen is a rich word, capable of communicating a spectrum of positive human intellectual and emotional responses to worship; …
African Christian Leadership: Realities, Opportunities, And Impact, David K. Penno
African Christian Leadership: Realities, Opportunities, And Impact, David K. Penno
Journal of Adventist Mission Studies
"African Christian Leadership is a well-organized, well-written report on some very significant research about leaders and the practice of leadership in the African church. The methodology allowed the researcher to hear from a broad spectrum of African Christians. One criticism of the study could be that a sample of church leaders and members in majority Muslim countries of North Africa were not included in the study, but this might be understandable due to the already vast scope of the project. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in leadership in the Christian context, and especially as practiced …
Case Study: How The Apostle John Contextualized, Jon Paulien
Case Study: How The Apostle John Contextualized, Jon Paulien
Journal of Adventist Mission Studies
"Three aspects of the Prologue and its background in the Gospel of John make it clear that in the Bible God meets people where they are. He inspires ordinary human beings to write in the language, culture, and concepts that would be familiar to their original readers. First, John made use, for example, of an early Christian hymn to express his exalted insights into the nature and character of Jesus Christ. Second, he also structured the Prologue in ways that would make logical sense to a Jewish reader. Third, he gave Jesus a title (the Word) that was far better …
Bulugo Vine Story: Redemptive Analogy Case Study, John Holbrook
Bulugo Vine Story: Redemptive Analogy Case Study, John Holbrook
Journal of Adventist Mission Studies
"Shaw indicates that rather than contextualizing the missionary’s perception of Christianity to make it understandable within the local people’s culture, the missionary should facilitate the people themselves discovering God from within their own cultural context ... In my own mission experience, I have found this approach to be valid and preferable, once there are local believers, and as God begins to develop leaders from among them. At times, cultural dynamics or God’s preparation of an unreached people group allow them to discover God without a great deal of intervention on the missionary’s part. However, in the beginning stages, it is …
Sinolization Of Christianity: Increasing Gospel Relevance Or Distorting The Gospel Message?, L. Asher
Sinolization Of Christianity: Increasing Gospel Relevance Or Distorting The Gospel Message?, L. Asher
Journal of Adventist Mission Studies
"This study aims to address the concept of the Sinolization of Christianity in light of cultural studies, biblical principles, and the Great Controversy perspective. It will then set forth some ideas on how it could affect the communication of the gospel in the Chinese context. It will attempt to see if Sinolization makes the gospel more relevant or further distorts the Christian message through the lens of the Chinese culture. The answers to these questions should help Chinese Christians, and especially Adventists, better understand their mission in China."
The Reality And The Apparent: Worldviews And Missiological Strategies, Cristian Dumitrescu, Hatsarmaveth Venkaya
The Reality And The Apparent: Worldviews And Missiological Strategies, Cristian Dumitrescu, Hatsarmaveth Venkaya
Journal of Adventist Mission Studies
"Worldview is an abstract concept used for identifying a set of assumptions people use to organize their view of reality. Conceptualizing worldview is a challenging task. Nobody has seen a worldview, but everybody has one. A worldview informs a person’s interpretation of reality, their cosmology, and determines their actions and reactions. Charles Kraft (1988) considers worldview as the “center control box” of a person’s life and communal culture. Most assumptions reflect one’s unverified beliefs and answers to fundamental questions, such as who they are and who others are, how people should relate to each other, what causes things to happen, …
Reaching Thai Buddhists And Those With A Background In Thai Buddhist Beliefs, Warren A. Shipton, Jared Wright, Tonya Wright, Nilubon Srisai
Reaching Thai Buddhists And Those With A Background In Thai Buddhist Beliefs, Warren A. Shipton, Jared Wright, Tonya Wright, Nilubon Srisai
Journal of Adventist Mission Studies
"One of the greatest challenges for those working across cultures is to understand the unique features of the host culture and the dominant religious beliefs and practices found in the society represented. If this is to be done acceptably, the written and spoken language must be mastered and personal friendships formed with community members. Much damage has been done by Western missionaries arriving with preconceived ideas on evangelism taken from their home country and with an attitude of being holders of superior knowledge in many areas of thought beyond that held by the host culture. Catholic missionary activity has been …
Hmong Statement Of Belief: A Case Study, Jon L. Dybdahl
Hmong Statement Of Belief: A Case Study, Jon L. Dybdahl
Journal of Adventist Mission Studies
"This case study exploring the Hmong statement of belief is more than just a story. Embedded and implied in it are certain key missiological principles which should be considered any time a particular belief statement is framed. Specifically, it assumes that the gospel must be presented in ways that are culturally relevant. Responsible communicators must adapt their message so that it can communicate the gospel to their intended audience with clarity and power. A missionary must prayerfully consider both how the truths of Scripture can be best articulated in a new cultural context, as well as just what truths ought …
Contextualization Of An Indian Christian Marriage: A Case Study, Chanchal Gayen
Contextualization Of An Indian Christian Marriage: A Case Study, Chanchal Gayen
Journal of Adventist Mission Studies
"In this case study the Pheras ceremony was reinterpreted, but many of the cultural elements were retained. Biblical meanings were substituted for the cultural meanings that went against the teachings of Scripture. When doing this type of contextualization it is important to constantly pour Christian meanings into the cultural practice. Good biblical teaching is the antidote to syncretism, a danger that is always present while doing contextualization. The local people appreciated the fact that the wedding ceremony incorporated local cultural elements that were important to them. This approach also communicated the idea that Christianity is not a Western religion, but …