Description:Missionaries must know God, be able to relate well to other people, understand and engage with another culture, and be able to use the Bible in a way that informs all aspects of their lives and ministries. Missionary training must address each of these areas if it is to help Christians to be effective in taking the gospel to the ends of the earth. Effective training has been shown to prevent people from prematurely leaving the field. It also reduces the danger of cross-cultural workers uncritically exporting culturally bound forms of Christianity. This book details four key areas that every missionary training program, whatever its context, must focus on developing. It shows how these can be holistically addressed in a learning community where trainers and trainees engage in cross-cultural ministry together.
Authors:
Evelyn and Richard Hibbert were pioneer church planters among Turkish speakers in Bulgaria. They were involved in discipling people from other cultures and training intercultural disciplers for more than thirty years. Richard was the director of the SMBC Centre for Cross-Cultural Mission (2007-2020).
Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments
Preface
Chapter 1. The Need for and Purpose of Specialized Missionary Training
Chapter 2. Experiencing God
Chapter 3. Using the Bible
Chapter 4. Engaging with Culture
Chapter 5. Relating to People
Chapter 6. Building on Past Experience in Missionary Training
Chapter 7. Applying Biblical Principles to the Process of Missionary Training
Chapter 8. Steps in Designing Missionary Training
Chapter 9. Putting the Steps Into Practice: A Case Study
Chapter 10. Implementing Missionary Training
Afterword
Appendix 1 Units of Competency
Appendix 2 Pre-Field Program—Sample Weekly Timetable
Appendix 3 Ethnographic Questions
Appendix 4 Learning Language and Culture: Performance Criteria and Evidence of Competency
Appendix 5 Seminar Outlines
Bibliography
Also by Evelyn and Richard Hibbert: Leading Multicultural Teams, Walking Together on the Jesus Road and Multiplying Leaders in Intercultural Contexts
