Mission Work: Old Ways vs New Possibilities
Several times in the last few years, I have listened to reports from various bishops and high-end church leaders concerning their visits to Africa. Some have visited Ethiopia, some Kenya, and some Tanzania.
They travel at their denomination’s expense. They return with inspiring reports of baptizing hundreds of babies and meeting church leaders.
They give these reports because they want us, here in the United States, to give offerings to these “approved” mission efforts in other parts of the world. They want us to sense that their denomination is actively engaged in the universal Christian mission to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every nation.
This approach to mission work has decades of experience behind it. It also has decades of pre-social media traditions dimly lighting the way.
Is continuing this style of mission work effective for today’s world?
We serve an interconnected world. Sending official denominational representatives for on-site visits may once have been the only way for congregations to interact with mission efforts overseas.
Today, each individual has the power to connect. If the Church does not harness the power of the individual using social media tools for world mission, we are failing in our stewardship of possibilities.
Each congregation and its members have the power to communicate daily with Christians around the world. No intermediary is needed.
We can share ideas and first-hand accounts of our faith journeys. The exchange can be very personal — they with us and we with them.
A forward-thinking denomination would be working to create their own online mission communities. That would be providing a service many direct benefits. They don’t have to reinvent the wheel. They can simply harness the social media platform that suits them best.
The money spent on junkets might be better spent in building these social network circles.
It would bring new life into mission work.
2×2 is experimenting with this concept now. We correspond with several such mission ventures. We identify ourselves as Lutheran, but we’ve found no need to dwell on denominational distinctions.
As a result of our online outreach, we have first-hand reports of their work, almost daily — not just on mission Sunday. We get firsthand news! Our friends in Pakistan shared that a Lutheran Church in their city had burned as a result of recent violence. We prayed for them during the unrest. Two weeks ago they sent word that they were holding a prayer meeting for us as we faced Hurricane Sandy.
We know many in these fellowships by name. We exchange photos. We pray for one another and offer ideas and strategies. The exchange is truly two-way.
In case you are wondering, we have never sent money.
What will grow from this initiative remains to be seen, but we know this. There’s no holding us back.