The concept of a global evangelism strategy is the most exciting idea that came out of the Rio Annual Council. It caught my imagination immediately.

Shortly after reading about Elder Wilson's appeal for a global strategy, I traveled for more than a month in the Far Eastern Division, visiting with administrators, ministerial secretaries, and pastors about the successes and challenges they see in their field. Much of what I learned reemphasized the need for a global strategy.

Many of the stories I heard in the Philippines, for example, demonstrate that the Holy Spirit is active in producing an abundant harvest on those islands. But other reports indicated that even where success is greatest, there is a need for an overall strategy to assure that the gospel reaches every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.

One mission president reported that 90 percent of his members come from the ethnic minorities of his region. Because of this it is very difficult to win converts among the predominant tribes. Another president called for us to address the fact that most of our members are poor and that we have no meaningful outreach to the elite.

In calling for a global strategy for mission, Elder Wilson noted that 2.5 billion people in the world have never heard of Jesus and that Christianity has never touched 15,000 of the 25,000 known people groups. Further research, he told me recently, has led him to believe that by focusing attention on about 435 groups we could open the way for outreach to all people groups.

The dawning of these facts upon the consciousness of our church may be likened to the awakening that came to the early church when they realized that their mission included Gentiles as well as Jews.

A similar awakening had to come to our early Adventist leaders, who for years after 1844 preached only to Adventists and until the 1870s believed that Christ's commission to reach every people could be fulfilled within the borders of the United States.

Each of the aforementioned awakenings was followed by a flurry of missionary activity that led to rapid spread of the church's message in previously unreached territory.

It is time for another great awakening and a new rise of missionary zeal. We say that we are in the time of harvest, and in many areas we are. But there are vast regions where the gospel seed has not yet been sowed. We must not ignore these in our zeal to reap where our goals can be easily fulfilled.

We need Spirit-guided planning for a global mission strategy. And our strategy must address the following important issues:

1. Our proclivity for focusing our attention on baptisms may hinder the fulfillment of Christ's commission by giving us a sense of achievement despite our neglect of preaching the gospel where baptisms do not come easily.

2. The need for deeper commitment to long-term missionary service by laity and church employees alike. Two thirds of the missionaries returning permanently to North America since 1967 had been in the field six years or less. Developing and implementing plans for cross-cultural mission takes time. Laity can play a large part here by entering a neglected area to practice a trade or profession.

3. The need for an office at the General Conference level to oversee and coordinate world missions, to assure that resources are allocated to needy as well as productive areas.

4. The need to examine our priorities in missionary assignments. How much can we afford to spend on maintaining institutions, and how much should be allotted to frontline evangelism? In 1974 Gottfried Oosterwal reported that only 2 percent of missionaries went to the front line.*

5. The need for a restructuring of our time-usage priorities. The fulfillment of the gospel commission must take preeminence in the minds of leaders and laity to the point that we cease agitating minor theological, cultural, financial, and pol icy matters and bend our full energies to the task at hand. Kenneth R. Wade.


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June 1987

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