Alliance for Vulnerable Mission
March 6th, 2008
That there should be some missionaries from the West whose ministries are conducted in the language of the people being reached, without use of outside financial subsidy.
Contact: jim@vulnerablemission.com
Jim is planning to visit colleges and institutions training missionaries and Christian development workers in Europe / USA in late 2010. For details of these visits see: VISITS
To see reports on recent conferences: REPORTS
To participate in a list-serve discussion of vulnerable mission issues by email click here: PEARL
To receive the monthly AVM bulletin, send an email to: jim@vulnerablemission.com
Es gibt auch ein diskussion ueber vulnerable mission auf Deutsch: PERLE
Introduction to AVM (Alliance for Vulnerable Mission)
The Alliance for Vulnerable Mission (formed 2007) seeks to promote Christian mission to non-Western people using a Biblical model of ‘vulnerability’, more precisely defined as – using the language of the people being reached, and not using foreign funds to support one’s key project or ministry. This is a reaction to many problems caused on the mission field by the use of foreign languages and a lot of mission funds in furthering projects. It is also a ‘normalisation’ of the foreign field – encouraging foreign mission by the West to occur on the same basis as it does ‘at home’ where church ministry (almost?) invariably occurs in local languages and building on locally available resources. A series of conferences were arranged to be held in the USA and Europe in 2009 to further these aims. The conferences have now been completed.
The rationale for the advocating of these policies is given in many papers collected especially at the following two locations:
- contributions by various authors
- articles by Jim Harries, chairman to the Alliance for Vulnerable Mission
Some of the above articles are already published in Journals including: Missiology: an international review, Exchange: Journal of Missiological and Ecumenical Research, Evangelical Review of Theology and Lausanne World Pulse. More articles are sought for publishing on the web and/or presenting at the conferences.
In brief, vulnerable mission is a means of over-coming widespread problems in mission (and development activities) in the two-thirds world, such as the creation of unhealthy dependency, neo-colonialism, the prosperity gospel, mission as secularisation, corruption and chronic under-development. These issues are avoided because by confining themselves to the use of local languages and resources missionaries ensure that their activities are appropriately contextualised. The use of local languages in ministry combined with ‘missionary poverty’ (the two key principles of AVM) enforces humility and operation on a ‘level playing field’ with local people. Once these two conditions have been given as foundation, then ‘Vulnerable Mission’ can be extremely wide in its expression and can certainly include: provision of care for the sick, faith healing, theological and other education, church planting, literacy, water projects and so on.
AVM already has partners in many churches, missions and schools including SIL (Summer Institute of Linguistics), SIM (Serving in Mission), Church of God (Anderson), WEA (World Evangelical Alliance), WCIU (William Carey International University), WMA (World Mission Associates), GMI (Global Mapping International), Bibelseminar Königsfeld, and many more. More partnerships and affiliations are sought. Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox churches, groups and individuals are welcomed. The AVM is led by a small executive board made up of Dr. Stan Nussbaum, (Global Mapping International), Jay Gary, (Regent University) and Dr. Jim Harries (Chair, Missionary in Western Kenya). This is supported by an Advisory Board that includes: Rev. Hans Schultheiss, (Bibelseminar Königsfeld), Rev. Dr. Steve Skuce, (Cliff College), Glenn Schwartz (World Mission Associates), Steve Knight (Serving in Mission) and others (see below).
Readers are encouraged to peruse the above websites. Those with limited time for reading, please look at these six short articles: Vulnerable Mission
For discussions already engaged in and recorded by Jim Harries with people over vulnerable mission see: Discussions
See the articles below for insights into ‘Vulnerable Mission’ (posted in 2008 – more up to date articles below)
Race, Language and Traps in African Development
Difficult Questions of Giving – A Response
Frontier Missions and Pragmatics
The Effectiveness of Short Term Missionaries to Africa
Language in education, mission and development in Africa: Appeals for local tongues and local contexts
The Immorality of Aid to the Third World
Is there a cure for Dependency among Mission-Established Churches?
A new book on mission ‘dependency’ available over the web
You mean What?! Seen in a Different Light
Vulnerability Inherent in Bible Translation Fringe Practice?
Poverty and Mission (See listing and click on ‘Poverty and Mission’)
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Board Members
Dr. Jim Harries. Chairman of the board. Missionary in East Africa.
Dr. Stan Nussbaum. Board member. Staff missiologist for Global Mapping International.
Glenn Schwartz. Advisor to the Board. Director of World Mission Associates.
Dr. Jay Gary. Advisory board Member. Peakfutures consulting, and lecturer at Regent University.
Steve Knight. Advisor to the Board. Communications Coordinator, SIM international office
Hans Schultheiss. Advisor to the Board. Lecturer in Missions, Bibelseminar Königsfeld, Germany
Rev Dr Stephen Skuce. Advisor to the Board. An Irish Methodist minister and former mission partner in Sri Lanka, currently teaches missiology at Cliff College, Derbyshire, England.
one born in Argentina). Was member of Mennonite Team in northern
Argentina, Chaco province, since 1995. The team serves in acompaning and
strengtening the independent indigenous churches and their communities
(Bible translation, land rights, bilingual education, teachers training,
visits to jails, bible circles, visits to churches).
Since 2008 reentry in Germany as a member of the ecumenic “Reichelsheim
Community” (www.ojc.de).
Wayne Burgess, advisor to the board, is a medical doctor who, as a result of his diverse mission experience, now wants to promote mission in the 'vulnerable way'.
Executive Board Member, director for National Mission Movements for Partners International, consultant for cross-cultural mission partnerships.
A few more places to look:
Momentum Mission magazine – an interesting read for all kinds of mission issues.
Indigenous knowledge research finds that local languages are more effective
Looking at Intercultural Communication
A ‘New Friars’ look at mission and poverty
Thoughts on anticipated outcome of setting up a new theological teaching programme in Africa.