Vulnerable Mission

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

To join the Lausanne global conversation on mission (many issues including vulnerable mission): LAUSANNE GLOBAL CONVERSATION

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Introduction to AVM (Alliance for Vulnerable Mission)

The AVM (Alliance for Vulnerable Mission) seeks to encourage wider use of mission and development strategies that depend on locally available resources and local languages.

These strategies are “vulnerable” in the sense that they do not have fringe benefits built into them, deliberately or otherwise. They will therefore fail unless or until there is strong local confidence in their spiritual or developmental value. The missionary or development worker will allow them to fail rather than prop them up with outside money.

“Vulnerable mission” may be seen as part of the movement toward contextualization of the Gospel of Jesus, which we regard as the theory of many and the practice of few. We would like to see more people take the risks of contextualization and vulnerability in order to reap the rewards that only come to those who value local resources and invest in local languages.

If local tools seem slow or weak by comparison with foreign money and English (Spanish etc. – European language), then we say with a wise missionary of long ago, “When I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor. 12:10) While vulnerable mission may not be the only biblical approach to mission, it deserves much more attention than it has been getting. Let’s talk.

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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), Alex Araujo, (Partners International) 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) 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

Intercultural Dialogue 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

My Experience Vulnerability Inherent in Bible Translation

Fringe Practice?

Poverty and Mission

(See listing and click on ‘Poverty and Mission’)

‘Comments’ ………………………………………………………………………..

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.

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.

Frank Paul. Until recently a missionary in the Chaco in Argentina, now with the community of 'Young Christians on the Offensive' in Germany.

Frank Paul. Advisor to the Board. Married with Ute, 3 children (age 21, 18 and 16, the lastone born in Argentina). Was member of Mennonite Team in northernArgentina, Chaco province, since 1995. The team serves in acompaning andstrengtening 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 "ReichelsheimCommunity" (www.ojc.de).

Wayne Burgess is a medical doctor who, as a result of his diverse mission experience, now wants to promote mission in the 'vulnerable way'.

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'.