Crossword Puzzle 11: World missions philosophy and strategy
Based on material in chapter 11, Discovering Missions by Gailey and
Culbertson
Challenge: Can you solve this puzzle even if you do not have the book? If not, then
use this online PDF of Discovering
Missions to find the answers!
Word document with puzzle
grid
| ACROSS |
| 2 | | A tentmaker missionary
to China whose lack of an accountability system for his native evangelists allowed a lot of fraud
to take place |
| 4 | | A label for all those
people in the world with access to the gospel but who have not accepted it or else have rejected
it |
| 5 | | Spanish missionary in the
1500 who visited the holds of every slave ship arriving in Colombia from Africa |
| 6 | | A missionary who
emphasized the developing of reproducing chains of churches (daughter, granddaughter,
great-granddaughter congregations) |
| 9 | | Church leader in the first
part of the 20th century who said there was saving truth in all religions and that social ministry
was all that churches should be doing |
| 10 | | Missionary in the early
1900s known as the "apostle to the Muslims" |
| 11 | | One of the men who
came up with the three-self
formula |
| DOWN |
| 1 | | A way of labeling that
part of the world's population that has never heard the gospel |
| 3 | | A missionary who died
kneeling by his bed at 4 a.m. while on a journey attempting to map the interior of Africa for
future missionary work |
| 7 | | The missiologist who urged
church leaders to embrace aggressive church planting as a primary missionary strategy |
| 8 | | The missiologist who got
the Church to talking about the 10/40
Window |
Crossword puzzle answers
-- Howard Culbertson,
Based on material in the book Discovering Missions by
Charles Gailey and Howard Culbertson, published by what is now known as The Foundry
"I am not a huge fan of crosswords, but I like how these are basically a review of
what we read. Thank you." -- Andrew T., Nazarene Bible College student
Contrasting philosophies and strategies
People involved in cross-cultural missions are guided by a wide range of philosophies and
strategic approaches. Here are some of the contrasting points of view:
- Incarnational Ministry vs. Proclamation:
- Incarnational Ministry: This approach emphasizes living among the people, learning their
language and culture, and building relationships as a means to share the gospel. Practitioners often
focus on meeting tangible needs first before sharing spiritual truths.
- Proclamation: This approach prioritizes boldly proclaiming the gospel message through
preaching, teaching, and evangelistic events. It may involve less emphasis on cultural adaptation
and more on delivering the gospel message clearly and directly.
- Contextualization vs. Preservation:
- Contextualization: This approach seeks to adapt the message and methods of mission
work to fit the cultural context of the target community. It emphasizes finding points of
connection between the gospel and local culture, customs, and worldview.
- Preservation: This approach aims to preserve the purity and integrity of the gospel message
and may be cautious about contextualization, fearing syncretism or dilution of biblical truths.
Practitioners may prioritize maintaining doctrinal purity over cultural relevance.
- Relational vs. Strategic:
- Relational: This approach prioritizes building deep relationships with individuals and
communities as a foundation for sharing the gospel. It often involves long-term commitment,
patience, and trust-building.
- Strategic: This approach focuses on strategic planning, resource allocation, and measurable
goals in mission work. It may employ methods such as mass evangelism, media outreach, or
church planting movements, with an emphasis on fruitfulness and scalability
- Empowering People vs. Helping Them:
- Empowerment: This approach seeks to empower local believers and communities to take
ownership of their own spiritual growth, leadership development, and mission outreach. It
emphasizes discipleship, training, and equipping.
- Helping People: This approach unintentionally fosters dependence on outside resources or
leadership, which can hinder the long-term sustainability and growth of local churches and
ministries.
- Indigenous Leadership vs. Long-Term Foreign Leadership:
- Indigenous Leadership: This approach prioritizes raising up and empowering local
leaders to take leadership roles in church planting, discipleship, and ministry oversight. It values
local knowledge, cultural understanding, and ownership of ministries.
- Long-Term Foreign Leadership: This approach involves sending people from outside the
target culture to lead or oversee mission work. While this approach may bring expertise or
resources, it can also be hampered by cultural insensitivity or lack of understanding.
These philosophies and strategies are not mutually exclusive, and many missions organizations
and practitioners may incorporate elements from various approaches depending on the specific
context and goals of their mission work.
Crossword puzzles: Click on numbers to retrieve sheets
1
|
2 | 3
| 4 | 5
| 6 | 7
| 8 | 9
| 10 | 11
|
12 | 13 |
14
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