Perspectives on the World Christian Movement

Perspectives on the World Christian Movement is a semester-long, one-night-per-week world missions course that can be taken for personal enrichment or college credit. It is taught in-person at locations across the U.S.A. as well as online. For schedules of classes and enrollment information, go to Perspectives study program.

Lesson 8:

PowerPoint: Pioneers of the World Christian Movement
Class handout
World Missions History crossword puzzle
Readers' theatre script on Lottie Moon, C.T. Studd, and Hudson Taylor and his three wives

Lesson 12: Christian Community Development

PowerPoint: Christian Community Development
Onions and Wives Case Study
Bible passages on caring for the poor

End-of-course integrative project

An end-of-the-course project in which students describe a design for reaching a people group currently heretofore unreached by the Gospel

This project asks you to apply principles learned in the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement course to a specific people group.

While recognizing that the availability of information on various people groups will vary widely and that students themselves will have different interests and strengths, the goal is for the project writers to demonstrate the ability to recall and apply the concepts they have been taught through the Perspectives course.

Each part of the paper is worth about 15 points, with the timeline being given a bit more weight.

Part 1 - Why this people now?: Begin with the rationale (historical, biblical, and strategic) for focusing on your chosen people group. Which cultural boundaries define this particular people group? Re-state the case for pioneer work among groups without an indigenous church.; Concepts from Lessons 1 - 9: Biblical and Historical perspectives
Part 2 - Understanding your people: Describe the culture of the chosen people group. How will this culture be engaged by the evangelism and church-planting approaches you are advocating?; Concepts primarily from Lesson 10: How shall they hear?
Part 3 - Mobilizing needed missionaries: From what sources will you draw a missionary force? Identify viable roles that need to be filled for an effective relational engagement of this people group.; Concepts primarily from Lesson 11: Building bridges of love
Part 4- Development and resource mobilization: Describe the needs of this people group that could serve as avenues for engagement. Answer the question: What resources could be utilized to address the needs of this people? Creativity, insight, and breadth of proposals are important.; Concepts from Strategic section: especially lesson 12 on Christian Community Development
Part 5 - Envisioning a multiplying church planting movement: Envision culturally appropriate responses to the presentation of the gospel. What would it look like if this people group were to follow Christ in ways meaningful to them? How might this movement be different from one in the culture from which you will be sending missionaries?; Concepts primarily from Lesson 13: Spontaneous multiplication of churches
Part 6 - Put it all together on a timeline: Lay out a scenario for reaching this people group with a culturally relevant church planting movement. Don't be overly optimistic in your time frames. Take into consideration the complexities of starting church planting movements, the obstacles within and outside of the people group, the roles outsiders will need to play, and the long-term need for partnership.; Concepts from Lesson 14: Pioneer church planting

Distractions that can cost you points

Mechanical errors in the paper (proofreading failures involving spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and improper footnoting).
Weakness in composition, persuasive phraseology, sentence and paragraph structure
Inadequacy in documenting sources. Acknowledgment of information sources should be made even if complete bibliographic information is not available. Credit students need additional research to complement the profiles provided. Nine or more items comprise an adequate bibliography. A strong bibliography will have 15 or more items. Rule of thumb: Papers should have at least one documented citation per page.

What about length?

Certificate students should write a few paragraphs on the first five parts for a total of 5 pages (add 1-2 pages for each additional student on the project team).
Undergraduates should submit about two pages per part for a total of 10-12 pages (add 2-3 pages for each additional student on the project team).
Graduate students more thoroughly explore each part for a total of 16-18 pages (add 4-5 pages for each additional student on the project team).

-- Howard Culbertson,

Afterword

"Perspectives on the World Christian Movement" is a comprehensive course that explores the global mission of Christianity from various perspectives. Developed by the U.S. Center for World Mission, this course delves into the historical, cultural, theological, and strategic aspects of Christian missions. It covers the biblical basis for missions, the spread of Christianity throughout history, cross-cultural communication, contextualization, and the challenges and opportunities in contemporary global missions. Taught by experts in the field, the course encourages participants to critically engage with different perspectives and worldviews, fostering a deeper understanding of the diverse contexts in which the Chufch carries out its mission. Through lectures, readings, discussions, and practical application, participants gain insight into the complexities of global missions and are challenged to actively participate in advancing the Christian faith worldwide.