Central Area Spring 2016 Syllabus Core Course: Missions and Evangelism: An Introduction to Missiology Instructors: Revs. Stephen and Sheila Heneise (207) 812-2221 ssheneise@gmail.com Location: Time: Dates: FBC Belfast Thursday evenings, 6-9 p.m. March 3, 10, 17, 31; April 7, 14, 21, and 28. The schedule may be revised in the first class if necessary for student convenience. No Required Text There will be readings in a variety of available mission and evangelism books and periodicals as well as online research. Course Overview: This course will explore the theory and practice of the church s mission in the world including both global outreach ministries and missional endeavors in our local church context. Topics of study will include missionary service, personal evangelism, mass evangelism, short term missions, church plants, and ministries of social concern. Objectives: 1. Students will become familiar with ABCOM missionaries, their appointment and support, and be able to share this information with their churches. 2. Students will have a working knowledge of resources for contemporary missions, missional church, and evangelism. 3. Students will be able to plan a short term mission trip or an evangelistic event. 4. Students will have a working knowledge of the history of modern missions and the biblical and theological foundations. 5. Students will be able to inform a churches response to a local social justice issue in their church and/or community.
Class 1: Six American Baptist International Ministries Missionary Units supported by ABCOM. The class will review profiles of the missionaries and become familiar with their ministry in their countries of service through videos, journals, and newsletters. Other topics for discussion will include the process of missionary appointment, salary support, and other mission funding. Reading: (class 1) Review ABCOM missionaries profiles online: https://www.internationalministries.org/ or http://abcom.org/organization/missionaries/ (class 2) Review Newbigin, Lesslie. The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995 (1978). (Copies will be provided for registered students.) 1. Contact one or more of the missionaries supported by ABCOM. 2. Discover how missionaries are appointed and funded from another mission agency (Wycliffe, SIM, YWAM, New Tribes, etc.). 3. Interview someone who works on a missionary MPT. Class 2: Mission of the Church, Biblical and Theological Foundations. The class will engage in dwelling in the Word, Luke 10, as a foundation for discussing the biblical understanding of the church s mission. Further discussion will include the Newbigin s theology of mission, the contextualization of mission, and local theologies. Reading: Review one of the books in the class library on modern missions. 1. Interview a pastor asking for their vision for mission in the local church. 2. Discover the history of your church s involvement in mission support. Class 3: History of Modern Missions This class will include an overview of the modern missionary movement and how Baptist involvement in mission has helped to shape our identity. Reading: Review one of the books in the class library on short term missions. 1. Research the ministry of two of the following: Adoniram Judson, Hudson Taylor, William Carey, Mary Slessor, David Brainerd, Raymond Fung, Marian Boehr, E. Stanley Jones, Daniel Fountain, or Lauren Bethel. 2. Discover the history of your church s involvement in mission support. Class 4: Short Term Missions The class will include a presentation of a term mission experience as well as a discussion of the pros and cons of this type of ministry for the local church and the field of service. Class presentations will be given in this class.
Reading: Review one of the books in the class library on evangelism. 1. Call the ABC Mission Center at Valley Forge and ask about short term mission opportunities and volunteer service. 1-800 ABC-3USA. Ask for resources for planning a mission trip for your church. 2. Call International Ministries, 1-800 ABC 3USA, and speak with one of the Area Secretaries about their experience (pros and cons) with short term missions. 3. Check Pieter Kalkman s website for volunteer opportunities, www.kalkmaneurope.org. 4. Determine how three people in your church feel about the possibility of short term service. Where would they like to go? Class 5: Evangelism This class will feature the sharing of evangelistic experience, either live or video. Other topics will include various approaches of mass evangelism, and personal evangelism with some role play, and how to share the Christian faith with a person of another world faith. Reading: Review a book on missional church from the class library. Activity: Listen to the testimonies of at least three people in your church in a group setting to determine how people have come to know Christ. Class 6: Missional Church, Theory and Practice This class will review the development and theory of the missional church movement, and have an interview live or on Skype with an ABCOM pastor that has been involved with missional outreach in their church and community. Reading: Review a book from the class library on the missional church or on evangelism. Activity: Explore the following website, read some articles, watch a video, and be prepared to share your comments. http://www.journalofmissionalpractice.com. Class 7: New Church Planting This class will view and discuss a video presentation, Church Planting and Pluralism by Mark Lau Branson, from the Global Church Summit, Fuller Theological Seminary, Nov. 14, 2015. Also models of actual church plants will be analyzed in light of a cultural exegesis of rural Maine. Reading: Review a book from the class library on social justice issues or outreach to marginalized people groups. 1. Locate a church less than ten years old, and talk to a member about how the church was started.
2. Identify a population group in your town or area that is unreached by the evangelical church. Talk to someone in this group and gather some information to share. Class 8: The Gospel and Social Justice This class will discuss pressing social issues in Maine communities and explore ways to extend the Gospel in appropriate ways. Issues may include substance abuse, domestic violence, children and elderly at risk. Videos, interviews, and/or role plays will be used that would be appropriate to the chosen issues, and local resources for assistance will be discussed. Reading: A review of a book from the class library on any theme of the class, due in one week by e-mail. Activity: Work on project proposal. Evaluation: 1. Written book reviews of 1-2 pages for each class (8), due in each class or by e-mail that week. 30% 2. 15 minute presentation on a missionary or a short term mission project accompanied by biblical and theological reflection, to be presented in class on March 31. 30% 3. Missional project/ Evangelism proposal for your home church including initial plans for implementation, 8-10 pages, due on May 13, 2016 by e-mail. 30% Bibliography - Readings for reviews will be chosen from the following list of books: Bosch David. J. Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in the Theology of Mission. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1991. Carson, D.A., Gen. Ed. Telling the Truth: Evangelizing Postmoderns. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000. Corbett, Steve, Brian Fikkert, and John M. Perkins (forward). When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor and Yourself.. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2009. Escobar, Samuel. The New Global Mission: The Gospel from Everywhere to Everyone. Downer s Grove, IL.: InterVarsity Press, 2003. Green, Michael. Evangelism Through the Local Church. Nashville: Oliver-Nelson Books, 1992. Greene, Colin and Martin Robinson. Metavista. Colorado Springs, CO: Authentic Media, 2008.
Henderson, Jim. Evangelism without Additives. Colorado Springs: WaterBrook Press, 2007. Hirsch Alan. The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating the Missional Church. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2006. Miller, Donald. Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2003. Minatrea, Milfred. Shaped by God's Heart: The Passion and Practices of Missional Churches. SanFrancisco: Jossey-Bass, 2004. Newbigin, Lesslie. The Other Side of 1984. Geneva: World Council of Churches, 1983. ---. The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995 (1978). Pippert, Rebecca Manley. Out of the Salt Shaker & into the World: Evangelism as a Way of Life. Downer s Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1999 (1979). Rathbun, Russell E. D. NuChristian: Finding Faith in a New Generation. Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 2009. Root, Jerry and Stan Guthrie. The Sacrament of Evangelism. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2011. Roxburgh, Alan J. Missional Map-making: Skills for Leading in Times of Transition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2010.. Missional: Joining God in the Neighborhood. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2011. Van Gelder, Craig and Dwight J. Zscheile. The Missional Church in Perspective: Mapping Trends and Shaping the Conversation. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011.