Before a CRWM missionary couple began serving in West Africa, they hadn’t come across many Fulani people. But they were about to embark on a journey of living and serving among them.
Now many years later, these missionaries have noticed that Fulani people seem to be appearing in unexpected places—from the neighboring country where they serve all the way to South Dakota!
“The movement of Fulani towards Jesus goes two ways: we missionaries go to the Fulani to introduce them to Jesus; and Fulani go to seek their fortunes and Jesus meets them on the road,” say the missionaries.
The fact that we can now find Fulani, among many other people groups, around the world illustrates one of the major trends that missions-minded people must realize—the trend of globalization. The “shrinking” of our world opens up new opportunities to share the Good News and to learn from our brothers and sisters in Christ who have different gifts, ideas, and styles of worship.
Below are a few more trends in today’s world that we as global missions advocates must consider when thinking about best practices for cross-cultural ministry.
Financial Sustainability
With a rise in globalization also comes a rise in the number of cross-cultural relationships and opportunities to get involved in missions. This is a good thing, but it also means the decision of which ministry or cause to give to that much more difficult.
Along with answering some key questions about your church’s unique call to missions you will also want to support a ministry that is sustainable. When considering a ministry, find out whether their work is able to be maintained even if your or other North American funds stopped coming in. If the answer is yes, these ministries are likely empowering local people to take ownership of the work and this will have a greater long-term effect.
Mutuality
Christians are a minority in our country meanwhile the Spirit is doing amazing things around the world. Sharing the Good News “from the West to the rest” is no longer the only missions strategy. North Americans must be open to listening and recognizing where God is already working and discerning how we can take part in that work.
Mutuality also serves as a driving factor in the current work of creating a new mission agency with Christian Reformed Home Missions—so we can learn how to adapt ministries in foreign countries to our own initiatives in North America.
Urbanization
The world’s largest cities continue to get bigger as people are drawn to the business opportunities, educational institutions, and entertainment centers that the cities offer.
We must respond by sending missionaries to these cities and by giving them opportunities to engage with the Gospel in a way that also addresses the issues that large cities face.