May Prayer Focus: The Fourth Wave of Missions(please note: A May prayer day summary with bullet points appears at the bottom of this e-mail and on our website, www.prayerday.org, which may assist you during the Thursday, May 1 YWAM Prayer Day).
Tens of thousands of young people filling stadiums crying out to God and determined to take their place in this generation. Prayer movements springing up all over the world. A surge of fresh vision to penetrate the spheres of society with the Kingdom of God. It’s sometimes difficult to articulate what is happening in world missions today because old paradigms seem to be slipping away. But, clearly, this is a new day! This month, we invited Jim Stier to take a closer look at the changes that are coming to world missions in the 21st century, laying the groundwork for YWAMers to seize the hour in which we live. As you read through the attributes of “the fourth wave of missions” described in Jim’s teaching, ask God about the implications of these features and pray into what YWAM should look like as a result. Remember, we’re on the other side of the Jordan. This month, God is giving us a panoramic tour of what He is doing and how we can join him!
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May Leader’s Letter by Jim Stier, YWAM Field Director of the Americas
Dear YWAMers,
In February I was privileged to attend the Call2All congress in Orlando, Florida. Everything was top quality and excitement grew through the week as each day we saw more of the best that the Body of Christ is doing around the world. It seemed like the most effective streams of mission outreach were all represented and vision was at a very high level.
As the week went on I developed a conviction that this was the beginning of something with historic potential. This initiative started with a vision that Bill Bright had for a billion souls to come into the Kingdom. That was followed by the formation of the Global Pastor’s Network. Now 40 Call2All congresses are planned over the next three years all over the planet as we search for God’s developing strategy to harvest those billion souls and more.
Allow me to use an overly simple model. It is generally recognized that Protestant missions have occurred in successive waves. The first wave was articulated by William Carey beginning in 1792, when Carey published a pamphlet on the mission imperative. This generated a new wave of workers who went largely to the coastlands of the world. The second wave of missions crystallized in the mind of Hudson Taylor in 1865 out of his great burden for the needs of China. This second wave was focused mostly on the interiors of the continents. The missiological underpinnings of the third wave were worked out and published by men like Cameron Townsend and Donald McGavran. They were widely embraced at events such as the First International Congress on World Evangelization held in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1974, when Ralph Winter and others focused the attention of the church on unreached peoples.
I believe we’ve entered yet another era, the fourth wave of modern missions. It seems appropriate that we begin to seek God to understand the elements of this new wave. Church growth worldwide reached a peak of 6.9% per year in the 1990s. Since the year 2000 it has been at about 1.3%. What will galvanize the church into action at this critical point in history? Where will the motivation and definition of missions in the 21st century come from? Will we seek God and receive directions from Him? Will this wave be the biggest yet seen? Where is the venue for discovering, articulating and spreading the DNA of this fourth wave of missions?
The historical pattern has been that each wave builds on the last. Each is bigger and goes farther than the previous. The fourth wave holds great promise for us all. Let’s seek the Lord together that He might reveal His plans and intentions to us for these times.
In Him,
Jim Stier
YWAM Field Director of the Americas
Member, Team 3 Plus
MAY TEACHING: WHAT DOES THE 4TH WAVE OF MISSIONS LOOK LIKE?
The Bible seems to be very clear that it's important for us to seek the Lord to know what we should be doing, not only in a detailed and personal way for our own individual lives, but also in the “macro” picture of the times in which we live.
In Matthew 16:1-3, the Pharisees and Sadducees were testing Jesus by asking for a sign from heaven. First He pointed out that they already knew how to read the signs of the weather and prepare accordingly. Then He rebuked them for not recognizing the signs of the times. Evidently there were enough signs for it to be clear to them who He was, but they weren’t seeing or comprehending. This was part of the reason that they didn’t accept Jesus as the Messiah and completely missed the significance and blessing of the tremendous times in which they lived.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:1-5, Paul recognized that he didn’t need to teach the church in Thessalonika about times and seasons since they were already practicing good discernment in this area. Then he points out that the world is in the dark about what God is doing and makes a strong distinction between the understanding of the church and the incomprehension of the world. He exhorts them and us not to go to sleep, but to be sober and watchful.
A great body of prophetic literature is evidenced throughout the Bible. Some of it is composed of exhortations to obedience and good conduct, but a lot is focused on what is yet to come and is still going to happen in the lives of those listening. God is in the business of shaping history together with His people as He works towards His ultimate earthly goal of blessing every family on earth (Genesis 12:1-3). This understanding, which God wishes to share with us, can be of great help in spiritual warfare as we fight to win the war to defeat the powers of cruelty and injustice and to bless the entire world with God's goodness.
1 Chronicles 12:23-40 tells the story of the warriors who gathered to recognize David as their king. A long list of the tribes and their military strength appears in these verses. Numbers are listed, as are special skills, weapons, and valor. It’s an impressive list.
And there, right in the middle of it in verse 32, lies a very interesting acknowledgment. It reads: “…of the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do...” Here was surely the heart of David’s military strength. His men had understanding of the times. We don’t know exactly to what extent their knowledge was a result of careful studying and analysis and what part came as a spiritual gift. We do know that it would greatly help David to “to know what Israel ought to do.”
As the missions movement moves from wave to wave, and as we advance in our quest to bless the whole world, we also need to understand the times so that we, too, can know what to do.
When YWAM leadership calls us together, I am always there if it at all possible. I have never missed a GLT meeting! This is not because I have limitless finances. It’s not because I have nothing else to do, nor is it because I especially enjoy the agonizing, agitated numbness of mind and body that comes from our nearly endless meetings. It’s because when we’re together, God speaks to us. I want to be there when He speaks!
The Call2All meetings are a gathering of the Body of Christ that span the globe. People from over 200 organizations are already participating. People from all the continents and most of the nations of the world will participate in future congresses. The broad diversity of the Church is to be gathered under an anointing of impressive unity. I can’t help but think that God will speak to us and give us “understanding of the times, to know what (we) ought to do” as a result of such unified efforts!
It seems that the gatherings will be a requirement in order for us to have defined understanding from God, but in order to help us pray together this month I would like to suggest some of the things that might characterize this next wave, the fourth wave of protestant missions. There are always some leaders and visionaries that are out in front of the rest of us, and we heard many of them in Orlando. Isn't it likely that the interests and ministries that God is giving to them are indicative of what is coming? Here are some things that we can already see happening around us; let’s listen to hear what else might be on God's heart as these things relate to YWAM.
The fourth wave of missions will likely:
1. Be comprised of all generations, working together, with a special emphasis on youth. Youth need the security, wisdom and experience of older people working alongside them, but they are better at so many things related to missions. They learn languages faster and better. They make friends more quickly. They adapt to new and strange environments with less upheaval in mind, body, and emotions. They are less entangled and freer to go. The use of young people in missions is well established historically and is growing today.
2. Be truly and thoroughly international. This is already happening, especially at the level of our rank and file missionaries. It seems highly desirable and very likely that new leadership and ideas will increasingly come from all nations and go to all nations.
3. Be globalized. Money, information, and ideas flow like never before all around the world. It’s more possible than ever before for anyone, even a poor person from the developing world, to make an impact on the nations. I know a former beggar from Rio de Janeiro who is building schools in Central Asia. Anything can happen. It seems likely that we will use technology and new systems in innovative ways as God leads us.
4. Emphasize orality as never before. Much of the unengaged world experiences high levels of illiteracy. However, we’ve also discovered that even literate people often don’t learn enough about the variety of forms available to us for effective discipleship, almost completely excluding the use of oral methods, for example. Even our speaking tends to be literary in its patterns. It seems probable that in the near future we’ll use more of the arts and media to tell more stories to reach and teach people in ways that they will actually remember and apply.
5. Break out of the sphere of the institutional church and find expression within the multiple spheres of society. Mission has traditionally been the business of the church. Now, however, there is a surge of vision and activity that strongly suggests that Christians in business and commerce, government, education, arts and media, journalism, family concerns, science and technology, and numerous other sub-categories will increasingly be the leaven that permeates society with the Kingdom of God.
6. Be world-oriented. The business of the whole Body of Christ is to advance the Kingdom of God. Unique to the times in which we live, all countries are now supplying our mission workers. We recently did a leadership training school in Bangkok. There were 81 students and the largest delegations were from Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. It’s a new day! It seems that we will speak less and less of the “mission field” and of “sending countries.” All countries are senders. All countries are mission fields.
7. Be the wave of the ‘all’. It seems within our reach to get to every single 4K zone during this new wave. If we do this, we will reach all peoples. We won’t be finished just by getting there, however. We must also get on with the work of building the Kingdom of God in each of these zones, all of us learning from all of us and applying these lessons to serve all peoples.
8. Be anointed with a remarkable level of unity. To me and to others who attended the first Call2All congress in Orlando, this was the most powerful characteristic of that gathering. We’re all still waiting to see Jesus’ prayer in John 17 answered. Now is the time to press forward so His prayer can be answered!
9. Be fueled and oriented by the Holy Spirit and our response to Him. The presence of prayer movement leaders such as Mike Bickle and Lou Engle was an indispensable part of our time in Orlando. A commitment to prayer and to obedience than runs across all denominational and mission agency lines is a clear characteristic of the fourth wave. Indeed, this wave seems likely to be characterized by the aroma, life, and glory of Christ in us!
10. Produce movements that don’t look like traditional missions organizations. These could be things like the 19th century guilds of England, iconoclastic and not familiar, but achieving the goals that we’ve all been pursuing for so long. It seems quite likely that diversity and creativity will be exercised in great freedom of faith.
This is not meant to be a definitive list, but more of a way to get our prayer flowing during the May 1 prayer day and beyond. God can give us understanding of the times so that the church knows what to do. Let’s seek the Lord and ask Him for understanding. Beyond that, let’s ask Him to use the Call2All congresses to speak to the whole Body of Christ and to loose across the world a powerful new wave in world missions!
The ripe new fields: A Testimony by David Hulford
A few weeks ago, I sat down in my kitchen in England with a friend who is a missionary from Bolivia. With the support of Bolivian Christians, he was one of the very first to ever venture to another continent from this small land-locked nation in the middle of South America to be a missionary in another culture. Almost ten years ago, he and two other Bolivians planted a church in India. My friend is not a pastor but a football coach! And today, this man, his Indian wife and young son share with passion about their call to serve God in the Middle East!
The 21st century missions movement is indeed blurring the lines between "sending" countries and " the mission field", and missions is clearly no longer primarily the business of the church. Between 1984 and 1995, my family and I were part of YWAM Bolivia and saw ourselves as missionaries supported by Christians back home in England. We were part of a missions movement that was about to shift dramatically. After those years, we joined YWAM Harpenden in England and felt God calling us to prepare the way for an emerging generation of Christians from non-English-speaking, non-Western nations. We helped set up an English and Cultural Orientation program at the prompting of the Lord. Over the next seven years, 200 people came to England from Latin America, Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe to learn English and grasp the basic tools for adapting to living in a new culture before heading off to China, India, Mongolia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Today, a number of them are sports coaches or language teachers or run small businesses. They are seeing fresh expressions of church grow out of the relationships built in these varied contexts.
The defining characteristic of effective mission has always been people genuinely and unconditionally loving people, with no other agenda than to fulfill the Great Commission through the fulfilling of the Great Commandment. This has never been more relevant than in a 21st Century world turned cynical and somewhat jaded by religious fundamentalism in its many varieties. Jesus found a way to meet the genuine felt needs of people through outrageous love. He touched lepers, ate in the homes of tax collectors, and showed compassion to prostitutes. Today, love is still the language spoken and understood by all. The effectiveness of the fourth wave of missions will depend on the sacrificial love of its messengers and their willingness to cross boundaries of understanding at all levels, much as Peter had to do when challenged to go to the home of Cornelius in Acts 10.
This is my 26th year in YWAM. I am still thrilled with a God who is always more contemporary and in touch with the times than we are. It is exciting to see how the Holy Spirit is leading us into a multiplicity of 'out of the box' initiatives as we engage with the challenge of fulfilling our part in the Great Commission. Today I no longer lead a YWAM base and I speak less in churches than I did in the 1990s. Instead, as a fitness instructor/personal trainer I’m more the “secret pastor” of which author Ed Silvoso speaks. Those who come to our YWAM center every day for a range of fitness sessions are my current “mission field” (neighborhood moms with babies jogging with buggies among them!). The felt needs of people in 2008 may be different than those of people from other eras, but making disciples still starts with meeting those needs lovingly, sensitively and genuinely. Loving people can never become simply a strategy to win them to Christ. But outrageous love is the only way to live as followers of Jesus.
Whether we find ourselves sharing the gospel with a friend between sets on the bench press, or talking about Jesus over coffee between language lessons, our real connection to people will always happen because we love them. On an average day in the gym where I work, I meet people from Poland to Pakistan and from Iraq to Ireland. Serving as an instructor there has opened a whole new understanding of “going into all the world to preach the gospel” and a wonderful new context in which to fulfill that call.
David Hulford
YWAM Harpenden, England
