Asian Mission Movements: Competition or Collaboration? (Issue 30 – September 2009)

Issue 30 Editor: Dr Kang-San Tan

The second Asian Mission Movements Consultation was held at Redcliffe College, UK, on 10-11 June 2009 where 60 participants representing 25 different mission groups gathered to reflect and grapple on the theme of the Consultation, “Asian Mission Movements: Competition or Collaboration?” The Consultation was co-sponsored by OMF, CMS, Redcliffe, Faith2Share and South Asian Concerns and papers of the consultation are now presented in this issue of Encounters.

Dr Julie Ma, President of the Asian Pentecostal Society and Tutor in Missiology at Oxford Centre for Mission Studies presented the first plenary paper, “A Critical Appraisal of Korean Missionary Work: Challenges for Western and Global South Missionaries”. Participants were encouraged by the tremendous growth of Korean mission movements and the need to assess critically their strengths and weaknesses. Dr Ma provided specific statistical figures and evaluative responses, and suggested a number of implications for better partnerships. Mark Laing, former Mission Tutor at Union Biblical Seminary, Pune, India, in his paper, “Looking Back to Move Forward: Some Lessons and Challenges from Mission History” challenged participants to learn lessons from history, to read the signs of the times and embody our theology of mission in relation to issues of finance, the significance of socio-political trends, Dis-Unity between Mission and Church, and mission to the West (mission in reverse).

Participants were then given the opportunity to explore four elective workshops:

1. New and emerging mission movements and older mission agencies – is meaningful partnership possible? (led by Mark Oxbrow of Faith2Share)
2. Asian Migrant Churches in Europe, with special reference to Korean Migrant Churches. (Sung Hoon Kim of Wycliffe International)
3. South Asian Christian Ministry: A case study from Bradford, UK. (Arun John)
4. Leadership Issues in Asian Mission Movements by Kang-San Tan of Redcliffe College.

Warren Beattie, Director for Mission Research, OMF International, and Phil Simpson, Asia Director for CMS (Britain), presented case studies on Models of Mission Engagements, reflecting on the contrasting models of OMF and CMS’s respective attempts to engage with the growing Asian Mission Movements. Finally, a summary report on the Consultation was presented by Canon Mark Oxbrow, of Faith2Share. We are very grateful to these speakers and facilitators, and all those who participated in this consultation. To our readers, please respond to the articles as well as suggesting issues for future Asian Mission Movement consultations.

The 3rd Consultation on Asian Mission Movements will look at the issue of “Use and Abuse of Money in Asian Mission”.  We welcome proposals for papers and case studies from various mission groups and new partners to explore this contentious issue.

Kang-San

A Critical Appraisal of Korean Missionary Work: Challenges for Western and Global South Missionaries.
(Dr Julie Ma, 5264 words)  PDF -:- Abstract & Discussion
A Response to Julie Ma on Korean Missionary Work.
(Dr Jonathan Ingleby, 671 words) PDF -:- Abstract & Discussion
Looking Back to Move Forward: Some Lessons and Challenges from Mission History.
(Mark Laing, 5607 words) PDF– :- Abstract & Discussion
New and Emerging Mission Movements and Older Mission Agencies: Is meaningful partnership possible?
(Revd Canon Mark Oxbrow, 895 words) PDF -:- Abstract & Discussion
Asian Migrant Churches in Europe.
(Sung Hoon Kim, 705 words) PDF -:- Abstract & Discussion
South Asian Christian Ministry: A case study of Bradford.
(Canon Dr Arun John, 1164 words) PDF -:- Abstract & Discussion
Leadership of Asian Mission Movements.
(Dr Kang-San Tan, 174 words) PDF -:- Abstract & Discussion
Models of missional engagement in Asia: The experience of CMS in Asia.
(Revd Phil Simpson, 1170 words) PDF -:- Abstract & Discussion
Models of missional engagement in Asia: A case study of OMF International.
(Revd Dr Warren R. Beattie, 2056 words) PDF -:- Abstract & Discussion
Asian Mission Movements: Report on a consultation held at Redcliffe College, UK, 10-11 June 2009.
(Revd Canon Mark Oxbrow, 1141 words) PDF -:- Abstract & Discussion

Book Review:  The Clash Within: Democracy, Religious Violence, and India’s Future.
(by Martha Nussbaum; Belknap Press of Harvard University Press)
And finally, a single PDF of the whole issue. Ideal for using offline or to make printing easier.

Issue 30:  Single Document Version (in full)
(pdf 352 KB)