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Biblical FoundationsGlobal Teams is committed to developing ministries and strategies which are thoroughly shaped by scripture. Our Vision and Mission are not simply slogans. These statements are meant to summarize and incorporate our biblical understanding of mission. This biblical understanding of mission is more thoroughly described and presented in the training we offer our missionaries, but here is a summary of some of the foundational biblical materials from which we have developed our Vision and Mission. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us... The Incarnation is God’s way; it is His model. This is why we talk about seeing the heart of Christ in the “skin” of every culture. This is why we are committed to living into the cultures we seek to reach. This is why language learning, culture learning, and partnership are so central and so much a part of all of our training and planning. Jew to the Jew, and Greek to the Greek.. .all things to all people... Paul’s deep passion was to be faithful to the Gospel, and to minister within the “flesh” or skin of the culture. The Kingdom is like yeast in the dough... Global Teams is committed to movements. We believe that the Book of Acts describes several such movements, movements in which explosive multiplication of disciples, leaders, churches took place and new mission movements arose in turn from those churches. Yeast spreads within the dough and it spreads by infection, by “catalyzing” the rest of the dough. Global Teams is a “catalytic” organization that seeds new movements: MISSION MOVEMENTS among existing churches that in turn send missionaries to start PEOPLE MOVEMENTS among the unreached which in turn become fully functioning MISSION MOVEMENTS themselves, raising up missionaries to start PEOPLE MOVEMENTS and so on. It is too small a thing (to bring renewal to My people, Israel)... I
will make you a light to the nations (all ethnic, cultural “people groups”)...
so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth. The work of schools, bible colleges, pastor and leadership training, orphanages, hospitals, clinics, literacy and many other examples of the historic work of missionaries are all GOOD work and proper to pursue. They are all legitimate pieces of what it means to make disciples of the nations. But discipleship which stops short of passing on the Great Commission stops short of passing on the full teaching of Jesus! Why does Global Teams focus so heavily on mobilization for mission where the church already exists? Because anything else is too small a thing! By Your blood You have ransomed people from every tribe, tongue,
people, and nation… The Book of Revelation describes the scene in heaven in which men and women from every language and tribe and nation have gathered to worship the Lamb of God. This is the culminating vision of the scriptures, and indeed of God's own heart. This verse drives us to pursue mission strategies that focus on teams of missionaries from different cultures working together to communicate the Gospel, and to model the expression of that Gospel in their own relationships as a team and in their common worship. This is a powerful element often missing in today's mission efforts. |
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