International Baptist leaders meeting recently in England called for new viewpoints on missions that encourage people from the developing world as well as developed nations to spread the gospel.
“We recognize that models of missions used in the past will not be wholly adequate for the new era that has dawned with the startling speed of modern technology,” reads a statement adopted during the Summit on Baptist Mission in the 21st Century, sponsored by the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) taking place May 5-9 in Swanwick, England.
“Notions of sending and receiving are unhelpful if we assume that it is the role of some simply to send and others simply to receive.”
During the meeting of leaders from 60 countries, BWA General Secretary Denton Lotz also proposed an “international Baptist missions agency” that would support Baptist missionaries in the developing world who wish to do missionary work beyond their own borders but do not have the necessary financial resources.
The statement adopted by Baptist leaders, titled “Call to Mission,” discussed the “spectacular growth” of churches in Asia, Africa and Latin America as well as the “major challenge of a post-Christian culture in large parts of Europe and North America.” The Baptist representatives also urged understanding of the cultures that will be approached by missionaries.
(RNS)
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