Ecclesiology and Evangelical Missionaries by Dr. Richard Cook

Project 3000 with Kelly Zbinden

Kelly Zbinden joins Dr. Hopkins at a live Q&A at the 2026 Mission Conference. Kelly is with the International Mission Board. He has served in the IMB in a variety of ways over the last 31 years with his family. In 2023, Kelly and his wife began serving as Global Leads for Project 3,000. Project 3,000 is all about reaching unengaged and unreached people groups. Project 3000 is a concerted effort to ensure that every people group can access the gospel. Over the next five years, we’re sending 300 missionary explorers to research every remaining people group with no known gospel presence. www.imb.org/project-3000/

Theology and Missiology with Dr. Peter Lillback

Rev. Dr. Peter Lillback, president of Westminster Theological Seminary, PA, and founder of The Providence Forum, joins Dr. Hopkins to chat about the inclusion of young children during the main services in church, the religion and theology of George Washington, and the value of experiencing a mission trip even if you aren't called to be a missionary.

Ecclesiology and Evangelical Missionaries by Dr. Richard Cook

Evangelical Missiological Society, "EMS Southwest Regional Meeting", April 4th 2024 Richard Cook, Logos Evangelical Seminary Ecclesiology and Evangelical Missionaries: 1900 to the Present (Part 2) To understand the history of the missionary experience, I compare three classic textbooks on the life of a missionary from distinct eras. Contrasts yield insight into each epoch, whereas consistencies crystallize timeless truths. Scouring each work for insights into ecclesiology and missions reveals a remarkable progression of the understanding of the church. In 1907, Arthur J Brown provided an entire chapter on the “home” church, discussing its role including letters, furloughs, and adequate support. Later, a second chapter turns its attention to the “native” church. One particularly fascinating section deals with why missionaries might fear allowing for the independence of the Indigenous churches. Like Brown, in 2008 Steffen and Douglas include a robust discussion of ecclesiology and missions. Nonetheless, the context has transformed. There is no longer a clear dichotomy between the “home” and “native” churches, as missions is constantly evolving in the direction of “from everywhere to everyone (Samuel Escobar).” Most startling, however, was J Herbert Kane’s contribution in 1980. He does not have a chapter on either home or native churches, and he seems to include little on ecclesiology. I believe he represents a transitional moment in evangelical conceptions of the “church” that is worthy of thoughtful examination. The three volumes, from 1907, 1980, and 2008, represent the church and missions at three discrete moments in time and, as I will show, reflect the inexorable movement toward our contemporary understanding of the Global Church.

Missionaries as Provisional Pastors by Mikko Sivonen

Evangelical Missiological Society, "EMS Southwest Regional Meeting", April 4th 2024 Mikko Sivonen, Agricola Theological Seminary, Finland Missionaries as Provisional Pastors As suggested by some missiologists, is it biblically accurate to say that missionaries cannot or should not fulfill a pastoral role? Within the scope of this article, we are not saying that every missionary sent to serve on a church planting team should serve as a pastor in a local church. However, we will argue that missionaries serving provisionally in the office of pastor is a biblical model for healthy church formation. As an implication, some elder qualified missionaries must be sent out to form new churches, serving as pastors temporarily to form sound doctrine, right worship, and model faithful eldering that leads to healthy local leadership in the church.

Suffering in Chinese Missions by Daniel Low

Evangelical Missiological Society, "EMS Southwest Regional Meeting", April 4th 2024 Daniel Low, Christian Witness Theological Seminary To the Ends of the Earth: Suffering and Other Key Markers in Chinese Missions A pervasive marker of the Chinese church, particularly in embodying the Gospel through missions, is suffering (Ahern, 2022). Conceptually to “suffer” in Chinese is to “eat suffering” (吃苦 chi ku) or to “accept suffering” (受苦 shou ku). For a Chinese Christian, to be called to participate in missions (local or global) is to serve without regard for her/his life and die, if necessary. Thus, to stoically suffer is the “ordination of the gospel worker’s testimony in a Chinese context” (Ahern, 2022, 5) and “an occasion to demonstrate their loyalty to Christ within … non-Christian [societies]” (Chow and Wong, 2023, 16). Among the Chinese pastors and lay leaders in the Bay Area and Chinese students completing their training at a local Chinese seminary, is this marker pertinent to encourage their congregations to participate in missions? What are the characteristics and limitations of this marker in missions? What are the other pertinent markers that the leaders (both pastors and lay leaders) seek to encourage and teach congregations to encourage participation in missions? This paper seeks to assess (a) the perceptions, characteristics, and limitations of suffering for Christ as a key marker for Chinese missions; (b) the other pertinent markers and their characteristics for Chinese missions; and (c) the narratives (e.g., examples from Scripture and lives of missionaries) that are used to teach these markers and characteristics. Hopefully these distinctives, through interviewing pastors, lay leaders and Chinese seminary student, will add to the dynamic and creative missional expressions of the global Church.