(Redirected from Missionaries)
A 'missionary' is a member of a
religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary's faith; someone who
proselytizes.
Judaism,
Mandaeism,
Hinduism,
Parsees,
Shinto and faiths focused on ancestor cult or local spirits make little or no effort to convert those who do not share their beliefs, but many religious groups engage in missionary activities.
The word "mission" has derived from Latin ''missionem'' (nom. ''missio''), meaning "act of sending" or ''mitto, mittere'', literally meaning "to send" or "to dispatch," the equivalent of the Greek-derived word "apostle" from ''apostolos'', meaning "messenger". In
Christian cultures the term is most commonly used for missions to share and proclaim the Gospel Message, but it applies equally to any proselytizing creed or ideology. Buddhism launched 'the first large-scale missionary effort in the history of the world's religions'.
[1]
Christian missions
Main articles: Mission (Christian),
List of Christian Missionaries
Note: considerable controversy surrounds alleged aggressive Christian evangelization efforts in third world countries. For more see Mission (Christian) section Controversy and Christian missionaries.
Since the
Lausanne Congress of
1974, a widely accepted definition of a Christian mission has been "to form a viable indigenous church-planting movement." Recognizing justice as being at the heart of the Gospels, most modern missionaries now promote
economic development,
literacy,
education and
health care. Missionaries have established
orphanages and also promote education in political consciousness and analysis.
Biblical mandate
Biblical authority for missions appears first in
Genesis, 12:1-3, where
Abram is blessed so that through him and his descendants, all the "peoples" of the world would be blessed. The Great Commission was first given by Jesus Christ in all four Gospels: Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-18, Luke 24:46-49, and John 20:21-23. The Great Commission is also given in Acts 1:8. The most compelling verse to many is found in the New Testament, where Jesus instructs the apostles to make disciples. (). This reference is understood by Christian missionaries as the
Great Commission to engage in missionary work.
Protestant missions
The Danish government included
Lutheran missionaries among the colonists in many of its colonies,
Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg in Tranquebar
India in the late 17th Century. But the first organized Protestant mission work was carried out beginning in 1732 by the
Moravian Brethren of
Herrnhut in
Saxony Germany(''die evangelische Brüdergemeine''). While on a visit in 1732 to
Copenhagen for the coronation of his cousin King
Christian VI the Moravians' patron, Nicolas Ludwig, Count von
Zinzendorf got to know a slave from the Danish colony in the
West Indies. When he returned to Herrnhut with the slave, he inspired the inhabitants of the village--it was fewer than 30 houses then---to send out "messengers" to the slaves in the West Indies. The first missionaries landed in
St. Thomas in December, 1732. Work soon was started in another Danish colony, Greenland. Within 30 years there were Moravian missionaries active on every continent, and this at a time when there were fewer than 300 people in Herrnhut. They are famous for their selfless work, living as slaves among the slaves and together with the native Americans, the
Delaware and
Cherokee Indian tribes. Today the work in the former mission provinces of the worldwide Moravian Church is carried on by native workers. The fastest growing area of the work in
Tanzania in Eastern
Africa. The Moravian work in
South Africa inspired
William Carey and the founders of the British
Baptist missions. Today 7 of every 10 Moravians are in a former mission field and belong to a race other than Caucasian.
Evangelical Church missions
With a dramatic increase in efforts since the 1900s, but a strong push since the ''Lausanne I: The International Congress on World Evangelization'' in Switzerland in 1974,
[1] evangelical groups have focused efforts on sending missionaries to every ethnic group in the world. While this effort has not been completed, increased attention has brought larger numbers of people distributing Bibles, Jesus videos, and establishing evangelical churches in more remote, less Christianized areas.
Internationally, the focus for many years in the later 20th century was on reaching every "people group" with the Christianity by the year 2000. Bill Bright's leadership with Campus Crusade http://www.ccci.org, the Southern Baptist
International Mission Board http://www.imb.org, The Joshua Project http://www.joshuaproject.net/, and others brought about the need to know who these "
unreached people groups are" and how those wanting to tell about a Christian God and share a Christian Bible could reach them. The focus for these organizations transitioned from a "country focus" to a "people group focus." (From "What is a People Group?" by Dr. Orville Boyd Jenkins: A "people group" is an ethnolinguistic group with a common self-identity that is shared by the various members. There are two parts to that word: ethno and linguistic. Language is a primary and dominant identifying factor of a people group. But there are other factors that determine or are associated with ethnicity.)
What can be viewed as a success by those inside and outside the church from this focus is a higher level of cooperation and friendliness among churches and denominations.. It is very common for those working on international fields to not only cooperate in efforts to share their gospel message but view the work of their groups in a similar light. Also, with the increased study and awareness of different people groups, western mission efforts have become far more sensitive to the cultural nuances of those they are going to and those they are working with in the effort.
Over the years, as indigenous churches have matured, the church of the "Global South" (Africa, Asia and Latin America) has become the driving force in missions. Korean and African missionaries can now be found all over the world. Unburdened by Western cultural blindspots, these missionaries represent a major shift in Church history.
Brazil, Nigeria, and other countries have had large numbers of their Christian adherents go to other countries and start churches. These non-western missionaries often have unparalleled success because they need few western resources and comforts to sustain their livelihood while doing the work they have chosen among a new culture and people.
The British Missionary Societies
Main articles: London Missionary Society,
Church Missionary Society,
China Inland Mission
The
London Missionary Society was an extensive Anglican and
Nonconformist missionary society formed in England in 1795 with missions in the islands of the South Pacific and Africa. It now forms part of the
Council for World Mission. The
Anglican Church Missionary Society was also founded in England in 1799, and continues its work today. These organisations spread through the extensive 18th and 19th century colonial British Empire, establishing the network of churches that largely became the modern
Anglican Communion.
Catholic missions
Main articles: Roman Catholic Church and Colonialism,
Jesuit China missions,
Spanish Missions of California,
List of Roman Catholic Missionaries
The New Testament missionary outreach of the Christian church from the time of
St Paul was extensive throughout the
Roman Empire. During the Middle Ages the Christian
monasteries and missionaries such as
Saint Patrick, and
Adalbert of Prague propagated learning and religion beyond the boundaries of the old Roman Empire. In the 7th century
Gregory the Great sent missionaries including
Augustine of Canterbury into England. During the
Age of Discovery, the
Roman Catholic Church established a number of
Missions in the Americas and other colonies through the
Augustinians,
Franciscans and
Dominicans in order to spread Christianity in the New World and to convert the
Native Americans and other indigenous people. At the same time, missionaries such as
Francis Xavier as well as other
Jesuits,
Augustinians,
Franciscans and
Dominicans were moving into Asia and the far East. The Portuguese sent missions into Africa. These are some of the most well-known missions in history. While some of these missions were associated with imperialism and oppression, others (notably
Matteo Ricci's
Jesuit mission to China) were relatively peaceful and focused on integration rather than cultural imperialism.
Much contemporary Catholic missionary work has undergone profound change since the
Second Vatican Council, and has become explicitly conscious of
Social Justice issues and the dangers of cultural imperialism or economic exploitation disguised as religious conversion. Contemporary Christian missionaries argue that working for justice is a constitutive part of preaching the Gospel, and observe the principles of
Inculturation in their missionary work.
As the church normally organizes itself along territorial lines, and because they had the human and material resources, religious orders--some even specializing in it--undertook most missionary work, especially in the early phases. Over time a normalised church structure was gradually established in the mission area, often starting with special jurisdictions known as apostolic prefectures and apostolic vicariates. These developing churches eventually intended 'graduating' to regular diocesan status with a local episcopacy appointed, especially after declonization, as the church structures often reflect the political-administrative reality.
Orthodox missions
The
Greek Orthodox Church and then the
Orthodox Church of Constantinople was vigorous in its missionary outreach under the
Roman Empire and continuing
Byzantine Empire, and its missionary outreach had lasting effect, either founding, influencing or establishing formal relations with some 16 Orthodox national churches including the
Romanian Orthodox Church, the
Georgian Orthodox and Apostolic Church and the
Ukrainian Orthodox Church (both said to have been founded by the missionary Apostle Andrew), the
Bulgarian Orthodox Church (said to have been founded by the missionary Apostle Paul). The two ninth century
saints
Cyril and
Methodius had extensive missionary success in Eastern Europe. The Byzantines expanded their missionary work in Ukraine after a mass baptism in Kiev in 988. The
Serbian Orthodox Church had its origins in the conversion by Byzantine missionaries of the Serb tribes when they arrived in the Balkans before the eleventh century. Orthodox missionaries also worked successfully among the Estonians from the 10th to the 12th centuries founding the
Estonian Orthodox Church.
Under the Russian empire of the 19th century, missionaries such as Nicholas Ilminsky moved into the subject lands and propagated Orthodoxy, including through
Belarus,
Latvia, Moldavia,
Finland, Estonia, Ukraine, and
China. The Russian
St. Nicholas of Japan took
Eastern Orthodoxy to
Japan in the
19th century. The
Russian Orthodox Church also sent missionaries to
Alaska beginning in the 18th century, including Saint
Herman of Alaska, and the
Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia continued missionary work outside Russia after the 1917
Russian Revolution.
Other non-mainstream movements
Jehovah's Witness missionaries
Jehovah's Witnesses are known for their missionary activities. Typically, all adult Witnesses are expected to spend time every week "witnessing" in their area. Depending on the civil law in the respective country, this may take the form of proselytizing door to door, distribution of magazines and other literature such as ''
The Watchtower'' and ''
Awake!'' or responding to the questions of passersby.
They are involved in this activity as a direct obedience to Jesus' words found at mt 28:19-20.
Latter-day Saint missionaries
Main articles: Missionary (LDS Church),
Mission (LDS Church)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work. Young men between the ages of 19 and 26 (ideally beginning at the age of 19) are encouraged to go on a two-year, self-funded, full-time proselytizing mission. During this time, they are expected to maintain the highest moral standards of living. By the church they are recognized as official representatives of the church and are expected to devote all their time and efforts to serving the Lord. The two-year mission is usually served in a foreign country or different area of the country from where the missionary lives. Young women and retired couples may serve missions as well. Young women who desire to serve as missionaries serve at an older age, usually 21-22. Missionaries typically spend one to two months in the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah, or in one of the 16 other MTCs throughout the world, studying scripture, learning new languages, and otherwise preparing themselves for the culture in which they will be living. The LDS church has about 52,000 missionaries worldwide.
[2]
Islamic missions
Dawah means to "invite" (in Arabic, literally "calling") to Islam, estimated to be the second largest religion next to Christianity. From the 7th century it spread rapidly from the
Arabian Peninsula to the rest of the world through the initial Arabic conquests, and later with traders and explorers after the passing away of the
Prophet Muhammad.
Initially, the spread of Islam was almost only through conquest, such as that of
North Africa and later
Spain (
Al-Andalus), and the
Islamic conquest of Persia putting an end to the
Sassanid Empire and spreading the reach of Islam to as far East as
Khorasan, which would later become the cradle of Islamic civilization during the
Islamic Golden Age and a stepping-stone towards the introduction of Islam to the
Turkic tribes living in and bordering the area.
The missionary movements peaked during the
Islamic Golden Age, with the expansion of foreign trade routes, primarily into the
Indo-Pacific and as far South as the isle of
Zanzibar and the South-Eastern shores of
Africa.
With the coming about of the tradition of
Sufism, Islamic missionary activities have increased considerably. The mystical nature of the tradition had an all-encompassing aspect, a property many societies in
Asia could relate to. Later, with the conquest of
Anatolia by the
Seljuk Turks, missionaries would find easier passage to the lands then formerly belonging to the
Byzantine Empire.
In the earlier stages of the
Ottoman Empire, a
Turkic form of
Shamanism was still widely practiced in Anatolia, which soon started to give in to the mysticism offered by
Sufism.
The teachings of
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, who migrated from
Khorasan to
Anatolia, are good examples to the mystical aspect of
Sufism.
During the
Ottoman presence in the
Balkans, missionary movements were also taken up by people from aristocratic families hailing from the region, who had been educated in
Constantinople or any other major city within the Empire, in famed
madrassahs and
kulliyes. Most of the time, such individuals were sent back to the place of their origin, being appointed important positions in the local governing body. This approach often resulted in the building of mosques and local
kulliyes for future generations to benefit from, as well as spreading the teachings of Islam.
The spread of Islam towards
Central and
West Africa has been prominent but slow, until the early 19th century. Previously, the only connection was through Transsaharan trade, of which the
Mali Empire, consisting predominantly of African and Berber tribes, stands as a strong proof of the early Islamization of the Sub-Saharan region. The gateways prominently expanded to include the aforementioned trade routes through the Eastern shores of the African continent. With the
European colonization of Africa, missionaries were almost in competition with the European Christian missionaries operating in the colonies.
Jewish missions
Despite some uncharacteristic inter-Testamental Jewish missionary activity, contemporary
Judaism states clearly that it is not missionary, and conversion occurs chiefly through marriage of non-Jews to Jews.
Modern Jewish teachers repudiate
proselytization of Gentiles in order to convert them. The reason for this is that Gentiles already have a complete relationship with God via the Noahidic covenant (See
Noahide Laws); there is therefore no need for them to become Jewish, which requires more work of them. In addition, Judaism espouses a concept of "quality" not "quantity". It is more important in the eyes of Jews to have converts who are completely committed to observing Jewish law, than to have converts who will violate the Abrahamic covenant into which they have been initiated.
On the other hand, most Jewish religious groups encourage "Outreach" to
Jews alienated from their own heritage owing to assimilation and intermarriage. The overall movement encourages Jews to become more observant of Jewish religious law (known as
halakha). Those people who do become religious are known as ''
Baal teshuvas''. The large
Hasidic group known as
Chabad Lubavitch has internationally promoted such "outreach." Others, such as the
National Jewish Outreach Program do the same in North America.
In recent times, members of the
American Reform movement began a program to convert to
Judaism the non-Jewish spouses of its intermarried members and non-Jews who have an interest in Judaism. Their rationale is that so many Jews were lost during
the Holocaust that newcomers must be sought out and welcomed. This approach has been repudiated by
Orthodox and
Conservative Jews as unrealistic and posing a danger. They say that these efforts make Judaism seem an easy religion to join and observe when in reality being Jewish involves many difficulties and sacrifices.
Eastern traditions
The first missions in history were sent by the
Indian religions, in particular,
Buddhism, have a history of successful missions from India, where they originated, and some branches still are very active, as well as various related
syncretisms.
Buddhist missions
Main articles: Buddhism in the West
The first Buddhist missionaries were called "Dharma Bhanaks".
The Emperor
Ashoka was a significant early Buddhist missioner. In the 3rd century BCE,
Dharmaraksita - among others - was sent out by emperor Ashoka to proselytize the
Buddhist tradition through the Indian
Maurya Empire, but also into the Mediterranean as far as Greece. Buddhism was spread among the
Turkic people during the 2nd and 3rd centuries B.C. into modern-day
Pakistan,
Kashmir,
Afghanistan, eastern and coastal
Iran,
Uzbekistan,
Turkmenistan and
Tajikistan. It was also taken into
China brought by
An Shigao in the 2nd century BCE.
The use of missions, formation of councils and monastic institutions influenced the emergence of Christian missions and organizations which had similar structures formed in places which were formerly Buddhist missions.
Duiring the 19th and 20th centuries, Western intellectuals such as
Schopenhauer,
Henry David Thoreau,
Max Müller and
esoteric societies such as the
Theosophical Society of
H.P. Blavatsky and the
Buddhist Society, London spread interest in Buddhism. Writers such as
Hermann Hesse and
Jack Kerouac, in the West, and the
hippie generation of the late 1960s and early 1970s led to a re-discovery of Buddhism. During the 20th and 21st centuries Buddhism has again been propagated by missionaries into the West such as the
Dalai Lama and monks including
Lama Surya Das (Tibetan Buddhism).
Tibetan Buddhism has been significantly active and successful in the West since the Chinese takeover of Tibet in 1959.
Non-religious missionaries
The original meaning of the word "missionary" is not specifically religious, but refers instead to anyone who attempts to convert others to a particular doctrine or program.
References
1. Foltz, R.C.; ''Religions of the silk road''; 1999; p.37
See also
★
Timeline of Christian missions
★
Evangelism
★
Missiology
★
Indigenous church mission theory
★
Proselytism
★
Religious conversion
★
Short-term missions
★
Missionary order
★
Spanish Missions of California
★
Soldados de Cristo - Christ´s Soldiers
★
The Roman Catholic Church and Colonialism
Sources and references
★
LFM. Social sciences & Missions
★
Henry Martyn Centre for the study of mission & world Christianity
★
Sociology of Missions Project
★
William Carey Library, Mission Resources
★ Hiney, Thomas: ''On the Missionary Trail'', New York: Atlantic Monthly Press (2000), p5-22.
★
EtymologyOnLine (word history)
★ Robinson, David ''Muslim Societies in African History'' (The Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge Cambridge, UK 2004) ISBN 0-521-53366-X
External links
★
Crusade Watch
★
US Center for World Mission
★
Catholic Missions
★
Mormon Missionary Teachings
★
Encounters Mission Ezine - An online, topical missions journal.
★
Redcliffe College, Centre for Mission Training - A college specializing in preparing individuals for mission.
★
AskAMissionary.com - over 300 answers online about becoming a missionary.
★
TheJourneyDeepens weekend retreats - retreats for prospective missionaries with missionary mentors.
★
Golden Rule Travel - Missionary Travel Agency
★
Travel The Road - Missionary Television Show
★
The World Race - Discipleship program for twenty-something Christians in which they travel the world in a year.
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