WHEN YOU CROSS CULTURES - World Evangelical Alliance

212 WHEN YOU CROSS CULTURES
APPENDIX B
Six Critical Factors For A
Multiplying Ministry
When we speak of cross-cultural mission, we assume a long-term calling.
A long-term ministry has a perspective of thirty to fifty years, especially
when we think of cross-cultural work. This perspective envisions spiritual
generations as a ministry grows and multiplies.
Pioneering ministries require language and cultural learning. Evangelism
and discipling is often a long process especially in sensitive and resistant cultures.
Workers are not alone, but work in a team. When the lost are evangelised and
are being discipled, faith communities emerge. What will they look like? How
will the gospel advance through these faith communities? There are also issues
of interdependence between the apostolic pioneering team and the local faith
communities.
Groups of ministry practitioners, led by Navigator leader Jim Petersen,
interacted on these critical factors for a long-term, multiplying ministry.
The first critical factor of laying foundations has the end results in mind –
that of seeing “spiritual generations”. The next four factors (evangelising, discipling
on to maturity, the developing of faith communities, generating leaders and
leadership) need to be aligned, so that the outcome will be a true movement of
the Gospel. Note that these factors are not necessarily sequential. In reality,
once the initial evangelism has borne fruit and there is a new generation of
followers of Christ, these four factors are carried on simultaneously.
The following is a brief outline of the Six Critical Factors that can be
used for discussion.
1 st Critical Factor: LAYING FOUNDATIONS
Getting started for long-term ministry
God’s passion is to bless the nations through Jesus. He desires that our
ministries be fruitful and that our fruit multiply. We anticipate God blessing
His people for many generations.
Our vision for lasting fruitfulness is rooted in God’s promises. For some
cross-cultural workers, these promises motivate them for a life-time. Others
simply obey Christ’s Great Commission. It is a command, and that is sufficient