Jude
Southwestern Journal of Theology
Volume 58, No. 1 – Fall 2015
Managing Editor: W. Madison Grace II
By John Mark Terry and J. D. Payne. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013. 287 pages. Paperback, $28.00.
John Mark Terry and J. D. Payne have produced a worthy addition to the excellent Encountering Mission series of books. This new book, like Dayton and Fraser’s classic Planning Strategies for World Evangelization (viii), provides a comprehensive look at mission strategies. It adds a needed critique of strategies that have been trendy in recent years.
The authors devote an entire chapter to the Church Growth Movement founded by Donald McGavran. They endorse McGavran’s prioritization of receptive groups for missionary work: “Unless a team is specifically called by God to a resistant people, it should begin where the Holy Spirit has been working, ripening the field for the harvest” (47). Payne assigns the very highest priority to highly receptive, but unreached, groups. The authors advocate a ten-percent evangelical concentration as a standard for classifying unreached groups rather than the earlier twenty percent or the currently popular two percent (189). They also reflect the concerns of Dayton and Fraser for the importance of strategy for missionaries working among people classified in the middle range of a receptivity scale (179, 184). They lament that many missiologists ignore the receptivity principle (176).
One of the most interesting and relevant sections of the book explains the strengths and weaknesses of the Church Planting Movement [CPM] strategy described by David Garrison. Listed as positives are “fervent prayer, widespread evangelism, and planting indigenous churches” (133). Also mentioned in a good light are the emphases on “local leadership, reproducibility, and limited foreign involvement” (133). On the negative side, the authors mention the neglect of thorough training for disciples and leaders, the use of new converts as pastors, and “a minimalistic approach to ecclesiology” (133). They remark on a related weakness: “Also, many of the featured CPMs seem to have a short life span. That is, after a few years researchers cannot find the churches” (133).
The book describes CPM strategy as a stream of the Church Growth Movement (119). This assertion is debatable. Garrison says, “Church Planting Movements are not the Church Growth Movement” (Church Planting Movements [Midlothian, VA: WIGTake, 2004], 24). In spite of some similarities between the CPMs described by Garrison and the people movements described by McGavran, significant differences exist between Garrison’s missiology and McGavran’s missiology.
The authors take a strong stand against insider movement strategy: “The critics are rightly concerned with the likelihood of syncretism should the converts continue to worship in their temples or mosques” (145). They utilize field research to show the syncretism among people supposedly converted to Christianity using C5 strategy, reporting that “66 percent say the Qur’an is more important than the Bible” (144). In regard to the Camel Method, however, the authors are more sanguine: “Third, this method has proven effective in many different parts of the Muslim world. While the response to the Camel Method has been generally favorable, some critics have raised objections” (146). The authors view the Camel Method as a bridge (145); however, the Camel Method spends too much time in the Qur’an. Like Paul in Athens, the Christian witness should not spend much time on a bridge.
Scattered throughout the book are interesting sidebars and case studies that would be useful for interactive discussions in the classroom. One example is a case study about a missions committee hearing presentations by two missionaries, one serving in a harvest field (Brazil) and another serving in the 10/40 Window, and only having enough funds to support one of them (135). Another example is a case study about newly converted men with multiple wives (165–66). These types of case studies help students apply biblical principles in real-life situations.
The authors emphasize the importance of team involvement in strategizing (208). They discuss the strengths and limitations of teams, phases of team development, and the alignment of teams (209–17). In the largely individualistic Western culture of today, such attention to teams is necessary. Pertinent to the proper functioning of a team are its end vision, goals, and action steps; thus, these subjects are frequently discussed in the book.
Much space is given to the historical development of strategies for missions. Among other benefits, this section helps the reader understand how missionaries learned to communicate effectively their intended message to their intended audience. One example given is Adoniram Judson’s successful use of an open-air pavilion to teach the people in Burma after he observed the Buddhist monks using that format (87, 171). The historical section starts appropriately with a discussion of the Apostle Paul’s strategy; the authors include David Hesselgrave’s important “Pauline Cycle” in their discussion (58–59). The book has a solid biblical foundation. Terry and Payne’s comprehensive book will be very useful in classrooms where strategies for missions are studied.
