Picturing Theology

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P i c t u r i n g T h e o l o g y

Empowering People for Freedom, Wholeness, and Justice (continued)

God’s kingdom rule. The integration of the two is aptly expressed in Ephesians 2:8-10 which states, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, [9] not a result of works, so that no one may boast. [10] For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” These facets may be summarized as “a threefold relationship between evangelism and social activity. First, Christian social activity [development] is a consequence of evangelism, since it is the evangelized who engage in it. Second it is a bridge to evangelism, since it expresses God’s love and so both overcomes prejudice and opens closed doors. Third, it is a partner of evangelism, so that they are ‘like two blades of a pair of scissors or the two wings of a bird’” (Stott 1995, 52). 3.3 The Need for Specialization Modern missions have seen the rise of both mission and development agencies. This occurs as organizations specialize in one component of the overall task God has given. This recognition of the need for specialization arose early on in the life of the Church. J. Chongham Cho comments: In Acts 6 . . . a distinction between evangelism and social action was made. This was not a division in essence but for the sake of practical efficacy of the church’s mission and as the solution to a problem which arose in the church. This is a necessary deduction from the nature of the church as Christ’s body. Although we should resist polarization between evangelism and social action, we should not resist specialization (Cho 1985, 229). As a missions agency, our primary focus is evangelism and discipleship which results in the planting of indigenous churches. The fact that evangelism, church-planting and development are interconnected means that missions agencies, especially those who focus on the poor and oppressed, will engage in some form of development work. However, the mission agency must be careful to structure its development work so that it encourages the central task of evangelism and church-planting rather than detracts from it. 4 We should engage in development work which fosters the formation, health, growth, and reproducibility of indigenous churches among the poor.

4 See Appendix A for a variety of perspectives on how improperly implemented development work can adversely affect missionary work.