Lausanne World Pulse – Themed Articles – Education and Training for Missions and Evangelism

By Kumar Abraham

There is a clear difference between missions and evangelism. Missions includes evangelism but is not limited to evangelism. Evangelism could be defined as the sharing of good news of Christ with those who do not believe and calling them to faith and repentance. Missions (which is different from “Mission”) has been defined by George Peters as “the total biblical assignment of the church of Jesus Christ.”¹ The final purpose of all this activity is the transformation of society so that God will be known and glorified.

Prayer is indispensable in our training for the mission field and in evangelizing the lost. Take prayer out and evangelism and mission becomes a work of the flesh devoid of God, his grace and his favor. The best curriculum should be prepared with the most qualified trainers. However, training is ultimately directed by God. Surprises are always a part of any training program.

Looking at the Example of Jesus
While on earth, Jesus constantly turned situations into opportunities for training. When there was a storm, it gave him the opportunity to teach about faith (Matthew 8:26). In John 6:5-6, when there was no food, we read that Jesus “said to Philip, ‘Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?’ He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.” When the disciples could not cast out a demon, “the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, ‘Why couldn’t we drive it out?’ He replied, ‘Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:19-20). After Peter almost drowned, Jesus said, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31).

Like Jesus, the wise trainer will not protect trainees from tough situations by providing quick solutions to problems that are faced. There will be many such situations that will arise especially in the hands-on, practicum part of the training. These are ideal times for trainees to pray, listen to God, unite to talk and determine what God is trying to say. As the trainer progresses through training, he or she should always keep in the back of his or her mind issues to be covered. When the class has not experienced a certain issue, the trainer can also discuss it verbally.

Training should be held in careful balance in the following three areas: character, knowledge and skills.

I. Character
Those desiring to be missionaries need to have a fruitful devotional life, a healthy marriage (if married) and a prayerful and caring church support base. The missionary should also be part of a mission agency that holds its missionaries accountable.

Dr. Kumar Abraham is a Sri Lankan national living in Melbourne, Australia and has served as a missionary in the Philippines for twenty-one years. He is an evangelist, a trainer of evangelists, equipper of Christ-followers in evangelism and a Bible school lecturer. He can be reached at: [email protected].