Springdale College: Together in Missions (2015 CLC World - Issue 1)

Article Date: 06/02/2015 14:28:40

Moving Mission...that requires adaption and change!

Across the world there are more people becoming Christians now than at any time in human history. This amazing movement of God has developed a huge momentum in the last 30 years and has been made possible by the vision of those with a passion for and a commitment to mission.

 

The explosion in the growth of the number of believers around the world has meant that the shape of the missionary movement is rapidly changing.  It used to be the case that mission was from the west to the rest.  Today, partly because of the decline of the church in the western world, missionaries are coming to the west from South America, Africa and Asia.  Mission is moving from these lands to our lands in increasing numbers.  

 

In addition to these intentional mission movements coming to us from other lands, there are movements of migrants across our world on an unprecedented scale.  People are on the move because of persecution, poverty, war and even disease.  Desperation drives these vast movements of people many of whom risk their very lives to move to other lands.   

 

As migrants land on our shores two wonderful opportunities present themselves.  First, more than 50% of those who arrive in the UK are already Christians.   Many see themselves as missionaries to the un-evangelized British.   Thousands of churches have been opened in recent years by Christians from Africa, South America and Asia.  The desire of the leaders of these churches is to reach beyond their own people groups but they need training and support to achieve this task. Second, many, (though not all) of those who arrive as non-Christians are open to hearing the gospel. The training of Christian leaders who can reach these people, and the building of friendship and trust with them, is an urgent task if they are to be reached in significant numbers. 

 

As well as mission moving from other lands to our land there is another sense in which mission is making a crucial move.  It used to be the case that evangelism was largely conducted in our church buildings. Occasionally some organizations engage in public evangelism in the streets but mostly we have been used to the process of inviting people to church.  Today evangelism and the broader task of mission is moving from our church buildings towards all kinds of other initiatives – street pastors, food banks, help to the homeless and the addicted.  

 

Training needs to change...

All these moves in mission demand that we seriously rethink how we are training people for leadership and mission.  We still train people to go overseas to engage in mission and there are many wonderful opportunities for such mission to take place.  But alongside these openings we also need to raise up a huge missionary enterprise for our own land.

 

We need training in leadership and mission that is biblical, practical, local and flexible.  The way in which people now study needs to reflect the complexity and demands of a busy family and working life. The college that I lead, Springdale College, along with a number of other colleges, has picked up this challenge.  

 

Our BA programme is no longer just a theology degree but is entitled, “Theology and Mission”.  That means that theology and the Bible are taught entirely through the lens of mission. The undergraduate programme, whether full or part time, requires a practical mission placement as part of the course.  The MA programme is called an MA in Missional Leadership and is designed as a part time course for those who are already in leadership.  Both programmes are intended for practitioners with the aim that students put into practice what they are learning.  

 

Rather than have a single residential campus Springdale is now located in a series of regional campuses and local hubs.  That helps to make training accessible so that students no longer need to leave their church situation in order to train.  In fact many students take a placement in their home church. 

 

In 2015 Springdale will launch the Forge church planter training, again offered through a series of regional centres, with practical placement as part of the design. With such initiatives we look forward to the day when those of us labouring in the harvest fields of the west can rejoice with others in seeing a huge number of souls brought into the Kingdom of God.

 

Springdale College continues to change and adapt to new opportunities.  Presently we are establishing a mutually beneficial partnership with CLC Bookshops UK. Together we will endeavour to reach the wider Christian Community with our complementary range of services & resources and so help better equip those who want to be part of this movement in mission. We trust this will prove an exciting opportunity for both our organisations.

 

Website: springdaleweb.sdcol.org.uk

Twitter: @Springdale_Col

Facebook: Springdale College 

 

Article by Rev. Dr. Martin Robinson is a well-known author and speaker. His books include The Faith of the Unbeliever and Metavista (with Colin Green). He is also Principal of Springdale College. In this article Martin reflects on current challenges in mission. 

Keywords: CLC-Partnerships, CLC-International-UK, CLC-Bookshops, Springdale-College, Christian, Bible, Theology-books, Christian-books, Prayer