Difference between revisions of "Missionary"
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Bible verse about missionaries: "And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ." - Ephesians 4:11-13 | Bible verse about missionaries: "And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ." - Ephesians 4:11-13 | ||
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| + | == Protestant ministries and their effect on history == | ||
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| + | The article "The Surprising Discovery About Those Colonialist, Proselytizing Missionaries" published in ''Christianity Today'' notes: | ||
| + | {{Cquote|In his fifth year of graduate school, Woodberry created a statistical model that could test the connection between missionary work and the health of nations. He and a few research assistants spent two years coding data and refining their methods. They hoped to compute the lasting effect of missionaries, on average, worldwide... | ||
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| + | One morning, in a windowless, dusty computer lab lit by fluorescent bulbs, Woodberry ran the first big test. After he finished prepping the [[statistics|statistical]] program on his [[computer]], he clicked "Enter" and then leaned forward to read the results. | ||
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| + | "I was shocked," says Woodberry. "It was like an [[atomic bomb]]. The impact of missions on global democracy was huge. I kept adding variables to the model—factors that people had been studying and writing about for the past 40 years—and they all got wiped out. It was amazing. I knew, then, I was on to something really important." | ||
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| + | Woodberry already had historical proof that missionaries had educated women and the poor, promoted widespread printing, led nationalist movements that empowered ordinary citizens, and fueled other key elements of democracy. Now the statistics were backing it up: Missionaries weren't just part of the picture. They were central to it... | ||
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| + | Areas where [[Protestantism|Protestant]] missionaries had a significant presence in the past are on average more economically developed today, with comparatively better health, lower infant mortality, lower corruption, greater literacy, higher educational attainment (especially for women), and more robust membership in nongovernmental associations. | ||
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| + | In short: Want a blossoming democracy today? The solution is simple—if you have a time machine: Send a 19th-century missionary." | ||
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| + | ...at a conference presentation in 2002, Woodberry got a break. In the room sat Charles Harper Jr., then a vice president at the John Templeton Foundation, which was actively funding research on religion and social change. (Its grant recipients have included Christianity Today.) Three years later, Woodberry received half a million dollars from the foundation's Spiritual Capital Project, hired almost 50 research assistants, and set up a huge database project at the University of Texas, where he had taken a position in the sociology department. The team spent years amassing more statistical data and doing more historical analyses, further confirming his theory. | ||
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| + | ...Woodberry's historical and statistical work has finally captured glowing attention. A summation of his 14 years of research—published in 2012 in the American Political Science Review, the discipline's top journal—has won four major awards, including the prestigious Luebbert Article Award for best article in comparative politics. Its startling title: "The Missionary Roots of Liberal Democracy." | ||
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| + | ...over a dozen studies have confirmed Woodberry's findings. The growing body of research is beginning to change the way scholars, aid workers, and economists think about democracy and development.<ref>''Christianity Today'', [https://archive.is/cDMnA "The surprising discovery about those colonialist, proselytizing missionaries"], January 8, 2014</ref>}} | ||
== Raising missionary support == | == Raising missionary support == | ||
Revision as of 12:36, January 1, 2025
A missionary is one who spreads a religion or faith. Christian missionaries were involved in many early colonialism efforts, explaining the spread and staying power of Catholicism in South American nations like Mexico and throughout the Pacific nations.
Due in part to missionaries, in terms of its geographic distribution, Christianity is the most globally diverse religion.[2]
Bible verse about missionaries: "And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ." - Ephesians 4:11-13
Protestant ministries and their effect on history
The article "The Surprising Discovery About Those Colonialist, Proselytizing Missionaries" published in Christianity Today notes:
| “ | In his fifth year of graduate school, Woodberry created a statistical model that could test the connection between missionary work and the health of nations. He and a few research assistants spent two years coding data and refining their methods. They hoped to compute the lasting effect of missionaries, on average, worldwide...
One morning, in a windowless, dusty computer lab lit by fluorescent bulbs, Woodberry ran the first big test. After he finished prepping the statistical program on his computer, he clicked "Enter" and then leaned forward to read the results. "I was shocked," says Woodberry. "It was like an atomic bomb. The impact of missions on global democracy was huge. I kept adding variables to the model—factors that people had been studying and writing about for the past 40 years—and they all got wiped out. It was amazing. I knew, then, I was on to something really important." Woodberry already had historical proof that missionaries had educated women and the poor, promoted widespread printing, led nationalist movements that empowered ordinary citizens, and fueled other key elements of democracy. Now the statistics were backing it up: Missionaries weren't just part of the picture. They were central to it... Areas where Protestant missionaries had a significant presence in the past are on average more economically developed today, with comparatively better health, lower infant mortality, lower corruption, greater literacy, higher educational attainment (especially for women), and more robust membership in nongovernmental associations. In short: Want a blossoming democracy today? The solution is simple—if you have a time machine: Send a 19th-century missionary." ...at a conference presentation in 2002, Woodberry got a break. In the room sat Charles Harper Jr., then a vice president at the John Templeton Foundation, which was actively funding research on religion and social change. (Its grant recipients have included Christianity Today.) Three years later, Woodberry received half a million dollars from the foundation's Spiritual Capital Project, hired almost 50 research assistants, and set up a huge database project at the University of Texas, where he had taken a position in the sociology department. The team spent years amassing more statistical data and doing more historical analyses, further confirming his theory. ...Woodberry's historical and statistical work has finally captured glowing attention. A summation of his 14 years of research—published in 2012 in the American Political Science Review, the discipline's top journal—has won four major awards, including the prestigious Luebbert Article Award for best article in comparative politics. Its startling title: "The Missionary Roots of Liberal Democracy." ...over a dozen studies have confirmed Woodberry's findings. The growing body of research is beginning to change the way scholars, aid workers, and economists think about democracy and development.[3] |
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Raising missionary support
- The Ultimate Guide to Missionary Support
- How to Raise Funds for Full-time Missions
- Raising missionary support with global frontier missions
- Missionary Support Raising Guide + 5 Free Templates
Raising support for missionary trips
See also
See: Christianity in Africa
- Evangelism
- Growth of Christianity
- Christianity in Africa (High growth area for Christianity)
- Growth of Christianity in China
- Internet evangelism
- Anderson Bergemot
External links
- What is a Missionary?, Campbellsville University
- What are some of the first steps to becoming a missionary?, Ask a Missionary website
- Taking the gospel to the least reached
- Become a missionary. Go and make disciples., Crossworld website
Apostle Paul's journeys:
Videos:
- How to become a missionary - video playlist, video playlist