Being Christian Doing Missions Whats It All About

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Domestic Vocational Missions
OutReach America
Marvin Judith Crowson Domestic Missionary in
Residence MCrowson_at_harding.edu www.DomesticMissio
ns.com
Harding University Center For World
Missions McInteer Room 210 501-279-5384
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The Spiritual Condition Of The World
The Good News

• Because of the population explosion that is
  going on today, a large portion of all the people
  who have ever lived on this earth will be living
  in the next 50 years. That means that this
  generation of the Lords church has an
  unparalleled opportunity.
• Flavil R. Yeakley, Jr., Ph.D.
• Harding Center for Church Growth Studies, 2002

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Discipleship Whats It All About?

• The Claims Of Christ
• For the Son of Man came to seek and save the
  lost. Luke 1910
• I am the way and the truth and the life. No one
  comes to the Father except through me. If you
  really knew me, you would know my Father as well
  John 146-7
• If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching
  John 1423

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Discipleship Whats It All About?

• John 312 21
• 16 f For God so loved the world that he gave
  his one and only Son, that whoever believes in
  him shall not perish but have eternal life.
• For God did not send his Son into the world to
  condemn the world, but to save the world through
  him.

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Discipleship Whats It All About?

• Faith In Christ Essential
• How, then, can they call on the one they have
  not believed in? And how can they believe in
  the one of whom they have not heard? And how
  can they hear without someone preaching
  (proclaiming) to them? Romans 1014

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Discipleship Whats It All About?

• The Call Of Christ
• All authority in heaven and on earth has been
  given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of
  all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
  Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and
  teaching them to obey everything I have commanded
  you... Matthew 2818-20

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Discipleship Whats It All About?

• Will This Cause Trouble ?
• go and make disciples of all nations

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Discipleship Whats It All About?

• Matt. 1034-39
• 34-36 Do not suppose that I have come to bring
  peace to the earth. I did not come to bring
  peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn a
  man against his father, a daughter against her
  mother, a daughter-in-law against her
  mother-in-law a mans enemies will be the
  members of his own household.

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Discipleship Whats It All About?

• Matt. 1034-39
• 37-39 Anyone who loves his father or mother more
  than me is not worthy of me anyone who loves
  his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of
  me and anyone who does not take his cross and
  follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his
  life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for
  my sake will find it.

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The Spiritual Condition Of The World

• Spiritual Marines
• Purpose Driven Lives
• Our Mission As Disciples!

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The Spiritual Condition Of The World

• Six Billion People
• 70 do not claim to be Christians
• More than four-billion non-Christians

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The USAs Spiritual Condition
More Bad News

• North America is the only continent where
  Christianity is not a growing religion.

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The USAs Spiritual Condition

• 500 Billion has been spent on ministry in the
  U.S. in the last 15 years with no appreciable
  growth.
• H.B. London Pastors Briefing, 2/22/99

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The USAs Spiritual Condition

• Churches are Plateaued and declining
• following WWII thousands of new churches were
  established. Today, of the 350,000 churches in
  America, four out of the five are either
  plateaued or declining.
• 80-85 of the churches in America are on
  downside of growth cycle.
• Planting Growing Churches in 2000 quote from The
  Pastors Manual for Effective Ministry, Win Arn

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The USAs Spiritual Condition

• Churches are Plateaued and declining
• 3,500 to 4,000 churches die every year.
• an estimated 30,000 congregations ceased to
  exist sometime during the 1980s.
• Planting Growing Churches, 2000 Aubrey Malphurs

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The USAs Spiritual Condition

• US ranks with India, China and Indonesia as
  largest populations of
• unclaimed
• un-churched
• un-Christian
• pre-Christian

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The USAs Spiritual Condition

• USA Is Not A Christian Nation
• Even in the Bible Belt
• 1/3 claim to be Christians, active
• 1/3 claim, but seldom attend
• 1/3 claim no Christian affiliation

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The USAs Spiritual Condition

• Arkansas White County
• 1/3 Committed to some Church
• 1/3 5ers, claim but not committed
• 1/3 No religious involvement
• 2/3 Do not trust in Christ
• Un-Churched

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The USAs Spiritual Condition

• The Church Is The Weakest
• (In Proportion To Total Population)
• In The Major, Growing, Multicultural,
• Population Centers

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The USAs Spiritual Condition

• Some census studies show 45 of US population are
  un-claimed
• 126 million
• Not from Christian homes
• Do not know the stories, books of Bible
• Do not know the God of the Bible

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The USAs Spiritual Condition

• If you add Christians who
• Deny inspiration of Scriptures
• Deny Christ is the Savior, the way, the truth,
  the life
• Teach any god will do
• 5ers
• 65 of US population is un-claimed
• for Christ

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• The
• Church
• of
• Christ ?

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The Church of Christ In The USA

• Top 10 Top States In Number Of Congregations
  (1980 2000)
• Texas 2,188 - 34 Tennessee 1,472
  28
• Alabama 893 18 Arkansas 687 - 10
• California 622 11 Kentucky 603 22
• Oklahoma 511 - 35 Florida 455 54
• Missouri 428 - 88 Ohio 403 5

Flavil R. Yeakley, Jr., Ph.D. Harding Center
for Church Growth Studies, 2002
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The Church of Christ In The USA

• Top 10 States In Number Of Members Of The Church
  Of Christ (1980 2000)
• Texas 289,840 11 K Tennessee
  168,356 7 K
• Alabama 92,096 4 K Arkansas
  67,042 3 K
• California 64,057 5 K Oklahoma
  63,838 8 K
• Florida 55,779 11 K Kentucky
  45,546 1 K
• Georgia 36,240 8 K Ohio
  35,974 3 K

Flavil R. Yeakley, Jr., Ph.D. Harding Center
for Church Growth Studies, 2002
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USA Total 2006

• Year Churches Members Adherents
• 1980 12,719 1,239,612 1,600,177
• 12,963 1,265,844 1,639,495
• /- 244 26,232 39,318
• 1.9 2.1 2.5
• This condition is what church statisticians call
  being plateaued
• (i.e., no statistically significant growth or
  decline).
• During this 25-year period, population in the
  United States has grown by around 25 percent.
• Flavil R. Yeakley, Jr., Ph.D.
• Harding Center for Church Growth Studies, 2006

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The Beginning Of A New Era Of Discipling In
The USA !
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Why Now ?
People are searching for Relationships
Significance Hope Answers

There is a deep desire for spiritual moorings
a hunger for God (in the USA). People are
reaching out in all directions in their attempt
to escape from the seen world to the unseen
world. George Gallup, U.S. News and World
Report
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Why Now ?

• New Interest in Spiritual Matters
• Feeling Insecure - Unsafe
• Bombarded With Change
• 911 Terrorism War
• Politics
• New generation Millennials, Mosaics
• Rekindling of importance of values

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Hardings Response
OutReach America
Heres how Harding through OutReach America is
responding.
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Vision
OutReach America
A campus inspired to develop disciples empowered
to change a nation
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Mission
OutReach America
Boldly Expanding Kingdom Borders
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Strategy
OutReach America
Develop
followers of Christ who develop followers
of Christ. Help
existing churches grow and establish new
fellowships of believers. Assist
campus ministries in creating more
ministries and fellowships of believers.
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With Who?
OutReach America
University Students and Graduates
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HARDING UNIVERSITY
After graduation most students will move to
cities in the USA Encouraged to make decisions on
where they live and work based on Kingdom
criteria
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OutReach America
Denver
Miami
Chicago
?
Seattle
Los Angeles
Washington, DC
New York
Boston
San Francisco
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OutReach America
Inspires, equips, helps relocate and encourages
teams and individuals to intentionally locate in
gate-way cities of America.
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OutReach America
We primarily use teams in developing groups of
believers, campus ministries, and in helping
existing churches grow modeling how the body of
believers can function in love, deed and living
as the priesthood of all believers.
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Some Thoughts On Mission Principles

• Move to gate-way cities with international
  connections that are centers of
• Education
• Communication
• Commerce
• Culture
• Where other faith based bodies have grown
• Where team can use their spiritual gifts,
  education, with a new and growing multi-cultural
  populations and people in transition

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Leader Team Training

• 90 hours in workshops
• over 3-5 semesters
• Retreats - Spring Breaks
• Survey Trips Workshops
• Internships
• On Location Every Quarter For 3 Years

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Question?
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Ways You Can Be Involved
What if every campus ministry produced at least
one team every four years?
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Ways You Can Be Involved
What if every campus ministry produced at least
one team with every incoming class?
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Answer These Questions For Each Person

• Answer these questions for each person you meet,
  greet, work and do business with,
• and live by.

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Answer These Questions For Each Person

• Am I wanted here?
• Hospitality

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Answer These Questions For Each Person

• Am I wanted here?
• Am I accepted here?
• 6 friends

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Answer These Questions For Each Person

• Am I wanted here?
• Am I accepted here?
• Am I needed here?
• Meaningful
• Involvement

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Answer These Questions For Each Person

• Am I wanted here?
• Am I accepted here?
• Am I needed here?
• Am I loved here?
• Matt. 25 Hungry, thirsty, stranger, clothes,
  prison visit
• 1 Cor. 13 Patient, kind, not proud, not rude, not
  
• self-seeking, not easily angered,
  no record of wrongs
  rejoices, protects, trusts, hopes, perseveres
• Random acts of kindness

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Answer These Questions For Each Person

• Am I wanted here?
• Am I accepted here?
• Am I needed here?
• Am I loved here?
• Can I express love here?
• Expressions of Godly love modeled
• Meaningful involvement
• Purposeful life style

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Leader Team Training

• 90 hours in workshops
• over 3-5 semesters
• Retreats - Spring Breaks
• Survey Trips Workshops
• Internships
• On Location Every Quarter For 3 Years

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What Love Looks Like

• John 1334
• A new command I give you Love one another. As I
  have loved you, so you must love one another.