Our Philosophy of Missions
Why we do what we do, and how we got here
"only the faith that they who go in the strength of the Lord can do all things, will send a man among these... peoples [who show] all the hopelessness of the Mohammedan world everywhere." Samuel Zwimmer
Missions to the Muslims of Southern Philippines was pioneered by various missionaries like Dr. Frank Laubach in 1929 and Bob and Mariel Ward who for 54 years served with great faithfulness, learning and documenting the Maranao language, and translating the Bible to Maranao. These served with many others to plant the seeds of the Gospel in exceedingly hostile soil.
This is the product of their efforts... The first, and still only Bible that is fully translated into a language of a Muslim People Group in Southern Philippines.
And this has been the normative response by that people group to the Bible...
However, in spite of great opposition, some Maranao did come to faith... Missionaries from the US, Germany, Canada, and Philippines, like those who founded DMI's parent organization, have struggled hard and planted some seeds and a few have seen some fruit harvested... But I can't even show you pictures of that fruit, for the persecution is many... The reality is that along with nasty FB posts above, comes these nasty neighbors...
At some level the Muslim peoples and the Christianized peoples of southern Philippines have been at war for over 400 years... And today the long term effects of colonialism and of Islam's constant quest for dominance, by both violent and non-violent means, has made missions ever more challenging.
Furthermore, Islamic missionary efforts have increased significantly. In fact, today, the majority of books published in the language form built up by the team led by Bob Ward are Islamic religious materials. Millions of dollars in funding pours in from oil-rich Islamic states to support the solidifying and expansion of Islam in the Philippines.
And, their evangelistic, apologetic, and polemic efforts, financed by the oil rich Islamic nations continues to grow...
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When the Enemy becomes Your Brothers
Some might say, 97 years of missions... and today they are even more hardened... Why keep trying?
Well let me tell you a story... Long, long ago in a land far-far away... Well, in the land we now call Scotland... the most powerful empire in the world, the Roman Empire, invaded the land of the Picts and Scotts...
What kind of people did they find there?
"They dwell in tents, naked... Ten and even twelve have wives common to them, and particularly brothers with brothers, and parents with their children [sharing wives]... [They] inhabit the wild... they are very fond of plundering; consequently they choose their boldest men as rulers. They can endure hunger and cold and any kind of hardship; for they plunge into the swamps and exist there for many days with only their heads above water, and in the forests they support themselves upon bark and roots. They tattoo their bodies with colored designs and drawings of all kinds of animals; for this reason they do not wear clothes, which would conceal the decorations on their bodies." Julius Caesar and Cassius Dio
These people were so violent, so barbaric, that even the great and mighty Romans could not conquer them. Instead, the Romans built a wall from one side of England ALL THE WAY to the other side... ocean to ocean... and it stayed that way for almost 300 years!
When the Romans first invaded Scotland, they were also busy persecuting and killing Christians.
But soon the leaven planted by Paul conquered the Romans, and the Empire bowed its knee to Christ.
The now Christian Romans soon looked to their enemies to bring the Gospel... Remember, to do so required that the missionaries go over the wall meant to keep the Barbarians at bay and meet with them... Imagine that, on the other side of the wall, no one to help you, no one to rescue you... and you have to present the Gospel to Chief Talorc and his uncle Druid Cinioch high priest of Wooden...
This was one of the hardest people to bring to Christ... It took over 300 years of high-risk missions before Scotland was somewhat Christianized... and it took another 300 years for that to produce full fruit.
But full fruit was produced...
Scotland, once the Barbarian lands of violence and Paganism, under Christ, not only produced great leaders of the Church such as John Knox, but also per-capita produced some of the most effective cross-cultural missionaries in modern history... The Enemies, now Brothers, brought Christ to faraway lands, just as Christ had been brought to them...
Ok it can be done... It has been done... But what is the strategy for this?
Same one since it was said Peter to the Jews and Paul to the Greeks (Gal 2:7-8).
Let's talk a bit of modern missions history...
In 1797, at the start of modern cross-cultural missions, the London Missionary Society began its first missionary effort. They chose Tahiti because Captain Cook had stated that the people there could never become Christians. The strategy? Wow the natives with English civilization and certainly they will want to become Christian just like the English!
The result? Failure... More missionaries apostatized to the pagan tribes than Tahitians became Christians. Some went mad, others quickly abandoned the effort. Alarmed by this growing failure, the LMS sought to figure out what the right strategy was. It was one of their co-Founders, Pastor David Bogue that called the LMS to a new, or perhaps more accurately, back to the original Church Planting strategy...
David Bogue's Strategy for Planting Strong Churches on Strong Foundations
The Word of God converts... nothing else. Trying to use other means is to depend on weak means (1 Cor 1:18-31, Heb 4:12).
His Sheep know His voice... and they come to Him when they hear it (John 10:27, Rom 10:14-17)
A Missionary's FIRST and PRIMARY job is to Clearly and Faithfully Proclaim the Word and gather those that respond into churches.
David Bogue re-engineered the LMS's strategy and this is the same foundational strategy that DMI uses today...
- Partner with Churches to find those with calling to Missions
- Train deeply in the Bible... It's what will be proclaimed... it's the weapons and armor of God
- Learn the language and culture of the people deeply so that the Gospel can be communicated clearly
- If needed translate the Bible accurately
- Preach the Gospel with the Bible... Jesus says that His sheep know his voice, and when they hear it they come to Him.
- Gather those who respond to the Gospel proclamation... Train up Elders... Turnover the Church to them...
- Partner with the new church to develop training resources and establish training programs in the people's language to sustain the growth of the maturity of the church
- Repeat until people are reached
Almost all of the great missionaries of the 18th-20th century from William Carey to Hudson Taylor used some form of this strategy.
David Bogue's first effort was China
He personally trained up the first two missionaries to China, Robert Morrison and William Milne.
Morrison and Milne in China:
- 3-5 Years: Formal Bible and Theology Training
- 3-4 Years: Language training both before and after arrival in China
- +6 Years: Translate NT
- +7 Years: First Convert
- +11 Years: Establish Chinese Bible College
- +12 Years: Translate OT, Finish Bible
- +12 Years: First Chinese Evangelist
- +35 Years: First Chinese Church Plant
Morrison and Milne both died before the first church plant
Their efforts, followed by the efforts of thousands of church planters under Hudson Taylor's CIM and others, took about 150 years to produce full fruit... but today, Chinese Christians likely represent the largest ethnic group of Christians in the World.
And the same strategy and timeline is what planted the strong churches of India, Africa, Philippines, and more recently in South America... There are many other strategies with many names, but historically, this has been the way strong multi-generational churches get planted... and just like Scotland, decades to centuries is actually the normal timeframe.
If you look at the history of Missions, this is what the average successful missions process and timeline looks like:
Now, to one last question... Why Philippines?
Because the Philippines is the gateway to the house of Islam (Dar al Islam). Almost everything east of here all the way to Morocco is under the dominion of Islam. And yet, Philippines is also one of the few nations with a substantial Muslim population where it is fully legal to evangelize and plant churches... Not always safe, but fully legal and proper...
Think of that wall that was built to keep out the Picts and Scotts. The Devil has built a similar wall at the border with the House of Islam... A great defensive wall... Or at least that's what he wants us to think. Actually, this wall is not to defend the House of Islam. The Devil knows that he cannot defeat God. This wall, like the DMZ of North Korea, is there to keep the people in.
We have the light, the Word of God. And if His light shines, and the Truth be proclaimed, then the people will be set free.
Why here, on the edge of civilization?
Think of the world divided into three zones, the Reached Zone, the Contact Zone, and the Unreached Zone. DMI is in the Contact Zone. This zone is optimal for relatively safe engagement and training. The church here is under-resourced and under-pressure, but unlike the Unreached Zone, can operate relatively openly in direct contact with the unreached people.
In the Contact Zone, the future Church Planters (the ones who Go) can train and develop in contact with the people groups they will be reaching. Here the future Senders (Pastors and Elders) and future Givers (Christian Business Leaders and Professionals) are built up with a full understanding of missions, a heart for the specific unreached people group, and a close relationship with those who will Go, ensuring an effective Whole of Church Effort.
Our ultimate goal is the raising up, equipping, and sending of a new generation of Bob and Mariel Ward, primarily from the Filipino Church...
Remember the Wards?
From them we imagine one day we can see this:
