Developing Resources for Vision 2025
What is the impact on this vision?

Article by Kirk Franklin, Wycliffe International

Introduction: Vision 2025 in the world today
Vision 2025 has given both a deliberate focus and a wake up call. Efforts to date have seen a good foundation established. While at times it seems impossible, through prayer for wisdom and direction in developing the strategies and finding the resources, we should expect to see God do the impossible.

There are immense challenges in generating interest through Vision 2025. As the implications of the vision are shared, the responses are and will be mixed. The Wycliffe organisations in older sending countries can find it difficult to gain interest from their churches. In many circles Bible translation may not be in ‘vogue’ like it once was. This is causing some Wycliffe organisations to question their viability. Some may decide to change their focus from ministry and recruitment to fundraising and development. The newer sending countries are finding a different picture with many of their churches showing interest. How to develop and engage with that interest is and will be a challenge and requires greater intentionality by the Wycliffe Organisations concerned.

The early results regarding Vision 2025 and the starting of new language programs are very exciting. God is at work. Yet some degree of caution is required as it will considerably tax all who are committed to sustaining the Vision and its early results. If our focus is just on short-term gains and results there may be a difficult time ahead if the new project start ups are not sustained beyond their initial formation stage.

Regardless of the current interest or lack thereof in Vision 2025 by sectors of the worldwide church, Wycliffe organisations are well positioned to stimulate active engagement with the church to call out people of all nations who are willing to risk their lives to honour and glorify God’s name amongst the peoples of the earth.

a) Issues specific to Vision 2025 and Wycliffe and its partners.

• Wycliffe organisations are a window to the church about the needs, opportunities, results, ministry and impact of Bible translation. This requires understanding the theological and missiological importance and implications of Bible translation in the global mission of the church.

• Vision 2025 is seven years old and begs the question about how it has impacted each Wycliffe organisation and whether this has been significant in developing sound missiological strategies that help communicate and implement Vision 2025.

• Is Vision 2025 being interpreted by some as yet another plan to evangelise the world?

• How at times the Great Commission has been reduced to proclamation alone and therefore a holistic theology has been prevented from developing that addresses concerns of marginalised people groups especially those who are in focus in Vision 2025.

• The suggestion that the church finally has the technology to finish the Great Commission at the expense of the sacrificial incarnational calling of God. Becoming dependent on technology could get in the way of obeying the incarnational mandate.

• A fundamental problem that Bible translation is not viewed as mission by the church.

b) Issues specific to mission strategy.

• The potential use of emotive slogans to drive the marketing of missions and Bible translation that may cause harm or embarrassment to the leaders concerned.

• The application of potential simplistic thinking and methodologies to the Great Commission that are guided by marketing strategies alone.

• The reduction of world evangelisation to a manageable enterprise with an over-emphasis on research, statistics, quantifiable objectives and desired outcomes.

• A focus on a limited part of the world (e.g. the 10/40 Window, Muslim world, etc.).

• The theological implications and missiological mandate for engaging the Diaspora in mission. (In other words engaging with Diaspora is a biblical strategy for mission.)

• Non-western missionaries repeating some of the same mistakes of western missionaries. Issues such as cross-cultural communication, family-work-ministry balance, marriage, relationships with colleagues of other nationalities, health, and children’s education are emerging as challenges for the non-western missionaries. However missionaries from the western world have been dealing with these same issues for decades. The transference of this knowledge and experience is not necessarily flowing from the west to non-west.

• A potential over-emphasis on short-term missions that minimises longer-term service and an inadequate biblical theology of vocation. (How are the unreached evangelised without people of high commitment living amongst them?)

• Short-term mission becoming ad hoc mission. The explosion of short term-mission means that many missiological mistakes are being made that over time may cause a great set-back for the worldwide mission movement and the acceptance of the gospel.

c) Issues specific to the missionary mandate

• The loss of a call to radical commitment and discipleship to Christ by the western church.

• An inadequate theology of suffering and martyrdom in terms of the missions mandate in the western church (in contrast to the church of the south and east).

d) Issues specific to modern culture and mission

• An emerging global culture that is focused on consumerism and materialism as a primary purpose of life. Commitment to Christ, living for him and serving him are challenges the church must address. This is affecting recruitment for mission organisations.

• Living in the kingdom of God is confronting Christians everywhere. The vision of the end should be guiding living in the present. However as Christians become comfortable and focus on personal satisfaction they are not living by the values of the kingdom of God nor preparing for their future eternal home. Therefore mission seems less urgent to them.

• The pluralistic view that there is no one way to God. The growing popularity and assimilation of the world religions is resulting in Christians doubting the exclusiveness of Christ. A weak Christology is emerging that threatens the church.

e) Issues specific to the involvement of local churches in mission

• Large churches ‘going it alone’ as they increasingly view mission agencies as irrelevant or unhelpful. As the mega-churches become bigger and wealthier they have the means to carry out their commitment to mission without working through or with any mission agency. This may be a short-term factor but none-the-less it could make it more difficult for mission agencies to engage with or partner with these churches.

• Christians and churches being overwhelmed with information (about anything but including missions) and therefore can be disinterested about mission and what is happening in the world. Mission agencies find themselves ‘competing’ for interest.

Conclusion
Proponents of globalisation believe the world is becoming flat and interconnected (e.g Thomas Friedman’s ‘The World is Flat’). But there is a growing dark side and that is that the weak are becoming weaker. The marginalised are becoming more so, often finding themselves more helpless than they already were. This appears true of a majority of communities that are the focus of Vision 2025. Wycliffe Organisations have the responsibility to champion their cause and use its expertise to meet their needs.

The disciplines in language development (literacy, sociolinguistics, ethnomusicology, anthropology, linguistics and translation, etc.) each have a holistic focus because they have the end in mind of bringing about transformational change. Together they empower the marginalised and compel the powerful to recognise their weakness. Furthermore the spiritual understanding gained from the vernacular scriptures encourages spiritual maturity within the emerging Christian communities. They are also no longer dependent upon the outside world and are equipped to do theology in their context and apply this to daily life. This is the transformational change that Wycliffe organisations long to see take place around the world.

Back | Next | Menu | Close