NEW MISSION PARADIGMS

NEW MISSION PARADIGMS

Mission is “God’s big Idea”. Even through most initiatives seem to have a human founder, it is the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that gives way to a new mission movement. When Interserve was founded more than 163 years ago, there were many denominational mission initiatives. However the founders strongly believed that we needed a new initiative across denominations and cultures that will take the Gospel to the neediest people. At a time, when missions were largely confined to mission compounds, literacy teachers and Bible Women walked the length and breadth of rural India to reach out to women confined in Zenanas teaching them to read and write and love Jesus. All this was done in obedience to waking in step with God and not necessarily walking with the traditions and trends.

Paul Bendor Samuel, our former International Director a few months ago shared that one of the participants in an inter-agency meeting confided in him “Interserve is different; You are an organization that exists for partnerships”. Our most common way of working remains to depute professionals to churches, mission agencies, projects and institutions across the country. This is done in partnership with one another. Often our mission partners, when they are deputed to other institutions make adjustments to the extent that more than their identity as an ‘Interserver’ they are known as a representative of their deputed agency.

This makes it more difficult to understand the ministry of Interserve in the mission fields. We have chosen to be a catalyst for partnerships only for the glory of God. To quote from an internal discussion paper titled ‘Cross Road Challenges’, “The hunt is on for new mission paradigms that will help us make sense of a complex world in which old certainties have been eroded.”

Interserve constantly attempts to clarify our purpose so that we can avoid the danger of simply adopting pragmatic solutions to practical problems. We seek to allow God to shape our understanding of the purpose of mission today and allow that to drive our practical response. We are walking in step with God and we invite you to walk along with us in this mission journey. You can become part of our community as an individual partner or organizational partner or become a friend who will pray and support us regularly.  John Amalraj


2015 ISSUE I, INFOCUS

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