Search

Eugene Nida made the following observation in the near past: 'There are perhaps more missionaries today than ever before, but they are more poorly trained and prepared than in any other period of mission history' (Whiteman, 2008: 5). This is especially true in the emerging missions in new sending countries. The first-named author has had a chance of training new sending Pentecostal churches in about 30 different countries. This paper examines the needs of the parties involved in mission: Church, mission organization and training institution and then shows how a course can be designed that fulfils many of their requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

James Hudson Taylor's legacy upon early British Pentecostal missionary activity in the form of Cecil Polhill's Pentecostal Missionary Union (PMU) and Willie Burton's Congo Evangelistic Mission (CEM) was substantial. Taylor believed that missionary work should be done in total reliance upon God. 'If our hearts are right, we may count upon the Holy Spirit's working through us to bring others into deeper fellowship with God--the way the work began at Pentecost. We do not need to say much about the C.I.M.' Taylor believed that it was sufficient to have Spirit filled missionaries and God would meet the financial needs of those missionaries He had empowered. He exemplified a successful model of faith mission in China both at a personal and organisational level that influenced early Pentecostal missionary praxis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]