Terrorism prompting faster shifts to indigenous leaders

With increased terrorist threats globally, Mission Network News reports, Christians and mission agencies are rethinking their strategies in the face of continued persecution of Christians.

Equipping indigenous national pastors and church leaders is more attractive in an environment where foreign mission personnel may be targetted for attack.

A faster shift to indigenous leaders is not bad news, says David Shibley, the leader of Global Advance. He says "National pastors and church leaders...[are] perhaps the most pivotal of all groups for the fulfilling of the Great Commission."

The Frontier Mission Program of the PCUSA relies heavily on quickly developing indigenous Christian leaders in frontier projects among unreached people groups around the globe. (See an alphabetical list by country of all the PCUSA's frontier mission projects.) Very few of our Presbyterian frontier projects have Western personnel on site; most are led by indigenous or other bi-cultural leaders.

Along with Presbyterian Frontier Fellowship, the PCUSA Worldwide Ministries Division recognizes the wisdom of having indigenous churches come into being led as early as possible by national Christians. We think this is the best way for the powerful and life- and community-transforming way of Jesus Christ to impact another culture and take root within it, not as an import, but as the gospel directly for them with only one mediator, Jesus Christ.

-- Dave Hackett