On LINE'S MORATORIUM

By Alex A. Sumbad and Susana Bagalay

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The Rev. Prof. D. T. Adamo and Dr. J. Enuwosa, both are missionaries. They are fighting the integrity of mission in Africa. They sacrifice their life to overcome the division which accompanied African Christianity. They want to create balance, harmony, justice, righteousness, reciprocity, order.
They believe that their mission in Africa will attain organic unity in the sense of absolute unity because Christian union is ultimately eschatological in nature. Dr. J. Enuwosa said, “Form of world-view which inspire a programmed of action” . Christianity was, therefore, seen by Africans as a type of an institution meant to sustain Western socio-economic and political policies. This was the mission of Rev. Prof. D. T. Adamo and Dr. J. Enuwosa. They are willing to sacrifice for the mission to enlighten the life of Christianity in Africa.
My Church is located in a remote community where people's source of living is farming. They are forced to work daily including Sundays for them to sustain their daily consumption. Their obligation in worshipping God is not active. Therefore, they forget their spiritual needs. This is the problem of my Church today. The Church cannot sustain the needs of the members that is why attendance in Sunday worships and Church activities are in decline. The Church members today show in their behavior that they are robbed their rights to accept the mission of God on earth. They choose to acknowledge the earthly living than to live in the Kingdom of God. For this reason, the work of the mission in my Church is not the most essential for them.
The purpose of the Church is to enforce the mission to help others recognize, develop, and use their God-given intuitive abilities to ease suffering and grow in goodness, love, compassion, and wisdom. By showing how they can tap in to our wisest selves and make our lives much happier and easier. To help each of them connect to the love that is eternal, that is the reason for our existence.

Eye of the Storm: The Great Debate in Mission by Donald McGavran

By Ptr. Elmer P. dela Peña and Haykie Tenorio
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Three aspects - kerygma, koinonia, and diakonia, should be integrated in our work of evangelism. Only so, are our methods of evangelism justified.
The kerygma is the proclamation that the shalom has come. Christ is there. We have not to look for another. We have entered upon the last days of total renewal. But, with the kerygma alone, in isolation, the evangelist soon becomes a more or less interesting orator. He needs the manifestation of the koinonia of which he is a part, and he has to justify himself as a witness of the Messiah-Servant in his diakonia.
The koinonia manifests the shalom, as it is present among men. But we need the continuous reminder of the kerygma, the interpretation of this shalom as the salvation of the Messiah, and the diakonia should prevent this shalom from being used in a self-sufficient way.
The diakonia translates the shalom into the language of humble service. But if we isolate this diakonia or give it an undue emphasis, then the evangelist soon becomes a sentimental philanthropist. He must never forget that he cannot render real service if he deprives man of the kerygma and leaves him outside the koinonia.


My insight on the reading reinforces my belief that it is easier and more rapid to do evangelism if every believer helps each other whatever denomination they belong. If we notice the prayer of Jesus in John 17:20-21, “20 My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me”. Jesus wants us to experience unity so that the world will believe that Jesus is from God. If Christians cannot be unified, then we are not approaching one another in love. And we cannot be a good witness for Christ if we are bickering with one another.
One of the things that most impresses the world is the way Christians love each other and live together in harmony, So then evangelism is easy to do and the church will grow not only in quantity but also in quality.

A Reflection on Missio Dei from the book on Evangelistic Love (Scot Jones)

By Phoebe Doroty Larida-Bacayana

Mission is first and foremost an activity of God in the world. The God who is love is a missionary God who seeks to save the world. God’s loving reign as sovereign over the creation aims at love, peace and justice. In the sinfulness of mankind calls for the saving grace of God which requires judgement and reconciliation, both between God and humanity and within the human community.

Missio dei or God’s mission is God’s act of redemption of the world sin and accomplishing God’s purposes. God’s mission to be accomplished, God uses all resources at God’s disposal and He called the church to participate in God’s mission.

The church where the Lord has send me to serve Him is a mission and worshiping congregation, that is an off spring of my home church. The congregation has membership of 12 families. I observed that members attend and participate in the Sunday worship activities alternately or by schedule attendance and at their preferred time schedules. Despite this, the members are thankful and sincerely appreciate whenever they are visited at their own homes. For other implemented church programs, only few would participate due to some reasons or another.

The church really needs deepening of faith, revival and nurture geared towards maturity, growth in spiritual and Christian life activities to address the church needs. But who shall take the tasks? The challenge of the task is still the concern laid upon the Pastor and church leaders/officials send forth to mission fields like these which is in statement of the United Methodist Church.

What this blog is about...

This is the official blog of the Misyonaryong Epektibo, the class taking the Missions, Evangelism and Discipleship class in Wesley Divinity School 2015. 

The course is an introduction to the theology and practice of missions, evangelism and discipleship. The course aims to expose the student to different approaches and practices of missions and evangelism with emphasis on the Wesleyan understanding of missions in the context of its church polity and structure. The purpose of this blog is to share the critical minds of the students and engage the wider public about the work of the church.

The blog writers are the following:

1. Missio dei: Mallari and Bayacana
2. Mc Gavran - Hoekendjik Debate: Dela Pena and Tenorio
3. Lines Morataruim: Bagalay and Sumbad...
4. Maddox on Mission: Bulosan and Otinez
5. Discipleship: Valerio and Facunla
6. Video: Vivas and Colis
7. Importance of Implementing the Project: Morales and Tolentino

Watch out for their articles and share your comments and insights in the comments box below.