EMQ Volume 60 Issue 2

By Heather Pubols | Across the Americas, God is calling foreign, national, and Indigenous believers to find a place alongside and not ahead of each other as they work together to grow the kingdom of God.

By Jenn Brown | I am a Christian and a Native American from the Yuchi tribe. My family’s story reflects the challenges Native Americans experienced when Christian faith was not contextualized to their cultures. Yet I’ve also witnessed how Scripture engagement can honor cultures and bring God glory. 

By Chondeug Joseph Jang | In mission history with First Nations in Canada, relationships were broken and Christianity often meant oppressive religiosity. But a missions focus on building genuine relationships and holistic ministry is making a difference.

By Monique Ransom | Throughout the Scriptures, the Creator has written a story about a reality in which gentiles and outside nations have been invited into reciprocal relationships where everyone can contribute to the creation of a people who are are to be a blessing to all. But in our collective past, so many have been drawn in by reading ourselves into the stories of conquest and domination and imposed relationships of power and control that we have forgotten our original instructions.

By Derek Ross | Despite immense challenges and forces of evil that worked to destroy our culture, my family stands as a testimony of people who served God through our culture. Through many days of darkness, they carried gospel light to my people – the Wichita. Today, I continue in their legacy, facilitating the engagement of Native American churches in global mission.

By Patrick Lennox | The mission to Native America is not complete. We need more Native pastors to plant new churches and to revitalize existing churches. Those pastors would benefit from seminary training and encouragement to persevere in their communities. And we need the non-Native body of Christ to come alongside and support Native brothers and sisters in their efforts to fulfill the Great Commission in North America.

By Pío Víctor Campos Barco | Nearly half of Bolivia’s population come from its Indigenous communities of which the Quechua are the largest. Yet gospel resources in Quechua remain limited. While many Quechua people enthusiastically participate in church, few have experienced the transformation of the gospel because they don’t understand it.  

By Enoque Ozório de Faria and Javier Mayorga Ramirez | Across the Amazon region and lowlands of South America, God has raised up a movement of foreign, national, and Indigenous missionaries that are working in unity to see the Great Commission fulfilled. They long to see all the Indigenous peoples in the Amazon region and lowlands worshiping and glorifying God’s Holy Name as equal parts of Christ’s Body on earth.

By Henrique Dias Terena and César Rodríguez Sáenz | Indigenous Christians are realizing that the church does not belong to any ethnic group. They see that unity and collaboration applies to the whole church and are the way God desires for his people to participate together in what he is doing. And they are joining with their global brothers and sisters as equal partners in participating with God in his global mission.

By Chris and Tina Ferry | Foreign missionaries arriving to serve in the Amazon and lowland region of South America are entering a different mission context than 20 years ago or even 10. Capable and wise Indigenous Christian leaders have a significant presence. Yet while the role of foreign missionaries is different, there is still a place to serve.

By Trudy Seng, Meiry Yakawa, and Vera Bergson | In the heart of South America, the Ammi Training Center brings people from diverse tribes together for discipleship and ministry training. Graduates leave with life-long friendships and ready to reach Brazil’s many ethnic groups still waiting to hear of God’s love.

By Luke Lundstedt | The world is changing as people from around the world work together side-by-side. Mission organizations must adapt to accommodate changing dynamics. Improving organizational cultural intelligence is key to sustaining diverse and inclusive teams that can effectively engage in today’s mission environment.

By David R. Dunaetz | Understanding acculturation strategies helps missionaries know what they personally experience and what members of a diaspora community experience. It also provides several insights relevant to diaspora church planting.

By Irma Espinoza | For the gospel to be most effectively received, it must be oriented to the receiver. This contextualized approach safeguards the fidelity of the meaning of the gospel while at the same time ensuring it reaches the heart of the receiver. Only a heart-felt comprehension of the gospel leads people toward God’s true transformation.