How to Use the Profile
by Bill TaylorWelcome to our profile! We offer one profile which combines the most critical character qualities, ministry skills, and knowledge goals for your evaluation. Obviously, one profile cannot identify all the necessary competencies for every possible missionary role - especially those skills needed by specialists in areas such as translation, medicine, technology, the arts, or community development. But it does identify the core competencies needed by most missionaries in the decade ahead. We see at least six different groups of people who will profit from these profiles.
1. Missionary candidates. A young couple named Raquel and David saw an initial draft of the profile. With enthusiasm, David began reading the material, exclaiming, “This is what I need right now! It will enable me to evaluate who and what I should be in terms of character, skills, and knowledge, and our pastor will be encouraged to see the important role our church has in shaping us for cross-cultural ministry.”
Missionary candidates have the primary responsibility for their own development and ministry effectiveness. This profile becomes a very helpful tool for them to use as they evaluate the process of preparation for cross-cultural ministry. Potential tentmaker missionaries will also find the profile helpful to identify the general competencies needed, though not specifically applied to that unique role. They will want to be careful to build on the character qualities basic to church planting missionaries.
The mentor/trainer is a more focused role for the more mature missionary who has been seasoned by experience or the new missionary with extensive experience in church planting or renewal work. The key is for the person to have a heart for equipping and proven coaching and mentoring skills. This person also has to be able to work well under and alongside national authority.
2. Local sending churches. A radically new attitude is transforming churches as they recognize and reaffirm their primary role in the selecting, screening, training, and equipping of missionary candidates. At the same time, churches realize there are some tasks they should not tackle alone and others which can be delegated. Among these are specialized training (linguistics, TESOL, technology courses) and deeper biblical/theological/missiological study (whether Islamics, cross-cultural church plant-ing, or knowledge-focused courses). Instead of sending missionaries unprepared, the wise church will utilize all available resources to prepare its missionaries.
3. Missions mobilizers. The key men and women, gifted with ability to encourage, envision, stimulate, and motivate, now have an additional tool which will help them balance enthusiasm with a serious evaluation of the kind of missionary we need.
4. Missionary training schools and programs. The profile suggests to faculty more precisely the kind of learning experiences (formal, non-formal, and/or informal) that will enable the school to produce that kind of missionary. The profile can also help professors identify the teaching/learning objectives they should focus on in their knowledge-oriented courses. For example, professors should teach the missionary basis of the Bible with the explicit objectives of developing a heart for the lost and commitment to world evangelization, as well as enabling their students to engage in missions as a way of life. At the same time, schools and training programs must realize they are partners with the candidates and their churches.
5. Mission agencies or sending organizations. Regardless of the kind of sending group, it’s important that the group think critically through exactly what kind of missionary it wants to send. It is incumbent on non-church agencies to work in warm dialogue and interdependence with their missionaries’ sending churches. Careful use of the profile, with its specific adaptations, will help all sending bodies. Each group will need to modify the profile to fit its specific parameters and requirements.
6. Field based receiving churches. Where there is a receiving church, its leaders have a role in the entire process of equipping the missionary. Obviously, this won’t apply to countries where there is no existing church. Overall, the greatest benefit in the profile comes when the six groups enter into mutual dialogue and interdependence in understanding their role in equipping missionaries.
Training Profile of a Cross-Cultural Church Planter: Self-Assessment Tool
Instructions: This profile is designed to assess your own readiness and suitability to serve as a cross-cultural church planter. It is divided into three sections: character qualities, ministry skills, and knowledge goals. Each row lists subcompetencies or qualities for each category, listed in the left column. Entry-level qualities begin in column 1 on the left, progressing toward more advanced ones in the numbered columns to the right. Score one point for each box which describes an area in which you now feel competent. Leave it blank if it is still an area for substantial growth. Tally your scores for each row in the total column on the far right. Sum your row totals on the line at the bottom right. This is an arbitrary number which indicates areas of present strength as well as areas for personal growth.
Once you’ve completed the profile, take a few minutes to look back over each category to see what that tells you about your level of spiritual experience, maturity, and ministry skill. Consider the following questions:
1. What are the several areas in which I am strong? Is there a pattern that links my church experience with my area of ministry skill? What areas of strength can I continue to build on?
2. What are the areas in which I am weak? Which ones do I want to work on first? How can I begin to make progress on them now?
Next, go to the Cross-Cultural Church Planter Profile.
Unless otherwise noted, all materials on the urbana.org web site are Copyright InterVarsity Christian Fellowship / USA. All rights reserved.
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