Cross-Cultural Church Planter Profile

Character Qualities: The Missionary . . .

TRAINING AREA 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total
Spiritual Maturity Knows and loves God; exhibits fruit of the Spirit Spontaneously worships God; growing in personal and corporate worship Is responsive to God’s guidance; exhibits endurance Recognizes God’s Lordship and leadership; evidences obedience and submission Is committed to world evangelization; has a clear vocational calling Is growing in use of spiritual gifts and disciplines, especially prayer and time in the Word            
Family Wholeness (for couples) Both spouses practice mutual submission and loving service Freely expresses feelings and empathizes with others Nurtures and trains children lovingly Protects planned time and recreation for family Encourages each family member in spiritual and ministry growth Relates to the larger mission family/community  
Single Wholeness (for singles) Accepts single status, yet open to change Expresses feelings and empathizes with others; no un-resolved conflict among friends Able to give and receive in nurturing relationships Protects planned time and recreation Aware of parti-cular challenges of being single in a cross-cultural context Healthy relation-ships with singles and married, whether expatriates or nationals  
Servant’s Heart Accepts God’s love and forgive-ness; growing in grace Submits to Christ’s Lordship in trust and obedience Puts others above self; actively serves to meet needs of others Serves others with diligence, faithfulness, and joy Gravitates to the needy Models the example of Christ  
Adaptability Recognizes God’s sovereignty Gladly accepts difficult circumstances Adapts flexibly to new situations; is resilient Appreciates various person-alities and styles of leadership Evidences contentment in various settings Distinguishes between what’s “wrong” and what’s “different”  
Cultural Sensitivity Appreciates and values the host culture Sensitive to host culture’s expectations and mores Sensitive to host culture’s models of learning and leading Recognizes the importance of language learning as ministry Takes responsibility for lifelong language learning Appreciates appropriate technologies  
Church and Stewardship Models active participation in a local church at home and in host culture Reflects Christ’s love for the church; gives faithfully Partners with the national church and supports a missionary Stewards relationships and activities for maximum long-term impact on planting reproducing churches; challenges and disciples others in giving to missions Values the heritage of a people and church; learns from their past  

Ministry Skills: The Missionary . . .

TRAINING AREA 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total
Language Learning Recognizes the importance of language learning Listens actively and discerns language sounds and patterns Disciplines self to practice regularly; develops “bonding” relationships Takes responsibility for life-long language learning Accepts small failures; learns to laugh at mistakes Uses language in living, learning, and ministry  
Cultural Adaptation/ Contextualization Appreciates and values aspects of the host culture Copes with cultural differences; lives incarnationally Exegetes cities, cultures, and communities Conversant with needs and concerns of target group Collects relevant data; analyzes and interprets findings accurately Adapts behavior and contextualizes appropriately  
Evangelism and Discipleship Shares Christ in culturally appropriate ways Leads people to Christ and enfolds in local church Disciples new believers in Word, prayer, witness, and fellowship Equips believers to reproduce and have a heart for lost in local communities Motivates others to use spiritual gifts; engages in spiritual warfare Empowers and releases disciples to personal ministry  
Church Planting and Development Prays strategically Analyzes the social environ-ment Builds relationships; can grow cell groups of new believers Develops an effective evangelistic strategy Trains small group leaders to train others; multiplies cells Establishes a reproducing congregation(s)  
Leadership Development Identifies, nurtures, and equips potential leaders Helps believers interpret and apply the Word in their context Equips believers in appropriate Bible study methods Empowers and entrusts others for responsibility Plans/equips for transitions in partnership with national leaders Plants churches which contextualize biblical leadership styles  
Leadership/Followership Skills Envisions new ministries; enlists others in vision Uses historical insights to teach churches Motivates, recognizes, and celebrates others’ contributions Matches appropriate biblical leadership style with situation Functions as team player and servant-leader Ministers in Word, deed, and power of the Triune God  
Interpersonal Relationships Affirms others; not monopolizing or domineering Willing to listen, especially when corrected Builds accountable relationships; respectful of spiritual authority Properly relates to locals and coworkers of opposite gender; not overly intimate Experienced in community living; can manage conflict without explosion Relates well to people of different personalities and cultural backgrounds  
Professional Bivocational Skills (Tentmaker) Strong biblical theology of vocation and ethics Adequate professional qualifications to match openings in host country Integrates occupation with ministry; has mindset of application to host culture Manages self effectively; organizes work efficiently Maintains personal and organizational accountability Successfully engages in multiple, simultaneous tasks  

Knowledge Goals: The Missionary Should Comprehend . . .

TRAINING AREA 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total
Foundational Bible Truths Biblical story and missionary nature of the Bible Biblical holism; life and ministry of Jesus Bible study and interpretation principles and methods God, Christ, Holy Spirit; spiritual gifts; human nature and destiny Salvation, including sanctification, victory in Christ, ethics, etc. Principles of Christian living; the church; apologetics  
Ministry and Missions Church/mission partnership theory and strategies Evangelistic methods and strategies Developmental principles of spiritual growth and formation Church planting and growth theory and strategies Religious history of target people; missions history Christian spiritual classics; religious dynamics; pluralism  
Leadership and Servanthood Biblical bases and values; theory of leadership emergence Principles of spiritual growth and empowerment Mentoring processes; motivational strategies Team-building and coordination strategies Management principles: time/event/ relationships Servanthood and followership  
Excerpt from Send Me! Your Journey to the Nations Copyright 1999, World Evangelical Fellowship, all rights reserved, reprinted by permission. The entire Send Me! workbook may be purchased online at the World Evangelical Fellowship Bookstore, www.wefbookstore.org.