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Empowering the End-Vision of Missions

Dale Marshfield, Director of International Theological Education

Planning meeting in Ghana for
African Baptist Theological Schools

In 1982, as a new missionary in Durban, South Africa, I often fell asleep to the rhythmic drumbeat floating out of Clermont Township. Durban is a modern, European-style city where it’s easy to forget you are in Africa. The evening drums were a pleasant and helpful reminder. 

I am still serving in Africa, but for the last five years, I have been hearing another drumbeat that, like the Clermont drumming, brings an important reminder. When I hear it, I recall why I am in Africa and why I am a missionary. 

The drumming started long ago and was most recently taken up by our ABWE President, Dr. Michael Loftis. As he travels across North America and around the world, he sounds out ABWE’s ultimate vision. The message is distinct and clear: ABWE exists to multiply missions movements around the world, making every nation a sending nation.

As the ABWE International Coordinator for Theological Education, I hold a special place in my heart for the beat of this drum. If we are to realize this “end-vision,” God must raise up gifted, biblical, and entrepreneurial leaders in local churches around the world. Theological education plays an important part in preparing these men and women for the challenges of sending missionaries from their countries.

Doane Seminary students, 1930s

From Pioneering to Networking

Since its inception, ABWE has been involved in theological education. Early missionaries believed the key to long-term success was in both the personal development and divine empowerment of national leaders. These pioneers did not allow the disadvantages of their situations to keep them from training leaders. With time in short supply, they evangelized, discipled, planted churches, and on top of all that, organized pastoral training programs.

Pioneer church planters are still needed in mission work; researchers believe there are approximately 7,000 people groups in the world without any kind of gospel witness. But as a result of the hard work and faith of early pioneers, in many regions of the world, our missionary teams now work with strong national leaders and extensive networks of churches.

This success changes the role of the expatriate missionary. Pedro Evaristo Conceição Santos, the director of the Regular Baptist Seminary of São Paulo, Brazil, puts it this way: “I believe the goal of missions work is to see mission fields develop independence and interdependence. Even after the missionary hands over the work of church planting to local believers, he can still contribute to the training of men and women so they will be qualified to educate future generations.”

Working Together

Partnerships with local educational institutions are key to realizing the ABWE vision. Regular Baptist Seminary of São Paulo, which Pedro leads, exemplifies this collaboration. It was founded in 1957 and continues in partnership with ABWE, even though it is now under Brazilian leadership. Missionaries like Joe Arthur, the seminary dean, work alongside Brazilian colleagues to train men and women for the churches of Brazil and mission fields of the world. 

Hong Kong provides another example of theological education empowering the end-vision. China Baptist Theological College (CBTC) was started by ABWE missionaries in 1966. The current president, Dr. Cheng Yau Sang, identifies three priorities at the school: (1) the theological priority: teaching the Bible, (2) the organizational priority: preparing church leaders, and (3) the outreach priority: establishing local churches. This commitment to theology, leadership, and church planting has paid off in Hong Kong, where an effective church-planting movement has resulted in sending missionaries to other parts of Asia and even Africa. 

Barnabas and Peggy Chung are the most recent missionaries commissioned by the churches of Hong Kong. At the end of September 2006, they arrived in Durban, South Africa, to help the local fellowship of Baptist churches reach the large immigrant Chinese population of that country.

During his college days at CBTC, Barnabas’ instructors included believers from Hong Kong as well as ABWE missionaries. The faculty of the school continues to be made up of both groups. The Chung’s commissioning church is the Tin Yue Baptist Church, a daughter church of the Kwai Shing Baptist Church, which was started by ABWE missionaries Bill Commons and Bob Henry, along with a graduate of China Baptist Theological College, P.W. (currently ABWE International Director of Chinese Ministries). Clearly, theological education plays a large role in fulfilling the vision in Hong Kong.

In Bogota, Colombia, ABWE missionary Butch Jarvis is working in the midst of an exciting church-planting movement. He makes the following observation about the relationship between theological education and church planting in Colombia:

“We have eighteen churches here in Bogota, and all but one pastor has finished his studies with us—and that one is taking courses! Without the leadership training program, we would have no leaders qualified to take over and start new churches. In 1980, though we had only two churches, we started our three-year Bible Institute. We met in the half-finished building of the first church with pump-up kerosene lamps, and plastic stretched across the windows, which did not keep out much of the cold here at 8,500 feet above sea level. This semester, we have forty-five students. Perhaps our most important goal is to teach our pastors the importance of starting new works. Most of our newest churches have been started by the national pastors who have trained with us.”

Multiplying Ministry

With years of experience, ABWE is able to tap into “best practices” for our educational programs as we launch new training initiatives. This happened in October 2006 when Norman and Louise Barnard traveled from Singapore to Kpalime, Togo, and served as consultants to those developing the Africa Baptist Theological Schools—a new multilevel, multi-location training ministry for West Africa. For sixteen years (1990-2006), Norm served as director of Asia Baptist Theological Seminary (ABTS). Louise served by his side as the seminary’s administrator of academic affairs. Their wealth of experience in offering multilevel, multi-location training was invaluable to the planners of the new program in Africa. 

I recently attended the 2006 ABTS Triennial Conference in Chaing Mai, Thailand, where I heard Asian missionaries, pastors, and college instructors testify of the impact that theological education has had on their lives and ministries. Through strengthening Christian leaders, the seminary is significantly contributing to the realization of the end-vision in Asia. By sharing expertise with those seeking to achieve similar results, they are multiplying their ministry on other continents.

The Great Commission is gripping the hearts of God’s people around the world. As we celebrate this, we are challenged by the need and opportunity to deliver context-sensitive, biblically-grounded, and mission-focused theological education. ABWE Inter­national Theological Education hears the beat of the drum. It’s our goal to work with national partners around the world to prepare men and women to serve Christ and His church. We want to encourage high standards, provide educational expertise and training, and network resources to empower the realization of the end-vision.