Missions Misunderstood

Some examples of current evangelical missiologies:

From the Vision Statement, International Mission Board
"Our basic task is evangelism through proclamation, discipling, equipping and ministry that results in indigenous Baptist churches."

The Lausanne Covenant
"A reduction of foreign missionaries and money in an evangelized country may sometimes be necessary to facilitate the national church's growth in self-reliance and to release resources for unevangelized areas. Missionaries should flow ever more freely from and to all six continents in a spirit of humble service. The goal should be, by all available means and at the earliest possible time, that every person will have the opportunity to hear, understand, and receive the good news."

John Macarthur, What's Inside the Trojan Horse?
"Christian missionary work is often riddled with pragmatism and compromise, because too many in missions have evidently concluded that what gets results is more important than what God says."

John Piper, Missions and the End of History
"And the aim of preaching this "gospel of the kingdom" is that the nations might know King Jesus and admire him and honor him and love him and trust him and follow him and make him shine in their affections. We have come to see that God is passionately committed to upholding and displaying his name - his reputation - in the world.
Over and over we read this in the Bible - that God does what he does "so that [his] name may be proclaimed in all the earth" (Romans 9:17). The central command of missions is Isaiah 12:4, "Make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted.
God is passionately committed to his fame. This is his highest priority: that he be known and admired and trusted and enjoyed as an infinitely glorious King. This is the "good news of the kingdom." This is the goal of missions. As Paul said in Romans 15:9, "that the nations might glorify God for his mercy."

Jeff Lewis, God's Heart for the Nations (.pdf)
"Start Pondering ... What is God's ultimate passion? Not His only passion, but what is His chief end? When everything is eliminated but one, what is His central motivation?"

Joshua Project,
"Our Purpose ...to spread a passion for the supremacy of God among all unreached peoples.
Our Mission ... to highlight the people groups of the world that have the least Christian presence in their midst and to encourage pioneer church-planting movements among every ethnic people group.
Our Rationale ..."This gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations and then the end will come." Matt 24:14"

Ralph Winter, U.S. Center for World Mission
"Missionaries do all kinds of good things, but the truly unique task of missions is not "winning more souls." (We will always have the job of evangelism.) Neither is it social involvement. (Life and culture will always be under attack.) The unique task of missions is to establish a viable growing church movement among every tribe, tongue, people and nation on the earth. Until we are sure there is a strong church movement within every one of the people groups, our task is not finished."

Luis Bush, International Director of the now-closed AD2000 & Beyond Movement
"More than 4,000 Christian leaders representing 186 countries have committed themselves in writing to the goal of a church for every people and the Gospel for every person by the year 2000. With that common goal in sight, they gathered in May of 1995 for the Global Consultation on World Evangelization (GCOWE '95) in Seoul, Korea, which Ralph Winter - founder of the U.S. Center for World Mission - said may have been "the most strategic Christian gathering in history."
It is apparent, then, that many Christian leaders from around the world believe "The Unfinished Task" can, indeed, be finished. They have committed themselves and their resources to the effort, joining hands to seek completion of the task in this century."

Catalyst Ministries, UK
"He (Jesus) is eager to return but is having to wait until this task has been completed (Matthew 24:14). Jesus cannot return until the Great Commission has been completed. People from every tribe, language, people and nation have to be represented in God's family (Revelation 5:9). "

Evangelist John R. Rice, on his website, The Gospel Truth
"The gospel has already been preached to all the world in early Christian times, if not in this generation. And if Jesus could not return until the gospel is preached to every tribe again, then His plain commands to watch, that He might come at any time, would seem out of place and misleading, if not actually dishonest."