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Topic: Serving full time as a missionary

What Ethnos360 missionaries do: 

Ethnos360 missionaries establish thriving churches among ethnolinguistic people where there are no Bibles, no Christians, and no Gospel witness.

The short video below gives a brief introduction to the many full-time roles of Ethnos360 missionaries.

There are many other videos showing missionaries in action at ethnos360.org/videos

 

Full Time Ministry

Serving full time in missions is a high calling.

My objective is to help you discover if God is leading you to work with the Ethnos360 team in some way.

As the highest authority or power in heaven and on earth Jesus gave His command to His disciples to go to every ethnic group to preach, baptize, and teach everything. (Matthew 28:18)

Yet, a third of the people of the earth and a third of the world’s languages still have no access to the Good News.

As part of the Body (Ephesians 4:4-6), under the direction of the Head (Ephesians 1:22-23, Colossians 1:18), members of local churches work together through Ethnos360 to go where the Church has not yet carried the Good News. 

[Ethnos360] “efforts shall be directed … where no witness of the Gospel has yet reached.”

All Christians have this is common: Someone told us about Jesus. 

Some of us heard and believed early. Some late. All of us have only one lifetime to hear, believe God, and tell other people so that they may believe.

One third of the people in this world have not yet been told.

How will unreached ethnolinguistic people groups know who Jesus is and what He did for them unless someone who has believed the message of eternal life goes to tell them? (Romans 10) Faith comes by hearing the word of God which is spoken by messengers who are sent.

Objective: Establish thriving churches led by local people who are reaching out to tell and equip other ethnolinguistic people groups.

How do you establish maturing, thriving churches of Christ followers led by local people who are reaching out to other people groups?

Such a work might require:

  • Ordination of Church Leaders
  • Interactive Discipleship
  • Accessible Bibles in the hands of the congregation
  • Foundational Bible Lessons Teaching from Eternity to Eternity
  • Bible translation
  • Sustainable Literacy
  • Knowledge of Culture (Culture is the meaning behind words, sentences, and paragraphs.)
  • Heart language communication
  • Language competency to high fluency
  • Being there on location

It takes a team.

Many of these ethnolinguistic people groups are still unreached with the Gospel because of where they live. Just living where they live long enough to teach them all that Christ commanded is a huge effort.

Some of these people groups live where it takes missionaries days or weeks just to get to and from where they live. Once they get there, the missionaries have to sort out where they will live while they translate the Bible, what they will eat, where their supplies will come from, and how they will protect their progress in language learning, culture discovery, literacy development, and Bible translation until their work is completed.

It takes a huge toll on time, health, and effectiveness just to live where their people live, adding years or decades to the completion of the work of translating the Bible and establishing a thriving indigenous church. As a result, anyone who can join the team to relieve the logistical work of building houses, managing electricity, and providing transportation can speed up the work by many years. These Support Missionaries are vitally important to the missionary team. They enable the church planting missionaries to accomplish what all of the missionaries are there together to do.

 Some great ways to serve full time are as a:
  • Career Missionary in
    • Church Planting Roles
    • Support Roles, or
  • Skilled Associate. 

Career Missionaries

Career missionaries are usually people who have sold everything to complete their mission. They live by faith and are supported physically, spiritually, and financially by friends, family, and churches of people who believe their work is a worthy investment. (Personal Support)

Career missionaries are people who have completed Ethnos360’s two year training program and serve in church planting ministries, translating and teaching the Bible, or in roles directly supporting the teams of missionaries. They might work as Bible teachers, Bible translators, administrators, representatives to the government, aviation team members, mechanics, builders, school teachers, trainers, consultants, or in a variety of other roles. 

While all missionaries need to have a consistent walk with God, some missionaries will be gifted and qualified to ordain church leaders, translate the Bible, teach everything, and oversee church planters. Other missionaries might more gifted to greatly help the whole missionary team by providing logistical assistance in areas such as transportation, housing, construction, supplying chain, managing electricity, computer repair, teaching school children, maintaining facilities, providing plumbing, repairing equipment, interacting with governments for permits, human resources, or providing oversight to the teams. 

After training and raising up their sending & support team, these missionaries usually work overseas for four years at a time. They usually return to their sending country for a year to reconnect with their sending teams and prepare for four more years overseas. 

Training: Prepared to Thrive

Skilled Associates

Skilled Associate missionaries serve from six months to four years. At the end of four years, if you still want to serve overseas, you will need complete Ethnos360’s training for career missionaries. Associate missionaries have very short training and usually serve in a support center with experienced missionaries in roles that are technical, skilled, and supportive of the ministries of career missionaries.  There are many needed skilled such as automotive technicians, IT personnel, school teachers, cooks, construction, and guest house managers. See roles and needs at this link.  

Roles & Opportunities

Why Missions?

If you are interested in discovering more about working full time with Ethnos360, please fill out the Preliminary Questionnaire.  There is no commitment in doing so. The purpose is to help both you and Ethnos360 to discover each other’s values. After you fill out the PQ, our friends at the Ethnos360 Connection Center will contact you to help you discover what you need to know, where more training might be necessary, or how to immediately jump in to assist the missionary team. 

Preliminary Questionnaire. 

Of course you can begin by just talking to people at the Connection Center or to a Mobilization Representative.

The Big Picture

Learn More: 

(The only step you can take by faith is the next one.)

Talk to a Rep?

I would love to assist. No obligation or expectations.

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