Unity in Diversity: Partnership between East Asians and Westerners in OMF International

One of the most significant trends in Christian mission in the latter half of the twentieth century has been the internationalisation on the mission force. From a situation where mission primarily meant Westerners taking the Gospel to the rest of the world, mission now involves people of all nations taking the good news of Jesus Christ to all nations.

Much of the growth in two-thirds world missions has been through national missions. However, after a generally slow start in the early 1960s, the last two decades have seen a significant number of non-Westerners joining international missions.

This Master Thesis for All Nation Christiabn College in England looks at the process of internationalisation within one mission agency, OMF International, where almost one quarter of the membership is East Asian.

One of OMF’s five ‘foundational principles’ is ‘celebrating unity in diversity’. The thesis of this dissertation is that, despite the frustrations and tensions inherent in the process of internationalisation, the benefits of this ‘unity in diversity’ outweigh the problems. These ‘benefits’ and ‘problems’ are explored at two levels.

The central section of the dissertation – chapters 3 to 5 – investigates OMF’s ‘unity in diversity’ from the perspective of East Asian OMF members. The particular areas considered are ‘communication’, ‘the family’ and ‘leadership’. For each of these areas, questionnaire responses are used to evaluate the extent to which Asian OMFers are experiencing ‘unity in diversity’, and to make recommendations for change where problems and difficulties are evident. Two specific issues – the use of English as a ‘lingua franca’ and Asian MK Education – are discussed in greater detail.

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