Davis Missionary Journey: Team Strategy

MISSIONARY JOURNEY: Team Strategy
a mission log of…
Brian & Sondra Davis
P-Bag S-42
Solwezi, Zambia
260-977-142-503 (Brian's Cell)
011-260-8-240-025 (Home Radio Phone)
brsdavis@coppernet.zm

We just had the pleasure of a visit by Rick Love, who's family will be joining us in January of '08, and one of his elders and missions committee members. As our team forms, so has our team strategy solidified via a consensus process involving our missionaries and supporting churches. I want to take the next few Journeys to introduce the main ideas that compose our team strategy to better communicate what we do and how we do it.
First, we might ask why we need a team strategy. A team strategy is the "game plan" that keeps the different members of a team on the same "page". It details the methods that we use which have been derived from theological principles. Though theological principles remain constant, missiological methods need to remain flexible in order to cope with the changing realities of the world around us. Our team strategy begins with a challenging quote from the missions author, John V. Taylor, who said,

"We must relinquish our missionary presuppositions and begin in the beginning of a new work with the Holy Spirit. This means humbly watching in any situation in which we find ourselves in order to learn what God is trying to do here, and then doing it with Him."
(The Go-Between God: The Holy Spirit and Christian Mission, 1972)

This quote is based on the realization - as Gailyn Van Rheenan puts it in his book Missions: Biblical Foundations & Contemporary Strategies - that "Mission springs forth from God." Gailyn then quotes Exodus 19:4,

"'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself."
NIV

Thus our first questions concerning our strategy are "What is God doing among the Kaonde tribe of North Western Province, Zambia, and then, how can we participate?"
Rick was full of exciting ideas concerning these questions this past week. I hope sharing in the coming weeks about our strategy will be a blessing to you in your part of the world as we all seek to participate with God in His mission!

Every mission team needs a little Love,
Brian, Sondra, Noah, & Bryson

Pictured: (left to right) Karen, Matthew, Rick, and Lydia

For more information of our mission, visit our website at www.hillcrestonline.com.

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