Missionary training with an Asian twist

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Missionary training with an Asian twist

By Joshua L. Snyder ⋅ September 1, 2006 ⋅

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Seasoned missionaries and missionary neophytes, Asians and Westerners, elders and youth—all find in the Malaysian Cross-Cultural Ministry School (MCMS) tools to use on the frontlines of the battle for the souls of men. Long-term missionaries have had their ministries revitalized through MCMS, while young missionaries still green behind the ears have been equipped to grapple with the realities of the mission field. All this through a strategically-designed missions training curriculum.

It is missions training with a Malaysian twist.

Birthed in Partnership

MCMS was birthed in partnership in 2000. Beram Kumar, Executive Director of the Strategic Missions Program (STAMP) in Malaysia, saw the need for a cross-cultural ministry training school for Malaysians in Malaysia.

Rev Irvin Rutherford of Global Ministry Teams had planned to set up a training program in Malaysia, but abandoned it to work with Beram. In all key mission agency leaders representing about five to six mission agencies, both Malaysian and Western, walked alongside Beram to establish MCMS.

And MCMS was birthed.

Current partners of MCMS are Asian Youth Ambassadors (AYA),Global Ministry Teams, Gospel Avenues, Interserve, and STAMP. It has three core purposes: “preparation”, including but not limited to training; “placement”, helping in placement of missionaries in the field through a model of maintaining the local church as the “sender”, and working in partnership with a missions agency for “field supervision and leadership”; and “pastoral care”, helping the sending church to put in place “structures of care”.

“MCMS was started in order to train Malaysian missionary candidates,” said Peter S., MCMS’s Director of Program and Member Care, “to send them to the field and also to train the local missions pastors.”

MCMS has trained over 100 missionary candidates in the past six years, 80% of whom are currently on the mission field.

Prior to the birth of MCMS, Malaysians went to the Philippines, the United States, Korea, and Singapore for missions training. “This was the first school set up in Malaysia specifically to train and send out missionaries. It is meant to train and prepare missionary candidates for long-term work.”

Churches in Malaysia recognize the importance of missionary training. However, current training does not address the range of challenges faced by the Asian cross-cultural missionary. MCMS is designed to address main challenges faced by the Asian missionary in particular.

Challenges of the Asian Missionary

Challenges for Asia’s missionaries differ in degree and priority from those of Western missionaries because the context of missions work differs. The main challenges faced are missionary attrition, member care, and church support.

Missionary attrition among Asians is due to the poor screening of missionary candidates. “The most important thing is picking the right missionary candidates,” said Peter. “If you compare the attrition rate between the older sending countries like the U.S., Australia, and England with the newer sending countries, you see that in Asian countries attrition is caused by poor screening. That’s the number one reason. That means there was no proper preparation and training before they were sent out onto the field.”

Member care poses a second challenge for Asia’s missionaries. During a recent meeting of Malaysia’s mission leaders it was pointed out that some churches and agencies cannot provide adequate member care either because they are too small or lack professional expertise.

Funding poses a third challenge for Asia’s missionaries. Malaysia’s church is still a new sending church but in Peter’s words is “getting there”. Missionaries sent from local churches, however, often find it difficult if the church is required to raise money, especially if the church is small. For this reason many more Malaysians are going out as tentmakers. MCMS includes a week of training on tentmaking, though most of its graduates go out as career missionaries. The chief factor in whether or not a person can go on the field as a fully supported career missionary is church support.

Several other factors play a role in getting the Malaysian missionary on the field. First, the church must properly screen and interview missionary candidates. Second, the church must have a mind for missions. Third, the church must know the protocol for sending missionaries. Fourth, the church must possess a good understanding of missions. And fifth, the church must have a good connection with mission agencies.

Strategic Curriculum

MCMS responds to these challenges through a strategically designed curriculum. “The syllabus that we have is especially prepared to send you out onto the field,” said Peter, “To help you survive on the mission field for the first eighteen months, because the first eighteen months are the hardest period for any missionary simply because they learn the language, work in a team, learn about culture, and learn about stress management and conflict resolution. If they have a good entry during the first months, they are well-positioned for effective field missionary service.

The MCMS curriculum covers language acquisition, member care, missionary life, conflict resolution, urban and rural church planting, and team building. It teaches students how to settle into a team, in particular a cross-cultural team, and how to discern the different levels of culture.

MCMS wants more local church leaders to attend the program, in particular those involved in the “sending out of missionaries”. Leaders who understand challenges their missionaries face are better prepared to handle them. To this end subjects such as “serving as senders” are part of the curriculum.

“MCMS helped to equip me better for cross-cultural ministry,” said Pauline, an MCMS graduate working with migrant workers in Malaysia. “It helped me understand that cross-cultural communication is very important and to address certain cultural issues that will affect our working relationship with the migrants.”

The training not only touched issues of culture, but also of missionary life. Pauline said, “It also helped to prepare me as a local missionary because it touched on the different stages of the missionary life. At first you are very excited, then you come down to a very low point. So it did not come to me as a surprise when I went through that.”

The school itself is cross-cultural with half the students being Malaysian and the other half American, Korean, European, Filipino, and African. The lecturers likewise span the cross-cultural spectrum, half being Asian and half Western. The wide spectrum of both students and lecturers provide a broader perspective on missions than what is currently in Malaysia.

MCMS graduates can receive further training in the form of one-week modules following their first two years of missionary service, at which point they are more focused on church planting and other ministry opportunities they’ve discovered. Bible study in a cross-cultural context, teaching children, contextualization—these topics and more are offered to strengthen the missionaries for lifetime service. MCMS also schedules appointments between graduates and lecturers when on furlough to process ministry challenges.

Wanted: Quality Missionaries

The MCMS curriculum prepares quality Asian missionaries who can face the challenges to Asian mission head-on. These missionaries possess a clear sense of calling, Christian character, emotional and mental competence, commitment, ministry experience, cross-cultural experience, compatibility with team members, the ability to resolve conflicts, quality health, financial support, and a strong care network.

Western missionaries benefit as well. One missionary to a restricted access country who had served on the field for more than fifteen years came to MCMS for a refresher. He got more than he bargained for: both his relationship with God and his ministry were revitalized.

Previous missionary training was more knowledge-based, but through MCMS he realized that, “I’m not working for God, but God is working in me and through me. It was very, very important for us. I have known it, but I got enlightened through MCMS in a new way. Be relaxed and have peace.”

MCMS Distinctives

MCMS was birthed in partnership and is nourished in partnership. Though spearheaded by STAMP, MCMS is one of the four tracts of the Malaysian Center for Global Ministry (MCGM), a network of Malaysian mission agency leaders, mission pastors, and pastors. MCMS thus works closely both with churches and mission agencies, enabling MCMS to place its graduates on the field with a sending agency. Once its graduates are on the field, MCMS communicates with them through e-mail, keeps in touch with their sending church, helps them raise support, and invites them to return to Malaysia for a “refresher”.

MCMS, which meets every January to March, is not a school for cross-cultural ministry cut from the Western mold. It is missionary training with a Malaysian twist: 100% orthodox missiological teaching specially suited to the needs of the Asian missionary and the fields of Asia.

If that’s not enough, heed the words of one of its graduates who has already recruited more than five people to attend MCMS, “I have been so excited about this course that wherever I go, I try to encourage people to attend this course.”

Joshua L. Snyder lives in Malaysia with his wife and two children. He holds a masters in Intercultural Studies.

A short interview with Josh Snyder:

What was your biggest sacrifice?
A job I loved.
What is the wierdest food you have eaten?
To date, durian—though I liked it.
How did you get “called”?
Had to go to the bathroom and met a chap named Brent Fulton. The rest was history.
What is your favorite part of the job?
The revelation and insight.
How do you spend the perfect Saturday?
Reading by the pool with my kids and family.
What is your favorite worship song?
“Shout to the Lord.”
If you weren’t in this, what would you do?
Write for newspapers or some major publication.
What comfort item would you most like?
Apart from my wife’s love—a book.
The most important lesson you’ve learned?
Find your fit!
What was your biggest cultural faux pas?
Thinking that local leadership would adapt to my American ways!