Frontline Missions – Methodology vs. Geography

I’m often asked how eDOT fits into the greater structure of Greater Europe Mission. Are we an IT department supporting our headquarters? Are we some sort of rogue group operating independently? The confusion stems from the fact that traditional missionaries are often called to a specific people group in a specific area. Together, missionaries in that area are then defined in the organizational term of “field” (the German field, the French field, etc.).

In modern missions, many people are just called to a specific people group (sans the specific area). If you’re called to reach out to Iranians, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re called to Iran. Instead, you might be called to go to France to reach the Iranian migrants there. To reach Arabic speakers, your calling might be to Sweden.

A new type of mission has emerged. Mission strategies today need to move beyond the thought process of defining missionaries by geographical calling and ministry to certain people groups in order to incorporate the concept of methodology. With methodology in mind, we look at fairly global methodologies and develop teams that specialize in these areas. Examples of cross-cultural methodologies are: video & film, art, micro-financing, and technology. For further example: a video in Turkish could have serious impact in Turkey. It could also have an impact on the approximately four million Turks in Germany and the nearly one million Turks in France. This major Gospel impact is accomplished through the missional use of the methodology of film.

Understanding the different types of missions will help answer our original question: how does eDOT fit into the greater structure of Greater Europe Mission? We are neither an IT department nor a rogue group operating independently of our organization. We are this third option; we are a methodology based team. As a methodology based team, we do not focus on just one location or one people group; we focus on many cultures in many locations – but we focus on ONE method with which to reach them all. It is an exciting time for those in the methodology world to contribute and join with those in the traditional mission world, as all missions are focused on God’s transforming of individual people through the message of the Gospel.

Our methodology:
Technology has been growing in its impact on cultures around the globe at an incredibly accelerated rate. The potential to impact lives for Kingdom purposes via this method is great. At eDOT, our focus is on creating “Aha!” moments on a person’s journey in a life in Christ utilizing technology.

 

 

 

CC image courtesy of Hans Splinter | Changes made