| Call it Symbiosis: "the intimate living together of two dissimilar organisms in a mutually beneficial relationship." Denominations are governing bodies that "grow the church where it is," while small, scurrying "second mission structures" initiate all kinds of pioneering outreaches to "go to where the church is not." My recent survey of 23 denominations and denomination-related mission agencies supports this idea. I asked 12 denominations and 11 small denominationally related mission agencies-let's call them "second mission structures"-how they start new mission initiatives. The question I e-mailed each of them was: Suppose your office wanted to send missionaries to Muslims in a country where you presently do not have work-say, in Morocco or Iraq-how would your office go about doing this? In other words, how would you proceed to begin mission work in a new location? I followed up most of the e-mails with a phone conversation. An intriguing pattern emerged: Each denomination-Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist, Episcopal, Reformed-that has defined its mission as "partnering with existing national churches" has made room-at times unenthusiastically-for creative out-side-the-headquarters structures that initiate missions "where there is no partner." Andrew Walls, perhaps the foremost missiologist of our day, has called this pattern the "fortunate subversion" of the church. Here is Walls: The voluntary society arose because none of the classical patterns of Church government, whether Episcopal, Presbyterian, congregational, or connexional, had any machinery (in their late-eighteenth century form anyway) to do the tasks for which missionary societies came into being. By its very success, the voluntary society subverted all the classical forms of Church government, while fitting comfortably into none of them.... From age to age it becomes necessary to use new means for the proclamation of the Gospel beyond the structures which unduly localize it. Some have taken the word "sodality" beyond its special usage in Catholic practice to stand for all such "use of means" by which groups voluntarily constituted labour together for specific Gospel purposes. The voluntary societies have been as revolutionary in their effect as ever the monasteries were in their sphere. The sodalities we now need may prove equally disturbing (Walls 1996:247, 253-254). How Lutherans Took the Lead The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS), famously unified in its doctrine and form of worship, has permitted a galaxy of de-centralized mission agencies to spring up from among its membership. In fact, we would have to say that the variety of mission initiatives calling themselves Lutheran--but neither inspired by nor directed by the church headquarters- is phenomenal. An initial 12 LCMS mission agencies met in the mid-90s to form the Association of Lutheran Mission Agencies (ALMA); that number grew to 52 agencies by 1999 and has grown again to 65 in 2003! All of them loyal Lutherans, doing specialized work with the official consent of the Missouri Synod headquarters, but without its control. Some of the sixty-five mission agencies on the ALMA web site (www.almaonline.org) are: Apple of His Eye Ministries: Planting messianic congregations among Jewish people Friends of Indonesia: Helping Indonesian believers grow in body, mind and spirit, as well as partnering with them to share Jesus' love with those around them. Hmong Mission Society: Proclaiming of the Gospel to the Hmong people of North America and throughout the world. Tian Shan Mission Society: Spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ among the Dungan people of the Tian Shan Mountain region of Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan). And on and on. Each of these was started by an inspired Lutheran congregation or group of congregations that got busy and incorporated with the state. The denomination, through its partnership office, even advises the initiators on the process of incorporation, and ALMA provides a starter kit for setting up a successful mission agency. ALMA also helps new mission agencies effectively raise funds and communicate to Lutheran churches. Amazing! Once the new mission agency has its 501(c) 3 status with the state, the society can apply for Recognized Service Organization (RSO) status with the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, or a partnership status with the LCMS World Mission-the mission arm of the LCMS. RSO status allows an agency to solicit funding and provides a number of privileges such as the opportunity to include its staff in the denomination's pension and health-care plan. Organizations with RSO status agree to an annual audit and promise to work in ways that support the aims of the denomination. Mission groups that seek a partnership status with the denomination's mission arm enter into a five to seven year agreement to work together in mutually beneficial ways. The agreement describes how the mission group the LCMS World Mission will work together to accomplish more effective outreach. The Association of Lutheran Mission Agencies hosts an annual gathering of its member agencies to help them network with one another and to interface with the mission staff of LCMS World Mission. It's a win-win for denomination and the mission agencies. "In a time of financial limitations and in response to the initiative of many different mission groups in the LCMS, it makes sense to work closely with the independent Lutheran mission agencies," said Steve Hughey, Director for Mission Partnership and Involvement at the Lutheran church headquarters. The most exciting Lutheran mission of late will send Muslim background believers, who have come to faith while in the United States, on an evangelistic outreach to Muslims in other countries. This is being done through a partnership agreement between LCMS World Mission and a newer LCMS mission society focusing on the Muslim world. [Would your denomination have the structure to send Muslim background believers from America to a Muslim country?] Steve Hughey, at the Lutheran Church headquarters is encouraged: There is something supernatural occurring. With God's help, we have the chance to do something effective because a small Lutheran mission agency gives us the platform to initiate this mission to Islam. The structure is already in place-not in headquarters but in the Lutheran pews-to initiate this mission, thanks to the permission of a denomination which has taken the position that "Our concern is to get the task of mission done" by partnering with small "second structures" begun by its own members. That is how mission initiatives continue to spring up in the decentralized structures of the LCMS. The pattern should encourage other denominations to do likewise. The Methodist Model The Methodist Church sends missionaries only at the initiative of its partnering overseas churches. This works well enough in "growing the church where it is." However, Methodist partners in many countries-Muslim countries, for example-cannot or will not risk a mission initiative to the majority culture around it. In such cases partnership actually restricts mission initiative. Twenty years ago Gerald H. Anderson wrote a paper to his fellow Methodists, "Why We Need a Second Mission Agency." That brought into being the Mission Society of the United Methodist Church. The Mission Society seeks to partner with others who share its burden: for those who don't know Christ and are committed to reaching them, an effort which requires Christian nationals and missionaries working together. The Mission Society of the United Methodist Church has 151 missionaries serving in 25 countries, initiating mission for the Methodist Church "where there is no partner." In the Muslim "stan" countries of the former Soviet Union, for example, the Mission Society initiated a ministry where the Methodist Church had no structure.
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