Asian Missions Advance, 79 – EAST-WEST CENTER

Asian Missions Advance Newsletter

Spring 2023 / 79th

1. The Future of Missions in India

India is one of the largest mission fields in the world as a nation. Out of the 1.4 billion Indians only 2.3% identify themselves as Christians and this percentile figure has remained unchanged for the past 60 years. While the Christian population remained static the nation has galloped forward as an emerging economic power and her opinion is sought after and respected in the global political arena. But of late the political radicalization and its treatment of the minority especially the Muslims and Christians has also become a grave political and social concern…

2. Themes, Motifs, and Purposes of Making Indigenous Local Theologies

[David Gyeong Han]

The way the gospel was communicated in the colonial era meant that the recipients had never had a chance to fully explore their cultural Christian roots. How Christianity was translated in the West and its forceful transmission to another culture, especially during periods of colonial expansion, meant that the subtle features of the local cultural ideas were not reflected in the making of their theology…

3. Update on International Students in Asia-Pacific Region

[Leiton Chinn]

The January, 2019 edition of the 62nd Asia Missions Advance quarterly bulletin featured seven articles pertaining to the theme of International Student Ministry in Asia. The seven reports portrayed the growing presence of international students and ministries among them, in various countries in Asia including China, India, the Philippines, New Zealand, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Australia…

4. How We Actually Got The Bible: A Response to Bart Ehrman

[Takaaki Hara]

Bart Ehrman is a prominent and influential New Testament scholar and a prolific writer. As an agnostic, he often challenges the traditional, orthodox understanding of Christianity. For instance, in his bestselling Jesus, Interrupted, Ehrman tries to undermine the authority and trustworthiness of the Bible. He argues based on the work of Walter Bauer that there were many theologically divergent Christian groups such as the Ebionites, Marcionites, Gnostics, and what he calls proto-orthodox Christians in the first few centuries of the church…

5. The Manifestation of The Holy Spirit is for The ‘Common Good’

[Pervaiz Sultan]

The topic under study is related to the theology of the Holy Spirit as practiced in the early church under the guidance of mentors like the Apostle Paul. In the context of the Church at Corinth, it raises issues of practicing the gifts of the Spirit for the faith development of individuals for social participation of individuals and groups to experience the power of God while committing to the kingdom of God. This has a visible mission perspective which is the commitment of this writer…

6. 10/40 Window Update

[Luis Bush]

The 10/40 Window contains most of the unreached people groups in our world, and is still our primary mission field today. However, increasingly there is emerging a mission force out of this mission field. The thesis of the 10/40 Window Update is that from a mission field thirty years ago, when the first 10/40 Window booklet was written, and now, the 10/40 Window has become a mission force in our day…

7. AMA 2023 Jakarta Convention

[Asia Missions Association]

THE ASIA MISSIONS ASSOCIATION is pleased to inform you that the 14th Convention of the Asia Missions Association will take place at the Rose of Sharon Bethel Church of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia, from May 22-26, 2023…