The West as a mission field – can you describe this trend and how does it relate to missions?

• It relates partly to migration as we see unreached people groups move into the North American context, allowing us to reach them and plant churches among them. 1 in 5 Canadian citizens are not Canadian-born.
• It also refers to the shifting of our cultural landscape. It can be said that the shadow of the church’s steeple has been growing less and less over time. The church in North American and its impact on society is weakening overtime.
• Even among the long-term, Anglo-community, that has been around for centuries, we are seeing the experience of post-modernity growing and shaping generations.
• We are finding ourselves in a place that is post-Christianized. The gospel and churches have been here a long time but we are seeing an increasing need for apostolic ministries, not just pastoral ministries.
• In previous generations, we have not considered North America a mission field.

What is urbanization and how is it impacting the church?  What do we need to learn about it?

• Urbanization is a massive frontier for missions.
• In the last 200 years, the number of cities and their population growth rates have been unbelievable.
• Canada is one of the most urbanized countries in the world.
• For 200 years of protestant missionary history, we’ve been focused on rural communities rather than urban communities.
• Cities are having a large impact on the world. Cities pull us together and events in cities have a greater ripple effect that extend beyond neighbourhoods, cities and countries.
• We need to continue going to rural places, but we also need to engage cities. The majority of the world’s population lives in cities.

You talk about a trend called orality. Who are oral learners and how does this trend impact missions?

• There are billions of people in the world who cannot read or who do not prefer to learn by reading. They prefer to learn through listening, stories, through wisdom and proverbs passed down by elders, and through drama.  A large portion of the global population are considered oral learners.
• The big question is, how do you not only share the gospel with them, but then how do you teach them how to obey all that Jesus commanded?
• Many missionaries come out of a literary context with a high-level of literacy and we think in terms that are very linear – our preaching and teaching styles are very linear. How do linear teachers effectively teach oral learners?
• It is a cultural and world view issue as to how to communicate the gospel in a way that people both hear and understand.
• It is certainly a trends that mission organizations are grappling with and trying to address. Chronological bible storying is one approach that is becoming popular.
• We still need to translate the Bible and distribute hard copies of the Bible, but we also need to find a way to share the gospel effectively to oral learners.

What is the pornification of societies and how is it affecting the church and global mission?

• Sexual immorality is nothing new.
• However, we are finding that today, there is an engine that is fueling the issue of sexual immorality. It manifests itself in a multitude of ways, from sex trafficking to free internet porn, and everything in between.
• This isn’t just a Western issue – it’s a global issue.
• We have immediate and instantaneous access to free pornography.
• In 2006, the revenues coming from the sex industry and pornography in the USA were greater than the Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, the National Basketball Association and the National Football League revenues all put together.
• This isn’t just happening outside of the church – it is happening inside the walls of the Church as well.
• Mission agencies have stopped asking prospective missionaries, “Do you consume pornography?” and are now asking, “When was the last time you consumed pornography?” The assumption has become that everyone consumes pornography to some extent, even our missionaries – the “cream of the crop.”
• This trend grieves the spirit and it affects our work on the mission field and our testimony as believers.
• When people come to Christ, how do we teach them what the word says about sexual immorality when we are guilty of it, too?

• How can people learn more from JD Payne?
  • jdpayne.org
  • @jd_payne
  • jpayne@brookhills.org