Faith mission

Faith mission is a term used most frequently among Evangelical Christians to refer to a missionary or missionary agency with an approach to evangelism that requires its missionaries to "trust in God to provide the necessary resources" and who are not financially supported by denominations with a fixed salary. [Tucker (1983), 335] Mission historian Ruth Tucker noted,

"For faith missionaries, the purpose of missions was to save lost souls from the eternal torment of hellfire and brimstone." [Tucker, Ruth (1983). From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya A Biographical History of Christian Missions. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan. ISBN 0310239370]

Faith missionaries

Early advocates of faith missions included many Plymouth Brethren missionaries such as:

* Hudson Taylor, missionary to China, and founder of the China Inland Mission, who advocated "Moving men, by God, through prayer alone"Fact|date=October 2008 and not soliciting funds at all.

* Anthony Norris Groves, referred to as the 'father of faith missions'. [Dann, R.B. [http://books.google.com/books?id=RW-bAAAACAAJ "Father of Faith Missions: The Life and Times of Anthony Norris Groves (1795-1853)] ", Authentic Media 2004, ISBN 1884543901]

* George Müller, who ran orphanages in the Bristol area of England.

Other early leaders included:

* Arthur Tappan Pierson

* Methodist Episcopal Church missionary bishop, William Taylor

Modern examples include:

* Jim Elliot, martyred missionary to the Huaorani people of Ecuador [Tucker (1983), 194] ;

* The missionaries of The Faith Mission and of Christian Conventions.

Today, WEC International, Echoes of Service and OMF International are examples of modern organizations that practice faith missions and support missionaries who 'live by faith' [http://www.echoes.org.uk/aboutus.php] .

ee also

Henry Grattan Guinness
Indigenous church mission theory

Notes