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Chapter 4

Suggestions and Recommendations for Further Development and Strategies

Challenge on Christian Mission remains not the same but more demanding in this 21 st century as compare the first century. The Mission of God in Jesus Christ has taken many dimensions to accomplish it and even in this era it has entered into another dimension. Everything is clear and visible now as all the parts of the world have been discovered and even the distant nations have come closer because of the new scientific inventions. As in such accomplishing world, the Great Commission is much more challenging also to the Hmar Churches with no exception.

4.1. Appropriate Training of Cross-cultural Workers

It is important that cross-cultural workers should undergo proper training so that they are adequately prepared for things they would encounter in a cross missionary situation or ministry. Because money spent on adequate training is never a waste. Cross-cultural missionary candidate should be trained under experience leaders with cross-cultural field experience in any outreach training Institute. The core subjects should include Bible with Mission emphasis, Missions, linguistics and language learning techni ques, cultural anthropology, cross-cultural communication, approach to various religious and ethnic groups, spiritual warfare, Church planting principles and methods,

66 church growth, development of local leaders, case studies, facing opposition and hardship, team work and inter-personal relationships, basic health care, singleness and missionary family life, issues on the field such as cultural shock, loneliness, stress, housing and flood. There should also be training in practical skills useful on the field as well as exposure to field like situations. This will help the missionary candidates to quickly adjust and be effective in a new culture within a short period.

4.2. Churches in Evangelistic Partnership

Evangelism and unity are closely related in the New Testament. The responsibility to evangelize the Gospel (Great Commission) belongs to the whole body of Christ the church. As there are many denominations, churches and mission agencies involved in evangelism among the Hmar Christian, it is essential that partnerships are developed among those that are attempt to reach a specific group of people in a certain area. This will greatly help in bringing together expertise, avoiding duplication of effort, conserving resources and be more effective. 164 Each ( Hmar ) Churches should enter into a partnership in giving and receiving (Phil. 4:15) 165 . No church is, or should try to become, selfsufficient. So churches should develop with each other relationships of prayer, fellowship, interchange of ministry and cooperation. However, there

164

R. Theodore Srinivasagam The need for effective Cross Cultural Evangelism in M. Ezra Sargunam, Mission Mandate (Madras: Mission India 2000, 1992), 211. 165 Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one Church share with me in the matter or giving and receiving, except only you.

67 should be an agreement regarding doctrine, methodology and church structure. Also, provided that we share the same central truths (including the supreme lordship of Christ, the authority of the Script ures, the necessity of conversion, confidence in the power of the Holy Spirit, and the obligations of holiness and witness), we should be outgoing and not timid in seeking fellowship; and we should share our spiritual gifts and ministries, knowledge, skills, experience, and financial resources. The same principle applies to cultures. A church must be free to reject alien cultural forms and develop its own; it should also feel free to borrow from others. There is urgent need for Hmar churches, mission agencies and other Christian organizations to cooperate in evangelism and social action, repudiating competition and avoiding duplication. As a result, a growing partnership of churches will develop and the universal character of Christs Church will be more clearly exhibited. Hmar Churches should also work with Para-church organizations, especially in evangelism, discipling and community service, for such agencies are parts of the Body of Christ, and have valuable, specialist proficiency from which the church can greatly benefit.

4.3. The Great Commission: Urgent and Important!

Matt 28:17-20 is the foundational verse to the Christian mission to evangelize the world for the sake and cause of Christ. Whenever the church calls upon its laity (members) to contribute to the mission effort wherever that effort may lie, Matthew 28:17-20 will be cited. The command is explicit and made with the authority of the

68 risen Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus was able to make this statement because of the fact of His resurrection from the grave which He had predicted to these same disciples. The command itself is prefaced with Jesus statement that all authority in heaven and on earth had been given to Him. Obviously, this authority had to be given by God the Father. Together with the witnessed miracle of the resurrection, this was the ultimate fulfillment, ratification, verification and acknowledgement that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the living God. It was made with authority that was undeniable and beyond contestation. It is noteworthy that Jesus went to His disciples to give them this command. He did not wait for them to seek Him out but rather, the importance of the message drove Him to seek them out. It is a statement that would provide the impetus for the outreach of the Christian church. His statement was clear and concise; it left no doubt in the minds of those who heard what their purpose was to be. The imperative message, go, was a direct command to those who believed in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior that they were to travel wherever necessary to spread the message of the love of Christ. It was not limited in its scope but rather was a directive to reach out to all nations and to perform certain specific tasks. The first task was to make disciples. This particular verb is translated as teach in the King James Version of the Bible and literally means to teach, disciple or instruct. It was and is present upon the church to teach those who are seeking to be disciples or followers of Christ. Inherent in this verse is the concept that this is a process for the believer, a process that allows one (a seeker) to progress from milk to meat in his/her diet.

69 Finally, Jesus promised that He would be with us always, even to the end of the age. The end of the age? What age? This is assuming that Jesus meant that He would be with us in fulfilling the Great Commission through the end of the church age. There are many who now believe that we will actually witness the end of the church age and that the end of this age will come with the rapture or snatching up of the children of God. If it is true that Christ is coming soon, then the discussion of the Second Coming of Christ and fulfillment of the Great Commission is not merely an intellectual exercise but rather becomes important and extremely urgent. Once Christ comes again and His believers are removed from the scene, the Christian influence now present on earth will be absent. Great Commission is not only important but extremely urgent. It is not known do not know when the Bridegroom will knock, when one will be taken and another left in the field. Even if God delays, it is not known how long each of us has on this earth. It is not known when will be the last time that everyone have to witness Christ; it is neither known when we will have our last opportunity to speak to that brother, sister, father, mother, aunt, uncle, son, daughter, friend, worker or acquaintance about the salvation of Jesus Christ. Everyone is commanded to fulfill the Great Commission. Hmar Churches need to be urgent in witnessing. To be strong, bold, courageous but most of all, be loving, for the sake, for the cause of Christ, before the end of the age.

4.4. Imparting Christian Education

From the beginning of the history of the Jewish community, religious education has taken a central place in the life of the people. As it is rightly said, education depends

70 upon the great axles of society - family, church, community and the economy.166 Christian education is the systematic, definite teaching ministry of the Christian community, which helps its members in their faith formation so that they would become the agents of transformation in and outside the community. Christian education is a political activity with pilgrims in time that deliberately and intentionally attends with them to the activity of God in our present, to the story of the Christian faith community, and to the vision of God's kingdom, the seeds of which are already among us. Christianity is not a package of ideas and beliefs that once ascended from the clouds. Nor is it a philosophy that any intelligent individual might think for himself/herself. It is the life of a community of people responding to God's deed in Christ and God's continuing activity in the world.167 What is the relation existing between mission and Christian education? Because Christianity is the life of a community, its aim is not the promotion of the community, but the healing, preaching, teaching and reconciling mission to which the community is called. Hence Christian education is also described as the effort to introduce persons into the life and mission of the community of Christian faith. This conception of Christian education is consistent both with the biblical understanding of the Church and with the findings of recent educational psychology about the learning process. One cannot overlook the role of tradition, culture and handing over of the religious experiences of the faith community through its
166

Bernard Bailyn, Education in the Forming of American Society (New York: Vintage Books, 1960), 45. 167 Roger L. Shinn, Foundation for Christian Education in Marvin J. Taylor (ed.), An Introduction to Christian Education, (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1966), 12.

71 generation. Likewise, the contemporary educational psychology emphasizes the importance of the human relationships in which education takes place. In the tribal context, Christian community cannot function without relating to the multi-cultural and multi-religious reality. In fact the Hmars have to admit that in spite of this realization they have yet to formulate the objective of mission and the Christian religious education in this broader perspective. Therefore, realizing the role of Christian education as effort to introduce persons into the life and mission of the Christian community, we need to discuss a few important issues. In the present teaching ministry of the Hmar churches Christian education is limited to the imparting of the Bible and Christian tradition. As it is observed, the church school stops often at merely giving information about the Bible. Quite often Christian education is understood as a set of imparting biblical content, stories and creeds. The aim of Christian education is much more radical and dynamic. The emphasis is not knowing but becoming. Christian education is the process of relating God's people to the challenges and opportunities of their lives in His service.168 This means Christian education is a process in which the learner is facilitated to look at his or her faith in relation to scripture, traditions of the Church as well as to the tribal context and to the life situations. No doubt Christian heritage and tradition which includes the Bible, liturgical tradition and rituals help us to keep our identity. Particularly at the present time where media explosion has crept into the lives of our younger generation, they are losing their interest in the religious life of the Church as they feel the way Christian religious way of teaching is not on par with recent media techniques. On the other hand, the stories and mythologies of the other faiths are
168

Lalrothar Joute, Pastor, Presbyterian Church of India, Assam (Saron, Interview, 2 January 2012).

72 presented in such an effective manner they are more attracted to them. So between these two realities the Church needs to present Christian religious education which is appropriate and meaningful. In Christian education the Bible needs to be used as both the beginning point and a reliable way to interpret the meaning of God's liberation activity in human experience. But we need to bear in mind that it has the interpretation of the content of the Bible that has bearing on Christian education rather than the content itself. Therefore, as Christian community, it becomes necessary for us to look at the Bible critically to see what it has to teach us. Apart from the scriptures the content of Christian education must include a study of the environment, various religions in the tribal area and the various burning issues of the times with which we are struggling. Today, instead of seeing pluralism as a cause of division among the Hmar Churches, the teaching ministry of the church should attempt to explore it as a source of mutual enrichment and mutual transformation.169 In conclusion, the kind of Christian religious education that is demanded in the Hmar pluralistic context is one that can equip people, regardless of the religious traditions to which they belong, to cope with real issues of cultural diversity and to live harmoniously with people of other religious beliefs and life stances. Religious education should try to promote open communication between people of other faiths, cultures and experiences.

169

Ibid.

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4.5. Effective Communication of Evangelism

In order for our evangelism to be effective, it must be motivated out of relationship with Jesus through the ministry of the Holy Spirit; but in order for the Holy Spirit to be able to work through our lives effectively. Normally He is limited by what we have and by what we know. Jesus said, But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. (John 14:26). Jesus teaches us that the Holy Spirit does not work in a vacuum, but leads according to the knowledge that we have that we have learned in the past through study and through past teaching of Jesus through the Holy Spirit in our lives. On a college campus, for example, a student may be getting ready to go to his/her next class and only have five minutes to talk with an Evangelist. When the communicator have only five minutes to talk, what he/she has to share must be intelligent, concise and to the point. To be successful in evangelism does not require getting people to necessarily make a decision for Christ. Successful evangelism entails communicating to a person what it means to be a Christian and how to become one himself. If the communicator has communicated this in a way that the person understands, he/she have successfully evangelized them whether they make a decision at that moment or not. The reason is because even if he/she does not make a decision in the presence of the communicator, later, when he is by himself/herself, thinking about what the communicator have said, and finally decides that he/she wants to become a Christian, he/she then knows what he needs to do in order to become a Christian because you have communicated to him clearly.

74 Now, in the context of Hmar missionaries it can be learn that communicating the gospel is not just sowing the gospel seed and leaving behind because it resulted in lack of bearing the fruits. Almost everyone is busy in this contemporary context where everyone engages themselves in one way or another. As a result, this has become one of the reasons that gospel has become inactive to communicate to the people effectively. Having seen the need of effective communication, one must be aware of the people context in terms of office work, personal business, family concerns and social activities etc. Looking back the failures of the mission of the church, Hmar missionaries must raise above all the problems and overcome the hindrances that hunk in sharing the gospel effectively today. The writer has suggested some profound proposals that Hmar missionaries and evangelists can apply in the mission field: a) To communicate the gospel meaningfully, one ought to have strong relationship with the Lord by praying and maintaining personal devotion. b) Sharing an effective gospel is not an easy job for which one must take time to prepare himself or herself the relevant messages thoroughly. c) After studied the context or situation of the people, missionaries and evangelists approach should be wise enough. d) Missionaries and evangelists ought to communicate the gospel with concise in order to comprehend the message clearly.

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4.6. Use of Appropriate Communication Principles and Proper Method

The sending body as well as the cross-cultural worker must be sensitive to the host culture and apply both appropriate communication principles and proper methods. Communication is both being and doing including proclamation. To be effective the cross cultural worker must follow the incarnation model of our Lord Jesus Christ and there should be also a Biblical contextualization of the message as he or she lives and functions in the host culture.

Further, the methods of communication used should not only increase the knowledge about Christ and the gospel, but also change the attitude of the host culture from negative to positive towards Christ and Christianity. Only then there will be a positive response towards Christ and the gospel leading to conversions and planting of Churches.

Further, Hmar missionaries/Evangelists must translate and teach the scriptures into the language of the target people. It is essential to affirm the biblical teaching of the priesthood of all the believers and allow the people to read and interpret the scripture for themselves. The missionaries must also affirm the community of all church, shares with fellow Christian the understanding of scripture, and listen to their own understanding. Missionaries also need to know and understand the way the church has understood and interpreted scripture throughout history.

Hmar Missionaries/Evangelists ought to communicate the message in stories and parables and not in abstract propositions. Songs, stories, dramas and dances are the

76 best form of communication. Visual aids such as flash cards, pictures and film slides would greatly help the people understand the gospel message.

4.7. Careful Choosing of Full time Cross-cultural Missionaries


Working in a cross-cultural situation is very different from working in ones own culture. An inadequacy in the life of the missionary not easily perceived or noticed when working in ones own culture glaring, and also limits the effectiveness in crosscultural setting. Therefore, great care should be taken in choosing the right type of worker for the demanding ministry. It is not necessarily the skills that a person has acquired that make him or her effective missionary, but what he or she really is. Seeing the need of effective missionaries the Hmar churches ought to be aware of choosing the missionaries wisely. Some of the important credentials necessary for a cross cultural missionary are listed below: a) Missionaries or evangelists must possess sound biblical knowledge in regards to mission. b) He or she must have recommendable conduct of life in the sight of other people. c) One must have a clear call from God for missionary service with burden for the lost. d) One must have a vital vertical relationship in order to obtain smooth understanding horizontally and lead into a consistent Christian life.

77 e) With practical experiences, he or she must be proactive in witnessing and must have ability to share in a simple way that could lead a person to Christ. f) One must have positive attitude to appreciate other cultures, sensitive, humble and teachable that would enable to live within ones mean with a sense of humor. g) One must have spirit of cooperation without superiority complex or biases.170

4.8. Missionary Task of Communicating the Gospel

In the past it has been thought that there are only two focuses in communicating the gospel, the message and the receiver of the Gospel. Evangelists and missionaries were preoccupied with a one way communication of Gods word direct to the hearer. Increasing understanding of the social sciences has shown us that cultural factors are very significant in the process of communication and may determine whether the message is rightly or wrongly communicated. It is now recognize there are three focal points, the gospel itself, given to us primarily in the Hebrew culture through influence by the Greek culture of New Testament times, people who hear the word and who belong to a plurality of cultures, and thirdly, the complex culture of the interpreter and communicator of the gospel. Our understandings and interpretations are influenced by our own culture heritages which include our upbringing, our Church relatedness, our theological training and even our economic and political experiences. In order to facilitate the process of communication the Hmar missionaries or Evangelists should follow:
170

Rabi Pame, Life and Work of Cross-Cultural Missionary (Missionary Profile) Unpublished (Singapore may, 2008), 5-6.

78 Closeness of oneself from the gospel through the careful study of the scriptures and theological reading and reflection and then must identify oneself with the gospel so that he/she put under the authority of the gospel. This is an ongoing process without which one can never understand the depth of Gods revelation. At the same time he/she have to keep close from the people to whom he/she communicate the gospel which means he/she have to study their culture, their religion and observe carefully their behavior and attitude. Then, one has to identify with his/her listeners in their contexts. One needs to have the same servant hood mind that Christ has. Unless a person love those to whom he/she seek to communicate, one will not be able to convey Gods love to them. There are other factors that are important in our task of communicating the gospel. One is our relationship to God. Unless there is pure heart a person shall not see God and unless love is shown to Him with all our being it is impossible to love our neighbor. Unless the Christian path is light up one cannot share the light with others. Unless there is totally open to God, the Holy Spirit cannot use a person as His agents of communication. Hmar people must identify with Gods people, the Church. The task of communicating the Gospel is bigger than any of the Hmar church can comprehend. There is needed to look to the Holy Spirit to guide others to help and understand missionary task.

Hence, Missionaries or Evangelists should stay among the people and identify with them. It would help them to build trust with the people and win their confidence. Living among the people also helps the missionaries learn their language and culture.

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4.9. Unification of the Hmar Churches

The Hmars have suffered much being divided, the social and political life had been the most affected...for many years, it has been trouble to carry out the Great Commission in every churches. As a result, the writer seeks for transformation among the believers today and to renew the kingdom of God and the tribe, where they need to be reunion again in the light of Christ. Since the late 1950s, the Hmars have been divided strongly into denominational lines due to differences among their leaders. Many versions have come up as to why the Independent Church of India (considered the parent church of the Hmars) broke up. However, recent trends among the youth show that many are in favor of the Hmars being united under one church. As of now, the Independent Church of India and the Evangelical Free Church of India are the two churches having maximum members while there are others like the Evangelical Assembly Church, Assemblies of God, Presbyterian Church, Methodists, Reformed Presbyterian Church, Lutheran, Catholics and others with lesser members but not without strong feelings towards their respective denominations. As the Christian mission is an urgent task. It is uncertain to know how long it may take. Hmar Christians need to seek for the right knowledge to unite in order to save Gods given time without wasting. And consecutively to get on urgently with our responsibility, other qualities will be necessary, especially unity we must evangelize together and sacrifice, we must count and accept the cost.

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Conclusion
In the year 1910 of the coming of Christianity to the Hmar people, they had neither a written language nor an appreciable cultural heritage. The Christian missions and its messages were something new in their approach and appeal. However, with the coming of Christianity it brought positive changes and progress among the Hmar people, even though there are some negative impact, it is nothing big compare to the positive changes. Hundred of them turned away from the heathen way and become Christians. The new religion preached love instead of hate, joy instead of sorrow, friendship instead of fear, hope instead of doubt and heaven instead of hell. A new horizon until then unknown was opened to them. It broadened their outlook and philosophy of life. The power of the Gospel captivated their hearts and imaginations and a thirst for the living God, knowledge and formal education at once supplanted their search for blood and vengeance. Changes came in their Social, Religious and individual lives. Christian mission was introduced, however, without formal preparation, plan or vision. There were few converts who have the biblical knowledge and there was little consideration for meeting the spiritual needs of the people. Mission administration was also simple as there were only few pastors and missionaries. However, with the increase of believers it added more responsibilities and handling the Church and Mission leadership became more complex. The need has, therefore, presented itself for the planning of mission program, the formulation of clear mission activities, its aims and a careful selection of Church leaders Pastors and Missionaries with new method and a better administration.

81 The reader can draw conclusion that the Lord is faithful upon His believers through difficult and testing times if only they remained faithful to Him. It is also affirmed the Christians belief that victory is for the faithful and not for the numbers.

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