World renowned missiologist Dr Ralph D Winter shared 12 past mistakes made by Western mission agencies that Asian missiologists should avoid when he spoke Friday at the Asian Society of Missiology conference in Bangkok.
Winter, the founder of the US Center for World Mission and named by Time magazine as one of America's top 25 evangelicals, was giving the closing speech at the first-ever ASM international conference.
In his address, the American missiologist acknowledged that the list of 12 mistakes is "merely" to his "best understanding" and Asian missiologists would have the final say on their validity. Winter hopes, however, that Asian mission leaders learn from what Western agencies did wrong and avoid the same pitfalls.
Winter's first criticism was that Western missions are starting Bible schools rather than universities. Winter gave examples of successful past mission leaders and movements which were notable for the number of universities they established. Yet later when evangelicals who never went to college did missions they built Bible schools, Bible Institutes or theological schools that "replaced" or "ignored" the university tradition.
"In the last 50 years, the majority of American mission agencies have not founded a single university," Winter emphasized.
The mission expert pointed out that in the last 100 years in the United States 157 Bible Institutes eventually converted to colleges and universities after 60-70 years. He also pointed out national leaders who are the product of Western mission agencies recognized the "great influence of the university pattern" and have themselves founded over 40 universities in the last 40 years.
"Why is it that missionaries have not realized that Bible Schools, no matter how high the quality of instruction and curricula, simply do not represent the global mainstream of the university pattern?" questioned Winter.
Furthermore, 90 percent of the money spent on maintaining about 4,000 Bible institutes and seminaries around the world is focused on "untried youth" looking for a place to stay, food, and perhaps English, rather than the "real leaders" in the churches.
"Often their students have already failed to get into several other schools. Meanwhile, the gifted leaders of many growing church movements cannot get help from these schools," Winter noted.
The US missiologist said he disapproves of church movements that restrict their choice of pastors to people selected by schools not congregations and noted the movements are not growing or in decline.
Another mistake is that some congregations are bypassing mission agencies when sending church members as missionaries. Winter criticises this practice because churches lack the insights of missiology and the vast experience of mission agencies.
"It may be true that some mission agencies are more experienced and wiser than others, but to my knowledge there is no example of a local congregation bypassing mission agencies with any great success," he stated.
