World Christian Week: Education Before Evangelization

Do your research before doing missions.

That was the focus of the 2024 World Christian Week at Columbia International University, celebrating the CIU core value of World Evangelization.

Canadian missionary Grant LeMarquand, an Anglican bishop who has planted churches in Africa, was the keynote speaker for the week.

LeMarquand related what he and his wife, Wendy — a licensed medical doctor — had experienced in planting churches in Kenya. He said the first step in missions is to inform yourself as much as possible on the culture of the people group you are trying to reach, and to discover the most efficient and loving way to present them with the gospel.

“Well-meaning missionaries who are culturally ignorant of the culture they are reaching cause more harm than good” as “articulation of the gospel message will always be somewhat culture-bound” by the person expressing it,” LeMarquand said.

He noted that in Africa, missional success is high because Africans are religious. The LeMarquands found that since all of life in Africa is centered on belief of God and in a divine Creator, the process of informing Africans of the gospel is smoother than it is in other parts of the world.

LeMarquand was also part of a discussion panel with CIU alumnus Michael Batterman (Class of ’92) and his wife Darilyn, who serve in Kenya and Nigeria. They were interviewed by the Batterman’s son, Landon, a current student in the Intercultural Studies (ICS) program.

Youth Ministry, Family & Culture major, Hannah LeTexier, said she “appreciated (what LeMarquand) had to say because he went in depth on culture and the importance of understanding culture (in order to) then know how to minister (correctly) and exactly how to pray for people (in non-Western spheres).”

Prayer Day

A Prayer Day was designated during the week which included worship music sung in a combination of French, Spanish, and English, displaying the beauty of diversity.

A representative from the Christian relief agency Samaritan’s Purse gave updates on the humanitarian efforts to assist those affected by Hurricane Helene, refugees in North and South Sudan, and the continued support for those affected by wars in Ukraine, Gaza and Israel. Students, faculty and staff split into groups to pray for the world and for God to be glorified in dangerous situations.

The student body also heard from CIU alumnus Dr. Thomas S. Mullikin, chairman of the S.C. Floodwater Commission, and global expedition leader who earned his Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership from CIU in 2021. He delivered a message on the roles Christians ought to play in environmental restoration efforts because God gave humanity dominion over the earth.

Mullikin charged the audience with the calling to “rip away toxic politics and return to biblical truths” as believers are divinely entrusted with the beauty and well-being of the earth.

Also on Prayer Day, students in the Intercultural Studies (ICS) program organized prayer huddles on The Quad. Students, faculty and staff shuffled between the missionary organization representatives who spread out on grass, sitting and praying with each for their individual needs and the needs of their organizations. General prompts were to pray for laborers, conviction of sin, faith against fear, good soil, peace, bold proclamation, and joy in the midst of persecution.

Getting to Know You

Meanwhile, all week in the Rossi Student Center, mission organization representatives chatted with students about their ministries. Among them was Sheryl Shaw of New Wineskins Missionary Network who was asked about what kind of student they are looking for to join them.

“We are launching an apprenticeship program (so) we are looking for 20 to 30-year olds that (not only) want to explore and see how they can (work) cross-culturally (but also learn)how can they be the gospel planted where they work.”

And Hannah Katz, a missions coach for Crossworld, said that her organization is “looking for students who have a heart for the Lord, want to seek and do His will, and are open to whatever He would have for them — whether that’s here (in the United States) or overseas.”

Listen to Dr. Grant LeMarquand’s “Lessons From Africa on CIU’s podcast page.

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