National Spiritual Movements
Training and Equipping National Teams
Our Purpose
It is our privilege to partner with and empower national believers to become missionaries to their own people and near-culture unreached people groups. This national model was developed for those countries where there is an extremely high risk to outsiders to live, meet with or train national workers, yet where a strong vision exists among the nationals to reach their unreached people groups. We developed this model for rapid deployment and flexible training.
Our Challenge
A great number of unreached people live in places that are difficult for outsiders to enter. In many of these regions, war, ethnic tensions, restrictive governments or religious climates create a daily challenge for the spread of the gospel. These environments call for great courage and tenacity, and often present little opportunity for outsiders to work.
Our Solution
Training is focused on a two-year program to develop a foundation of Bible stories in the mother-tongue languages. This training is designed to limit the amount of travel and exposure to outside contacts. This protects the lives and security of the national teams.
What is our plan to train and equip national teams? This model is highly flexible to allow for local ownership and creativity in addressing all challenges. In many locations, the StoryWave project is part of a broad, holistic and humanitarian effort within the people group. Sometimes we raise financial support for local workers when local fund-raising is impossible. In other situations, nearby national churches are able to partner in the funding of these valued national missionaries. Even when the best option is Western support of these national workers for a two-year project, our experience shows that culture, language, health and security issues are much better managed with national workers as our field teams. In addition, the total costs of a national team and project are substantially lower over two years when compared to a Western team.
The first field models for this strategy were launched in Central Asia during 2006. Other teams are being prepared to join them in the months ahead as StoryRunners attempts to roll out these national strategies throughout Central Asia, the horn of Africa, and in the Middle East.
Below are four current national models:
- A local (national) partner provides the manpower to staff the two-year project. StoryRunners provides the training, coaching, equipment and project resources, and helps develop the long-term sustainable strategies in the people group. Developing this strategy preferably includes a church partner that will work directly with the field strategy.
- Where possible, a partnership is developed within the country or region with an association of local churches. These churches raise the funding to support national missionaries for the two-year projects. Upon completion of the two-year project, they also help develop the field strategies for distribution of the completed Bible story sets and for the ongoing work within the people group.
- Some countries in what is known as the “10/40 Window” have few local believers or have government restrictions forbidding the following of Christ (much less raising ministry support). In these cases, it might become strategic to partner with local ministries and help provide financial support for these national missionaries during the course of the two-year projects. We desire to limit dependency on outside resources, so we work hard in these locations to help build a more holistic ministry that can sustain these people group efforts once they’re established. We have partnered intentionally with business, vocational and humanitarian efforts in order to broaden these options.
- One other national model that StoryRunners is pursuing with high intentionality relates to assisting national missionaries in following their call to cross borders and serve internationally. One of the amazing trends in these moments of history is the burden and passion of young disciples to go “where no one has gone before” and to serve in spiritual and physical climates that are hostile to the spread of the gospel. We count it a privilege to serve alongside such workers from across Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia. Our efforts include training and equipping these teams, working to connect them to churches in their target/home regions that will partner with them to reach these unreached people groups.
Invest in this project by giving online or by mail to:
StoryRunners
100 Lake Hart Drive #1100
Orlando, FL 32832
Please pray…
Matthew 9:37-38: “Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is indeed plentiful but the laborers are few. So pray to the Lord of the harvest to force out and thrust laborers into His harvest.’”
- Ask the Lord for the people, funds and other resources for these projects.
- Ask the Lord for the freedom to move about in their village, city, country and family.
- Pray for freedom to share God’s Word openly and freely and for protection.
Serve
Check out the links below to see ways you can serve with StoryRunners.