Wes Quarterly Ministry Report | Q3 2022
Ministry Progress Report
Term 3, Goal 1: Decide on a final CP strategy and methodology.
Term 3, Goal 2: Develop a timeline for our team to begin implementing our methodology.
Current Ministry Project: Conduct a study on the existing literature on CP strategy and method and make a recommendation to the team for discussion and selection.
Spend 10 hours per week for the next year to
- conduct a broad survey of the existing literature on cross-cultural CP strategy and method
- categorize the existing strategies and methods into type groupings (e.g. disciple movement, insider, traditional, etc.)
- analyze the validity of these methods by examining their scriptural evidence and underlying missiological theories
- write up my findings in a report to be examined, discussed and selected by the team
The purpose for this study is to get a better understanding of the various CP strategies that are currently being used. Basically, I am confused about all the acronyms and tools discussed (e.g. DMM, DBS, T4T, 4- Fields, etc.) and how Biblically valid they are. There are also a number of different underlying motivations that appear to be involved which may be ungodly (e.g. speed of multiplication). In the end, my study may find that they are all fundamentally the same and only different in form or perhaps there are very significant differences that are critical to understand.
1. What progress have you seen this quarter toward your ministry plan?
I spent 28:35 hours working on this and I feel I have a good start. I have surveyed 13 titles related to this subject already and there are a couple of resources that appear to be very well researched and are proving very helpful so far. Those titles are Global Church Planting by Craig Ott (2011) and Motus Dei by Warrick Farrah (2022).
2. What problems have you encountered?
I’ve been having trouble figuring out the best way to organize such a large project. I’ve never attempted anything like this before. I’m using a database to story my notes and resource data but I spent 10 hours developing this. I think I am in good shape now.
3. What plans are you making to continue your progress and overcome the problems faced?
I need to keep an eye on how much time I am devoting to this project. There is much ministry going on right now for our team that also needs attention and support from me so I need to be careful not to focus only on this. Despite our existing in the development phase of our work God is working even now and that requires prayer, faith and obedience in the present.
Basically, I need to limit myself to the 10 hours per week I’ve designated.
Time Spent Report
We arrived on August 25th and have had 5 weeks of Q3, 2022 in Thailand. Only 3 or those 5 weeks were spent in Bee Creek working. 1.8 weeks were spent in CM and 0.5 weeks were spent cleaning and setting up house.
The bulk of my time this quarter (70%) was spent in the following six activities:
| Activity | Definition | Hours | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | InTent | Conferencing with InTent colleagues or facilitators. | 35:45 | 14.4% |
| 2 | Leadership Studies | Continued leadership education. | 33:45 | 13.6% |
| 3 | Team Fellowship | Worship, prayer and other relaxed time with members. | 29:55 | 12.1% |
| 4 | Church Planting Strategy/Method | Research and development of a church planting strategy and method. | 28:35 | 11.6% |
| 5 | Meetings | Running regular team meetings as well as one-on-one ministry related meetings with members. | 35:45 | 14.4% |
| 6 | Thai Study | Deeper study of Thai language. | 19:10 | 7.8% |
#1 and #2 are related to the Pioneers International Leadership Training (“InTent”) conference the first week of September. I spent close to 70 hours that week being trained and developing relationships with leadership peers in the organization.
Evaluating the value of this great time investment has been difficult. The training component was less beneficial than I was hoping. Most sessions were left open ended or even with confusion on the part of the participants. My observation is that there appears to be an incredibly broad spectrum permitted for how TLs deal with issues related to missiological practice, pursuit of organizational goals and values, and team formation and leadership issues. I see the value in being given a long leash but in practice it feels that a team can pursue almost any kind of ministry in any manner and that is acceptable. Again, maybe this amount of freedom is necessary and desired but how is it possible to train leaders to do almost anything in any manner? The training sessions would be vague. That was the result for me.
#3 and #5 are related to my leadership role on the team. Fellowship with the team was amazing for me. It has been wonderful to reconnect with everyone and spend a lot of quality time with Anita in CM. It has also been excellent to engage in some very important conversations together about our mission and strategy.
#4 is the main ministry progress I believe I was able to accomplish this quarter. Basically I spent time researching the literature related to cross-cultural CP. See Ministry Progress Report above.
#6 was progress made in my goal to pass the Thai speaking exam at the conclusion of our term. This was very productive time and, while I don’t feel I lost much of Thai proficiency during the 18 months in the US, I found my studies sharpened my ability the speak and hear from fluently. I really love this time spent.
