A word from the International Director (July 2020)

ION exists for one reason: to promote discipling all oral communicators – the oral majority – unreached peoples.  Our hearts beat with William Carey who in 72 small pages upended the status quo of missions and its colonial view approach to evangelizing “the heathen.”  He agonized over those who had never heard the Gospel, and concluded with our duty to promote those efforts.  That was 1792.

Amy Carmichael shook things up with her approach of reaching the poor; Hudson Taylor was mocked for his novel integration into Chinese culture; Adoniram Judson spent years with a substandard translation and hardly any converts yet changed future mission strategies, and Mary Slessor broke every rule about women in the book blazing trails in the Nigerian interior.

It took over 200 years but finally several hundred mission-minded leaders convened in Lausanne, Switzerland and agreed in principle: “The whole church taking the whole Gospel to the whole world.”  Yet this requires unprecedented unity and civility.

It is in this spirit that ION hopes to serve you and help you build even stronger mission strategies.  We work as a network of organizations to promote God’s best for all.  Prayer is central to that.  We promote no one strategy in any part of the mission as best, but ALL as important to the King whom we serve together.

ION is calling you to serve other missions, and not just the ones you agree with completely.  We’ll be convening virtual meetings where we find common ground on oral strategies that require the whole church taking the whole Gospel to the whole world.

ION is shifting to promote collaboration in mission projects and programs.  Together we’ll look at critical mission issues, critical needs and critical responses with collaborating partners.

This month’s feature on orality in mission is with Rev. Bishop Daniel Ponraj.  Daniel serves as a bishop over several historically polarized denominational groups.  It’s not important if I agree or disagree with what he is doing.  He does it out of obedience to Christ and a passion for the millions of lost that William Carey pleaded over 250 years ago.  How can we promote and assist the “Daniels” all over the world with “Means for the Conversion” of the Oral Majority.

Dr. Chuck Madinger
International Director