MissionShift Institute guide

The urban community is far from what it used to be, even 10 years ago. Cities are quickly changing, diversifying, and growing rapidly. The cities’ inhabitants are from a variety of backgrounds, beliefs, and cultures. Not only is there the challenge of understanding a neighbor from a different country, but also the problem of understanding a neighbor from a different generation, socioeconomic status, or social orientation.

The problems and core issues in the city are just as diverse as the population within. Urban areas nationwide deal with issues such as homelessness, poverty, racism, gangs, HIV/AIDS, prostitution, chemical dependency, mental illness, justice and prison systems, refugees and immigrants, and single generation families.

Congregations also have their own struggles as many are in decline or barely holding on. Such diversity and complexity has never been faced, and past prescriptions are not improving the situation. In neighborhoods Somalis, Hmong, Bhutanese, African Americans, and Hispanics live side-by-side with young urban professionals, spiritual skeptics, casual Christians, Jews, Mormons, and the gay community. For the urban congregation many questions arise: Who are our neighbors? What are their needs? How do we relate to them? And most importantly, how can we bring the Gospel to them?

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“for the son of man came to seek and to save the lost.� luke 19:10

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Concordia Seminary believes that according to the Great Commission, the Church must bring God’s Word to people who live in diverse urban centers. To that end, MissionShift Institute (MSI) is designed to equip a new generation of pastors and laity with the vision and strategies that will help them minister effectively in these diverse settings. The following statement begins to describe the goals of MSI: Outreach to a pluralistic, post-modern, urban context is best accomplished by understanding and communicating through the hearer’s worldview. This requires that we learn to: • • • • • •

Measure communication by what people hear, not by what we say Meet people where they are, not where we are Recognize that worldview differences are not limited to race and ethnicity but include generational differences and social orientations Recognize that there are different ways of seeing the world Support, leverage and connect with hearers’ relational networks, thereby enabling ministry to have the widest possible impact Use incarnational and relational approaches to ministry

MSI’s strategy is to expose students to worldviews farthest from the Anglo worldview, primarily the worldviews of first-generation, ethnic immigrants.

The first half of the course helps students open themselves to learning what Biblical Christianity looks like from other cultural perspectives. The second half of the course reinforces these insights by helping students create strategies for reaching out cross-culturally. This approach will equip students to bring the Gospel to those with a different world view in faithful and effective ways.

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“SO there was great joy in the city.”

Acts 8:8 5

Overview The MissionShift Institute (MSI) of Concordia Seminary is not a building, but a network of local leaders brought together around a proven curriculum to equip Christians to build and lead culture-crossing ministries. It serves participating congregations with valuable training for their members in the theory and practice of starting and leading local, culture-crossing ministries. MSI’s final project benefits the city of St. Louis by creating urban ministry plans that local congregations, non-profits, and organizations can act on. MSI enhances Concordia Seminary students’ residential field education through experiential and contextual training.

MissionShift Institute curriculum is enriched by 30 local Christian leaders, who bring their years of experience and insights into the classroom to supplement the videos and assigned readings. Field trips and various projects help participants become comfortable in an urban environment and reinforce the lessons gained in the classroom. There are weekly reading assignments, but these are kept to a minimum so students have more time to engage in the urban environment.

To provide the best education and to have the widest impact upon the community, MSI desires participation from all Christian tribes. Urban ministry functions best when utilizing all the resources of a community regardless of their denominational affiliations. MSI connects with and offers instruction using the best expertise available in the St. Louis metro area. The majority of the curriculum is practical in nature; where theology is involved, the course is taught from a Lutheran, Law/ Gospel perspective.

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The many concepts and insights presented during the MSI curriculum are transferable from the St. Louis area to other contexts. This makes MSI ideal for seminary students who will graduate and be placed throughout the United States. It also equips individuals in congregations and universities who are called to serve in urban areas.

Future graduates of MSI can take what they learn and implement it in congregations and organizations throughout the world. MSI teaches a solid model for ministry that crosses cultural boundaries. Its primary emphasis is bringing people of all worldviews and cultural backgrounds into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Brief Background MissionShift has been running out of Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn., for the past 18 years. Their mission is “Equipping Christians to build and lead cross-cultural ministries.” Growing out of their success, three universities/colleges came together in 2005 and formed a 501(c)3 educational service organization called Urban Cross Cultural College Consortium (U4C). Each college’s urban studies program is slightly different, but MissionShift serves as a foundational course due to its unique methodology that is able to prepare graduates for effective service in today’s urban world.

MissionShift crossed paths with Concordia Seminary at a crosscultural summit held in Boston in 2009. It was there that a Concordia Seminary representative first learned about the program from MissionShift’s director and began to explore the possibility of starting a franchise in St. Louis. After many conversations and site visits, Concordia Seminary franchised a branch of MissionShift.

MissionShift Institute held its first class September 10, 2012.

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MissionShift Institute’s mission statement is: “Equipping Christians to Build and Lead Culture-Crossing Ministries.�

MSI is taught using experiential learning in an urban context, supplemented with readings, videos and lecture outlines. Each lesson is developed locally, taking the curriculum materials and identifying local practitioners to teach and share how the materials students are reading apply to the city of St. Louis. Each site is chosen to ensure students come into contact with an urban, ethnically diverse neighborhood to help students become comfortable working in urban areas.

MissionShift curriculum surveys ways of reading a city, identifying assets, challenges, and opportunities, along with examples of successful crosscultural, urban ministry in the St. Louis area.

MissionShift culminates in a capstone project requiring students to work in small groups to create a plan that addresses a specific human need in the contest of interpersonal relationships and Gospel proclamation. In a four-part sequence, students will study and identify a human need in the community, talk to service providers, meet with the people group, and make a plan to implement the ministry.

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“Jesus returned to the city.”

Matt 21:18 The curriculum is divided into seven units: • • • • • • •

The City – learning about the city of St. Louis, its history and how it works today Culture and how to cross the cultural boundaries in a modern context Entrepreneuring the church – how to step into a situation, analyze it, and begin ministry World religions, especially within the local context Resourcing and grant writing Challenges of the city – local ministries with experience and resources in addressing them Urban Ministry Group Project

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Impact upon participating

congregations and organizations Laity who attend MissionShift Institute learn how to share the great news of Jesus with people from cultures different from their own. MSI gives Biblical rationale, real stories, and practical experiences to help students become confident and competent in their witness. The Urban Ministry Group Project provides a hands-on, practical experience that grows into actual ministry.

It helps build congregational leaders in community outreach and helps congregations focus externally on the neighborhood outside their walls.

In addition, local congregations and organizations become aware of the 12,000 plus 501[c]3 ministries in the St. Louis area. MSI encourages students to network with other existing ministries. These new connections help local congregations grow in their awareness of unmet community needs and various methods being used to meet them. The desired goal is for churches to be more effective in responding to the Great Commission.

By working with MSI, Christians are equipped to do mission work in their backyard. Participants are empowered with knowledge and encouraged by fellow classmates. Since MSI educates students about cultures found in their neighborhood students can better understand their neighbors and their needs. On this understanding, congregations can further their relationships with their neighbors and ultimately bring the gospel to them. MissionShift Institute is an instrument that congregations and organizations can use to further their outreach into the community and reach the lost with the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ.

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Impact among area universities MissionShift Institute seeks to strengthen existing relationships and establish new relationships with area colleges, universities, and seminaries. MSI is applicable to several degrees at both the graduate and undergraduate level.

Concordia Seminary works with area universities and seminaries to offer MissionShift Institute for dual credit.

By working together, MissionShift Institute is developing a broad network to include pastors, laity, mission agencies, social service providers and government agencies. Urban Ministry functions best when utilizing all the resources of a community regardless of their denominational affiliations.

MissionShift Institute is a catalyst in beginning conversations across denominational lines and laying the groundwork for continued relationships in the urban mission field.

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Photo by: Joy Brown/Shutterstock.com

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MissionShift

Institute

32 Week Course Mondays 6:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.

September - May (Includes some weeks off for holidays) Course Fee: $500 Messiah Lutheran Church 2846 South Grand Boulevard St. Louis, MO 63118* Christian parishioners, leaders, and students are invited to apply. *Second site on additional weekday night to be added for 20132014 academic year.

Apply online at www.missionshiftstl.org.

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For more information visit our website: www.missionshiftstl.org missionshift@csl.edu 314-505-7168 www.facebook.com/MissionShiftSTL