The goal
The people who live in the Finisterre Mountains are some of the last unreached people. There are only 49 tribes left to reach there, but the amount of work is great. Generally, the amount of time spent living in a tribe is roughly 10-12 years. This sounds like a long time, but there is a lot to accomplish. Proverbs 21:5 reminds us that "The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty".
The step by step process
The first step in getting to PNG is training. This involves taking classes with Finisterre Vision, doing research and readings, and getting ready to go. It has been a slow start to this process because of us both finishing school, but we are thankful for the time to mature and prepare before we go. We are excited to start learning as much as we can as soon as we can!
Partnership development comes directly after training. This involves developing prayer partners, financial partners, and a core team. These people will be what makes everything possible. Prayer and financial support are equally important in this mission and a core team of supporters will help us through everything.
The next two steps, arriving on field and making first contact, occur in PNG. This will entail living in the nearby city of Madang for a few months as we gather supplies and become more fluent in the trade language of Melanesian Pidgin. This step allows us to develop the skills to communicate in the village and begin to learn about the culture. Towards the end of this time, we will survey tribes, hope that we are invited to live in one and bring them the good news, and then begin the housebuilding process.
Once our house is built, we have everything we need, and we know the trade language, we will be able to move into the tribe! We don't know which tribe we will end up in yet, but we know that it will all work out to be right in God's plan and we pray for their hearts to be open to our message. When we're moved into our house, we will start to learn the Tok Place, the tribal language unique to that village. This can take upwards of two years!
Towards the end of language and culture acquisition, we will begin what is called "pre-teaching prep". This is the step before evangelism begins. As we learn the language ourselves, we will also be creating a written alphabet for the language. After this, we will establish a literacy program and train the tribal people to read and write in their own language. This time period will also allow us to start to develop our bible lesson curriculum.
The evangelism phase is next. We will teach the tribal people the contents of the Bible in chronological order. This is important in developing their understanding of God and the reasoning for the Gospel. Once the people become believers, we will begin to establish the tribal church. This will involve growing the people in their understanding of their new faith and incorporating their cultural practices into this new belief system. The goal is not to create a western church in the jungle, we want to allow the people to develop their own biblical ways to celebrate God!
The years after evangelism will be spent establishing the church. The people will become firm believers and eventually will reach out to surrounding tribes to share the good news of the Gospel. This process will take lots of time. We will also continue working on creating a full translation of the Bible into their tribal language for them to have and use now and once we leave.
Eventually, it will be time to phase out. This means that after 10 or so years, if the tribe is ready, it will be time for us to move back home. The goal is that the tribal people will not become completely depended on foreign missionaries, but will be able to support their own church and even become their own missionaries to the surrounding people groups.
Yes, this process is long! That is why we estimate it taking about ten years once we move into the tribe, maybe even longer. We are excited to tackle this journey and encourage you to follow along as we do it!
Partnership development comes directly after training. This involves developing prayer partners, financial partners, and a core team. These people will be what makes everything possible. Prayer and financial support are equally important in this mission and a core team of supporters will help us through everything.
The next two steps, arriving on field and making first contact, occur in PNG. This will entail living in the nearby city of Madang for a few months as we gather supplies and become more fluent in the trade language of Melanesian Pidgin. This step allows us to develop the skills to communicate in the village and begin to learn about the culture. Towards the end of this time, we will survey tribes, hope that we are invited to live in one and bring them the good news, and then begin the housebuilding process.
Once our house is built, we have everything we need, and we know the trade language, we will be able to move into the tribe! We don't know which tribe we will end up in yet, but we know that it will all work out to be right in God's plan and we pray for their hearts to be open to our message. When we're moved into our house, we will start to learn the Tok Place, the tribal language unique to that village. This can take upwards of two years!
Towards the end of language and culture acquisition, we will begin what is called "pre-teaching prep". This is the step before evangelism begins. As we learn the language ourselves, we will also be creating a written alphabet for the language. After this, we will establish a literacy program and train the tribal people to read and write in their own language. This time period will also allow us to start to develop our bible lesson curriculum.
The evangelism phase is next. We will teach the tribal people the contents of the Bible in chronological order. This is important in developing their understanding of God and the reasoning for the Gospel. Once the people become believers, we will begin to establish the tribal church. This will involve growing the people in their understanding of their new faith and incorporating their cultural practices into this new belief system. The goal is not to create a western church in the jungle, we want to allow the people to develop their own biblical ways to celebrate God!
The years after evangelism will be spent establishing the church. The people will become firm believers and eventually will reach out to surrounding tribes to share the good news of the Gospel. This process will take lots of time. We will also continue working on creating a full translation of the Bible into their tribal language for them to have and use now and once we leave.
Eventually, it will be time to phase out. This means that after 10 or so years, if the tribe is ready, it will be time for us to move back home. The goal is that the tribal people will not become completely depended on foreign missionaries, but will be able to support their own church and even become their own missionaries to the surrounding people groups.
Yes, this process is long! That is why we estimate it taking about ten years once we move into the tribe, maybe even longer. We are excited to tackle this journey and encourage you to follow along as we do it!
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