January 2017Volume 6 / Issue 1

Is Our Collaboration for the Kingdom Effective?10 'Ordinary' Christians

Can Reach Muslims Better than Specialists17 Mining for a Living

in the Majority World21

A C A R I B B E A N PE RS PEC TI V E

O N TH E US E LEC TI O N S

F I V E KE Y A R E A S TO WATC H

I S S U E O V E R V I E W

Welcome to the January issue of Lausanne Global Analysis. We look forward to your feedback on it. In this issue we firstly focus on the impact of the US presidential election campaign and its outcome on Christian ministry in other parts of the world. In the light of the elections, we invited Lausanne

leaders from several regions to comment from their perspective. We received some very helpful surveys as well as one more-than-full-length analytical article by Las Newman and Minke Newman. The arrival of the latter enables us to feature our first ever LGA article written from a Caribbean perspective. We have added to it ‘Voices from other regions’ as a postscript, with brief excerpts from three regional surveys. We also feature two articles on networks and partnerships, one focused on evaluation of their effectiveness, and the other on the growing Mahabba network. We conclude with a piece on artisanal and small-scale mining in the majority world and how Christians can make a difference.

‘Throughout the Caribbean, there is real apprehension about the conduct and outcome of the election’, write Las Newman (Lausanne Global Associate Director for Regions) and Minke Newman (environmental biologist at University of the West Indies, Jamaica). As church leaders and other civil and political leaders in the Caribbean reflect on the process and outcome, they have identified five key areas to watch: the future of our climate, the protection of biblical teaching on marriage and family, free and fair trade, migration and the impact of globalization, and global peace and security. These five issues are the key areas for the region as a new US administration takes shape. Against this background, Paul’s advice to Timothy in 1 Timothy 2:1-2 about interceding for those in high positions is what every pastor needs at this time. ‘The impact these will have on Caribbean peoples’ ability to “lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” is vital to our survival and well-being’, they conclude.

‘The global church is now meeting virtually and in the field in hundreds of kingdom-focused networks’, writes Phill Butler (Senior Strategy Advisor, visionSynergy). Lacking collective action on the topic of network evaluation, the wider ministry community and those who support these efforts are destined for continued confusion about essentials and our ability to evaluate them. The urgency of the need is evident. This article highlights the challenges, progress, and options that now exist for evaluating these radically new structures shaping the future of ministry globally. Motivated primarily by the desire for the highest expression of stewardship, the evangelical community is faced with urgent challenges and unprecedented opportunity. The author concludes with five suggestions for action that could yield significant progress.

We are currently presented with one of the greatest opportunities of our time: to unveil Jesus to Muslim people in the Western world and bring them to Christ. ‘In this context, a new phenomenon networking both agencies and churches has proved to be a catalyst to unity and prayer’, writes Gordon Hickson (Director, Mahabba Network). This network is called Mahabba (‘love’ in Arabic). Its emphasis is on motivating and mobilizing ‘ordinary’ Christians rather than just ‘specialists’ to reach their Muslim neighbours. The model normally consists of a partnership between groups of churches. The essence is ordinary Christians being resourced by specialists, championed by local leaders in unity, committed to persistent prayer, and compelled by God’s love for Muslim people to unveil Jesus to them and help them grow in Christ. This often described as the ‘Mahabba Virus’ or ‘Love Virus’. ‘Surely this is the most contagious part of our faith’, he concludes.

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‘Recent media articles have highlighted the emerging phenomenon of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in the majority world’, writes Terry Garde (Trustee, International Miners’ Mission). Over 100 million people base their livelihoods on such mining with minimal equipment, capital, and training. While an important income source, ASM creates social, economic, legal, and environmental impacts, including uncontrolled use of mercury in gold mining. The Fairtrade Foundation and others have produced a set of standards for responsible ASM. Christians can help, for example, as consumers by putting pressure on their local jewellers to subscribe to fair trade systems. Readers can also help by seeking to raise the profiles of organisations which are trying to promote responsible mining. ‘It comes down to Christians worldwide catching this wave of opportunity and making positive changes in response to the challenges of ASM’, he concludes.

Whether you are planning to read the full articles or just the executive summaries, we hope that you find this issue stimulating and useful. Our aim is to deliver strategic and credible analysis, information, and insight so that as an influencer you will be better equipped for the task of global mission. It’s our desire that the analysis of current and future trends and developments will help you and your team make better decisions about the stewardship of all that God has entrusted to your care.

Please send any questions and comments about this issue to analysis@lausanne.org. The next issue of Lausanne Global Analysis will be released in March.

David Taylor, EditorLausanne Global Analysis

F I V E KE Y A R E A S TO WATC H

A C A R I B B E A N PE RS PEC TI V E

O N TH E US E LEC TI O N S

L A S N E W M A N A N D M I N K E N E W M A N

FIRST OF ALL, THEN, I URGE THAT SUPPLICATIONS, PRAYERS,

INTERCESSIONS, AND THANKSGIVINGS BE MADE FOR ALL PEOPLE, FOR

KINGS AND ALL WHO ARE IN HIGH POSITIONS, THAT WE MAY LEAD A

PEACEFUL AND QUIET LIFE, GODLY AND DIGNIFIED IN EVERY WAY.

1 T I M O T H Y 2 : 1 - 2

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n the context of the powerful Roman Empire, Paul’s pastoral concern for the role of the church in society was expressed pointedly in his advice to his younger leader and protégé, Pastor Timothy,

in 1 Timothy 2:1-2.

Pastoral advice for the church

His pastoral advice has two dimensions to it. Firstly, he calls attention to the power and importance of intercessory prayer for political and civic leadership in the state: I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions. Paul emphasises prayer as God’s resource for releasing divine aid to everyone, especially to those in authority.

Secondly, he pointedly makes reference to the important end-goal or objective of that leadership: that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. Paul emphasises the importance of leadership because leadership in any field of endeavour matters. It influences and carries consequences.

He urges Christian engagement rather than a piety of withdrawal or ignoring the issues of the day. The church should intercede with deep prayers of supplication and intercession for those in leadership. He urges this action for the greater good of society, to the end that ‘we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way’. Peace, a quiet life, and dignity before God are his ideals for his people and his created order of society.

Observing the US election

As people inside and outside the United States observed the conduct of the 2016 presidential election campaign, there was bewilderment, angst, and fear. Those who watched it from a distance may have thought they were witnessing a remarkable race to the lowest level of political contests for power. The expectation was that the US election would be an example to the world of democracy-in-action, with all the robust cut and thrust of the politics of democratic change. Instead, a new kind of politics came into full public view, the politics of personal character destruction of opponents and the pursuit of power by any means. Along the campaign trail, an avalanche of untruths and known falsehoods and deceptions were advocated as though they were gospel truth.

Oxford Dictionaries has recently announced its international word of the year for 2016: ‘post-truth’. This, it says, is because of ‘the rise in false statements by political leaders in major elections around the globe and the use of the word in the English language by over 2,000% since 2015’. It describes the use of language that appeals to and influences people’s emotions and value judgements, over against the objective rationality of known and demonstrable facts. In the campaign, it seemed that the widespread use of ‘post-truths’ pointed to the overthrow of a moral and ethical code where wrong now had to be accepted as right and right had become wrong.

It raised questions. Was this the future of American politics and, by extension, global politics? Was this what we should expect of American leadership and influence in the world? Do morality and ethics still have a role to play in political campaigns and platforms?

Caribbean concerns

Throughout the Caribbean, there is real apprehension about the conduct and outcome of the election. There are serious repercussions for US-Caribbean relations. As church leaders and other civil and political leaders in the Caribbean reflect on the process and outcome, they have identified five

I

A NEW KIND OF POLITICS CAME INTO FULL PUBLIC VIEW, THE POLITICS OF PERSONAL CHARACTER DESTRUCTION OF OPPONENTS AND THE PURSUIT OF POWER BY ANY MEANS.

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particular areas to watch, from a Caribbean perspective, in a new dispensation of American politics and leadership in the world.

1. OUR CLIMATE FUTURE

The beautiful Caribbean countries are among the Small Island Developing States (SIDS).1 They are anxious to know the direction of the new US administration in the global fight for a more sustainable climate future. Such a future, they believe, can be secured if global leaders agree and strive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, limit future temperature rises, monitor our carbon future, limit the burning of fossil fuels, and deliver cleaner energy. From the perspective of small developing states that are extremely vulnerable to the vicissitudes of climate change, Caribbean leaders are adamant that they will never allow the overwhelming evidence of the realities of climate change to be obscured and rejected by those who deny or seek to obstruct it for selfish ends.

Across the region, several Caribbean leaders have indicated that are prepared to fight for the region’s economic and environmental survival. Leading up to the Paris Climate Summit in 2015 and afterwards, the Caribbean’s ‘1.5 to Stay Alive’ campaign was a plea for its survival. The COP21 Global Agreement was a significant achievement.2 Caribbean leaders believe it must be upheld and the US must be held to its commitments.

For the global church, Lausanne’s The Cape Town Commitment (CTC, 2010) is a landmark document. It encourages Christians worldwide to ‘exert legitimate means to persuade governments to put moral imperatives above political expediency on issues of environmental destruction and potential climate change’ (CTC II-B-6). Such strong words to the global church were based on the conviction that ‘we cannot claim to love God while abusing what belongs to Christ by right of creation, redemption and inheritance’ (CTC 1-7).

Care of creation is important in every context, but especially so in the Caribbean where the Lausanne Jamaica Statement was issued in 2012.3

Evangelical, Pentecostal, and ecumenical church leaders in the Caribbean are being mobilized to advocate for a more sustainable climate future. They recognize a common cause for the sake of the One True and Living God who owns the universe and mandates his people to steward his creation for the well-being and sustainability of all humanity.

2. GLOBAL TRADE POLICY

The election campaign witnessed many ‘post-truths’ being spoken against global trade, alleging it to be against the US national interest. The alternative proffered was US protectionism, isolationism, and ‘me-and-my country first’. To leaders in the Caribbean, this does not appear to be a good example to the world.

As small developing states, the Caribbean nations are dependent on good trade relations with their big neighbour. Our region cannot afford to be ignored, neglected, or ill-treated by its neighbour or anyone else. If this happens under a new insular, protectionist US administration, the region will suffer a steep decline. Poverty, crime, and therefore, migration flows will increase.

Global trade is vital. Every country is reliant on trade to boost economic growth, create jobs, ensure social well-being, and create opportunities to restore dignity to the lives of the poor. The churches in the Caribbean have been struggling with this issue for more than two centuries. They

CARIBBEAN LEADERS ARE ADAMANT THAT THEY WILL NEVER ALLOW THE OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE OF THE REALITIES OF CLIMATE CHANGE TO BE OBSCURED AND REJECTED BY THOSE WHO DENY OR SEEK TO OBSTRUCT IT FOR SELFISH ENDS.

LGA 7

want to help their congregations find jobs and be able to look after their families. They believe that nations should strive for free and fair trade and ensure better wages for workers—‘the worker deserves his wages’ (1 Tim 5:18). So they have become even stronger advocates for global trade.

The region wants and needs US engagement and leadership in bilateral, hemispheric, and global trade agreements, especially in our multi-polar world. Caribbean leaders are insisting that the bigger economies, including the US, protect, defend, and look out for the weaker ones and help them to grow and develop too. At the same time, they are concerned about the long-standing US trade embargo against Cuba and the effect of grinding poverty on children and families in Haiti.

US leadership is required, especially in an era of rising global super-powers such as China, whose interest and influence in the Caribbean and elsewhere have become quite extensive.

3. MARRIAGE EQUALITY

One of the big campaign issues was so-called ‘marriage equality’. The Caribbean is one of those regions that has been pressured by the US State Department to adopt marriage equality and same sex unions under the US foreign policy aid and human rights agenda. Government and church leaders across the region have been specifically courted by the US government to enact legislation to this end.

There have been strong reactions from the church across the region to this pressure. In June 2014, Jamaican church leaders held a public rally called ‘Jamaica Cause’ and mobilized a crowd of some 30,000. The Caribbean church and society are generally opposed to US promotion of lifestyles and family constructs that they consider inimical to their culture and well-being.

While some sections of the church, particularly the older and more established churches, argue for a more conciliatory approach, many pastors in the evangelical and Pentecostal churches, and ordinary citizens, are strongly resistant.

The presidential elections seemed to have highlighted issues of abortion rights, LGBTQ rights, and the extent of tolerance in a diverse and very pluralistic society. These issues are of concern in the Caribbean and for the Caribbean church. Here again, The Cape Town Commitment provides very useful guidance for the global church, urging all Christians to reject ‘disordered sexuality’ (CTC II-E-2), while showing Christ’s love and compassion to all people.

4. MIGRATION AND GLOBALIZATION

Illegal immigration was one of the hot campaign issues. Many of the illegal immigrants in the US are of Caribbean origin. As far as organized crime and criminal gang-networks are concerned, there are undeniable links between the Caribbean and the US. These networks foster transnational crime and violence on both sides. This must be dealt with. The Caribbean welcomes and needs better immigration policies and effective systems to curb illegal immigration. Caribbean countries, like Jamaica, have benefited greatly from guest-worker programs in the US which have helped the US economy and also helped many poor families back in the region.

Churches in the Caribbean are affected by this issue:

• Some pastors are struggling with the challenge of providing pastoral counsel and guidance to congregations and communities that exist in the midst of gang-controlled turfs.

THE CARIBBEAN CHURCH AND SOCIETY ARE GENERALLY OPPOSED TO US PROMOTION OF LIFESTYLES AND FAMILY CONSTRUCTS THAT THEY CONSIDER INIMICAL TO THEIR CULTURE AND WELL-BEING.

LGA 8

• Churches in Jamaica, for example, are joining together in approaches to law enforcement officials to see how best to tackle what has currently become a major social problem.

• Children, families, and local communities that are dependent on transnational relationships between the US and the Caribbean are anxious about the future of that relationship. Many are coming to the church for counseling and help.

The US must guard against retreating into exceptionalism and self-isolationism. We live in a global environment. The Caribbean would like to see pastors and churches in the US guarding against hostility towards immigrants, refugees, migrant workers, and ‘strangers’ in their midst. They should welcome the stranger and the asylum seeker, the lost, and the lonely. This is what Christ would have done. This is what he calls his church to do.

5. GLOBAL PEACE AND SECURITY

The Caribbean is all too aware of the extent of conflicts and war in the world. As people in the sub-region of the Americas, they are constantly reminded of the words of the popular Jamaican musical icon, Bob Marley: ‘So much trouble in the world’.

The Caribbean has lived through years of violence and war and civil strife. In the history of the region, people are all too aware of the use of US military power in attempts to bring about regime change. Caribbean peoples feel it is time for peace. They know it is time for healing and reconciliation among people.

In its preaching and teaching ministry, the church in the US and in the Caribbean must proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is about peace, truth, and reconciliation. The church in the US and the church in the Caribbean must work together in partnership towards peace-building in local communities and helping to strengthen global peace and security.

This is the time for global church partnerships in peace-building initiatives. Jesus told his disciples: ‘Blessed are the peace-makers for they shall be called the children of God’ (Matt 5:9).

Conclusion

Politics matters. Political leadership is important. Paul’s advice to Timothy is the advice that every pastor needs at this time. The advice is for the church to intercede with deep prayers of supplication and intercession for everyone, especially for those in high office. He urges this action for the common good and well-being of everyone in society. This is not advice for withdrawal and ignoring the issues, but rather for deep spiritual and practical engagement on the part of the church.

These five issues—the future of our climate, the protection of biblical teaching on marriage and family, free and fair trade, migration and the impact of globalization, and global peace and security—are the key areas to watch in our region as a new US administration takes shape. The impact these will have on Caribbean peoples’ ability and capacity to ‘lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way’ is vital to our survival and well-being.

THE CHURCH IN THE US AND IN THE CARIBBEAN MUST PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST, WHICH IS ABOUT PEACE, TRUTH, AND RECONCILIATION.

Editor’s Postscript

Leaders from several regions of the world were invited to provide theological reflection and pastoral guidance concerning the potential impact of the US presidential elections on Christian ministry in their region. Here

are some of their comments.

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Endnotes

1. Editor’s Note: See article entitled ‘Climate Change in Oceania’ by Mick Pope in the March 2014 issue of Lausanne Global Analysis.

2. Editor’s Note: See article entitled ‘Climate Change after Paris’ by Ed Brown in the May 2016 issue of Lausanne Global Analysis.

3. Read full statement at https://www.lausanne.org/content/statement/creation-care-call-to-action.

Las G Newman PhD, is the Lausanne Global Associate Director for Regions. He lives in

Kingston, Jamaica, and is the past president of the Caribbean Graduate School of Theology

(CGST) located in Kingston. He hosted the Lausanne Global Consultation on Creation Care

and the Gospel in Jamaica in 2012 and contributed to the book Creation Care and the

Gospel: Reconsidering the Mission of the Church (2016).

Minke E Newman, PhD, is an environmental biologist at the University of the West Indies

(Mona campus), Jamaica. Her major work involves research on the impact of deforestation

of the Cockpit Country, Jamaica’s major watershed. She was a volunteer organizer at the

Lausanne Global Consultation on Creation Care and the Gospel in Jamaica in 2012 and one

of the Caribbean participants at the 2016 Lausanne Younger Leaders Gathering in Indonesia.

From Africa

Gideon Para-Mallam, Nigeria—International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) Regional Secretary for English, Portuguese, and Spanish-speaking Africa (EPSA). Based on interactions with church and mission leaders from Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Uganda, Côte d’ Voire, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, Zambia, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, and Ethiopia.

Those who really need guidance are the emerging leaders; in truth the future is uncertain at the moment . . . Emerging leaders should have a clear vision of what the church needs to do in order to re-focus their commitment to global mission in today’s uncertain political climate . . . Global Christian leaders need to help the church think biblically on the future direction of the gospel devoid of political manipulation from politicians, who appear more adept in using the church to advance their political goals instead of the other way around. Complex global realities suggest that we intentionally promote God’s redemptive missional agenda by engaging in what

John Stott described as double listening: to God’s word and the world.

From Latin America

Daniel Bianchi, Argentina—Lausanne Regional Director for Latin America. Following survey of leaders from 17 countries in Latin America and Spanish-speaking Caribbean.

Will the church continue to speak against all [that is] against the gospel of justice, compassion, and reconciliation? Will the church continue to seek the advancement and the interests of the kingdom above any other consideration

of power or culture?

From South Asia

Dr Jacob Cherian, India—Vice President and Dean of Faculty at Southern Asia Bible College.

Any idea of racial supremacy . . . must be condemned, openly and fiercely, especially by white evangelicals in America and Europe. This will surely help those who preach the gospel in countries like Pakistan, India, and Indonesia, where sometimes anti-Christian actions are spurred on by anti-American or anti-white feelings . . . If Euro-American evangelicals do not clearly and loudly affirm their full support for religious and racial minorities (like Muslims, Hindus, African-Americans, Buddhists), they will be hurting Christians in South Asia, since we are the micro-minorities here.

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IS OUR COLLABORATION FOR THE KINGDOM EFFECTIVE?

P H I L L B U T L E R

E VA LU AT I N G M I N I S T R Y N E T W O R K S A N D PA R T N E R S H I P S

‘There is no other way society will achieve large-scale progress against urgent and complex problems, unless a collective approach becomes the accepted way of doing business.’

Stanford Institute of Social Innovation Journal, Spring 2012.

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Proliferation of types of ministry, radical socio-political and communication change, multi-plication of ministry ‘adhocracies’, and the shift of the global church’s center of gravity to the east and south, make evaluation more urgent than ever. Lacking collective action on the topic of network evaluation, the wider ministry community and those who support these efforts are destined for con-tinued confusion about essentials and our ability to evaluate them. The urgency of the need is evident.

This article highlights the challenges, progress, and options that now exist for evaluating these radically new structures shaping the future of ministry globally.

Network and partnership3 evaluation—for whom and why?

Who?

A variety of stakeholders have or should have an interest in the effectiveness of their collaborative ministry efforts. Among them are:

• the leaders or facilitators of collaborative efforts;

• the participants in the network or partnership;

With 500+ entries and constantly expanding, the explosive growth of the movement is compiled and managed by Eldon

Porter, Global Engagement Consultant. Map courtesy of www.linkingglobalvoices.com. Visit the website for a wealth of

current network information.

M anuel Castells, the most frequently cited sociologist of our day, states in the preface to his landmark book, The Rise Of The Network Society: ‘Because networks do not stop at the borders of the nation-state, the network society constituted itself as a global system,

ushering in the new form of globalization characteristic of our time.’

Evaluation of effectiveness is essential to stewardship and is part of the nature of God: planning, executing, and then evaluating.1

The scale of the network/partnership challenge

It is in hundreds of kingdom-focused networks that the global church is now meeting virtually and in the field: organizing themselves collaboratively with a geographic or issue-specific focus and in many cases integrating both perspectives.2

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• the leaders who approve investment of people, time, money, etc, in the collaborative effort; and

• the direct financial investors in collaborative efforts.

Why?

• Obviously a kingdom sense of stewardship should be a primary motivation.

• Beyond that, particularly as increasingly standard terms and categories are used, evaluation can power a growing international learning community.

• There is increasing demand for effective external reporting: accountability to parent ministries, prayer, and financial partners.

However, high motivation should never be assumed, as recently observed by Steve Moore of Next Leader: ‘The danger isn’t just that some leaders don’t know what they don’t know. It is they don’t want to know what they don’t know, at least not badly enough to create effective feedback loops.’4

Evaluation baselines and invested players

Expectations regarding evaluation by ministry networks are heavily colored by assessment practices established outside traditional ministry sectors, such as the worlds of business or social and physical sciences. To place ministry partnership evaluation in perspective, an understanding of the contrast between ‘secular’ and ‘ministry’ evaluation is essential.

In the physical and social sciences, there is a rich history of documentation, metrics, and evaluation. Legislation, budgets, career aspirations, industry standards, professional commitment to excellence, and other factors all play a part at different times in motivating evaluation. In sectors such as education, crime, public health, and dozens of other fields, there is a long history of documentation that yields a wide-ranging base of largely agreed metrics.

The emergence of intentional multi-agency, multi-stakeholder partnerships in these traditional ‘secular’ sectors is a fairly recent phenomenon. However, the impact of these initiatives and curiosity regarding their effectiveness have gained considerable attention over the last five years. Administrators, operations personnel, and policy makers are all engaged in the discussion.

Beyond that, financial stakeholders are forming their own learning communities to understand what makes for good investment in collaborative efforts; how networks call for different thinking from investments in single organizations; and what is involved in evaluating such collaborative efforts.5

Challenges among Christian ministries

Among Christian ministries, the story is quite different. There is little or no agreement on what numbers are truly significant regarding short or longer-term spiritual outcomes or impact of the gospel. Historically the ministry world has used largely generic numbers: number of people in a gospel meeting or that ‘go forward’ in response to an evangelistic message; size of church mem-bership or numbers who actually attend; size of Christian magazine circulation; number of people who ‘respond’ to a radio or TV program; or number of missionaries supported or ‘on the field’. Efforts to assign meaning to the numbers—much less, longitudinal studies to examine trends or implications—have been rare.

Recently with the advent of social media, Christian communications ministries suddenly seemed to have an arsenal of new data. Google Analytics (and other similar tools) provide a torrent of information. There was hope. Initially among both ministry leaders and their financial supporters, there was a bubble of euphoria: ‘At last we have some specific numbers from a third party’. However,

LGA 1 3

the lack of agreement on the categories of response (indicators) to be analyzed—much less, their meaning regarding lasting spiritual impact—has created new confusion and frustration.

The world of Christian foundations, where professional staff members are charged with examining effectiveness, has seen an increasing focus on evaluation. The effort to separate ‘activities’ and ‘outcomes’ has been widespread and is commendable. Despite this healthy push for more objective assessment, there has been a continuing lack of common vocabulary and commonly agreed categories for evaluation. Even more challenging is the lack of agreement on the significance of such ministry ‘outcomes’, their causes, or their correlation with long-term outcomes such as the number of mature believers and the health of grassroots fellowships. Even the meaning of such terms has largely gone unexamined.

What is there to measure in partnerships and networks?

Shortly after what many call the birth of the modern ministry partnership movement in 1986,6 there was an evident need for evaluation.

Since then, experience of the last 30 years has identified three broad categories that can and should be evaluated:

• The scale of the challenge

• The nature of the network: its development and the effectiveness of its organization and operation

• The nature of the network’s outcomes: specificity and realization of stated objectives

By 1990, the emerging partnership movement was evaluating each of these three sectors of information at varying levels of depth and consistency.

1. The challenge: both scale (numbers) and where and who?

The majority of international ministry partnerships over the last 30 years has been focused on some aspect of frontier evangelism.7 Providing a framework for strategic evaluation was the focus of the early effort of groups such as the Joshua Project, the US Center for World Evangelization (now Frontier Ventures), Operation World, and the research arm of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board. There exists an increasingly definitive database of the ‘unfinished’ challenge as these groups share information and continue to refine methodology. Currently a global network of researchers regularly track progress and share information to update the databases.

2. The nature of the network

Here, two issues emerged:

A. Key elements of effective partnership development could be defined and documented. In other words, progress toward a potentially effective collaboration could be evaluated. These elements are broadly grouped into assessment of three ‘stages’ of development:

• Exploration (research and due diligence)

• Formation (the critical go/no-go stage based on consensus)

• Operation (clear vision, achievable objectives, and full partner engagement)

B. Key indicators of partnership operational effectiveness were defined. These shape the likelihood of the partnership realizing its primary or other specific, related objectives. Among those agreed key indicators are:

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200-1K+

1-2K

2K+ 5K+10

K+20K+

30K+50K+

75K+

100K+

150K+

200K+

300K+

400K+

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

Known Number of Believers In 2014

In 1990, 94 people/language groups had no believers in nationally led churches.However, each had an intentional, international evangelism/church-plantingpartnership. By 2014, 52 of these people groups had nationally led churches of200+ to 400,000+.

People Groups

• Levels of prayer support

• Clarity and specificity of objectives

• Strength and continuity of leadership/facilitation

• Limited achievable, measureable near-term objectives

• Clear definition of timelines and responsibility

• Effectiveness of internal communications

• Levels of partner engagement

• Commitment to regular network evaluation

Examples of both evaluation tools and of objectives set and realized in the two broad categories above can be found at http://bit.do/NetworkEvalExamples.

3. The nature of the network’s outcomes: realization of stated objectives

As the partnership/collaboration movement matured, of particular significance was the realization that time and ability to achieve certain objectives was a critical consideration. Collaboration objectives and the potential for their evaluation fell into a range of short to medium-term objectives as well as longer-term ones. Naturally, the formation and effective operation of partnerships fell more within the influence of those working to launch and sustain these partnerships. The ‘big picture’ outcomes often related to enormously challenging Great Commission issues. Typically these outcomes called for change of centuries-old patterns and complex variables that were not directly influenced, much less controlled, by the partnerships.8

In one effort to examine the long-term impact of the partnership movement, a 2014 study looked at 94 operating strategic evangelism partnerships9 and their longer-term outcomes. This chart summarizes that research as of 2014.

Research by Ted Haney and IMB Research 2014

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When the partnerships were launched, each of these groups had been in spiritual darkness for hundreds of years. The fact that these outcomes occurred within roughly one generation suggests a quite compelling case for kingdom collaboration. This is particularly so, as during the same period, no known large-scale number of new believers and establishment of local fellowships has been documented among any completely ‘unreached’ people group where there has been no collaborative approach.

Recommendations on ways forward

Without financial accountability, such as that provided by ECFA in North America, the evangelical community has no counterparts to the motivation and demand for ‘industry standards’ that exist in the physical and social sciences or business worlds.

Motivated primarily by the desire for the highest expression of stewardship, the evangelical community is faced with urgent challenges and unprecedented opportunity.

Here are five suggestions for action that could yield significant progress:

1. There needs to be a radical and broad new level of commitment to common working,

acknowledging that effectively addressing challenges such as the fulfillment of the Great

Commission can only be done collaboratively. In response, ministry leadership, field

personnel, Boards of Trustees, and kingdom investors need strongly to affirm, support,

and engage in practical collective action.

2. Based on widely acknowledged secular research, funders need to take a serious look at

their investments in single ministry, single strategy approaches, as opposed to collective

approaches such as effectively operated ministry networks and partnerships.

3. Kingdom investors must get behind specific initiatives to develop common language,

categories for evaluation, and standards of documentation and reporting. Their efforts will

have a disproportionate impact, certainly ‘getting the attention’ of field ministry leadership.

4. A global, coordinated documentation of developing and operating partnerships similar

to the documentation done from 1990–2000 would provide extraordinary dividends for

both operations personnel and kingdom investors alike. This is an ideal opportunity for

real collaboration.

5. Working discussions should be launched between funders, ministry leadership, and

seasoned partnership practitioners to explore practical action on common vocabulary in

defining the nature and specific elements of critical sectors of ministry operations and

collective efforts10 and common standards for evaluation of kingdom-focused collaborative

initiatives.

LGA 1 6

Endnotes

1. I have written substantially on God as a planner and the associated evaluation called for. Sufficient to say here that passages such as, ‘And God saw everything that he had made, and it was very good’ (Gen 1:31a); ‘I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do’ (John 17:4); ‘Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won't you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?’ (Luke 14:28, see Luke 14:28-32); the seminal passage on stewardship, evaluation, and responsibility, the parable of the stewards (Matt 25:14-30) make what seems to be a compelling biblical case for the responsibility of ministry leaders to establish clear, measurable objectives and do the associated evaluation. And, of course, Jesus’ telling words, ‘I have finished the work you sent me to do’ in John 17:4 clearly reflect an explicit goal and assessment that it had been achieved.

2. Editor’s Note: See article entitled ‘Engaging an Emerging Generation of Global Mission Leaders’ by Nana Yaw Offei Awuku in the November 2016 issue of Lausanne Global Analysis.

3. While, technically, there are distinctions, I have used the words ‘partnership’ and ‘network’ interchangeably throughout to represent the range of coalitions that engage multiple agencies/stakeholders in a common vision for change.

4. Steve Moore/ABHE, ‘Closing the Feedback Loop: Why What You Don’t Know Will Hurt You and How to Find Out’ vlog, Nexleader Ideaportal, 18 February 2016. http://ideas.nexleader.com/?p=447.

5. Over the last four years, the Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR) has initiated and published a series of probably the most wide-ranging, lucid, and helpful articles on the rise of these collaborative initiatives: efforts to understand them, essentials for their success, and means for evaluating them. SSIR has conveniently clustered these articles at one web address: http://ssir.org/articles/entry/collective_impact. The SSIR has also covered the increasing engagement of funders in collaborative initiatives and the unique challenges they bring. Here are three representative articles: http://ssir.org/articles/entry/high_stakes_donor_collaborations, http://ssir.org/articles/entry/making_nonprofit_collaboration_a_foundation_strategy_the_lodstar_foundation, and http://ssir.org/articles/entry/accepting_the_challenges_of_partnership.

6. There have been some notable exceptions. In Western urban ministry settings, Christian partnerships have worked alongside, or in some cases, actually led other ‘secular’ urban agencies in addressing one or more of the well-documented social issues. A range of key leaders and associated groups has sought to foster effective urban ministry partnerships. Among those active are www.goodcities.net, Communities Inc at www.communitiesinc.org, Mission America’s city initiatives at http://www.missionamerica.org/Brix?pageID=13209, and Frontline Ministries at http://flministries.org/about/.

7. In June 1986, 15 evangelical mission leaders from 12 or more mission agencies met in Malaga, Spain, representing a wide range of different theological, traditional, and ministry types. Their common commitment was to see spiritual breakthroughs in Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco. Following three days of intensive prayer and hard work, they achieved consensus on specific action objectives. That initiative just celebrated its 30th anniversary at the January 2016 conference, where 500 or more participants reflected dozens of partnership initiatives in the region. By the early 2000s, the Malaga-rooted movement had seen strategic evangelism partnerships launched in 94 ‘unreached’ people groups.

8. Goals of getting a new collaborative radio program on the air, a new evangelistic website operational, translating the New Testament (even aided by machine translation), or seeing an emerging local, healthy church after 1,900 years of darkness are very different in their complexity and the time required. They present unique challenges for the nature of collaboration, realistic timelines/expectations, and therefore, basis for evaluation.

9. The pioneering partnership development agency Interdev focused on an objective of helping the global church launch sustainable international collaborative evangelism and church planting in a select, priority list of 130 ‘gateway’ languages. (The objective was developed following substantial discussion with an advisory group of evangelical missiologists, linguists, and anthropologists.) In the early 1990s, a straightforward Excel database was established and updated monthly, monitoring several key indicators regarding partnership development progress or lack of it. This database was consistently updated monthly through to mid-2002, by which time 94 of the target 130 languages had operating strategic evangelism partnerships. More than 20 other language groups at the time were documented as having partnerships in various stages of development.

10. For a detailed examination of the potential value of common vocabulary with particular reference to Christian media and its role in evangelism and strengthening the church, see the paper ‘The Need For Common Vocabulary To Strengthen Media Follow-Up Efforts’ at http://bit.do/MediaCommonVocab. The principles outlined in this paper are widely applicable to an evangelism/church-planting partnership’s longer-term strategy.

Over the last 30 years, Phill Butler has worked in over 70 countries as the founder of three

faith-based, international non-profit organizations: Intercristo, Interdev, then visionSynergy

where he now serves as Senior Strategy Advisor. He is the author of the book Well

Connected: Releasing Power, Restoring Hope Through Kingdom Partnerships, now in

circulation in eight languages.

G O R D O N H I C K S O N

O ver the last year or so, Christians across the UK have been confronted with a

sudden escalation of media accounts of the actions of extremist Muslims, with

stories of terrible atrocities and bloodshed in Iraq and Syria. What has shocked

them even more is that British Muslims by the hundreds have gone out to these war zones

to give their support to ISIS and other extremist groups.1

‘ORDINARY’ CHRISTIANSCAN REACH MUSLIMS BETTER

THAN SPECIALISTS

T H E M A H A B B A N E T W O R K

LGA 1 8

A BBC poll of 1,000 Muslims in Britain found in February 2015 that a quarter had some sympathy for the motives behind the Charlie Hebdo attacks the previous month, and a similar proportion felt that acts of violence could be justified against people who mock the Prophet. Even more disturbing, they found that 45% of UK Muslims believed that Muslim clerics are justified when they preach violence as a response to the West’s interference in Muslim nations.2

On the other hand, we are seeing that this violence is actually discrediting Islam in the eyes of millions of Muslims worldwide. It is a major factor in many of them turning to Christ, as Muslims begin to question their Islamic identity. Thus, at the same time as presenting a real threat, it also presents one of the greatest opportunities of our time: to unveil Jesus to Muslim people in the Western world and bring them to Christ.3

Mahabba network

In this context a new phenomenon networking both agencies and churches has proved to be a catalyst to unity and prayer. This prayer-based relational network is called Mahabba (‘love’ in Arabic); and it has flourished over the last four years, mainly because of the unprecedented opportunity in the UK. Its emphasis is on motivating and mobilizing ‘ordinary’ Christians rather than just ‘specialists’ to reach their Muslim neighbours. All the main mission agencies working with Muslims are now part of this relational network.

Many Christians have focused on the effects of ‘Islamization’ and on the ‘persecuted church’, responding with fear and alienating themselves from face-to-face interaction with their Muslim neighbours. So this new network is helping thousands of people (in Mahabba’s words) to ‘Face the Facts not Fuel the Fear . . . but Find a Friend’; and this often leads not only to Muslims coming to Christ, but also to improved social cohesion through joint activities in those cities with a major Muslim presence. This is not just an inter-faith exercise—it has so far led to growing numbers of Muslims coming to faith in Jesus Christ and being discipled.

The testimony of all the networks is that the old model of ‘specialists’ reaching Muslims was frustrating and unproductive, but that since mobilizing ordinary Christians into prayer communities, the conversions have increased significantly.4 What is even more interesting, however, is the testimony of just one of these Mahabba prayer groups that, over a five year period, 25 of the prayer groups were so impacted with a love for Muslims, that they signed up to become full-time missionaries with those mission agencies.

‘Ordinary Christians’

This network was started as a partnership of many churches and agencies in Oxford which were seeking opportunities to introduce local Muslims to the Good News about Jesus. Mahabba, as a movement, seeks to be a catalyst in networking together ‘ordinary Christians’, resourced by agency ‘specialists’ and championed by church leaders, to love their Muslim neighbours. So Mahabba is not seen as a mission agency (which are often viewed cautiously by pastors): the model is a prayer-based relational network which equips local churches with mentoring and training materials, and which helps church leaders to train ordinary members of their churches to relate to Muslims in love and be able to explain the gospel clearly.5

Mahabba believes that this should not be the domain of experts in Islam, and has shown that the most successful means of reaching Muslims is through mobilizing thousands of ‘ordinary believers’ into united persistent prayer. By expanding the network, they have

THE MODEL IS A PRAYER-BASED RELATIONAL NETWORK WHICH EQUIPS LOCAL CHURCHES WITH MENTORING AND TRAINING MATERIALS, AND WHICH HELPS CHURCH LEADERS TO TRAIN ORDINARY MEMBERS OF THEIR CHURCHES TO RELATE TO MUSLIMS IN LOVE AND BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN THE GOSPEL CLEARLY.

LGA 1 9

seen Christians across the UK motivated to reach out in love to the thousands of Muslim people who are now living among them.

The Mahabba model normally consists of a partnership between groups of churches. It creates a learning environment in which Christians can participate in one of the greatest mission opportunities in present times. Perhaps Mahabba could be the equivalent, in the realm of ministry to Muslims, to what Alpha has been: a carefully defined, replicable concept enabling ordinary believers to make a significant positive difference on behalf of Christ among Muslims.

The need and opportunity

The number of people identifying themselves as Muslim in the UK has grown by almost 70% in ten years, from 1.6 million in 2001 to 2.7 million in 2011. It is estimated to grow to 5.5 million by 2020. Across Europe, there are already 47 million Muslims. By the year 2030, there will be 58 million Muslims in Europe, 8% of the population. Islam has found a home in Europe.

Too often, churches are ill-equipped to assist people who wish to convert, whether they come from atheistic or other faith backgrounds. The new Joining the Family DVD course is a unique training tool to help church leaders integrate Muslim-background believers (MBBs) into local churches. It is also important to hear the voice of these MBBs and ensure that they are not 'over-extracted' from their faith background. Remaining in their community will enable their witness to touch others of their faith background. This has led to some excellent cooperation between those who love working with the local churches, and those who hold strong to Church Planting Movement/Disciple Making Movement principles.

United prayer

All these networks are built on unity and prayer—two key factors that release faith and love for Muslims, as well as an increase of the supernatural ministry of dreams and visions, and physical healing. In Oxford, it took two years to break through in prayer, but then about 40 Muslim people came to Christ over the next five years. Numbers have been difficult to record as Oxford is such a transitional place. However, there has been a regular flow of people coming to Christ, especially among the Iranian fellowship.

They were joined by an Imam Sheikh from Uganda who was an expert in Sharia law: he had a radical conversion experience, and now spends hours witnessing to Arabic speaking Muslims studying in Oxford. A Turkish Imam’s daughter came to Christ outside of Oxford and has inspired many by personally leading over 100 Muslims to Christ.

Most of the networks are witnessing Muslims coming to Christ. As a ministry they are spurred on by regular stories from around the other networks. In Manchester, in just a few days, a young man from Pakistan walked into the cathedral asking to convert; a Saudi woman walked into a church and asked to become a Christian; and a Somali man shared with his Christian friend that he wanted to become a Christian. Also in the north of England, one city has four medical clinics, which regularly pray for the local Muslim community: they are now discipling many of these Muslims who have experienced physical healing.

Expansion nationally and internationally

In the Western world there have been many organizations which network ‘specialists’ in Islamic ministry. Mahabba as a relational network has links to all of these, and is seeking to serve them as the pastors and churches in Western nations are responding to the presence

IN TEN YEARS AND ESTIMATED TO GROW TO

BY 2020

THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE IDENTIFYING AS MUSLIMS IN THE UK HAS GROWN BY

70%

5.5 MILLION

ACROSS EUROPE

47 MILLION

LGA 2 0

of many precious Muslim people who are now living among us. Mahabba also networks with similar organizations which are springing up in other nations.

It seems that God is on the move! Mahabba networks have been now been launched in over 40 cities across the UK, as well as spreading across to France, Belgium, Norway, Austria, and even South Africa. They have been asked to help establish networks in India and Korea. One couple has moved across to Chicago (home to over 400,000 Muslims) and another to help set up in Australia. The goal over the next two years is to have 75 Mahabba networks across the UK, with strong relational networks with others across Europe and other Western nations.

Implications and our response

There has been a shift globally in terms of Muslims coming to Christ in recent years. David Garrison, in his book Wind in the House of Islam, makes it clear that there has been a sudden increase in the number of movements to Christ around the world. Similarly, through the rapid growth and spread of movements like Mahabba, we can see that creating a prayer-based relational network, with ‘starfish’ rather than ‘spider’ characteristics, can enable the basic concepts and DNA of Mahabba to be replicable anywhere.

The essence is ordinary Christians being resourced by specialists, championed by local leaders in unity, committed to persistent prayer, and compelled by God’s love for Muslim people to unveil Jesus to them and help them grow in Christ. This is often described as the ‘Mahabba Virus’ or ‘Love Virus’. Surely, this is the most contagious part of our faith.

If you would like help in setting up a Mahabba network, contact: office@mahabbanetwork.com.

Gordon Hickson has served as International Campaign Director for Reinhard

Bonnke, as Assemblies of God Missions Director for the Muslim World, and as

Parish Vicar of St Aldates Church in Oxford. Since 2012 he has been working

full-time outside of pastoral ministry, in setting up Mahabba nationally, motivating

and mobilizing ordinary Christians to unveil Jesus to Muslims.

Endnotes

1. Editor’s Note: See article entitled ‘The Challenge of Radical Islam’ by John Azumah in the March 2015 of Lausanne Global Analysis.

2. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31293196

3. Editor’s Note: See article entitled ‘The Crisis in Syria’ by an anonymous Syrian pastor in the January 2016 issue of Lausanne Global Analysis.

4. See www.mahabbanetwork.com and the ‘Mahabba UK’ channel on YouTube.

5. Examples include Friendship First, Come Follow Me, and Joining the Family. See www.kitab.org.uk.

ACROSS THE UK

MAHABBA HAS BEEN LAUNCHED IN

40 CITIES

T E R R Y G A R D E

F A C I N G T H E I S S U E S A N D H O W

C H R I S T I A N S C A N I M P A C T C H A N G E

ecent media articles have highlighted the emerging phenomenon of artisanal and small-

scale mining (ASM) in the majority world, sometimes described as ‘subsistence’ mining.1

It is undertaken by individuals, families, co-operatives, and small-scale entrepreneurs

using rudimentary methods to win easily extractable minerals for quick cash returns.

FOR A LIVINGMINING

INTHE MAJORITY WORLD

R

LGA 2 2

ASM issues

It is estimated that over 100 million people in the majority world base their livelihoods on locally mining gold, precious stones, and other high-value minerals with minimal equipment, capital, and training. It is believed these miners account for around 10% of the world’s new gold production.

Bountiful mineral resources in certain rural locations, usually combined with the lack of employment alternatives and unreliable agriculture, open up the alternative of ASM. While an important income source, ASM creates a range of social, economic, legal, and environmental impacts; the major concern of the latter is the uncontrolled use of mercury in gold mining. It is feared that 1,400 tons per year of this toxic substance is being released into the environment around the world.

Interventions

Where ASM is active in an area, it is either ignored by outsiders, or they intervene along three distinct lines as follows:

1. Foreign mining company interventions

The miners may be treated as ‘barefoot’ prospectors for large scale, usually internationally financed mining companies. If the deposits are small, they will not attract further interest from them. However, if the deposits warrant exploitation that is likely to give good returns on investment, these foreign companies will register mining claims over the area through national governments that are based in far-away capital cities. Generally the state sees the foreign mining companies as reliable partners who pay their taxes, are likely to abide by their corporate social responsibilities, and conform to environmental and other laws because they are also held to account by their shareholders or the media in the West.

Once the deal is secured, the majority world governments typically outlaw or confine ASM to certain areas, leaving the locals with no chance to improve their livelihoods.

From then on, larger mining companies, which are soon caught up in the normal issues of business and security, are likely to see the ASM miners who probably brought them there in the first place as a nuisance. The original indigenous miners are likely to be offered low-skilled employment; but the attraction of being a self-employed miner who could strike it rich with the next nugget (although millions never do) is often more tantalising than that of a steady job. Even the promise of community infrastructure such as clinics or schools built by the mining company may not be enough to avoid bitter and bloody struggles over corporate versus community rights to mine.

These operational issues notwithstanding, where according to a large-scale miner, there is an inadequate return on investment forecast, the deposit may still be interesting on a medium scale.

2. Minor capital interventions

ASM activities then attract minor capitalists (local or foreign, with as little as USD $25,000 to invest) seeking local mining partners who have some formal title over their mining sites. This formalising or legalising occurs once the rush of ASM miners to a mineralised zone has settled down and the ore deposits show some longer-term potential to become small-to-medium scale mining enterprises. The

OVER 100 MILLION PEOPLE IN THE MAJORITY WORLD

BASE THEIR LIVELIHOODS ON LOCALLY MINING GOLD, PRECIOUS STONES, AND OTHER HIGH-VALUE MINERALS WITH MINIMAL EQUIPMENT, CAPITAL, AND TRAINING.

LGA 2 3

ASM sector typically has no capital to invest in improving its operations and welcomes rich partners, however little altruism there may be in the relationship.

The caution over altruism partly arises because precious metals and stones have high value and low bulk (one kilogram of gold is the size of a cell phone and is worth around USD $35,000). They are easily smuggled and readily sold along the supply chain outside of any legal trading systems. Also these ‘investor partners’ are not likely to pay heed to labour and other human rights or environmental and trading laws passed by governments which rely on local rent-seeking inspectors to monitor compliance.

In this scenario, everybody benefits except the state. It also tends to lead to accusations of corruption on the part of ASM (eg that it fuels

conflicts and rape, blood diamonds, child miners, and mercury pollution). It has thus attracted the attention of ethical jewellers and their customers in the High Streets of Europe and North America, resulting in the next intervention.

3. Fair trade interventions

Jewellery activists have influenced the Fairtrade Foundation and others to produce a set of standards for responsible ASM gold and precious metal mining. These standards seek to reduce the negative impacts of ASM as miners can be measured by them and certified as ‘fair producers’ once in conformity to them: for example, conflict free, child-labour free, and ecologically produced (mercury free).2

There are other initiatives emanating from North America and Europe such as the Alliance for Responsible Mining, Diamond Development Initiative, Artisanal Gold Council, and Responsible Jewellery Council. The standards, from whichever of these groups, all seek to address the socio-cultural, economic, politico-legal, and environmental impacts of ASM where it is occurring.

All these efforts to supply ethical jewellery rely on sourcing the raw materials (gold, silver and precious stones) through supply chains that can be fully traced; and this in turn relies on the mining sites being legal—not always easy in the sometimes turbulent marginal areas where minerals occur.

Furthermore, the very idea of ‘trading’ requires going beyond ‘selling’ raw gold in small amounts (half a gram or slightly more) to local dealers for quick cash. Instead miners must accumulate enough to trade, ie export as a purified ingot (a minimum of half a kilogram) to a jewellery manufacturer in the developed world.

Once these requirements for responsible mining, capacity to export, and traceable supply chains are met, the importer, jewellery manufacturer, or retailer is expected to pay a ‘fair trade’ premium which is to benefit the mining community as a whole through some appropriate project. Thus the private sector, in attempting to satisfy its ethical customers, is being called upon to pay extra for its raw materials. This money will come from the pockets of the high street customer who is being charged more or from the profits of those in the value-adding chain such as the jewellery manufacturer.

In order to achieve their requirements to become responsible miners, traceable suppliers, and beneficiaries of the premiums, miners must co-operate. The requirements for certification require that the miners form membership-based ASM organisations (ASMOs). The advent of ASMOs, seeking to go beyond the typical individual or family ‘owned’ mining sites (where ownership is overwhelmingly informal), means placing trust in one another.

IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE THEIR REQUIREMENTS TO

BECOME RESPONSIBLE MINERS, TRACEABLE SUPPLIERS, AND BENEFICIARIES OF THE PREMIUMS, MINERS MUST CO-OPERATE.

LGA 2 4

This is difficult where precious metals and stones are concerned. It also means managing mines, accounting for goods and finances, raising capital, awaiting payment, export permits, and many other activities beyond the scope of the ordinary miner or family group going about their daily livelihoods.

Facing the issues

In spite of the interventions outlined above, the issues surrounding ASM will persist since mineral deposits will continue to be found in the least expected places, eg diamonds in eastern Zimbabwe, rubies in Malawi, coltan in the Congo. Unfortunately, without intervention, the problems associated with minerals will also continue. These include the fuelling of conflicts; illegal mining, selling, and smuggling; miners’ health and safety; worker exploitation including child labour; and immoral lifestyles that lead to the high incidence of HIV/AIDS in mining areas.

As well as the human cost of ASM, there are environmental issues, the most dangerous of which in the longer term is mercury pollution and its effect on the food chain in rivers and soils. This has been addressed by the Minimata Convention, which aims to phase out its use over the next decades, but only ASMOs can afford to buy the relatively expensive mercury-free gold processing equipment.

Christian interventions

My own experience with ASMOs in East Africa is that they are often made up of Christians, including many women (perhaps the majority). They see past the corrupted lifestyles of many of their selfish, independent fellow miners and are keen to implement community benefits, build churches, and disciple colleagues. Presently they have few of the managerial skills and none of the financial capacity to accumulate the quantities required for sustainable exports to the ethical jewellery manufacturers who are standing by with a known market but insufficient raw material.

International Christian responses

Christians can help, starting for example as consumers by putting pressure on their local High Street Jewellers to subscribe to fair trade systems and by purchasing wedding rings (that great symbol of love) which are made from fairly traded gold.

Readers can also help by seeking to raise the profiles of the organisations listed above which are making genuine attempts to promote responsible mining. ASM in the developing world comes up quite frequently in the media (which focus on child labour, conflict funding, and pollution); and the typical response is to ban it outright, despite the fact that it is unlikely to go away. My own experience is that people appreciate hearing of efforts being made to overcome the generally negative media profile of ASM; and this can create interesting conversations.

Where readers may be resident in—or involved in organisations working in—countries affected by ASM, they can review the standards set by, for example, Fairtrade Gold or the Alliance for Responsible Mining (available online) and talk to their staff or congregations about offering help to the miners in reaching certification.

A role for ethical capitalism

In order to make a real difference in the lives of miners and their families and communities, ASMOs need international ethical capitalism, ie people with some money who accept high risks and a wide range of possible returns on their investment. These investors will know that this is not charity but

CHRISTIANS CAN HELP BY PUTTING PRESSURE ON THEIR LOCAL

HIGH STREET JEWELLERS TO SUBSCRIBE TO FAIR TRADE SYSTEMS AND BY PURCHASING WEDDING RINGS MADE FROM FAIRLY TRADED GOLD.

LGA 2 5

Terry Garde is researching ASM in East Africa for a PhD thesis at the Oxford Centre for

Mission Studies. He has a lifetime of experience as a mining engineer in Zimbabwe. He

established Miner to Miner Ministries in western Kenya through the International Miners’

Mission (UK) where he is a trustee and heads up the Mercury Free Campaign initiated by

Greg Valerio through the CRED Foundation.

Endnotes

1. The Economist had an article in May 2016, accessible at http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21698262-boom-artisanal-mining-offers-lessons-development-praise-small-miners. Another example, with excellent photographs, can be found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-29410298. A more technical description can be found at http://www.miningfacts.org/communities/what-is-artisanal-and-small-scale-mining/, and of course there is always Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artisanal_mining.

2. Editor’s Note: See article entitled ‘Stewardship and Justice: A challenge for Christian consumers’ by Carrie Ngangnang, with response by Bosela Eale, in the November 2013 issue of Lausanne Global Analysis.

Photo Credits

• Page 21: From ‘Gold mining’ (Paul Sawadogo) by CIFOR (CC BY-NC 2.0).

• Page 22: From ‘Gold mining’ (Wend-Kouni) by CIFOR (CC BY-NC 2.0).

• Page 23: From ‘Searching for diamonds’ by Marina & Enrique (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).

conscientious business aimed at helping the poor to escape the social injustices of subsistence mining and helping the environment escape the impacts of poor mining practices, especially mercury. Readers based in richer parts of the world could even look out for financiers seeking investments that will make a difference in establishing the kingdom of God, irrespective of the risks involved. Investing capital (from USD $5,000 to $50,000) through relevant funds (such as the CRED Foundation) would lead to partnerships with selected ASMOs, helping them to get the working capital required to accumulate gold for export and/or to purchase mercury-free gold processing technology.

In conclusion, it comes down to Christians worldwide catching this wave of opportunity and making positive changes in response to the challenges of ASM.

Naomi Frizzell, United StatesMember of Lausanne Communications Working Group

Mila Gomides, BrazilSepal

Kwabena Asamoah Gyadu, GhanaTrinity Theological Seminary

Cathy Hine, Middle East, AustraliaInterserve

Darrell Jackson, UK, AustraliaMorling CollegeChair of the Lausanne International Researchers’ Network

Benrilo Kikon, India, UKSamvada Centre for Research Resources

Atola Longkumer, IndiaSouth Asia Institute of Advanced Christian Studies

David Ro, China, United StatesRegional Director for East AsiaLausanne Movement

Kang San Tan, MalaysiaAsiaCMSLausanne Catalyst for Buddhism

Jennifer Taylor, UKLapido Media

Editors

Editor

David TaylorInternational Affairs Analyst

Managing Editor

David BennettLausanne Movement

Contributing Editors

Thomas HarveyOxford Centre for Mission Studies

Todd JohnsonCenter for the Study of Global ChristianityGordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

Publisher

Michael Young-Suk OhGlobal Executive Director/CEOLausanne Movement

Communications Team

John RuffinCreative Director

Sarah ChangCoordinating Editor

Editorial Advisory Board

Lausanne Global Analysis seeks to deliver strategic and credible information and insight from an international network of evangelical analysts to equip influencers of global mission.

Editor’s Note: The Lausanne Movement connects influencers and ideas for global mission, with a vision of the gospel for every person, an evangelical church for every people, Christ-like leaders for every church, and kingdom impact in every sphere of society. Our three foundational documents are The Lausanne Covenant, The Manila Manifesto, and The Cape Town Commitment.

The Lausanne Movement is a global network of individuals and ministries from a wide range of denominations, nationalities, theologies, and strategic perspectives that shares an evangelical faith and commitment to global mission. Articles in the Lausanne Global Analysis represent a diversity of viewpoints within the bounds of our foundational documents. The views and opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the personal viewpoints of Lausanne Movement leaders or networks.

Articles use either American or British English conventions, according to the author’s preference.

Inquiries regarding Lausanne Global Analysis may be addressed to analysis@lausanne.org.

Further information about the Lausanne Movement may be found at www.lausanne.org.

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