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ABOUT US ...

From small beginnings ...
Mission Outreach began in New Zealand in 1975 when several brothers became concerned about the welfare of Christians in restricted countries. We became sensitive to their needs for prayer, encouragement, and Bibles. We observed their afflictions, but also noticed how they increased greatly in faith and grew in number under severe testing. With God's guidance we began to identify their situation and minister to their needs.

National Harvest
The activities of the ministry took a significant change in direction in the 1990s with the formation of a partnership with Ethnos Asia Ministries (EAM). Although the geographical emphasis remained the same, (the access restricted nations of Asia) the primary goal of supporting the churches with literature and encouragement changed to that of ‘empowering’ the national Church for a national harvest.

Ethnos Asia has a unique ministry bringing together independent and denominational leaders to pray together, and to work together for a national harvest. A common platform, are the national prayer conferences which are organised annually to develop networks and working relationships between God’s people. At these, they develop strategies for evangelising areas to which missionaries have not yet been sent, such as remote tribal areas, border areas and places that are geographically isolated. It also encompasses segments of society where effective evangelism may not currently be taking place, such as among newly urbanised youth, students or children.

During the prayer conferences, resourcing of the ‘national vision’ is discussed, and how to assist the churches in empowering their own congregations to be labourers in this harvest. For example: training for women’s ministries, children’s ministries, and youth ministries, leadership training, the training of health workers, the provision of Christian literature, practical helps that will provide access for the gospel, and intercession. Mission Outreach partners with Ethnos Asia Ministries and the New Zealand churches, to support these goals.

Mission Outreach does not have any full-time missionaries. Instead, we put our resources into supporting the national churches. It has been our observation that national workers with a vision for reaching their own nations for Christ are the most fruitful, and it is through them that the church experiences its greatest amount of growth. We also try to avoid picking up projects and initiatives that other mission agencies are already resourcing, and in which they have a greater level of expertise. We are aware that there are already many excellent missionary training and sending organisations working out of NZ and feel that there is little to be gained by duplicating their fine work. We believe that foreign missionaries play a vital role in building the church in these nations, however the partnerships between national workers and foreign missionaries appear to be the most effective in both evangelism and discipleship when the vision is carried by the national church.

Within New Zealand, Mission Outreach’s main focus is on providing opportunities for partnership between the NZ Churches and the opportunities that exist to resource the harvest in Asia. There is a strong focus on poverty relief within the New Zealand churches, which although important, should not take precedence over the Great commission –the only task Jesus left the Church. Indeed, not even the UN has enough money to end world poverty, and their efforts are generally undermined by corruption.

In Asia, we see the church is surging ahead, with many being added to their number daily, despite persecution and adversity. In NZ, programmes and teams that are focused on providing practical assistance are often better supported than those that require teaching, preaching or praying. Sadly, this is because many New Zealand Christians don’t feel that they have anything spiritual to contribute. This does not demonstrate that all parts of the body of Christ in NZ are being equipped for “works of service’ (Ephesians 4:12), or that the NZ Church is currently well mobilised as we enter the 21^st century.

Mission Outreach is also actively involved in discipleship here in New Zealand, with the School of Workers Discipleship Programme to raise the spiritual capacity of the New Zealand church for national harvest.