As promised—Boston and Beyond explained.
Dear financial and prayer supporters.
As we promised before, in the weeks and months ahead, you will be learning more about the next step in our Great Commission journey together. Actually, this is not as much new as it is an acceleration of what together we have been doing for over twenty years. Much of what is below was introduced in a January prayer letter, but we continue to refine our thoughts and description of Boston and Beyond. Lord willing, in the next few weeks/months, you will receive additional information concerning Boston and Beyond, and, hopefully, the information placed in these prayer letters will eventually become brochures (electronic and hard copy). The topics of these letters/brochures will include:
The Plan-Boston and Beyond a globalized cities initiative
The Places-Potential Globalized Cities Identified
The People-The Kind of Workers Needed
The Preparation -The Internship Explained
Boston and Beyond a globalized cities initiative 2018-03-27
Boston—Twenty years ago, Deb and I surrendered to the Lord to serve Him in Boston. Our surrender came after studying the cities of the United States, in order to find the best one in which to minister the gospel to the mobile academic communities (undergrad and graduate students, scholars and researchers). We understood that ministering to the mobile academic communities in such places would enable us to minister the gospel to much of the world. At the end of our study, we concluded that Boston, with its many colleges and universities, would be our place of service. In Boston, on any particular day, we can potentially touch any part of the world.
Boston and Beyond—After living and ministering in Boston, we discovered that the academic community is only one part of a larger global community. There is also the immigrant community, the tourist industry and business community, as well as the city government, as it communicates and relates to other cities, globally. We began to understand that God has prepared globalized cities (cities of one million or more which are connected globally by human relationships), like Boston, to be places where Great Commission Christians could join Him and actually make disciples of all nations. By following gospel centered relationships made in Boston, globally, we are able to disciple other parts of the world.
Boston and Beyond a globalized cities initiative—Realizing and experiencing the strategic nature of globalized cities like Boston, we asked God for wisdom concerning how to expand to other globalized cities to do the Great Commission. The resulting plan is being called Boston and Beyond a globalized cities initiative.
The Plan:
Building the Church- We will continue to help establish the International Baptist Church an orthodox Christian association in Boston, which will minister to the whole demographic of Boston. This will provide the ecclesiological foundation and launching pad, which our globalized disciples will need, as they go home and duplicate what they have learned and experienced in Boston.
Evangelizing the Nations- We will continue to minister the gospel to the global community in Boston, developing evangelistic relationships with individuals from all the major civilizations of the world.
Recruiting the Workers- We will recruit and train church members, interns and vocational missionaries to live and minister in globalized cities, internationally. This training will take place in Boston.
Studying the Demographics- We will simultaneously do the demographic studies necessary to identify ten strategic cities around the world which are located in major civilizational centers (Jewish, Western, Sinic [Chinese], Buddhist, Hindu, [Eastern] Orthodox, Islamic, Japanese, African and Latin American).
Launching the Teams- We will form teams which will include vocational missionaries, church members, as well as international disciples made in Boston. These teams will travel to the strategic cities, identified above, in order to start discipleship centers (churches) capable of ministering the the Word of God to the surrounding areas. If we are successful, by God’s Almighty strength and grace, we will have joined our Savior in making disciples of all nations, starting with the largest divisions of mankind, thereby doing the Great Commission. During our twenty years in Boston, God has shown us, that by ministering in Boston, the gospel will travel globally—we have experienced this. Some of our disciples have gone home and have helped family and friends trust in the Savior. They have also introduced us to friends with whom we have had fruitful ministry by means of online video conferencing. Our desire is to accelerate by working with the body of Christ to disciple the world, starting in Boston, and then extending globally—Boston and Beyond.
Bill and Deb,