I've searched through most other missionary threads and have not found a decent answer to this. I am familiar with LDS/Jehovah's Witness' definitions of missionaries, usually as proselytizing missionaries going door to door attempting to convert people from one religion to theirs. While I was perusing the other threads about missionaries, specifically the one here: https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/25252/which-churches-today-send-the-most-missionaries I came across an interesting point that someone made. J Dawg's answer on the thread said something to the effect of "Mormon and Jehovah's Witness missionaries aren't really missionaries as they don't do *so and so*" So my question is, why is there a discrepancy in what people think missionaries should be? I feel like the bible outlines this pretty clearly in Matthew: Matthew 28:19-20 (KJV) > 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: > 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. As per Kris's comment, here is the definition of missionary I am looking at: >A missionary is a member of a religious group that is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development. Under the definition of missionary provided, why do many denominations not consider LDS/JW "missionaries" to be missionaries?

Scripturally speaking, we know that apostleship was one of the most important offices in the early Church: > 28 And **God has appointed in the church first apostles**, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues [1 Cor 12:28 ESV] > > 11 And **he gave the apostles**, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, [Ephesians 4:11-12 ESV] > > 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 **built on the foundation of the apostles** and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, [Ephesians 2:19-20 ESV] > > 11 I have been a fool! You forced me to it, for I ought to have been commended by you. For I was not at all inferior to these super-apostles, even though I am nothing. 12 The signs of **a true apostle** were performed among you with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works. [2 Cor 12:11-12 ESV] However, the term "missionary" is not strictly speaking a Biblical term (as far as I'm aware), and it typically denotes someone who is sent somewhere (usually an unevangelized area) to carry out some specific service(s) related to the expansion of God's kingdom. However, the concept of apostle is also sometimes more loosely understood as "sent one", which to my ears sounds pretty much the same as a missionary, so the distinction between the two terms becomes a bit blurry. What is the difference between an *apostle* (as understood by the early Church, and as recorded in Scripture) and a *missionary* according to Pentecostal & Charismatic Christianity? ____ Related: https://christianity.stackexchange.com/q/48591/50422

In John 12:1-6 we see an account of Jesus getting anointed at Bethany , and Judas Iscariot commenting that the expenses could better have gone to the poor. The Evangelist remarks that Judas was in charge of the fund and would occasionally steal from it. Elsewhere, we see rich ladies contributing to the fund ( Lk 8 :1-3). One is therefore, inclined to believe that Jesus and his disciples did keep a fund from which they would source their day-to-day expenses, and would also help the needy. One of the charges the Missionaries face is that they give monetary assistance to the poor with the alleged intention of the latter' s conversion to Christianity. Jesus' statement that the poor is always with us (Mtt 26:11) , in fact makes it obligatory on his followers to render financial assistance to those in need. My question therefore, is : Did Jesus give monetary help to the poor during his public life ?

As a Jew, I'm not very familiar with the concept of evangelism, but I was wondering recently about the cost of conversions and how effective they were. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any answers to my questions online. So here they are: - What percentage of attempted conversions succeed? Like, if you try to do outreach to a group, what percentage of those people will convert? - Is it harder to convert someone who's religious in another religion as opposed to a nonreligious person, and if so how much harder? Do different religions have different rates of conversion success? - Do different Christian denominations have significantly different conversion success rates? - How much does it cost per attempted conversion (if you outreach to a group this is the total cost divided by number of people in the group)? I'm not really sure where to ask this but I thought this might be a good place given that some people here have likely done missionary work before.

At first glance both Christian [missionaries](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missionary#Christian_missions) and [apologists](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_apologetics) appear to be dedicated individuals who share the same goal of winning people over to Christianity, by presenting the Christian faith in a way that is convincing and compelling to their target audiences. So to me, the concepts seem to overlap a lot, and I am unable to pinpoint a specific feature that only pertains to missionaries but not to apologists, or vice versa. When faced with the (possibly challenging) task of addressing unbelievers in order to convince them that Christianity is true, are there any notable differences between missionaries and apologists? Do they tend to emphasize different skillsets? Do they approach the task differently? Are there certain things that missionaries are usually better equipped to do than apologists (and vice versa), when it comes to proselytizing for the Christian faith?

According to [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10/40_window) : > **The 10/40 Window** is a term coined by Christian missionary strategist and Partners International CEO Luis Bush in 1990 to refer to those regions of the eastern hemisphere, plus the European and African part of the western hemisphere, located between 10 and 40 degrees north of the equator, a general area that was purported to have the highest level of socioeconomic challenges and least access to the Christian message and Christian resources on the planet. Recently someone told me about the prevalence of the belief in demons and ghosts in countries pertaining to this troublesome region. I did a quick search and indeed was able to find several anecdotal reports suggesting that this appears to be the case. Two examples below: 1\) [Defining Missions – A Tibetan Testimony (Illustrating the 10/40 Window)](https://christopherchapman.blog/2012/08/28/tibetan-testimony-illustrating-the-1040-window/) : > [...] By the string of Hollywood movies in recent decades focusing on Tibetan culture one would get the impression that they have much wisdom and light to offer the West in terms of spirituality. This is a satanically inspired fabrication, and couldn’t be further from the truth. **Tibet is a dark place filled with demon possession, witchcraft, poverty, brutality and fearful superstition**. Over every mountain pass you will find prayer flags waving in the wind. With each gust of wind it is believed that one more prayer has ascended to the demonic forces of fear that control their lives. **And with every prayer it is hoped, more than believed, that somehow the brutal spirits ruling their land will be, to some small degree, appeased with this fruitless tradition**. 2\) [4 Reasons to Evangelize the 10/40 Window Before Anywhere Else](https://messagemissions.com/4-reasons-to-evangelize-the-10-40-window-before-anywhere-else/) : > **In the 10/40 Window, most people live in deep fear of evil spirits** (a > few atheistic nations excepted). They offer daily sacrifices to > appease their ancestors, avoiding retribution, and seeking blessing. > Statues of demons and spirits adorn almost every street. **Reports of** > **ghost encounters abound**. **Many cultures regularly seek out witch** > **doctors, psychics, spiritists, blessings, spells, and potions, and** > **fear curses and omens**. > > The 10/40 Window’s demonic fears aren’t baseless. Inhabitants of the > 10/40 Window fear evil spirits because they’ve lived under evil’s > vicious taunt. **Demonic forces work out in the open there, spreading** > **torment, confusion, rage, and addiction**. **Our partners regularly tell** > **us stories of the most shocking demonic attacks**. > > I’ll only give one example. > > **A 19-year old Burmese man lived under severe demonization since age** > **15**. **Demonic illness, madness, and rage constantly plagued him and often drove him running into the jungle**. He soon became so violent > that his teachers had to remove him from school, and his own parents > locked him in his room and chained him to his bed. They sought every > cure possible, but neither medicine nor monks nor mysticism could turn > the tide. Soon, the parents met our partner, Pastor J, and asked him > to pray for their son. > > What happened next should blow us away. Our partner prayed for the > young man in the name of Jesus, and the tormenting spirit left > immediately. In a matter of seconds, Jesus had delivered the young man > from insanity which four years of Asia’s best cures could not heal! > Can you imagine the joy and relief His family experienced? He soon > received Christ, and today he would rather die than reject Jesus. Who > could blame him? > > Our partners tell us similar testimonies regularly. Jesus is setting > the 10/40 Window free, person by person, soul by soul. He longs to > liberate every unreached captive, for He is “not willing that any > should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9 > NKJV). What keeps this great deliverance from the pages of history? > “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few” (Luke 10:2 > NKJV). _____________________ **Question**: Can someone more knowledgeable on the topic confirm whether this is true? Does demonic activity abound in many of the countries belonging to the 10/40 Window and how often do Christian missionaries encounter demonic activity while on duty in these countries?

I was born and raised in Sweden. I grew up with "kinda" Christian parents. However, I can't remember ever going to a church except when somebody had died or got married. I couldn't tell you which of the numerous "branches" that they believed in, but that's sort of at the core of my question: why exactly does it matter? I realize and recognize that it *does* clearly matter to an enormous amount of people. I just don't understand **why** exactly. Why is it of such importance that other people also believe the exact same set of ancient stories, and interpret them in the same manner, as yourself? Frankly, as cozy and nice as Christianity can be, I would not feel any sorrow if everyone around me were, instead of Jesus and God, referring to Thor and Oden. In practice, what I like about religion is the concept of unity within a people. Having structure and tradition and recurring events, etc. Some common set of rules which bind a people together and empower it against the outside world. Note that I'm not saying that peoples should be fighting or going to war to somehow force (or even attempt to convince peacefully) each other about how "they are right". This is also at the core of my world view. I don't understand the futile struggle to travel to Africa (for example) and tell them about our Jesus and God and how they should be living. It's frankly insulting to me. I wish that Christians would never have tried to go on "missions" to "spread the faith", but rather keep it as local as possible. As somewhat of an "outsider", although still definitely not an Atheist, it seems absurd to me the amount of time, efforts and sorrows are expended arguing and fighting with each other about religions, which can be seen as a metaphor for races, and the belief (no pun intended) that one can "turn" somebody into a Christian (or any other religion, for that matter) by convincing them with arguments. Or that this is meaningful even if it is possible. I suspect that you will respond: > Well, in so-and-so page of the Bible, Some Person said so-and-so, so that's why we try to spread the gospel! I don't mean to offend anyone, and I find the Bible fascinating in many ways, but at the end of the day, what's the end goal of trying to spread a religion/faith/world view to people who are fundamentally incompatible and even violently opposed to hearing what some White Christian tells them, since they already have their own views and traditions locally? I'm truly not "taking any sides". I just wish that Christians in particular would not try to push their faith (which appears to vary wildly between the numerous "branches") onto people who are just as disinterested in "becoming Christians" or "letting Jesus into their lives" as you would be if a Muslim told you to start slaughtering animals according to the Halal method, or told you that you can only go to Heaven/Valhalla if you believe in the Nordic mythology. I hope that my point is coming across clearly and that it doesn't offend anyone. I'm genuinely trying to understand why it's such an important thing for Christians to promote their, what amounts to, traditions and rites, toward other people. Even just trying to convince another Christian of a different branch that what they grew up with is "wrong" is an exercise in futility and appears, to me, almost as if the people trying to do so are actively "picking a fight". In either case, that's what inevitably happens when you tell somebody (or imply) that they are wrong and you are right; they just become stubbornly convinced that their way was right all along and that these external people are trying to sell them something which they have zero interest in. Would it really be out of the question to simply have your branches and churches and do what you wish in there and if somebody shows interest, they can be invited to join, but this isn't some "end goal" or "the overall purpose" of gathering and believing a certain branch of Christianity (or any religion)?

Acts 16:6-10 (NIV): > 6 Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, **having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia**. 7 When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, **but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to**. 8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9 **During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”** 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, **concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them**. How often do Christian missionaries go to preach to specific countries or places in God's timing, when the Holy Spirit allows them to, when God explicitly leads them to do so? Is this a common practice among missionaries? Does the answer depend on the specific denomination of the missionaries?

From time to time I come across testimonies of missionaries reporting extraordinary anecdotes that occurred when they were on the mission field. For instance, I've heard of stories of people getting miraculously healed after getting prayed for, demonic entities showing up at night telling them they won't be able to evangelize in that country, bullets getting deflected, people manifesting as if possessed and getting delivered, etc. The following are some of the most extraordinary anecdotes from missionaries that I've come across so far: [A](https://youtu.be/k-4vEXH5bcA?t=4443) , [B](https://youtu.be/a1jVrq9CNPQ?t=345) , [C](https://youtu.be/7oMl7ZBlgdM?t=33) , [D](https://youtu.be/lZeI-CGLVbw?t=1509) [E](https://youtu.be/Lh3l9FaRbpM) , [F](https://youtu.be/sTaRAwbC860) , [G](https://youtu.be/ZmqRH42oNTw) , [H](https://youtu.be/nuRSjOlmwHw) , [I](https://youtu.be/Ds6nJTeOJzA) , [J](https://youtu.be/5opk-C85o7g) , [K](https://youtu.be/TJdE-HKjWG8) , [L](https://youtu.be/qreVAruOPJs) , [M](https://youtu.be/aEt9lsPU1Rw) , [N](https://youtu.be/2QLr-mklbnE) , [O](https://youtu.be/E28hEIfLOMw) , [P](https://youtu.be/z0VZHoEcQ9s) , [Q](https://youtu.be/0B36Bq44a6I) , [R](https://youtu.be/ZL9w0X0w8xI) , [S](https://youtu.be/SraqW6Bq7Is) . Question: **How common is it that Christian missionaries come back from their mission trips reporting extraordinary anecdotes?** How often do missionaries report supernatural experiences of any sort while on the mission field? Do any denominations or Christian organizations keep records of these extraordinary stories from their missionaries?

Am wondering if "letters of investiture" (if that is the right term), from popes to early European missionaries, are available anywhere in print, or on the web? Am particularly interested in Ansgar .

My curiosity arises from two sources. [J I Packer ( Reformed Theology ) says the Keswick Theology ruined him] [1] Whereas T Austin Sparks says that the Keswick Theology helped him lead a fuller life Since reformed theologians are against Keswick Theology, I would like to get a list of missionaries and godly men who were helped by Keswick Theology for a fuller Christ-like life and ministry so that I can study their lives.

I recall reading a biography of a Christian missionary who(after some difficulty, to be sure) arrived in the country he was preparing to serve. Upon arrival, however, he was appalled by the missionaries already there. they lived in a fenced and gated community and basically played the days away, remaining quite English and even owning slaves, I think I recall. The missionary in question rebuked them and left their gated community. He was one of the first missionaries to dress like the people and preach in their language. He lived like them and was a good missionary. Who was this reforming missionary? I do not know the exact country, but I'm fairly sure a sea-bordering country in Asia, such as Burma, or Thailand, etc.

I'm a Mormon, and everyone knows Mormons are famous for missionary work, as pretty much every faithful young man will serve a 2 year full-time mission right out of high school, and many women will choose to serve one (or more) 1.5 year missions. I'm very familiar with the LDS missionary program, but I'm not too familiar with many protestant programs. LDS Missions are pretty simple I think: You go through the application process with your bishop, if he thinks you're worthy then your application gets sent to church headquarters, a few weeks or months later you get a mission call to go serve somewhere in the world for 2 years (the church chooses where you go), you're set apart as a missionary–*at which point you start living very strict mission rules 24/7*–just before you report to the Missionary training centre for 3-12 weeks prior to being sent out into the field. As a missionary you commit yourself 100% for 2 full years teaching people about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, no days off, no vacation, no TV or cinema or entertainment of the like, and no phone calls home except for on Christmas and Mothers Day on top of a plethora of other very strict rules (no flirting/dating, iceskating, horseback riding, etc., etc.). That's a typical LDS proselyting mission. There are many other types of missions that you can choose to go on, but for this question I'm only interested in proselyting missions. How do some Protestant missions compare?

In reference to this question: https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/40342/what-are-full-time-protestant-proselyting-missions-like What are full-time Catholic proselyting missions like in contrast or comparison to LDS missions?