Most of the Mormon missionaries I've encountered are young men doing a couple year stint. They are typically identified as "elders", but my understanding is that this designation is only temporary during their time of service. How is the LDS use of this term similar or different than the office of elder in mainstream Protestant circles? Does their designation as elders give them any ruling authority over the church body or is their role strictly to work with non members?

Is there a reason why female Mormon missionaries wear such varied dresses but male Mormon missionaries wear uniforms? I see male missionaries often. They are easily recognizable, because they all wear uniform outfits - white t-shirt, black pants, and a clean tie to finish. When I go on the Mormon site, the dress code for men seems more varied than what I previously thought, and the dress code for women is not only more varied but also more colorful and vibrant. My question is, is this true? Do Mormon missionary women get to wear more varied and colorful clothing than Mormon missionary men? And why do the men on the website wear more varied clothing with different-colored ties but the men on the street wear *exactly* the same style?

Many Christians of different denominations have reported encounters with demon-possessed individuals. Catholic exorcists are an obvious example. In the mission field, reports of demonic possessions in the [10/40 Window](https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/82874/how-often-do-missionaries-report-encounters-with-demonic-activity-while-deployed) are not unheard of. An interesting first-hand account by a SDA missionary can be found [here](https://youtu.be/Lh3l9FaRbpM) . Even Baptist pastor John Piper has had his [fair share](https://youtu.be/0SK07TY1uh0) of experiences with the exorcism of demon-possessed people. Have Jehovah's Witnesses ever reported similar encounters with demon-possessed individuals in the mission field or in other contexts?

I'm used to seeing young missionaries travel in pairs, talking to people and visiting them, but I don't typically think of them as serving their missions online (as evidenced here ) or doing other types of activities. What kinds of missionaries (or missionary services) are there in the LDS Church and what do they do?

Apropos [Ken Graham's Question of 18th August](https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/96729/looking-for-sources-of-mediaeval-church-architecture-that-shows-and-or-explains) on medieval church architecture. One rarely comes across literature on the big crosses constructed around churches. For instance, you find an obelisk, a construction that traces its origin to Egyptian culture, at the centre of St Peter's Square, Rome. Of course, it has a cross on the top. Curious enough, the churches of Southern India, some of which trace their origin to the first century, have such peculiar constructions. St Thomas, the Apostle is believed to have reached India in 52 AD and established a few churches. The Portuguese who landed in 1498 rebuilt many such ancient churches, supplementing the local architecture with their own (See [Christianity in Kerala: Church Architecture](https://www.keralatourism.org/christianity/church-architecture/24)) . One particular feature is that of three crosses on a pedestal—erected on the south, north, and west of prominent churches, which almost invariably faced east. Some of these crosses, erected at a distance of say, half a mile, from the church, are accompanied by a small chapel locally called 'Kappela', the word tracing its root to the Portuguese language. These chapels would not host the Holy Eucharist and would be used for devotions like rosary and novena. Historians say that the construction of such an extension of the main church by way of crosses, was in vogue even before the arrival of the Portuguese since some of them have inscriptions in Syriac language. That would imply that the custom had originated with the Jews or any other people like the Chinese, Persians, and Arabs who had settled in India for trade. I am not aware if the tradition can be seen in the West. From where did the tradition of erecting three crosses around a church originate?

Concerning the end of the world and when this will happen Mark 13:10 says: > And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. (NIV) Has the gospel been preached to all nations?

The 10/40 window term is used by Christian missionaries to loosely define areas of the world with the "highest level of socioeconomic challenges and least access to the Christian message and Christian resources on the planet" (Source: Wikipedia entry ["10/40 window"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10/40_window)) . However, is the 10/40 window term sort of quaint and grossly oversimplified? The reason for asking the said question is because apart from the glaring error of the 10/40 window not including the nation with the highest population of Muslims which is Indonesia, it also does not include very poor Central American and some South American nations. Furthermore, the computer internet technology advancements that started around 1995 have led to smartphones and rapid growth of the internet so a lot of poor nations even have access to the internet. Finally, it really seems like is it a gross oversimplification because a lot of European nations that are culturally Christian like France, Sweden, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Eastern European nations, etc. have a lot of nominal Christians and atheists but said nations are not in the 10/40 window.

Romans 15:24 describes Paul's desire (prediction?) of going to Spain. Many scholars believe that there is strong evidence in favor of Paul having visited Spain. They point out that it is reasonable to say that Paul did visit Spain for the following reasons: 1. It was a possibility time wise (e.g. see R.C.H. Lenski's commentary here on page 480). 2. The church was large and well-organized at an early date. 3. The plans of Paul included a visit to Spain. 4. Early documents indicate that such a visit was made. 5. Local Spanish traditions speak of a visit by Paul. However, some argue that to evangelize Spain to the extent we see at such an early date, Paul would have worked with other people. Spain was very closely linked to Rome and scholars have made a conjecture that some of the converted Pretorium guards or *equites* that were with Peter in Rome may have had connections in Spain where Paul traveled. In *The Clementine Gospel Tradition* by Dennis Barton, the following comments are made: > Clement of Alexandria (c. 150-215) was a pupil of Pantoris, the first > great Christian teacher at Alexandria in Egypt. Clement records that > he himself had travelled widely, meeting and listening to ‘truly > notable men’ from all over the Roman Empire (EH 5, 11). > > In his Adumbrationes in Epistolas Canonicas, Clement commented on 1 > Peter 5, 13. As Eusebius did not copy the full quotation, we are using > here the Latin translation by Cassiodorus: > > Mark, the follower of Peter, while Peter was publicly preaching the > Gospel at Rome before some of Caesar’s knights and producing many > testimonies about Christ, being begged by them that they should be > able to record what was said, wrote the Gospel which is called the > Gospel of Mark, from the things said by Peter - just as Luke is > recognized as the pen that wrote the Acts of the Apostles and as the > translator of the Letter of Paul to the Hebrews (RDCA, RO 166r). Are there any Catholic traditions of *equites* (knights of Caesar) working with the Apostle Paul in evangelizing Spain as desired or predicted in Romans 15:22-29?

Our local mobile church leadership has proposed a merger with another local church. Reasons cited were a) pandemic meant they couldn't meet at the public school they had been using for 8 years so we would "get a permanent church home" b) we are young families; they are older c) we are better together than apart What are some best practices to follow, especially that avoid respondent bias? Such as, what if people are loyal to the pastor, or feel left out of the conversation, or want to ask disruptive questions, or feel surprised, or excited, etc. I have observed a church merger go poorly in the past because it was not handled well. It was a generational split. The reason by the younger leaders was that "the neighborhood is not like us" because of diversity so we "can't be effective in our outreach." The older generation wanted to stay. The merged church received the money from the sale of the mergee building. The church merged after a split vote, and the younger leaders left to join larger churches, the older stayed or left. Now a few remain 20 years later. My current nondenominational church in question, an elder model, began seeking this out 6 months ago, but didn't tell the congregation, wants to merge, and would take on the other church's denomination, Southern Baptist Convention. My sense is that though they say we welcome questions, and "our values are aligned," we are "likeminded," that they are muting critique with code words for in-group. The Pastor of my church will become lead pastor, and the new name will be our church's name. Both are financially solvent. The location will change to a different city, but about 15 minutes away. We originally joined partly because the pastor "felt called" to serve our current city. My question is for why do churches merge? Thank you for your time!

Continuing with a series of questions on the eternal fate of the unreached (see [here](https://christianity.stackexchange.com/q/86233/50422) , [here](https://christianity.stackexchange.com/q/86263/50422) , [here](https://christianity.stackexchange.com/q/86218/50422) and [here](https://christianity.stackexchange.com/q/79245/50422)) , I would like to ask a question now about the possibility of God Himself reaching unconverted pagans, who had never heard of Christ or the gospel up to that point, through supernatural means, such as dreams, visions, audible voice, an angel, an apparition, etc., before any human missionary physically arrived to the place. Are there any accounts of something like this ever happening in church history? _____ **Note**: positive answers to this question could be regarded as counterexamples to the premise of my previous question https://christianity.stackexchange.com/q/82931/50422

My question is inspired by the extraordinary example set by the early Church as recorded in Acts 4:23-31 (ESV): > 23 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard it, **they lifted their voices together to God and said**, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, > > “‘Why did the Gentiles rage, > and the peoples plot in vain? > 26 The kings of the earth set themselves, > and the rulers were gathered together, > against the Lord and against his Anointed’— > > 27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. 29 **And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness**, 30 **while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”** 31 **And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness**. In this passage we see how God responded in extraordinary fashion to the communal prayer of the early Church, by filling them (again) with the Holy Spirit and empowering them with boldness to preach the gospel. This divine empowerment was, without question, the key to the early Church's success in their missionary and evangelistic endeavors, in the midst of an adverse and hostile world. Do any mission agencies follow a similar pattern, namely, wait for divine empowerment in communal prayer *before* embarking on actual evangelism and missionary efforts? ___ Similarly asked or related questions: - https://christianity.stackexchange.com/q/84210/50422 - https://christianity.stackexchange.com/q/83176/50422 ____ UPDATE: Based on challenges to the question's assumption that the early Church was *waiting for* God's response, I asked the following on BH.SE: [Was the early Church waiting for divine intervention in Acts 4:23-31?](https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/q/70383/38524)

I'd like to know how well provided is Paris Foreign Missions Society. How come they have the largest private garden in all Paris and located in Rue de Bac (it was originally just outskirts of Paris when this seminary was founded), sending numerous priests into the far east Asian countries? Many of them were died and executed there, Korea included in the 19th century. Also, how did they provide money to the priests who took a nearly 10 month trip? Their building seems very elegant as well. I don't mean to criticize things, it just seems doubtable and marvellous to me, seeing their nature as missionary works and I respect their sacrifice. Or, do or did they get many donations to provide themselves, especially in the 19th century?

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?

Latter-day Saints who choose to serve missions enter a Missionary Training Center for just 2-10 weeks before they go out into their assigned areas for the remaining 18 or 24 months. Since many serve in foreign countries, they learn a new language while in training, and many missionaries are fluent after about a year. What techniques are used to teach LDS missionaries, and how to they get away with doing so in such a short span of time? Would the LDS church claim that it's related to the gift of tongues?

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?

In January of 1956, several American missionaries (Jim Elliot and Nate Saint being the best known) attempted to reach a remote tribe in Ecuador in an endeavor that has become known as [Operation Auca](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Auca) . The people group, called [*Huaorani*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huaorani_people) , *Waodani*, or (pejoratively) *Auca*, were known for being extremely violent, and when the missionaries met several of them on the beach, the missionaries were killed. Their deaths sparked significant interest in missions, and also ultimately led to many Huaorani people being converted through the efforts of Elisabeth Elliot (Jim's wife) and Rachel Saint (Nate's sister), among others. Now, 60 years later, what is the state of Christianity among the Huaorani? What percentage of the people call themselves Christians? Is there a generational gap? Are there among them any established and/or growing churches, particularly with indigenous leadership?

Can a diocesan priest become a missionary? Can he demand it? Does he need consent from his bishop (I know he can become a religious without consent)?.

Alejandro Murguía in "The Medicine of Memory" wrote that Jesuit missions in New Spain were averse to controlling native labor. When Franciscans and Dominicans took over after the expulsion of the Jesuits, their missions _did_ rely on the compelled labor of missionized natives. What was the theological(?) disagreement between Jesuits and Franciscans that led to their diametrical policies with regard to native labor?