MISSION WITH HEART, MOUTH AND HANDS

Strategy plan for Danish Evangelical Mission 2008-2011

Download the short version of the strategy plan here.

Mission

With heart, mouth and hands, DEM wants to be God's instrument giving individuals a life changing meeting with Jesus Christ!

DEM sees itself as an independent organization within the National Church of Denmark which takes care of part of the global mission assignment and responsibility of the Church. DEM wants to be a resource for life, growth and renewal of the churches – in our cooperation countries as well as in Denmark.

Visions

DEM wants to:

  • Work for a living, acting and evangelizing church.
  • Promote awareness of calling in talented and competent staff members.
  • Create, nourish and develop a commitment to global mission in individuals, groups and congregations.
  • Be an open and flexible organization with close cooperation relations to other organizations when it benefits God's mission.

 
Values

  • Reliable – so that promises and actions agree.
  • Dynamic – so that we may seize new opportunities.
  • Faithful to the Bible – so that the Scripture shows the way in our work.


General strategy

DEM wants to:

  • Strengthen local partners so that they will become still more independent, self-spreading and self-financed units.
  • Together with our partners develop cooperation and partnership so that all partners will be strengthened.
  • Both send Danish missionaries and support the national missionaries of the churches.
  • In the near future decide upon our partnership with the Church in Botswana.
  • Define principles for starting new work areas and phasing out existing work areas.
  • Promote our partners' sustainability through increased co-financing of projects and own financing of salary for local staff.
  • Make use of the possibility of getting projects financed by DANIDA through the Danish Mission Council Development Department (DMCDD) when this serves the interest of the churches.


FOCUS AREAS

Evangelisation and congregation building

DEM wants to contribute to making our partners able to make the gospel of Jesus Christ known to people who have not yet heard it or received it. Evangelisation is to share the witness of Jesus Christ in every generation, with a view to people's conversion, incorporation in a congregation and spiritual growth to discipleship.

Concretely this is e.g. about:

  • Evangelisation among people who have not heard the gospel:
    • Support the evangelistic work among Muslims in the Bale province, Ethiopia.
    • Support the tiny Lutheran Church in Guinea through the Church in Liberia.
  • Congregation building where the Church is weak:
    • Support the Church in Liberia so that it may give its pastors and deacons in rural areas good salary and work conditions.
  • Education of leaders and preachers:
    • Send Danish staff member to train Ethiopian leaders in the children and youth work.
  • Bible translation and spreading of literature:
    • Support Bible translation and literacy work in Ethiopia.
  • Training and equipping special groups among children, youth and women:
    • Support the evangelistic work in the Awassa Synod in Ethiopia.

        

Diaconia and development assistance

DEM wants to increase the number of assistance projects so that our partners may help vulnerable groups hit by poverty, illness, homelessness, prostitution or other need. The mission of the Church is to serve the whole person, and diaconal work is an integrated and inseparable part of the witness of the Church about Jesus Christ.

Concretely this is e.g. about:

  • Work among street children and help to orphans:
    • Support street children In Addis Ababa through Win Souls for God.
    • Support children in Liberia whose parents died from aids.
  • Work among vulnerable groups of women:
    • Decide if DEM shall continue to support the work of My Sisters in Ethiopia.
    • Clarify if DEM shall support the efforts made by the Church for vulnerable women in Liberia.
  • Hospital and health work:
    • Rebuild the clinics and hospitals of the Church in Liberia and upgrade their local staff, financed by DMCDD.
    • Support the aids project of the Church in Liberia together with DMCDD.
  • Advocacy for human rights, equality and democracy:
    • Train Ethiopian students in EvaSUE in democratic values and human rights, with support from DMCDD.

        

Mission and renewal of the Church

DEM understands mission as a global gift fellowship in which everyone has something to give and something to receive. The Church is Christ's body and must work on an equal and mutual give and receive relationship. DEM thus wants to contribute to establishing fellowship and relations between the sister churches in the South and Danish congregations for mutual inspiration and renewal.

Concretely this is e.g. about:

  • Visit and inspiration trips
    • Work together with theological education institutions and folk high schools so that more young people experience mission work through teaching and visit trips.
  • Practical experience for pastors (in Denmark and Africa).
  • Meetings and talks:
    • Starting preaching on mission and creative and fascinating information on concrete mission work.
  • Friendship congregations and prayer fellowships.
  • Project groups:
    • Delegate influence on concrete mission tasks to support or country groups among the friends of DEM.
  • Volunteer arrangements for all age groups.

      

Christian presence through Jobmission

DEM wants to send Christian Danes to ordinary jobs in countries with few other Christians where churches are harassed and where it is impossible to do traditional mission work.

Concretely this is e.g. about:

  • Recruitment, education and sending of staff in Jobmission:
    • DEM works purposively at sending job emissaries primarily to countries in East Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa in 2008-2011.
  • Spreading the gospel through the job emissaries' witness to neighbours, colleagues and friends.
  • Support to local congregations by sending them a fellow Christian from another country.
  • Intercessory prayer relations between congregations in Denmark and the work country.
  • Building a network of congregations and organizations operating in countries with few Christians and harassed churches.

     

Education and leader training

DEM supports theological as well as general education and leadership training so that people can take care of tasks and functions in society, in congregations and schools. DEM has its primary focus on education and leadership training for pastors and laymen so that they may build up healthy congregations based on the Bible and lead the Church.

Concretely this is e.g. about:

  • Theological education of pastors, deacons and evangelists:
    • Send Danish teachers to the seminary and leadership education of the Church and to theological master education in Ethiopia.
    • Support education of laymen, deacons and pastors in Liberia at the Centre in Totota with a staff member sent by DEM and with grants for workshops and courses.
  • Bible school education:
    • Clarify engagement in cross-cultural bible school in Awassa, Ethiopia.
  • Educating congregations through courses, workshops and Theological Education by Extension.
  • Capacity building and leadership education in e.g. finance, administration and project management.
  • Building and strengthening education institutions:
    • Rebuild schools in Liberia and give teachers supplementary training with support from DMCDD.
       

Partner churches and cooperating organizations

Ethiopia

  • The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus.
  • Win Souls for God: Evangelisation and diaconal work among street children, prostitutes and young criminals in Addis Ababa.
  • My Sisters: Help for vulnerable women and their children in Addis Ababa.
  • Evangelical Students' and Graduates' Union of Ethiopia (EvaSUE): Christian student movement.


Liberia

  • The Lutheran Church in Liberia.


Botswana

  • The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Botswana.


Jobmission

  • Mission alliance consisting of Danish Evangelical Mission, Danish Evangelical Lutheran Mission, and Kristeligt Forbund for Studerende (Danish IFES).

 
Denmark

  • Ydre Missions Hus: Network cooperation between DEM and the three mission societies that we share house with: The Danish Moravian Mission, The Danish Israel Mission, and the Danish Sudanmission.
  • Danish Mission Council Development Department: Arranges support from DANIDA to the social and humanitarian development work done by its member organizations and their partners in the third world.

 

Mission with heart, mouth and hands

Mission is the sending of the whole Church with the whole gospel to the whole person. DEM wants to be part of God's sending of his Church to all people on Earth – until the end of the world and time. And this we want to be with heart, mouth and hands.

DEM works in Ethiopia, Liberia, Botswana, and Denmark – and through Jobmission we hope soon to be able to add countries in East Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa on the map of our work places.

DEM has an annual budget of approximately DKK 6.5 millions of which the 85 percent are raised as contributions from individuals, congregations and other groups or earned by our second-hand shops.