Missionary organisation in the spotlight

Press, 9 June 1986, Page 4

Missionary organisation in the spotlight

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CATHERINE HARRIS

With the arrest of two New Zealand Christian missionaries in Malaysia and a similar case in Greece, the spotlight has gone on the organisation connected to both, Youth With A Mission. But what is it, and how does it prepare its workers for other, sometimes hostile cultures? Youth With A Mission, says its South Island director, Murray Alcock, was founded in 1960 by a young American, Loren Cunningham, who wanted to harness the energy of youth for Christian outreach, at a time when they were not considered for such service.

The organisation gained attention in New Zealand when one of its ships the Anastasis visited in 1983.

Today, Youth With A Mission has 5000 full-time workers, 200 bases in 80 countries and 25,000 parttime workers a year. Y.W.A.M. teams have reached nearly every country in the world and the organisation estimates that with an annual growth rate of 20 per cent, it will have a staff of 50,000 by the year 2000. Y.W.A.M. is already one of the biggest missionary organisations in the world. Its three objectives are evangelism, training, and

mercy ministry. It has a policy that part-timers pay their own travel and mission expenses, while full-time workers look to God for provision.

In New Zealand Youth With A Mission has bases in seven centres and offers a number of different avenues into missionary work. These include a Polynesian mission in Auckland, a school for practical skills in Hamilton, and a hospitality house in Queenstown. From November, a school of performing arts will be based in Auckland or Hamilton. Work overseas includes two Y.W.A.M. “mercy” ships, refugee work in Asia, and further training at the Pacific and Asia Christian University in Hawaii, where courses range from commerce to communications. The courses have the prerequisite of a discipleship training school course, consisting of about three months of basis Biblical teaching, character building, and a six-week practical period overseas.

Mr Alcock said Y.W.A.M. did not put an emphasis on the ability of applicants. “The criteria is that a person is a Christian and over 18 years old, and if you want to serve God then we seriously consider you on that criteria ... our say-

ing is that it’s not ability that counts, it’s your availability.”

Y.W.A.M. was not the place for spiritual sightseers, he said. “We’re not looking for people who want to come for a bit of Christian education because that’s not our bent. We’re looking for people who really want to serve God.”

In the wake of the Malaysian arrests, in which two Y.W.A.M. members were accused of offending Muslim beliefs by proselytising, how much cross-cultural education do students receive? “We do not go into a great deal of detail on how to live in another culture and how to approach it,” Mr Alcock said. “We concentrate on biblical principles that work right across the board of respect, of loving people. We don’t teach people to browbeat evangelistically, for example, but we teach people to relate on a real level.”

Threats of imprisonment are not new to missionary groups. Only last week two Y.W.A.M. leaders, one of whom was an Auckland man, Alan Williams, won an appeal in Greece against a charge of proselytising. Another group in Nepal are fighting similar charges for which they

face 61/ 2 year sentences. Last year a Nelson couple in the Philippines were the first Y.W.A.M. members to be killed in service.

Considering the number of people and activities involved, Mr Alcock is surprised they do not run into more problems.

The members were introduced to different lifestyles by living together at the Christchurch base, a former geriatric home in Merivale.

The house, established 20 months ago, houses about 50 staff and students from Australia, Europe, Asia, and the United States, as well as New Zealanders. It runs a discipleship training course, organises outreach teams to Asia, and serves as the South Island administration centre for Y.W.A.M. Mr Alcock sees a trend in New Zealand towards more people working as missionaries, particularly families and older people.' Y.W.A.M. has started a course for older people called “Crossroad,” and may start a post-disciple-ship course on family ministries next year.

The Christchurch base intends to house unwed mothers who want an alternative to abortion. Other Christians will be encouraged also to open their homes.