We need people with a heart for the unreached, and equipped to help others grow in their faith.

Christ 'became human and lived among us' (John 1:14)

As believers who have encountered the loving God, we are eager to imitate Christ by living among those who do not yet know him.

Evangelism for SIM means that we are a sharing community who, through our practical love for each other and the world, communicate God’s saving grace in Jesus Christ.

Evangelism is not enough

New believers need to deepen their faith in community with other believers. That’s why we also plant churches.

In a diversity of cultural contexts, churches will look very different. For believers of the Mursi tribe of remote southern Ethiopia, this means grappling with issues such as eating food offered to idols, drinking blood, and levirate marriage (inheriting a dead brother's wife).

For believers in urban Zambia, this means figuring out what the Christian community needs to be amidst an AIDS pandemic.

In all contexts, we are learners. We take great pains to understand people and their cultures, and we respect the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who is showing them what Christian community can look like in their context.

We learn from Jesus how to speak to a Jewish leader about the 'new birth' and to the woman at the well about 'living water'.

We learn to ask questions that focus issues and determine priorities (Luke 6:6–9), that compel people to think and in so doing develop an allegiance (Luke 9:18-20), and that create interest by solving dilemmas (Luke 20:41–44).

We learn from Jesus how to relate intimately with disciples in spiritual formation and kingdom proclamation (Mark 3:14).

Our ministry model

Our ministry model also reflects the church planting approach of the apostle Paul, who did not position himself as a local preacher. He did not initiate one church and become its pastor in order to send others to plant new churches.

Rather, he served as a mentor to people like Timothy and Titus who initiated and nurtured new churches.

Interested in serving?

Centuries after the Bible was written, God is still transforming the world through communities called church. If you would like to know how your skills and gifts may be used in evangelism and church planting cross-culturally, then SIM would love to hear from you.