C (38:45)
Yeah, that's a good question. So since it's about like mission engagement that I was really, really trying to understand about the Ethiopian diaspora churches, I think I can describe that in two ways. One is understanding of missions. How did my respondents really reflect on their understanding of missions? And the second one is how they are actually practicing missions. So on the first one, you know, most respondents actually reflected that like their understanding of missions is really shaped by the traditional approach, which is from the west to the rest, from the half ones to the north half ones. So basically when I'm asking a question, you know, if you know, what are the countries today or what are the continents today, who are missionaries sending continents or countries? Most of my respondents responded that like, you know, they would say Europeans or Americans or the west in general. So it shows that like, they're still in a kind of receiving end in terms of, like, okay, sending countries are still like, those people from the West. And then I asked if, you know, what about, like, recipients who are the recipient countries and continents, by and large. Actually, most of them responded that, like, Africa is the recipient of missionaries. So that shows to me that, like, still the traditional approach from the west to the west is still the understanding of missions. So I'm not a missionary. Somebody from the west is a missionary. So is a kind of understanding that needs to be addressed, basically. So I would say, as a diaspora Missouri, that is one of the things that we have to define and redefine, which is missions now is from everywhere to everywhere, not from the west to the rest anymore. So that is how they understood missions. And also, for the most part, their understanding of missions is shaped by the Great Commission verse. When it comes to their biblical view of missions, it's not really taking the whole counsel of the Scripture, the whole counsel of God, as we call it, which is, you know, God is a missionary God. And from the beginning to an end, the scripture talks about, like, how God has been redeeming his people and the world back to himself. But most of the respondents actually reflected that, like, their understanding of missions is shaped by the Great Commission verse, which is, go and make disciples of all nations. So these are some of the understandings that highlighted, actually, in the research. And when it comes to the practice, you know, most Ethiopians see that they have the potential for missions, the desire for missions. You know, like when it comes to evangelism outreach, for instance, like, every month, at least once in a month, every. Like, almost all Ethiopian evangelical churches in the US have evangelism outreach campaign. But then when it comes to really crossing the cultural barrier and giving a platform for those people who would be willing to come to Christ, that's another thing to really talk about, which is, you know, yes, there is a potential. But when it comes to the practice, are you doing it, like, in a way that can host those people who would come to Christ is another question. So there is a kind of potential and practice difference in that way. For instance, even the desire itself, like, if I ask the whole congregation, basically, I would say, you know, about 90% of them would say that, like, yes to missions. But when it comes to practice, it takes a kind of, you know, exposure, willingness to go beyond their own community, be sacrificial in their finances and all that. So when it comes to the practice, and really a kind of formal mobilization, we are a little Bit behind. So I would say potential is not, is not really enough, but they have to go beyond the desire. The other thing that I realized in the study is that like, you know, when I ask how they practice missions, most of them say that like we have missions back in Ethiopia. So it's very much inwardly focused, which is for them, missions is doing something back home. So it's not really beyond their own community. And there's nothing wrong by focusing, you know, on oneself, you know, by focusing on themselves. I mean, it's not wrong, but I think for the sake of the gospel, they have to go beyond their own communities and they have to reach out to all nations. So their missions is basically to Ethiopians here in the States and to Ethiopians back home. So it's very much inwardly focused. The third thing that I see when it comes to like practices is that like it is actually getting from survival to isolation in a sense that like in the beginning, you know, like since most of them were actually refugees, there's a kind of survival mentality. But you know, during the third wave of migration, they grew exponentially and most of the most Ethiopian churches now have their own facilities. So in that case, from survival mentality or from survival context where they are actually sheltering themselves actually under the American churches to isolation, which is now we are self sufficient and we don't have anything to do with the American churches. So in that case there's no collaboration. There's no. That isolation itself is not really helping for the missional endeavor that the Ethiopian communities can have. And you know, at the end, which is the exclusive approach versus the intergenerational approach is also another thing that I have discovered which is the first generation is really exclusively designing the church to work for itself while neglecting the second generation. So in that case they're not only missional for beyond their own communities, but also they're not missional for, you know, to reach out to their own children basically who are living in a different culture. So that is, you know, when it comes to practice and missions, there's a need in terms of like crossing the cultural barrier to reach out to their children as well. So, so basically these are some of the things that I see and I would say still, still I believe that there is a desire, there's a potential for missions, very vibrant, community oriented. There's a lot that can be done, but unfortunately, very much inwardly locked and still the intergenerational dynamics is not really mobilized comprehensively for missions. That is what I find out in my study.
