Dr. Evan Liu, from Mandarin Program Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (MBTS), delivered an online seminar titled “Gospel to China, Moon’s Mission Strategy and Inspiration”.
The Lottie Moon International Online Conference: Christian Mission Collaboration was conducted virtually to honor the 110th anniversary of the death of Charlotte “Lottie” Moon, a revered American Baptist missionary who gave her life to Shandong Province.
With the title of “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8), the conference aimed to celebrate Lottie Moon’s selfless service in evangelizing Chinese people and to encourage global Chinese Christians to be one in the mission field, regardless of denominational differences.
The following is the contents of what Dr. Evan’s shared on February 26th:
In 1885, Lottie Moon rode a donkey from Dengzhou to Pingdu for missionary work, which established the first case of a western single woman ministering in China’s inland. She experienced the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, the Boxer Rebellion, and the Revolution of 1911. She was the pioneer inland single female missionary and the pioneer overseas single female missionary who independently did church planting. Moon received two invitations from President Roosevelt the senior. Yuan Shikai, the Shandong warlord, also went to her church to listen to sermons. Lottie Moon brought apple seeds from Virginia to Penglai, Shandong. During her more than 40 years of service in China, she established more than 40 schools and 30 churches in Shandong. At that time, thousands of Chinese were converted to the Lord.
Lottie Moon’s mission strategy one: when in Rome, do as the Romans do
Moon insisted on abiding by a traditional Chinese dress code. She mastered Mandarin and Penglai dialect spoken skills and could speak in them fluently. She gave herself a Chinese name “Li Ti Ao” which could be easily remembered by local people. By contrast, some cross-cultural missionary organizations today do not pay enough attention to language skills, which makes it difficult for missionaries to break through in their ministry.
Lottie Moon’s mission strategy two: the love for life
Lottie Moon was also known as Miss Biscuit because she often put cookies she baked at the doorstep so that children could come to eat them. Then she would contact the children’s mothers to build a gospel bridge with love. Today’s cross-cultural missionary organizations, on the contrary, don’t pay enough attention to the cultivation of the love for life, but only pay attention to distributing leaflets along streets and giving sermons in public.
Lottie Moon’s mission strategy three: imitating Jesus and entering the house of peace
Moon often rode donkeys from village to village, looking for homes of peace everywhere, and then entered the homes of simple ordinary people to greet them and answer any questions they had.
Lottie Moon’s mission strategy four: establishing a stable system of mission and support
Lottie Moon trained many disciples. Moreover, many women-led missionary groups were established. In 1911, Lottie Moon established the “North China Women’s Missionary Association” (original English name was not found, translator’s note) in Dengzhou, and served as the president. She called on all the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) to take action not only to give financial support but also to organize prayer groups to pray for overseas missionaries and encourage women to join in the missionary movement. Consequently, the “Women’s Missionary Association” (original English name was not found, translator’s note) was born raising funds for overseas missions. The first “Lottie Moon Christmas Offering” raised US$ 3,315.26, which was enough to assign three missionaries to China at that time.
Since 1888, many SBC churches have a special Christmas service called The First Christmas Offering for missionary ministries every year. In 1918, it was changed to “Lottie Moon Christmas Offering” which was dedicated solely to supporting overseas missionaries.
Lottie Moon’s mission strategy five: the willingness to sacrifice
In the Great Famine in Shandong in 1912, Moon gave all her food to the victims. On December 1st, Lottie Moon fainted in bed because of hunger. Other missionaries put her on a ship bound for America when there was no local remedy. When the ship was passing through Kobe Port, Japan, Lottie Moon died of chronic hunger on Christmas Eve, December 24th, 1912.
Churches beyond nations - the Global Church
How can the “Gospel to China” be prepared and implemented? The speaker listed out five points:
1. Inside-outside cooperation: mission starts from oneself regardless of scale; pay attention to participation, reflection and feedback, communication and coordination.
2. Be mature and practical; implement proper and appropriate strategies; and missionary training and courses should conform to biblical teachings.
3. Cooperate with mature missionary sects, such as the international mission of the Southern Baptist Convention.
4. Chinese community churches should become missionary churches (instead of waiting for 50% evangelization in China, all churches should consider cross-cultural missionaries); Chinese churches need such a transformation.
5. Compose more songs for Chinese missionary work to encourage and inspire.
For instance, the China Servant Center in Chicago (original English name was not found, translator’s note) provides cross-cultural missionary training programs specializing in the training for South America, the Arab world and Israel. There are missionaries in Peru. In the past six months, 45 local Peruvians came to believe in the Lord.
The Chinese Servant Center also provides training in Spanish, Arabic or Hebrew to those who are aspiring to do missionary work in the team and will organize these missionary experiences in the future. They also provide a free online training course in missionary language to a school in Myanmar.
The Chinese Servant Center will continue to carry out cross-cultural deepening and guidance courses, consider offering biblical and practical cross-cultural spreading and courses in cooperation with the Southern Baptist Convention. In addition, they plan to jointly offer short-term missionary training courses for churches with local missionary organizations.
- Translated by Charlie Li
2022年2月26日，中西浸信会神学院中文部Evan Liu 博士，为线上参加研讨会的全体会众分享了“福音出中国之慕拉第的宣教策略与启发”这个主题。
以下是Evan 博士的分享：
1885年，慕拉第骑驴从登州到平度宣教，开创了西方单身女性前往中国内陆宣教的第一人的局面。她在中国经历过中日甲午战争、义和团运动和有辛亥革命，她是单身女宣教士和内陆宣教的女性先驱，海外单身女宣教士独立植堂开拓的先驱。慕拉第接受过老罗斯福总统两次邀请见面，山东军阀袁世凯也去过她的教堂听道。 慕拉第将弗吉尼亚州的苹果种子带给山东蓬莱。慕拉第在中国服侍得40多年里，她在山东建立了40多个学校，30多个教会，当时有数以千记的中国人信主。
慕拉第宣教策略一：入乡随俗
慕拉第坚持穿中国人的衣服，打扮成为中国人的样式，她能够熟练掌握官话，还能讲一口流利的蓬莱土话，并且给自己起了个容易被当地人接受的中文名字"李题鳌"。 对比今天一些跨文化宣教机构没有给予语言技能的足够重视，导致宣教士在宣教工场很难突破。
慕拉第宣教策略二：生活之爱
慕拉第又被称为饼干小姐，因为她常常摆放自己烘烤的饼干在门口，让那些小孩子可以去吃。 进而接触孩子们的母亲，用爱的方式来建立福音桥梁。 对比今天一些跨文化宣教机构不注重培养宣教士对生活之爱的传递，只注重一味发单张和街头布道。
慕拉第宣教策略三：效法耶稣，进入和平之家
慕拉第经常骑驴走村串户，到处寻找和平之家，然后进入那些纯朴的平民百姓家里，向她们问安，并且回答她们任何问题。
慕拉第宣教策略四：建立稳固宣教和支持体系
慕拉第培养出不少门徒，除此之外，也建立了不少女性为主的宣教团体。 1911年，慕拉第在登州组织成立了"华北妇女传道协会"，并任会长。 她呼吁美南浸信会全教会行动起来——不单只是金钱方面的奉献支持，也组织祷告小组为海外传教士祷告，并鼓励妇女们投身于宣教运动之中。 结果催生出"妇女宣教联会"，为海外宣教筹募经费，第一次"圣诞节宣教奉献"就募得3，315.26美元，在当时足够差派三位传教士去中国。
此后，自1888年起，美南浸信会许多教会就每年圣诞奉献给宣教（The First Christmas Offering），1918年就称为"慕拉第圣诞奉献" ，专门用于支持海外传教士。
慕拉第宣教策略五：甘愿牺牲
1912年山东大饥荒，慕拉第把所有食物都给了灾民，12月1日，慕拉第因饥饿昏倒在床上。 在当地无力救治的情况下，其他传教士把她送上开往美国的轮船。 当船行经日本神户港时，慕拉第因长期饥饿而与世长辞，时值1912年12月24日平安夜。
国度拓展型教会——全球教会
如何做好福音出中国的预备与实施呢？
1.里应外合：宣教从我们自身做起，不计大小，注重参与、总结、交流、合作。
2. 成熟实践、策略良好、合乎圣经的宣教培训，宣教课程。
3.和成熟的宣教差传宗派合作，比如美国南方浸信会国际宣教部。
4. 中国社区教会转向中国宣教教会（不是再等到中国50%的福音化才考虑跨文化宣教）；华人教会也需如此转型。
5.创作更多的宣教中国的诗歌，起到动员鼓舞的作用。
比如：美国芝加哥的华仆中心训练跨文化宣教士：针对南美洲，阿拉伯世界、以色列。有同工在秘鲁做宣教；过去半年带领了45个当地秘鲁人信主。
华仆中心也给团队中有志向宣教的弟兄姐妹做西班牙语，或阿拉伯语，或希伯来语的训练工作，并且未来会组织这些宣教体验行程。 包括给缅甸的一间学校提供宣教语言免费网络培训课程。
而美国华仆中心也会继续开展跨文化进深与指导课程，与美国南方浸信会合作考虑开设圣经化、实践化的跨文化宣教学课程，也计划和各地宣教机构来联合开办针对众教会的宣教培训短期课程。
纪念慕拉第来华宣教暨殉道110周年研讨会：福音出中国之慕拉第的宣教策略与启发
Dr. Evan Liu, from Mandarin Program Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (MBTS), delivered an online seminar titled “Gospel to China, Moon’s Mission Strategy and Inspiration”.
The Lottie Moon International Online Conference: Christian Mission Collaboration was conducted virtually to honor the 110th anniversary of the death of Charlotte “Lottie” Moon, a revered American Baptist missionary who gave her life to Shandong Province.
With the title of “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8), the conference aimed to celebrate Lottie Moon’s selfless service in evangelizing Chinese people and to encourage global Chinese Christians to be one in the mission field, regardless of denominational differences.
The following is the contents of what Dr. Evan’s shared on February 26th:
In 1885, Lottie Moon rode a donkey from Dengzhou to Pingdu for missionary work, which established the first case of a western single woman ministering in China’s inland. She experienced the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, the Boxer Rebellion, and the Revolution of 1911. She was the pioneer inland single female missionary and the pioneer overseas single female missionary who independently did church planting. Moon received two invitations from President Roosevelt the senior. Yuan Shikai, the Shandong warlord, also went to her church to listen to sermons. Lottie Moon brought apple seeds from Virginia to Penglai, Shandong. During her more than 40 years of service in China, she established more than 40 schools and 30 churches in Shandong. At that time, thousands of Chinese were converted to the Lord.
Lottie Moon’s mission strategy one: when in Rome, do as the Romans do
Moon insisted on abiding by a traditional Chinese dress code. She mastered Mandarin and Penglai dialect spoken skills and could speak in them fluently. She gave herself a Chinese name “Li Ti Ao” which could be easily remembered by local people. By contrast, some cross-cultural missionary organizations today do not pay enough attention to language skills, which makes it difficult for missionaries to break through in their ministry.
Lottie Moon’s mission strategy two: the love for life
Lottie Moon was also known as Miss Biscuit because she often put cookies she baked at the doorstep so that children could come to eat them. Then she would contact the children’s mothers to build a gospel bridge with love. Today’s cross-cultural missionary organizations, on the contrary, don’t pay enough attention to the cultivation of the love for life, but only pay attention to distributing leaflets along streets and giving sermons in public.
Lottie Moon’s mission strategy three: imitating Jesus and entering the house of peace
Moon often rode donkeys from village to village, looking for homes of peace everywhere, and then entered the homes of simple ordinary people to greet them and answer any questions they had.
Lottie Moon’s mission strategy four: establishing a stable system of mission and support
Lottie Moon trained many disciples. Moreover, many women-led missionary groups were established. In 1911, Lottie Moon established the “North China Women’s Missionary Association” (original English name was not found, translator’s note) in Dengzhou, and served as the president. She called on all the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) to take action not only to give financial support but also to organize prayer groups to pray for overseas missionaries and encourage women to join in the missionary movement. Consequently, the “Women’s Missionary Association” (original English name was not found, translator’s note) was born raising funds for overseas missions. The first “Lottie Moon Christmas Offering” raised US$ 3,315.26, which was enough to assign three missionaries to China at that time.
Since 1888, many SBC churches have a special Christmas service called The First Christmas Offering for missionary ministries every year. In 1918, it was changed to “Lottie Moon Christmas Offering” which was dedicated solely to supporting overseas missionaries.
Lottie Moon’s mission strategy five: the willingness to sacrifice
In the Great Famine in Shandong in 1912, Moon gave all her food to the victims. On December 1st, Lottie Moon fainted in bed because of hunger. Other missionaries put her on a ship bound for America when there was no local remedy. When the ship was passing through Kobe Port, Japan, Lottie Moon died of chronic hunger on Christmas Eve, December 24th, 1912.
Churches beyond nations - the Global Church
How can the “Gospel to China” be prepared and implemented? The speaker listed out five points:
1. Inside-outside cooperation: mission starts from oneself regardless of scale; pay attention to participation, reflection and feedback, communication and coordination.
2. Be mature and practical; implement proper and appropriate strategies; and missionary training and courses should conform to biblical teachings.
3. Cooperate with mature missionary sects, such as the international mission of the Southern Baptist Convention.
4. Chinese community churches should become missionary churches (instead of waiting for 50% evangelization in China, all churches should consider cross-cultural missionaries); Chinese churches need such a transformation.
5. Compose more songs for Chinese missionary work to encourage and inspire.
For instance, the China Servant Center in Chicago (original English name was not found, translator’s note) provides cross-cultural missionary training programs specializing in the training for South America, the Arab world and Israel. There are missionaries in Peru. In the past six months, 45 local Peruvians came to believe in the Lord.
The Chinese Servant Center also provides training in Spanish, Arabic or Hebrew to those who are aspiring to do missionary work in the team and will organize these missionary experiences in the future. They also provide a free online training course in missionary language to a school in Myanmar.
The Chinese Servant Center will continue to carry out cross-cultural deepening and guidance courses, consider offering biblical and practical cross-cultural spreading and courses in cooperation with the Southern Baptist Convention. In addition, they plan to jointly offer short-term missionary training courses for churches with local missionary organizations.
- Translated by Charlie Li
Seminar to Commemorate 110th Anniversary of Lottie Moon’s Death: Her Mission Strategy, Inspiration from Her Work
