Globalization & Missions (PDF).pdf

Globalization is the breakdown of social and technological barriers, creating a one-world grid of increasing connection, interdependency, and homogeneity. It puts pressure on developing-world cultures, contributing to urban migration and brain-drain. Globalization does not equal a global American cultural or economic hegemony, and information, culture, and money travel in multiple directions. The dual forces of balkanization and homogeneity coexist, with people preserving personal identity while their cultures tend to homogenize.

The best and worst of cultures proliferate via media, and globalization has a significant impact on Christian missions. The internet provides instant opportunities to contribute to Christian missions, and websites give missions an inexpensive means to share their mission identity. Rapid communication and mission organizations have changed the way missionaries work, with websites, cellphones, and email enabling immediate communication and mobilization of prayer support groups.

Globalization has also led to increased competition for support, with missionaries and mission organizations competing in a global marketplace. Churches can now partner directly with national mission organizations, bypassing middlemen and saving administrative overhead. Mission organizations can partner with other missions for specific projects, sharing personnel, resources, and facilities. The internet provides access to information on virtually any religion, cult, or people group, and Christianity competes in the global marketplace of religions and philosophies.

Missionaries can now access specialized tools and resources, such as software for language acquisition, online courses, and anthropologic studies. Globalization and specialization have changed the role of American missionaries, and they must ask what they can do best in a globalized and specialized mission field.