2017-2018 Grant in Aid of Research
A Theory Base and Model of a Mission Organization for the South American Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
Silvano Santos
Effective missionary work depends on a combination of three factors: (1) a body of committed and adaptable personnel who are prepared to transmit to another cultural group the relevance of the Christian message; (2) an organization that is equipped to recruit, train, fund, send and care for such a missionary force; and (3) sustained access to international unreached areas. Throughout its history, the missionary movement has been based on these three factors, and the absence of one or more of them has resulted in less than optimum achievement and has sometimes led to failure. Even though the South American Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church can positively identify the first and third requirements, it lacks the second. The purpose of my research is to analyze what are the biblical, theological, and historical foundations for the establishment of a mission organization, and suggest what mission organization model would best fit the organizational structure of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in terms of: (1) the relationship of a division to the General Conference; (2) the relationship of a division to another division; and (3) the operation of this mission organization within a division.