|
Cross
cultural ministry is one of the key areas of focus
at Sydney Missionary and Bible College.
Bruce
Dipple is the Director of the School of Cross
Cultural Mission and Senior Lecturer in Missiology
at SMBC. Formerly the Principal of the Niamey
Bible College in French West Africa, Bruce is also
currently a member of the preaching team in a
Sydney Chinese second generation congregation. Globally,
we live in a world where up to 2 billion people
have never heard the gospel, most of whom will
need someone to come from a different cultural
background to share it with them. Locally,
we live in a multicultural environment where it is
increasingly necessary to cross cultural
boundaries just to make friends with the
neighbours in our street. This is the world of
today, the world into which we are sent by the
Lord Jesus with a message to share (John
17:18-20). We need to be equipped to understand
and to communicate with the peoples of this
culturally diverse world. It is the world that God
so loved and that we cannot ignore, for we are
under obligation to share the gospel with them. In
this context, the SMBC School of Cross Cultural Mission aims
to:
-
Strengthen
the global focus of the training offered at
SMBC;
-
Respond
to the increasingly multicultural context of
ministry in Australia; and
-
Take
mission education beyond the regular SMBC
study programs, to local churches.
Some
of the ways the School meets these aims is through
the:
-
Coordination
and delivery of mission and evangelism
subjects in the regular DipTh, BTh and MDiv
programs of the college.
-
Oversight
of the Master of Arts (Christian Studies) and
Associate Degree in Theology programs with
specialisation in cross cultural studies.
-
Provision
of mission related units in the Master of Arts
(Ministry) program and supervision of mission
related research in the Master of Ministry
program.
-
Facilitation
of the interaction of SMBC students with
visiting cross cultural workers through the
weekly Ministry Matters hour and the
Missionary-in-Residence program.
-
coordination
of the electronic publications and other
activities of the Network of Australian
Mission Enthusiasts.
-
Assisting
of local churches from all denominations to
develop their mission education and global
awareness programs through:
*
conducted in the local church
Maintaining
active involvement with evangelical mission
agencies and networks of agencies within
Australia and around the world.
For
further information on SMBC's School
of Cross Cultural Mission, please
don't hesitate to contact
the School at worldmission@smbc.com.au
or phone
02 9747 4780. |
