Our History

Why Create a New Missions Training Center?
Our founding board is made up of people who are deeply concerned about fulfilling the Great Commission by seeing churches planted amongst unreached people groups. In this pursuit, we have repeatedly encountered three distinct but interrelated dilemmas.

First is the mobilizer’s dilemma. Two of our founding board members are missions mobilizers, who canvas the evangelical church, challenging Christians to take the Great Commission seriously and become cross-cultural church planters. As individuals accept this challenge, they ask an important question: What do I do next? Based on the current state of missions training, the answer to this question has been surprisingly complex and problematic. Our desire is to provide a simple and effective “next step” for those who want to pursue cross-cultural church planting.

Second is the educator’s dilemma. Two of our founding board members are educators at a Christian Bible College. As they train students in the Bible, theology, and ministry, they have discovered the need to partner with a missions training center that will take their missions-minded students through the next steps. For reasons explained below, they have had a surprising amount of difficulty in finding the right missions training center to partner with. Our desire is to provide effective practical training for students who have already received the necessary biblical and theological training.

Third is the local church’s dilemma. Two of our founding board members work in the context of the local church. As they seek to spread a passion and vision for global missions in their churches, they have found it difficult to point their members toward an effective next step. Our desire is to provide that next step for missions-minded church members.

What’s Wrong with the Existing Training Options?
Our goal is not to discredit any missions training centers. But in our efforts to address the dilemma mentioned above, we have found that most missions training options are unbalanced or defective in key areas. Most trainings centers fall into one of six categories:

1. Overly Academic – In this model, the focus is almost exclusively on knowledge and information and little, if any, attention is given to developing character or skills in necessary areas.
2. Basic Discipleship – In this model, the focus is on being a passionate follower of Jesus, but little time is given to the understanding and skills to engage in effective cross-cultural ministry.
3. Loose Mentorship – In this model, those who have spent time on the mission field—in some cases, those who have merely read about the mission field—mentor students in informal settings. This model typically lacks the intentionality and resources to fully equip church planters.
4. Osmosis by Association – This model operates under the assumption that spending time with Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, etc. in the U.S. will adequately equip trainees to plant cross-cultural churches amongst the same religious groups overseas. This approach is simplistic and does not adequately account for the dynamics of cross-cultural ministry.
5. Scratch the Surface – Many training centers in this model have the right elements in place, but don’t give them nearly enough time or attention. In many cases, this minimalistic approach stems from the belief that missions agencies won’t demand more intense training and that trainees won’t devote the extra time to receive better training.
6. Partial Training – This model consists of groups that provide excellent training, but only in one area (e.g., language acquisition or church planting). Some groups focus only on one type of unreached people group (e.g., Muslims or tribal groups).

In light of these shortcomings, Radius International seeks to provide a holistic approach to training cross-cultural church planters that will incorporate all of the positive elements of the six categories listed above while at the same time avoiding their pitfalls.