October 01, 1985 by Leiton Chinn

An Underutilized Resource

Professor Winter knew what it meant to be both a steward and student of the international seminarians who came to learn from hint His ten years of inquiry and interaction with overseas students played a great role in his efforts to help develop the "Unreached/Hidden peoples" theme.

Partrsership in Mtssions is a popular theme and worthy goal. How might this mutuality in ministry happen for American and international seminarians? For some, it may mean teaming up for field experience. For example, a seminarian from Japan and I began a weekly community outreach ministry to international students at a local university. This has developed into a fruitful, seminary/multi church cooperative effort.

A very important expression of partnership in mission is the active assistance of seminaries to international seminarians, helping to arrange opportunities for them to serve their communities in local churches or ministries. Too often, perhaps, foreign seminarians with years of experience in high positions of leadership do not have ample or appropriate opportunities to minister to and through the North American Church. International seminarians would welcome the opportunity to be 'mission interpreters' of what God is doing in their regions, and to be informants concerning the mission frontiers still remaining.

And what about the potential for foreign seminarians to be directly involved in Frontier Missions? Hopefully their seminary experience will include growth in awareness of and preparation for making a contribution to pioneering mission efforts among 'Hidden Peoples. One possible way for seminaries and/or American seminarians to be frontier mission catalysis and resources to international seminarian friends is to encourage them to do research, strategy papers, or other projects on Unreached Peoples in their regions.

Appearing in condensed form here, this article was first published in the Theological Students for Frontier Missions Newsbrief. Lesion Chinn has ministered with International Students, Inc. (IS!) for eight years. In 1979 1980 he was seconded by 151 to serve as the International Coordinator for "Edinburgh '80: World Consultation on Frontier Missions,' in which TSFM finds its roots. Presently. Leiton and Lisa China are Intercultural Project Developers with ISI.