Missionary1

A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development.^[1][2] The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin missionem (nom. missio), meaning "act of sending" or mittere, meaning "to send".^[3] The word was used in light of its biblical usage; In the Latin translation of the Bible, Christ uses the word when sending the disciples to preach in his name: "He said therefore to them again: Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you." (Jn 20:21) and "And he said to them: The harvest indeed is great, but the labourers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he send labourers into his harvest. 3 Go: Behold I send you as lambs among wolves." (Lk 10:2–3)

The term is most commonly used for Christian missions, but can be used for any creed or ideology.^[4

Christian missions

Main articles: Mission (Christian) and List of Christian Missionaries

A Christian missionary can be defined as "one who is to witness across cultures."^[2] The Lausanne Congress of 1974, defined the term, related to Christian mission as, "to form a viable indigenous church-planting movement." Recognizing justice as being at the heart of the Gospels, some modern missionaries now promote the development of western government^{[citation needed]}, education^[5] and economic structure^{[citation needed]} in the place of pre-existing local systems and tradition. Missionaries can be found in many countries around the world.

[edit]Biblical mandate

Jesus instructed the apostles to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19–20). This verse is referred to by Christian missionaries as the Great Commission and inspires missionary work. The missionaries of the Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints serve their missions for men(24months) and Women (18Months). The share the most correct doctrine, teaching of the Bible and also The Book Of Mormon, known as another testament of Jesus Christ. They carry and spread one message and they carry a strong warm spirit.

[edit]Catholic missions

Main article: Catholic missions

The New Testament missionary outreach of the Christian church from the time of St Paul was extensive throughout the Roman Empire. During the Middle Ages the Christian monasteries and missionaries such as Saint Patrick, and Adalbert of Prague propagated learning and religion beyond the boundaries of the old Roman Empire. In the 7th century Gregory the Great sent missionaries including Augustine of Canterbury into England. During the Age of Discovery, the Roman Catholic Church established a number of Missions in the Americas and other colonies through the Augustinians, Franciscans and Dominicans in order to spread Christianity in the New World and to convert theNative Americans and other indigenous people. At the same time, missionaries such as Francis Xavier as well as other Jesuits, Augustinians, Franciscans and Dominicans were moving into Asia and the far East. The Portuguese sent missions into Africa. These are some of the most well-known missions in history. While some of these missions were associated with imperialism and oppression, others (notably Matteo Ricci's Jesuit mission to China) were relatively peaceful and focused on integration rather than cultural imperialism.

Much contemporary Catholic missionary work has undergone profound change since the Second Vatican Council, and has become explicitly conscious of Social Justice issues and the dangers of cultural imperialism or economic exploitation disguised as religious conversion. Contemporary Christian missionaries argue that working for justice is a constitutive part of preaching the Gospel, and observe the principles of inculturation in their missionary work.

As the church normally organizes itself along territorial lines, and because they had the human and material resources, religious orders—some even specializing in it—undertook most missionary work, especially in the early phases. Over time a normalised church structure was gradually established in the mission area, often starting with special jurisdictions known as apostolic prefectures and apostolic vicariates. These developing churches eventually intended 'graduating' to regular diocesan status with a local episcopacy appointed, especially after decolonization, as the church structures often reflect the political-administrative reality.