Peer Review of Jonathans — Creating a Regional Strategy for Missions
Creating a Regional Strategy for Missions
Jonathan Biblical and Theological Studies,
Ohio Christian University MIS1010: Introduction to Global Missions
Professor Davis 12/4/2025
Creating a Regional Strategy for Missions
When thinking of mission fields, it is often tempting to imagine the jungles of Africa or tribes in South America, but the reality is that there is a mission field right in front of the West: Europe. Increasingly, Europeans will need to be reached with the Gospel as these nations become more secular (PANAAWTM, 2020). I want to focus specifically on Germany and its urban areas, as this country has a great need. When defining my mission strategy, it would be as follows: To introduce the Gospel to a broad audience and to foster relationships that enable the Gospel to be shared in meaningful ways within people’s own cultural contexts.
The first goal is to introduce the Gospel to a broad audience. Though it may seem strange to do this for a “Western” nation such as Germany, the reality is that less than 1% of Germans claim to be Christians, making this nation largely unreached (Brumley, 2022). Besides this, Christianity has been tainted by the state churches, which do not preach the true Gospel, and, as a native notes, one can grow up in the “church” but never truly meet God (Lohmann, 2024). Because of this, one of the key necessities for the church in urban Germany is to be introduced, often for the first time, to Christianity and the basic message of the Gospel, separate from political propaganda and dogmatic tradition. One of the first methods to do this is to introduce biblical themes and Gospel concepts through social media, an outlet that has seen daily viewership increase. Other missionaries to European nations have sought to bring the Gospel to these areas by offering hot drinks and handing out Christian literature (Doyle, 2025). Another method is the hosting of community events, something our church-sponsored missionaries to Germany do, such as English camps, youth activities, and holiday events (Packard, 2025).
Beyond this, establishing relationships is also necessary. The success of the aforementioned community events for our church’s missionaries has come in developing relationships with people, which extend to their friends and family. Another missionary to Germany found success by not immediately beginning worship services but instead going to local gathering places (pubs and coffeehouses) and making one-on-one connections with the people there (Brumley, 2022). Because Germans highly value these community locations, this is a prime avenue for establishing relationships and beginning to find openness to share the Gospel (Colegrove & Colegrove, n.d.). This is much like the strategy used by the Apostle Paul as he came to the Athenians’ place of meeting and used it as an avenue to share the Gospel (Acts 17:16-34, LSB, 2021). This is an effective strategy for leveraging the culture’s established relationship builder to connect missionaries with those who need the message.
The other primary strategy for establishing relationships hails from the Moravians, who were often content to live and work among the people and to share the Gospel when the opportunity arose (Tucker, 1983). This strategy has opened doors for other German missionaries by establishing relationships with neighbors and making friends. For example, our church’s missionaries were able to connect with a large group of adults by befriending the parents of their children’s school friends (Packards, 2025). Drawing also on the holistic approach of Wesley, the mercy work of the Moravians, and the thriving ministry of current German missionaries, the strategy is to meet the needs of the marginalized (Brumley, 2022). In any urban area, there will be those who are underprivileged, and meeting their physical needs opens the door to spiritual matters as well. These are just some of the strategies that the Scriptures and current and past missionaries have shown to be effective for beginning mission work in this nominally Christian but spiritually dead nation.
References:
Brumley, J. (2022). An innovative ministry in Germany hopes to share what it is learning about reaching a post‑Christian culture. Baptist News Global. https://baptistnews.com/article/an-innovative-ministry-in-germany-hopes-to-share-what-it-is-learning-about-reaching-a-post-christian-culture/
Colegrove, M., & Colegrove, K. (n.d.). Church partnership in Rostock, Germany. The Christian and Missionary Alliance. https://gemission.org/give/10355/#:~:text=Church%20Partnership%20in%20Rostock%2C%20Germany
Doyle, C. (2025). IMB missionary preparation and training key to long‑term service. International Mission Board. https://www.imb.org/2025/07/14/imb-missionary-preparation-and-training-key-to-long-term-service/
Legacy Standard Bible. (2021). Three Sixteen Publishing.
Lohman, M. (2024). Reviving Germany: Signs of life in the land of Luther. Desiring God. https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/reviving-germany
Packard, H. (n.d.). The most godless place on earth: Alliance worker’s commitment to seeing God move in eastern Germany. The Christian and Missionary Alliance. https://cmalliance.org/the-most-godless-place-on-earth/
Tucker, R. (1983). From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya: a biographical history of Christian missions. Zondervan.
Summary
Jonathan, your paper presents a focused, theologically grounded strategy for mission work in urban Germany. The two primary goals—(1) introducing the Gospel broadly and (2) fostering relationships for contextualized sharing—are clear and supported by historical and contemporary examples (Brumley, 2022; Tucker, 1983). The paper balances digital outreach, community events, and incarnational presence in ways appropriate to an urban, post‑Christian European context (Lohman, 2024; Colegrove & Colegrove, n.d.).
Rubric Scores and Comments
1. Missional Clarity and Practicality — 4 / 5
What works well:
The dual-goal framework is concise and actionable. Suggested methods—such as social media, English camps, community events, and hospitality in pubs/coffeehouses—are realistic entry points for urban German contexts (Packard, n.d.; Doyle, 2025).
How to improve:
Add specific, measurable indicators and a short pilot timeline (e.g., 6–12 months). Example metrics: number of social‑media impressions per month, number of event attendees, number of follow‑up conversations leading to ongoing relationships.
2. Biblical and Cultural Integration — 4 / 5
What works well:
Good theological grounding (Acts 17) and historical models (Moravians, Wesley) that justify incarnational and mercy‑oriented ministry (Tucker, 1983). The paper recognizes the cultural influence of state churches and nominal affiliation (Lohman, 2024).
How to improve:
Deepen cultural nuance by briefly addressing regional differences (e.g., former East vs. West Germany, urban subcultures) and potential barriers such as attitudes toward proselytizing or church history. Clarify the statistic about “less than 1%” with a precise source or rephrase to reflect nominal vs. practicing Christians (Brumley, 2022).
3. Creativity and Strategic Thinking — 4 / 5
What works well:
The blend of digital and incarnational strategies is strategic and contextually appropriate. Drawing from multiple missionary traditions shows thoughtful synthesis.
How to improve:
Add one or two innovative pilot ideas (e.g., university English‑conversation cafés, partnerships with local NGOs, pop‑up cultural events) and a simple decision flow showing how initial contact moves toward discipleship or community involvement.
4. Clarity, Grammar, and Organization — 3.5 / 5
What works well:
Logical progression from problem statements to methods and examples; sources are relevant.
How to improve:
Tighten sentence structure and transitions; correct minor formatting issues (line breaks in references, inconsistent citation style). Use subheadings for each method (e.g., Digital Outreach, Community Events, Incarnational Presence) to improve skimmability.
5. Overall Impression and Suggestions — 4 / 5
Overall effectiveness:
A persuasive and practical regional strategy draft with strong contextual awareness. The strongest element is the practical linkage between cultural gathering places and relational evangelism.
Top suggestions:
- Operationalize the plan: include measurable goals, a pilot timeline, and simple evaluation criteria.
- Increase cultural specificity: briefly address regional differences and likely obstacles in German urban centers.
- Polish formatting: standardize APA citations and clean up reference URLs and spacing.
Total Score
19.5 / 25
Actionable Revision Checklist:
- Add a 6–12-month pilot plan with 3–5 measurable indicators (attendance, follow‑ups, small groups formed).
- Include a short paragraph on regional variation (east/west, major cities vs. smaller towns) and how tactics might adapt.
- Provide source clarity for key statistics or reword to avoid overgeneralization.
- Use subheadings for each strategy and convert long paragraphs into shorter, focused ones.
- Standardize references to APA 7 (see References below) and fix URL spacing.
Three Short, Concrete Edits:
1. Statistic clarification (copyable sentence to insert):
Clarify the “less than 1%” claim by citing a reliable survey or rephrasing to distinguish nominal church membership from active practice, for example: “While many Germans retain nominal ties to state churches, recent surveys show a much smaller percentage who identify as practicing Christians; cite specific source here.”
2. APA example (copyable guidance to insert or paste into reviewer comments):
For APA 7 formatting: italicize book and journal titles, use sentence case for article titles, include publication years after author names, and remove spaces in URLs; for example, format a web article as: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of article. Title of Website. https://doi.org/xxxxx or https://www.example.com.
3. Sentence‑level edit (one concrete example you can paste into the draft):
- Original sentence from the draft: “Because of this, one of the key necessities for the church in urban Germany is to be introduced, often for the first time, to Christianity and the basic message of the Gospel separate from political propaganda and dogmatic tradition.”
- Tightened rewrite to model copyediting: “Therefore, urban Germans often need an introduction to the Gospel that is distinct from political rhetoric and inherited church traditions.”
Encouragement:
This is a thoughtful, missionally driven draft that connects sound theology with practical methods. With clearer metrics and a brief pilot plan, it will be well positioned to guide implementers on the ground. Well done, your contextual sensitivity and use of historical models give this strategy strong credibility.
References:
Brumley, J. (2022). An innovative ministry in Germany hopes to share what it is learning about reaching a post‑Christian culture. Baptist News Global. https://baptistnews.com/article/an-innovative-ministry-in-germany-hopes-to-share-what-it-is-learning-about-reaching-a-post-christian-culture/
Colegrove, M., & Colegrove, K. (n.d.). Church partnership in Rostock, Germany. The Christian and Missionary Alliance. https://gemission.org/give/10355/#:~:text=Church%20Partnership%20in%20Rostock%2C%20Germany
Doyle, C. (2025). IMB missionary preparation and training key to long‑term service. International Mission Board. https://www.imb.org/2025/07/14/imb-missionary-preparation-and-training-key-to-long-term-service/
Legacy Standard Bible. (2021). Three Sixteen Publishing.
Lohman, M. (2024). Reviving Germany: Signs of life in the land of Luther. Desiring God. https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/reviving-germany
Packard, H. (n.d.). The most godless place on earth: Alliance worker’s commitment to seeing God move in eastern Germany. The Christian and Missionary Alliance. https://cmalliance.org/the-most-godless-place-on-earth/
Tucker, R. (1983). From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya: a biographical history of Christian missions. Zondervan.
