Some Roles of Mission Stations

Abstract

The author points out that mission stations have many roles: Base camp, contact, employment opportunity, evangelization, Bible teaching, medical, and educational. Some are consciously planned, some just grow. But too often the net result is to create formalized, institutional relationships between missionaries and nationals in which the former are dominant and the latter cannot respond freely; the depth of their commitment can therefore be questioned. The author advocates the view that a mission station, rather than being a closed cultural enclave dominated by the missionary, ought to serve as a cultural link with both missionaries and nationals sharing ideas and participating freely in the resulting change.