Christ Is Building His Native Church: Strategies and Methods for Planting Indigenous Churches

This monograph is a review of cross-cultural principles which examines the strategies and methodologies of planting indigenous churches as a resource for Native leaders, incumbent missionaries, and missionary candidates who are or will be working among the Native Indian people of Canada. Beginning with an overview of the origin of the three distinct groups of Aboriginal People in Canada and their unique cultural differences, a historical review of the Indian people’s first encounter with European explorers and Christianity is provided, showing the failure of European missions to establish indigenous churches owing to their policies of assimilation, paternalism, and colonialism. The birth of the national native church and its mission is next recounted, focusing on the Native Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, Inc (NEFC) as a model. Significant attention is given to the definition of indigenous church principles, known as the three self-principles, which follow the Pauline pattern of establishing independent churches. A fourth self or self-theologizing principle is offered which explains contextualization and the steps in developing a Native theology.The remainder of the study focuses on cross-cultural communication principles and offers a strategy for Native evangelism, with recommendations on Mission/Church relations as well as qualifications for the church planter.