About OnEARTH
INTRODUCTION
This project is being undertaken under the joint auspices of the Churches of Christ in in WA(COCWA), Australian Churches of Christ Global Mission Partners (GMP) and the Australian Churches of Christ Indigenous Ministries (ACCIM) amongst others.
The aim is to provide a missional discipleship experience for followers of Christ. To see people being developed as disciples and their lives transformed into Kingdom oriented lives, people desiring to see God's will be done, people with a passion to see the Kingdom of God made as real here OnEARTH… as it is in heaven!
The OnEARTH project will provide discipleship opportunities for people in cross cultural experiences within two of three proposed settings; in an inner city context and either an overseas setting or a team working with Australian indigenous people in the Kimberley's, Western Australia.
These experiences will be combined with a teaching experience through the use of a programme termed OnEARTH (formerly MissionThinx) developed by Scott Vawser, utilising a Study in the Book of Acts by Mark Sayers called "Ignition".
This document summarises the relevant factors, and potential strategies and the approaches for undertaking this project and ongoing comment on the project operation. It will be updated on an infrequent basis to reflect project activities and is the agreed document in the OnEarth Project to define and maintain the project direction and aims.
BACKGROUND
Global Mission Partners have run a discipleship programme for ten years known as the Discipleship Development Programme (DDP) aimed at the young adult demographic group.
The principle of the DDP programme has a high value in the church - discipling has never been more needed at all levels of our membership - regardless of age or experience. The ability to challenge people to a deeper walk with Christ and to expose them to a cross cultural "out of comfort zone" experience has a great potential benefit for our churches.
DDP was originally developed to provide a 9 month discipleship experience culminating in an overseas exposure trip and around 100 participants experienced DDP during its ten years.
Among other issues, generational changes (X-Y) suggested that a modified programme was required with broader appeal.
A recent experiment in WA saw the WA GMP coordinator take small groups of people on cross cultural exposure trips into Cambodia, North West WA (indigenous mission) and into urban contexts. This was combined with a formal discipling experience pre- and post - trip with the leader using a set of guiding materials developed for the task.
Whilst still in early form, this format is capable of delivering a DDP-style experience, albeit reduced in timeframe, that is replicable across our States and can form a bridge with our Churches in the area of Mission and discipleship development.
This more streamlined programme, is called OnEARTH, it will be state based and organised through state GMP consultants and drawing in a broader demographic to widen both the appeal and viability of the former DDP concept.
