Mission Statement for the Danish Moravian Mission/Brødremenighedens Danske Mission, BDM. The Mission Statement is a specific statement where the Board of BDM defines the realization of the goals and visions for BDM. As such it can be read as a working-profile and as a mission-theological consideration including constant values and yet evolving from time to time.
Mission Statement of BDM
The Danish Moravian Mission (BDM) is an Evangelical-Lutheran Mission Organisation founded by the Moravian Church in Christiansfeld in1843 and acknowledged by the Evangelical-Lutheran National Church of Denmark. BDM is currently present in Tanzania, Albania and D.R. Congo. In Ramallah, Palestine, BDM is supporting a home for disabled children jointly with other European Moravian Congregations.
The main purpose is to present the gospel and the christian faith to people as well as contribute to the improvement of the lives of people stuck in poverty.
The mission is to inspire and encourage people by the crucified and resurrected Christ to assume responsibility for passing over the gospel to the fellow man. The power and mainstay behind this mission is God who wants everybody to go into his Kingdom.
» The foundation for the mission of BDM: God are sending us and we let us sent
» The ministry of BDM is fulfilled through preaching, teaching and diakonia
» BDM works with mission professionally and through voluntary efforts.
» The aim for the mission of BDM is to inspire to live a Christian life in brotherly love.
» BDM is an integrated part of the Unitas Fratrum’s mission
God gives us tasks
When mission many years ago was a movement of missionaries from North to South, the aspect of being sent was obvious. People left homes and families and were willingly sent all over the world. Today we often talk about partnership/joining each other inspired by the Biblical image of the Emmaus wanderers, who met and walked with the risen Christ: During the conversation with them he held his identity hidden, and the disciples only recognised him when he broke the bread for them.
Most of the work BDM is doing are comparable to a partnership with Tanzanian, Albanian and Congolese Moravian Christians. In doing that some are engaged in hospital work, others in teaching or the solving of other tasks, always in cooperation with local Christian colleagues and churches. But like the wanderers of Emmaus only could follow the Risen because they were actually walking, so we must enter into the task of partnership when we let ourselves be sent.
Mission: Preaching, teaching and diakonia
The main structure in our work and sending to the world is the good message that anyone who believes in Christ and are baptised belongs to the Kingdom of God.
This will be seen in different forms and BDMs focus is on three areas:
1. Mission as direct preaching. Also in the Western world, we belong to a living church. The church is proclaiming the gospel through services, sacraments and the preaching. The church is also proclaiming the gospel through the support to other churches
2. In Matth. 28,18-22 Jesus talks about our commitment to teach people who are baptized to do what the Lord has demanded and that’s why Bible Schools and theological education has a high priority in BDM
3. Jesus took care of the human being for body and soul, and that’s what the church has to do. The challenges in Tanzania are very visible: feed the hungry and heal the sick. And the church acknowledges this diaconal responsibility.
Diseases such as malaria and various infections have been known for a long time, but HIV/AIDS has a shorter history. HIV/AIDS has become a terrible scourge but the church now also takes responsibility for treatment and teaching concerning prevention.
Mission is carried out through a professionel and voluntary effort
BDM has more than 80 years of experience in working in Tanzania and more than ten years experience in Albania. The culture in both countries differs in crucial points from the Danish culture.
It is very important for BDM that the missionaries and the staff at the office at home are professionally qualified. On that reason BDM has emphasis on education of the missionaries and other staff members; they must be well educated and capable in having a professional approach to the assignments.
And at the same time we consider the voluntary work to be very important! BDM wouldn’t be able to go into that many assignments if it wasn’t for these voluntaries! I.e.: Donating money, second hand shops, preaching and informing etc..
It is important for BDM that people/supporters gives of their time, of their financial means and last but not least of their prayer so that the efforts may be successful.
Mission is building on God’s calling to live a Christian life in brotherly love and joy
God calls people to work for the spreading of the gospel in Denmark, and God also calls Danes to serve in Tanzania and maybe Albania. But God’s vocation does not end with us, the Danes. God has called a lot of people into his Kingdom through the Moravian Churches of Tanzania and Albania. The brotherly love has to be preached into a world that is characterized by strife and disasters, and by people, who do each other harm. It is important to let the brotherly love be visible in mission. Brotherly love is greatly visible through the diaconal work and the personal contacts. The joy often gets a very visible expression in the African church. The joy that comes from the gospel creates in a person will be seen in the worshipping congregation. This joy we must pass on to others.
Mission through BDM – an integrated part of the Unitas Fratrum’s mission
BDM is an Evangelical-Lutheran mission agency, with a special relation to the Moravian Church. Unitas Fratrum (the Fellowship of the Brothers) is the name of the worldwide Unity that includes all Moravian churches.
Since 1732 the Moravian Church has been sending out missionaries. The Moravian Church is one of the churches, who in terms of percentage has had the most missionaries sent out compared to the membership and according to history of the Christian mission. This is only possible because of the support to the mission work from a lot of other congregations and churches.
BDM has the recent years been working closely with the German Moravian Church’s mission agency, HMH, and the mission agency of the Dutch Moravian Church, the ZZg.
Since 1922, BDM has been supporting the Moravian Church in Tanzania, and BDM has taken part in the process that so far has peaked with the church having 400.000 members in Tanzania, where BDM is in cooperation with other Moravian agencies. The new church in Albania is still finding its identity; it is named the Lutheran Moravian Church of Albania and recognises it’s solidarity with the Moravian Church.
