Reaching the unreached: International Mission Agencies as Non-Governmental Organizations

• In Event: 2329 - Section on the Sociology of Religion Referred Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 10. Religion, Social Movements, and NGOs

Abstract

Most research on international mission agencies focuses on their historical role. Yet mission agencies today command a significant amount of resources and are an important player in many of the contexts that humanitarian and development NGOs also inhabit. Based on ongoing research centered on interviews with managers in evangelical mission agencies (n=24) and an analysis of reports and published materials, this paper seeks to understand the work of mission agencies on their own terms, taking seriously their stated goal of "spreading the word". It explores how mission agencies decide where to go, who to target and which kind of activities to engage in. We note the historical focus – unique among NGOs – on the person as the unit through which "assistance" is delivered, and we discuss missionaries “repertoire of practice”, the set of practices, which are considered legitimate as part of mission work on the ground. Noting the individual callings of applicants and their life-style preferences, managers in mission agencies see themselves as agents in a process of rationalization. Mission agencies use maps to ensure a focus on "the least evangelized and most marginalized." Managers develop strategies centered around priority countries, and are engaged with discussion of impact and measurement. Rationalization does not mean that mission agencies become more like other NGOs: rationalization is also reform towards distinctively mission-related goals and outcomes. We conclude by raising the question what the discussion on global civil society can learn from the case of mission agencies.

Authors

• Monika Christine Krause, London School of Economics

• Katherine Robinson, Goldsmiths