The Role of Prayer in Mission Formation: From Africa to Australia

Pioneers of Australia is a vibrant and dynamic mission organisation, entrusted with the privilege of sending mature disciples to share the good news of Jesus Christ among the nations. The purpose of this dissertation is to enable Pioneers of Australia applicants and appointees to proactively grow in the specific area of prayer, ensuring that prayer lies at the very core of their ongoing formation for global mission. This research investigates two major sources of prayer. Firstly, prayer as seen in the life of Jesus and the early church in Acts – voices from Scripture. And secondly, prayer as found in the lives of Pioneers-Africa, another sending entity within Pioneers – voices from Africa. The findings are then applied to the context of Pioneers of Australia. The research utilizes is a combination of literature survey of Scripture (voices from Scripture) and ethnographic methodology (voices from Africa). The latter includes the mutually enhancing methods of Narrative Interview and Participant Observation. After identifying the points of intersect between the material, I then establish Biblically-based principles of prayer for application to Pioneers of Australia. I have limited this to five initial principles, which are then creatively expanded through a booklet entitled Shaped by Prayer, found in Appendix E. All of this is to facilitate a greater understanding of and commitment to the role of prayer as a core aspect of the life and ministry of our cross-cultural global mission workers, leading to greater Kingdom impact. Mentor: R. Daniel Shaw, Ph