A Pilgrimage Of Faith, J.B. Toews, 1993

assignment to a 263 A PILGRIMAGE OF FAITH specific place and people. The purpose was not to diminish the missionary task but rather to harmonize it with new inter- national realities. Missiologist Hans Kasdorf described the changes between 1947 and 1961 as "novel-if not radical-ideas of internationalization, ideas far ahead of their time in Menno- nite Brethren mission thinking."8 The years 1961 to 1969 in Mennonite Brethren missions can well be classified as a period of reorientation followed by years of realignments The principles of "Partnership in Obe- dience," adopted at the I960 and 1963 conferences, were to initiate relational mutuality between the sending churches (the Mennonite Brethren mission) and the receiving churches (na- tional churches).10 A second major change occurred in 1966 with the merger of the Board of Foreign Missions and the Board of General Welfare and Public Relations. In principle this action was a theological corrective, interrelating the ministry of proclama- tion with the ministry of response to human needs,11 The ac- tions of I960, 1963 and 1966 were appropriate in essence and honest in intent. The realization of these ideals, however, as Kasdorf pointed out, left much to be desired, A decade later, the 1977 edition of Principles and Policies reaffirmed the directional decisions of the 1960s. The primary task of mission was defined as the building of Christlike, self- propagating churches in modem urbanized societies with the missionary serving as a planter to withdraw as soon as he or she could be replaced with national leadership.12 This edition further committed the program to meeting human needs as part of the mission assignment. While our priority is to build churches, and through them to minister to the whole person, we recognize that this is not always possible in a world plagued by strong forces of nationalism. We realize, therefore, that in some situa- tions we are called upon to minister to human needs in 264 MISSIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF CHANGE areas where no public witness is allowed. We do so be- cause we are called to be Christlike in all areas of life, and because we realize that even this is a witness to the love of God to those ministered to ... . We do invest in programs for ministering to human needs in areas where we are planting and nurturing churches. These programs should normally be carried out only where these needs (by priority: subsistence and fami- ly planning, medical and educational) are not met by local government programs, or where these programs do not meet the