50 QUESTIONS
FOR THE MISSIONS PREPARATION PROGRAM COLLEGE CHURCH IN WHEATON
OVERVIEW: Your answers to the following questions will help the missions team know you better and will provide us with the opportunity to shepherd, encourage and exhort you through the program. Along the way, we will gain insight into where there is alignment or a lack thereof. It is in the best interest of both the candidate and the church for there to be a healthy alignment of beliefs.
TIMING: These questions should be answered systematically, over a period of months, rather than all at once. Six to twelve months will be typical for the duration of this Global Impact Training Course, although the entire Missions Preparation Program may take twelve to eighteen months. We recommend participants answer three to five questions per month to stay on track. All questions must be answered to complete the Global Impact Training Course.
RESPONSE: These questions should be answered honestly and sincerely, using Scripture as your guide. To the best of your ability, write what you actually believe, rather than what you think the church may want you to believe. At times, follow-up questions have been added to help stimulate your thinking. Upon completion, you will receive an electronic copy of the questions with your corresponding answers.
MPP: For those who successfully complete the Missions Prep Program as pre-field missionary candidates of College Church, you will be asked to verify your answers and agree to inform the Missions team if any of your answers should change substantively. For instance, if your belief that the Bible permits marriage only between one biological man and one biological woman shifts toward believing that God ordains same-sex unions, then we will want to know.
FORMATTING: Please use essay style writing and respond thoroughly to each question. If questions consist of multiple parts, answer a paragraph or two on each part. Your answers should be no more than one page per question. Support your answers with Scripture references, but do not write out verses. Other quotes should be brief and footnoted.
Please see the following for more information on the foundational beliefs and practices held by the membership of College Church.
DISCLAIMER: Successful completion of this online training program does not guarantee financial support.
Sincerely,
CCIW Missions Team
| 1. Those in authority positions should never abuse their power, but sadly, we know this sometimes happens. Describe your current or past relationships with those in authority positions in the church or in Christian agencies. Do you find it easy to submit to authority? Why or why not? |
| 2. Define atheism, agnosticism, and humanism. What would you say to an adherent of each regarding the reasonableness of belief in the personal, active God of the Bible? |
| 3. How would you biblically disciple individuals with the following: fear because of potential loss; depression and anxiety; unfulfilled desires (such as those who desperately want to be married, but who has never had the opportunity)? Please describe each separately. |
| 4. When living cross-culturally, how will you seek to strike the right balance between working too much and working to little? How will you seek to be a good steward of the time, talent and treasures God has entrusted to you? Do you regularly give to your local church? Explain your understanding of biblical stewardship. |
| 5. What are the reasons for your interest in missions? Are you considering this a life’s work? How much are you willing to sacrifice to serve the Lord in cross-cultural missions? How will you relate to those who do not seem to sacrifice as much as you? |
| 6. Imagine you are currently serving in some international location. Please explain what you think you would do should the following happen: Your parents become ill and need help. Your children are transitioning to college. You begin to feel as though you would rather live in the US than overseas. If you were to return to your home for more than three months because of these situations, do you think churches and individuals should continue to support you? Why or why not? |
| 7. What do you believe about justice, broadly? Explain a biblical understanding of justice. How would you explain God’s justice in light of God’s wrath and the salvation God offers to someone from another religion? |
| 8. Describe the biblical understanding of race, both from the perspective of one in favor of Critical Race Theory and one opposed to Critical Race theory. Explain which view you embrace and outline why you believe it to be the most biblical. |
| 9. How important is it to learn the language and culture of the place in which you serve? What have you done in the past to prepare for language and cultural acquisition? How many years do you plan to invest in language and cultural acquisition? What will this look like for you? |
| 10. Describe the biblical understanding of life, both from a pro-choice perspective, and from a pro-life perspective. Explain which view you embrace and outline why you believe it to be the most biblical. |
| 11. Describe the biblical understanding of roles for men and women in the church, from both an egalitarian and complementarian perspective. Explain which view you embrace and outline why you believe it to be the most biblical. |
| 12. How would you describe God’s design for sexuality as outlined in His Word? What do you believe about same-sex marriage, and would you consider yourself LGBTQ+ affirming? Why or why not? How would you disciple someone who has same sex attraction? |
| 13. What do you believe about justification? How does this happen? Explain the perspectives of individual justification and corporate justification. Explain which view you embrace and outline why you believe it to be the most biblical. |
| 14. What do you believe about the exclusivity of the person and work of Jesus Christ? How would you help a sceptic to understand the fairness of there being only one way to God, through Christ? |
| 15. What happens to those who die after hearing the gospel and rejecting it? What happens to those who die having never heard the gospel? Please explain your answers with Scripture. |
| 16. How would you describe the connection between God’s sovereignty and human responsibility when it comes to the proclamation of the gospel? |
| 17. What characteristics of your personality would make it hard for you to cooperate with other team members in close living or working situations? What growth areas have been pointed out to you by others? Explain how you are seeking to grow in those areas. |
| 18. What is the gospel? What does it mean to proclaim the gospel? Do you proclaim the gospel? If so, how? |
| 19. What do you enjoy most AND least about ministry? Within ministry, what do you find most live-giving, and what do you find most draining? |
| 20. Have you intentionally viewed pornography or watched explicit material in the past three years? If yes, please give the approximate date of when that happened (or time period if this was a series of events) and what safeguards you have put in place to avoid that in the future. How are you guarding your heart against temptations such as pornography, social media, comparison, avoidance consumption (gaming, binge watching), and substance abuse? How do you stay accountable? What safeguards have you put in place? |
| 21. As a missionary, you are looked up to and respected by the Christian Community and have gifts which others do not have. In light of this, how do you pursue humility in spirit? Explain why this is important. |
| 22. What does the word “community” mean to you, and where do you find your most authentic, enjoyable community? Have you ever been part of a multi-cultural community? If yes, please describe your experience. |
| 23. What have you enjoyed most when it comes to your church involvement over the years? What have you enjoyed the least? Have you ever participated in a church where the lead teaching pastor is not of your same ethnicity or culture? If yes, describe that experience. |
| 24. What value do you find in other cultures? What cultures, other than your own, do you naturally gravitate towards and away from? |
| 25. Tell us how God has been leading you into serving cross culturally. How strongly are you convinced that God has called you to serve Him overseas? What doubts or fears do you have about serving cross-culturally? |
| 26. What do you believe about the Bible? Why was it written and what is its purpose? What is the storyline of the Bible? What relationship does it have to your life? |
| 27. Describe the inspiration, authority, inerrancy, and sufficiency of the Bible. Explain why these concepts are important for cross-cultural ministry. |
| 28. Describe some beliefs you have about the church. What are the biblically based characteristics of a church? What is the purpose of the church? How does God intend for the church to “be on mission” in this world? |
| 29. What do you believe about union with Christ? What relation does that have to your character? |
| 30. What do you believe about church membership? Who can be a member of a church? Are you a member of your local church? Why or why not? |
| 31. What are the offices of church leadership and why are they important to the life of the church? Have you ever held a church leadership position? If yes, please describe the position you held. |
| 32. How do you define “the mission of God,” and how do you see yourself playing a role in this overarching “mission of God”? At this point in your life, how do you understand God’s calling in your life? |
| 33. What do you believe about regeneration and conversion? How does this happen? Can those who are saved, lose their salvation? Explain, using Scripture as your guide. |
| 34. How would you define godly character? What role does the Bible and the Holy Spirit play in shaping your character? Please explain how you seek to grow in godly character. |
| 35. How would you explain the connection between God’s love and his desire for holiness in the life of the believer? In what ways are you seeking to grow in holiness? |
| 36. Describe the biblical basis for the doctrine of the Trinity. How would you explain the Trinity to a non-Christian monotheist and to a non-Christian polytheist? |
| 37. Define general revelation and special revelation. Which is authoritative, and how do they relate to one another? How would you explain this someone who practices animism or earth-centered worship? |
| 38. What do you believe about salvation? What do you believe about final judgment? Does hell exist? What is it like? Who goes there? |
| 39. Describe the biblical understanding of divorce and remarriage, from both the perspective that allows re-marriage for those who have been divorced and from the perspective that prohibits marriage for those who have been divorced. Explain which view you embrace and why you believe it to be the most biblical. In addition, what is your stance on Christians marrying non-Christians? |
| 40. Please explain how you view yourself in light of your church community. What influence does your church community have in your decision making? Is anyone in your community investing in you? Are you investing in anyone else in your community? |
| 41. How has God gifted you, and how are you using those gifts to find joy and fulfillment? How are you trying to grow in those areas? Have others in your life affirmed those gifts in you? |
| 42. What character traits do you possess that could be detrimental to the work of ministry? How are you trying to grow in these areas? Regarding those character traits, what growth areas have people pointed out in your life, and how did you respond? |
| 43. What is the difference between positional and progressive sanctification? Describe the process of sanctification in your own life. |
| 44. Describe your position on the nature of continuing revelation/gifts of the Spirit (i.e., speaking in tongues, miraculous healing, words of knowledge). Explain the relationship between your understanding of continuing revelation and the sufficiency of the Bible. |
| 45. Describe your belief regarding humans as being made in the image of God. What value do humans possess and why? Where in culture is this value under-emphasized? Where is it overemphasized? |
| 46. What do you believe about the fall of humankind, sin, and brokenness? Are people born innately sinful or innately good? |
| 47. What are the ordinances/sacraments? Are these important in the life of the church? Why or why not? |
| 48. Integrity is that consistency between what you say you believe and stand for, and what you actually do. In what ways do you seek to be a person of integrity in your walk before God and others? |
| 49. Micah 6:8 says, “He has shown you, O man what is good, and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God.” Which part of this verse do you find most challenging to live out? Why do you think that is? |
| 50. Describe the following attributes of God: infinitude, immutability, love, justice, mercy, holiness, omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence, wisdom, and goodness. Which character traits are the easiest for you to believe, and which are the most difficult? Why? |
