PANORAMA
What is Panorama?
Panorama is a web-based missions training resource for local churches that prepares members of the congregation to witness across cultures in global or local contexts. Covering more than 30 essential topics relevant to cross-cultural service, the Panorama learning experience is intended to be utilized by groups of individuals learning in community with one another in the local church context. Although it is designed for those who will be living out their service in another nation, the holistic focus on the life and skill of the cross-cultural witness is just as relevant among unreached ethnic groups and subcultures in the local (U.S. or North American) community context. The local church is designed by Christ to be the formative and accountable base for those who go out as witnesses.
What is the benefit of church-based training?
Spiritual formation and discipleship are God’s expectation of the local church. But imagine with us that the local church also becomes equally as skilled in missional formation! The church of the 21st century is submerged in a global culture that is distinctly different from any other point in history. Not only are the members of our congregation working and traveling across the world for many reasons – business, military service, education, employment, and tourism - they are additionally connected via internet and social media to individuals and groups in cultures closed to the gospel. One must only cross the street or the room to encounter people and cultures that need the gospel. It is the role and responsibility of the 21st century church to prepare her people to competently cross cultures with the gospel. In the past it has been assumed that missionary calling and skills were intended for a select few who were extracted from the body, sent to a training school to obtain the skills to witness and live cross-culturally, and be commissioned for service. But our churches are filled with smart eager learners whose calling is to be prepared with the spiritual, relational, and functional skills to share the gospel with those who have never heard. In the local church context, this formation takes place with those who know us best and can hold us most accountable. The community of the church has again become the formative place for missions! Not only can we prepare and send our people, but by maintaining the strong and accountable relationship between church and worker, the church becomes highly engaged in strategic global witness!
How does my church access Panorama?
The Panorama learning experience is to be led in the local church by trained Facilitators. So, your first step is to contact Restore Hope to schedule a Facilitator Training workshop. We suggest that your church send a minimum of two persons to a Facilitator Training event. This full day of training will prepare the facilitator to facilitate the community learning process in your church. Once the facilitator receives the certificate of training, your church will be ready to utilize the Panorama training resources. To register for a Facilitator Training Workshop, contact emily.king@restorehopetoday.org.
If you have online access you can view the book here: PANORAMA Online Book
