Centre for Cross-Cultural Mission
SMBC was established in 1916 by Charles Benson Barnett, a returned missionary of the China Inland Mission. His heart was to train people for Christian service in Australia and overseas. Cross-cultural mission has been in the very DNA of SMBC ever since.
Today the College has a strong reputation for mission expertise and experience. SMBC graduates are serving in countries across the globe in a vast variety of ministries and with a wide range of mission organisations.
The SMBC Centre for Cross-Cultural Mission strengthens the global focus of the training offered at SMBC and responds to the increasingly multicultural context of ministry in Australia.
At the core of the Centre is the belief that it is God’s mission to reach every tribe, nation and language with his gospel – and his people are called and privileged to participate in it.
The SMBC Centre for Cross-Cultural Mission includes the following...
On staff missiologists
The SMBC missions faculty consists of three full-time missiologists who have a broad range of cross-cultural experience – Dr Ed Grudier, Dr Tim Silberman and Jonathan James. However, it’s not just the missions lecturers that bring cross-cultural experience to SMBC – many of the other lecturers and staff have also served across the world in missions. Consequently, a conviction and passion for mission is inherent in all aspects of the College’s curriculum.
Mission units in all courses
SMBC offers mission units in all courses and at all levels – undergraduate and postgraduate. These units address the practical challenges of cross-cultural ministry in the light of the Bible and missions theory. Our two-year full-time Associate Degree in Ministry is especially designed to maximise the combination of Bible and missions content.
‘In Context’ Cross-Cultural Ministry Exposure
This program offers full-time students the option of living among people from very different cultures than their own. Groups of students are offered accommodation in various highly multicultural suburbs surrounding the college where they learn how to work as a team in getting to know people and sharing their lives and the gospel with them. The questions and issues that emerge from their interactions with neighbours helps to drive their learning in missions classes where they can reflect on them in the light of the Scriptures and input from lecturers.
College mission teams
All full-time students at SMBC become part of an annual College mission team, led by a member of faculty. Mission teams travel to different parts of Australia as well as overseas – for example, India, Nepal, Greece, Fiji, the Middle East and South East Asian countries.
Weekly missions sessions
All full-time students attend weekly sessions where missionaries present workshops, run discussion groups and explore a range of current missions topics. This also gives opportunity for them to enjoy informal interaction with students over morning tea and lunch.
Mission Spots in Principal's Hour
During each semester, at Principal's Hour, several Mission Spots are presented to highlight the mission needs of the world. Here's an example:
Missionary in Residence
Every year a missionary (single, couple or family) on home assignment serves as the full-time Missionary in Residence. They mentor and guide students working through the process of investigating and moving towards cross-cultural missionary service.
In 2024 we have the privilege of having Yakim and Grace and their family living and ministering amongst us. Yakim and Grace and their three children were sent by Operation Mobilisation (OM) to live amongst an unreached people group in East Africa for over 10 years. In a city where there were no other foreign witnesses to Jesus (and no more than two or three local believers), they had the joy of leading a multicultural and multi-agency team. They learned about their roles in challenging local perceptions and encouraging local believers in a context that is still hostile to the Gospel. Prayer has been a primary focus of their team as they have sought to be Jesus' ambassadors in their neighbourhood, in the educational and health settings, and beyond.
Visiting missionaries
Current missionaries from a range of agencies are invited to live on campus for a week at a time. This happens most weeks of the academic year, thus enabling our students to learn ‘first hand’ about the variety of missionary service, the needs of the world and the challenges of cross-cultural ministry. These visiting missionaries are also encouraged to take part in our community life.
Global Missions Conference
Every second year the Centre hosts a Global Missions Conference with expert international and local missiologists. The aim is to impart, or strengthen, a passion for world mission, plus provide practical insights concerning how to do the work of mission, both as senders and goers.
Mission organisations
Strong relationships are maintained between SMBC and a wide range of mission agencies and ministries. These relationships are encouraged in a number of ways, including a regular breakfast together to discuss further opportunities for partnership between the College and the missions community, and to collect feedback on the effectiveness of cross-cultural preparation of SMBC’s students.
SMBC Master of Intercultural Studies
New to SMBC (from 2019) is the Master of Intercultural Studies (MICS). This postgraduate course is a unique and completely online offering with a focus on the specialised knowledge and research skills needed for expert intercultural ministry practice.
This postgraduate course is unique with the ability to take units either fully online, in Hybrid mode (joining an on-campus unit via Zoom), or on-campus. The fully online units provide a focus on the specialised knowledge and research skills needed for expert intercultural ministry practice.
The MICS was also designed to facilitate missionaries to increase their missiological expertise without requiring them to leave their place of ministry for extended periods of study and to be able to study while on home assignment. Learn more here
The Angelina Noble Centre
SMBC recognises the value of high quality missiological research in our commitment to understanding and addressing the challenges of cross-cultural ministry in and beyond Australia. The Angelina Noble Centre (ANC) is a much-valued partner in this task as they bring together women scholar practitioners in cross-cultural missions from all over the world.
SMBC and the ANC have many shared goals and work together to provide a supportive environment for the next generation of women missions’ scholars to flourish. A number of the SMBC faculty and adjunct faculty involved in the delivery of master’s level units are members of the ANC. ANC mentors are also available to supervise masters and doctoral research through SMBC and ANC members are valued members of the SMBC research community.
Visit the ANC website to learn more
If you are interested in pursuing research with ANC mentors through SMBC, contact Geoff Harper, SMBC’s Director of Research, here
Crossing Cultures In Your Community
Australian communities are bursting with people who come from the four corners of the world and have brought their culture and way of life with them. Many have never heard the name of Jesus and come from places where Christian ministry is restricted. They live alongside us, their children go to school with ours, they shop in the same places we do, and they walk past our churches.
Leaving their previous way of life, many are open to new ideas in a way they have never been before. We have a wonderful God-given opportunity to reach out to them with God’s love and His message of salvation.
But how do we reach out to them? How can we build bridges to them? How can we explain the gospel message in a way they will understand and how can we answer their questions in a way that makes sense to them?
Cultural Intelligence is the ability to understand and interact appropriately in cross-cultural settings. It includes knowledge, skills and attitudes that enable deep trusting relationships where the gospel can be shared in a way that is compelling.
Cultural Intelligence can be learned and developed. 'Crossing Cultures In Your Community' brings SMBC's cross-cultural expertise to your church or organisation. We have tailored training programs to equip leaders and members to reach out to their community.
Your tailored program could include the following:
- Walking with local church leaders in researching the local community and building a ministry strategy;
- Training for leaders and members in Cultural Intelligence;
- Cultural Intelligence assessment and feedback for ministry teams;
- Reviewing the effectiveness of current cross-cultural ministries;
- Consulting and advising for cross-cultural ministry.
For more information email us here
For further information regarding the SMBC Centre for Cross-Cultural Mission please contact us here
