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Third Generation Thinking

by Chris Ammons

Seventeen years into my missionary career, a term came to me that described very well the process of doing missions among indigenous groups. The term is “Third Generation Thinking.” This term does not deal with family generations, but with generations of new believers. When the Gospel was proclaimed to non-believers in the not so distant past, one of two strategies was used by the missionary proclaimer. The author would like to propose another way of thinking and of approaching everything we do in missions.

The first strategy, used by those who lacked training or cultural sensitivity, was to teach exactly the way he or she had been taught. This can be called “First Generation Thinking”, because the emphasis is placed squarely upon the one doing the proclaiming, with little thought given to the learner. Using this kind of thinking, generations of oral learners have been taught to read and write, parse Greek words, and preach three point messages. If only to prove He is all powerful, God has still used many who hold to this strategy to bring indigenous people to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Works that were based on this kind of strategy, however, seldom lasted past the lifetime of the believers whom the Missionary led to Christ.

A second strategy is used by those who have recognized or been taught the need to communicate the Gospel in a way the listener can understand. This kind of thinking can be called “Second Generation Thinking”, because the emphasis is placed upon the one being taught, the second generation of believers. Most modern missionaries have used this kind of thinking. Missionaries have gone to great lengths to make sure that their message was understandable to the listener. The assumption was made that if the listener could understand the message, he or she could also teach the message to others. Less thought was given to the ability of the second generation to teach future generations. This kind of strategy often results in a two generation church. It lasts for the lifetime of the missionary’s students and their children, but usually does not extend past that third generation.

The third strategy, one that is being used by an ever-increasing number of missionaries, uses a terminology I would like to propose called “Third Generation Thinking”. In third Generation Thinking, the emphasis is not on the first generation (the teacher), it is not on the second generation (the learner), but on the future generation who will be taught by the learner. Before teaching anything, we ask questions like; “will the learner be able to teach this as effectively as I do?” and “am I doing anything that will prevent my student’s learners from being able to pass on the message just as effectively as I am passing it on?”

Third Generation Thinking is more than a strategy; it becomes a filter through which every ministry decision passes. A very wise man once told me that every team needs an “idiot”, one that does nothing but ask one question; “why are we doing this?” Third Generation Thinking involves questioning and examining everything much the same way, although with questions such as those mentioned in the previous paragraph. Third Generation Thinkers often omit good things that would help the second generation of believers, simply because they could not be reproduced by the second generation or third generations. A few examples would be fitting here.

Most missionaries, by nature, strive for excellence. When a teaching is passed down to the second generation, it is usually highly polished and done with flair. We strive to do the best we can. This is usually positive, unless it makes the student think, “He does it so well, I will never be able to teach in such an exciting way.” This can lead to discouragement, and in the long run is counterproductive. A Third Generation Thinker would say, “I am going to do this just above the level of the one I am teaching. I will give him something to reach for, but will not “dazzle” him so much as to discourage him from teaching this to his students. I want the third and forth generation of believers to be just as effective as I am.”
Second generation thinkers will teach and distribute written materials that their particular students can handle very well. The problem with this is that missionaries usually seek and find the most gifted and able people of the village. The missionary’s students, however, will have a reduced pool of “talent” from which to choose. Material that can be handled easily by the people the missionary chooses may not reproducible by the oral communicators or by the less intellectually gifted people the student will be teaching. Third Generation Thinkers will look not to the abilities of the particular people they are teaching, but rather to the abilities of the future generations of believers.

Missionaries usually have a storehouse of materials that others do not have. In one part of the Peruvian jungle, the term “missionary” is defined by the indigenous groups as “rich man”, not as “one who carries the message of Jesus.” We have great materials that can help us to lead many following Christ. Second Generation Thinkers would say, “These people understand pictures better than words. They learn very well when we use the Jesus Film, so let’s use it everywhere we go.” They may even supply a projector and the Jesus Film to a couple of their students. Third Generation Thinkers would say, “These people understand pictures better than words. Let’s see what we can come up with that will allow them to have pictures that the next 20 generations of believers can reproduce.”

The observations that Second Generation Thinkers and that Third Generation Thinkers make are often exactly the same. Both may see that a people group is made up of oral communicators. But the difference comes in when Second Generation Thinkers look for a way to make their students learn, while Third Generation Thinkers look for a way that their spiritual grandchildren will be able to communicate just as effectively as they do.

Church planting movements do not break down because of mistaken observations. They do not break down because of bad intentions of the missionaries. They often stop because we are a little too short-sighted in our strategy, not looking toward future generations.

A remedy for our own short-sightedness is to set our filters to prevent anything from passing through that cannot be reproduced several generations after we leave. This could be greatly helped by appointing one from each team to be the one who always asks “can this be reproduced by the next 10 generations of believers?”