Our Distinctives
Regions In Need is committed to the following distinctives:
The Gospel – The Bible makes it perfectly clear that the Gospel is the power of God for salvation to all who believe and that apart from believing the Gospel of Jesus Christ no one can be saved from the condemnation of God for their sins (Rom. 1:16). According to 1 Corinthians 15:1-8, the Gospel which, must be believed and embraced alone for salvation is that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, was raised from the dead, and is alive (as proven by all who saw Him in His post resurrection state). We are committed to the preaching of this Gospel believing that salvation from the condemnation of our sins is found only by trusting in Christ alone (Acts 4:12). We also believe and teach that true saving faith is a gift of God given through the preaching of the Gospel of Christ (Rom. 10:17) and that such a faith encompasses repentance which is required for salvation (Acts 20:21). We, without apology, understand and teach that salvation is by God’s sovereign grace alone through faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for God’s glory alone in accordance with the Scriptures alone.
We also believe the gospel has implications for every Christian believer that reach far beyond salvation. Believers are not only saved by the gospel—they are also sanctified by the gospel.
Christ-Centered Theology – We are committed to a Christo-centric theology which understands that the Scriptures, correctly understood and taught, reveal Christ and His work of effecting the Gospel (Lk. 24:44-47). Because Christ and His gospel is Who and what the Bible is all about we understand Christ and the gospel to be the ground, center, and focal point of our faith and practice. In other words, the story of the Bible is the story of Christ and the redemption of His people through His perfect life, death on the cross, and resurrection.
Whereas, we would also say that we are gospel-centered, we recognize that the gospel is the vehicle or means by which Christ comes to us. It is also the means by which God conveys His salvitic benefits to his people with the chief benefit being Christ Himself and with Christ—the whole Godhead possessed and savored through him. A gospel-centered view of salvation, sanctification, and the church is completely Christo-centric and therefore rejects man-centered worship, methods, and practices. Christ must have the pre-eminence (Col. 1:15-20).
Local Church Focus – Our intention is to assist local national churches in their missionary responsibilities, not replace or usurp them. Wherever possible Regions In Need will work with, encourage, and support local churches in gospel and training endeavors.
Train And Utilize National Trainers — From the beginning our desire was not to become dependent upon Bible teachers from the West. With this in mind we followed (and still do) the 2 Timothy 2:2 principle and invested much time and energy in finding and training a few good, godly, and faithful men who would be able to train others. Now, after several years under our belt, Mark’s teams of teachers are primarily all national believers whom he has trained, mentored, and invested in heavily. From time-to-time, Mark is accompanied by teachers from the U.S. but with more and more of the teaching load being carried by the nationals this is becoming less common.
Church Planting – Our training is specifically designed for national pastors and pastors-in-training who desire to be prepared for church planting among unengaged and unreached people groups. Most of our national trainers work among unreached people groups. In addition, we support a cadre of men and women, who having been trained by Regions In Need, have been sent out by their local churches to strategic locations to evangelize, disciple, and plant churches among unreached peoples.
Sacrificial, Costly, & Risk-Taking Ministry – Many of the people we train will be sent by their churches into hard-to-reach and hard-to-minister places for the Gospel. We do not believe the Great Commission to go into all the world to make disciples applies only to the relatively safe places in the world. We understand and recognize that in order to make much of Christ and His Gospel in places and among people who despise Him—suffering, hardship, loss, and even persecution must be expected and embrace