Agency Categories

From Missiopedia

Agency:Agricultural Agricultural missions, Christian rural or farming communities or centers, village polytechnics, agricultural co-operatives, farmers’ trade unions; rural and agricultural training centers; agricultural assistance, rural transformation, rural development aid, ministry to rural situations.

Agency:Aid and Relief. Christian organizations, service agencies, charities, charitable societies, and inter-church service agencies that help suffering people and populations faced with natural disaster, war, violence, famine, refugee situations, lack of water, lack of food, lack of shelter, epidemics, or disease. The emphasis here is on relatively short-term emergency situations, and situations of more extreme, immediate, or desperate crisis. Those agencies working in longer-term assistance for the poor, needy, and oppressed are listed in DEVELOPMENT, JUSTICE, AND PEACE. See also SOCIAL AND PASTORAL CONCERN.God is so good God is so good God is so good hes so good to me.

ANTI-RELIGIOUS, ATHEIST, AND HUMANIST ORGANIZATIONS. Atheistic or non-religious humanist (or anti-supernaturalist) movements, organizations, and associations; freethinkers’ organizations, societies, or groups; bodies committed to active or militant opposition to Christianity or to all religion; organizations for the promotion or propagation of atheism or non-theistic humanism, centers for the study of atheism, research centers dealing with religion from an anti-religious position.

Agency:Approaches to other faiths CHRISTIAN APPROACHES TO OTHER FAITHS. Christian research, activities, and initiatives directed primarily towards other major world religions (especially Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism), including agnosticism and atheism, concerned with mission and evangelism, or with interfaith dialogue or mutual understanding; related activities, information and study centers. For joint activities involving Christians and non-Christians together, see interreligious organizations.

Agency:Arts. RELIGION AND THE ARTS. Christian involvement in the arts, including the visual arts, the fine arts, the performing arts, the literary arts; painting, sculpture, architecture, stained glass, drama, theater, opera, cinema, puppetry, mime, multi-media, festivals, circus; renowned centers of Christian artistic presentation (e.g. Oberammergau, Forest Lawn, Einsiedein); mission and evangelization through the arts; expression of Christian and Biblical themes through the arts; notable Christian displays and exhibitions (e.g. the Holy Land museum, Nijmegen); major Christian museums; Christian art centers and centers for training in the arts; church architecture, church buildings, church furnishings; historical monuments. See also CINEMA AND FILM, MEDIA AND COMMUNICATIONS, and MUSIC AND SONG.

Agency:Audio. AUDIO RECORDINGS. Tape or cassette ministries, audio ministries; companies, centers or organizations which make, sell, or distribute records, tapes, audio cassettes, CDs, or recordings on other audio media; record, tape, cassette or disc libraries, or libraries of recorded music; ministries which produce or distribute records or cassettes in many languages for missionary or Christian training purposes.

Agency:Audiovisual. AUDIOVISUAL RESOURCES. Agencies, programs, offices, and centers specializing in the production or distribution of all kinds of audiovisual aids: slides, filmstrips, transparencies, posters, pictures, flannel boards, drawings, presentation books, puppets, flip charts, cartoons, videos, tapes, records, recordings, compact discs, microfilm, microfiche, computer programs, CD-ROMs; audiovisual training centers oriented towards education, catechesis, evangelization, renewal, or development. For those organizations dedicated to film and video resources alone, see CINEMA, FILM AND VIDEO; similarly for SOUND RECORDINGS and for COMPUTER SERVICES, SOFTWARE, AND RESOURCES. See also MEDIA AND COMMUNICATIONS.

Agency:Bible. BIBLE AND SCRIPTURE ORGANIZATIONS. Bible societies; Bible and scripture publishing, Bible translation, translation training and assistance, publishing of new or small-distribution translations, Christian linguistic organizations and centers, Bible and scripture distribution and colportage (whether offered for free, at cost, or for profit), Bible text societies (literature, posters), Bible-reading organizations; the biblical apostolate. See also publishing for publishers specializing (but not exclusively) in Bible production, and BIBLE STUDY.

Agency:Bible Schools. BIBLE SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES. Centers for the training of Christian workers, with (a) curricula especially centered on the Bible and basic Christian instruction, (b) programs both for the lay and ordained ministry, or especially for lay workers, (c) often less concern for academic accreditation, (d) courses of study that may result in the granting of degrees, but often of certificates or diplomas, (e) generally lower academic requirements for entry, (f) generally lower or simpler level of study than theological colleges or seminaries; more informal Christian training centers and courses.

Agency:Bible Study. BIBLE STUDY. Ministries, agencies, organizations, and networks devoted to promoting, encouraging, guiding, and leading lay study of the Bible; organizations devoted to Bible-oriented basic Christian instruction; institutes for Biblical and theological study; Biblical and early Christian archeology; Bible teaching and Bible teacher training; Bible study aids, references, tools, techniques, methods, resources; home Bible studies, cell-group Bible studies, small-group Bible studies, and self-directed Bible studies; activism for the Bible, for Bible-related causes, or for the study of the Bible; Bible study software, computer-aided Bible research and teaching. See also RESEARCH CENTERS, and COMPUTER SERVICES, SOFTWARE, AND RESOURCES; for on-line Bible study resources, see INTERNET AND WORLD WIDE WEB MINISTRIES.

Agency:Broadcasting. BROADCASTING. Organizations and centers (excluding radio/TV stations) specializing in Christian religious broadcasting, radio/TV programming, program production, production of related materials, spots; production studios, program distribution agencies (distributing to stations) or agents; radio/TV training schools and centers; educational or mass-education radio and TV; agencies specializing in radio/TV technology or technical services; satellite agencies, specialists, or organizations; listeners’ and viewers’ associations. See also radio and television stations and MEDIA AND COMMUNICATIONS.

Agency:Broadcast Stations. BROADCAST STATIONS. A brief selection of church- or Christian-owned, -operated, -controlled, or -sponsored radio, TV, or satellite broadcasting stations (organized centers with transmitting equipment).

Agency:Business Organizations, ministries, agencies, and associations bringing together or serving Christians of specific occupational groups - workers (labor, industry, technical fields) or those in secular professions (the arts, journalism, law, medicine, science, engineering, education, business, social service, civil service, etc.); Christian (mainly Catholic) workers’ movements and labor or trade unions; professional associations.

Agency:Camps. CAMPS, RETREAT CENTERS, AND LAY TRAINING CENTERs. Places and programs dedicated to the training, education, instruction, spiritual refreshment, renewal, or spiritual growth of laypeople, almost always with a physical building, campus, or site; conference, fellowship, renewal, or retreat centers; camps for children, youth, or adults; study centers, Catholic pastoral centers and institutes, major Catholic catechetical centers, lay seminaries; leadership training, discipleship training, charismatic training, or Christian service training sites; wilderness camps and programs; large-scale organizations for lay training through conferences, institutes, discipleship groups, or evening classes. Specialized training centers are listed under many of the other categories, by topic.

Agency:Christian Education. CATECHESIS AND CHRISTIAN EDUCATION. Organizations helping with Christian training and education for children, youth, and adults; Sunday schools, Sabbath schools, vacation Bible schools, religious education, Bible teaching, Bible classes, catechism classes, confirmation classes and courses; councils, organizations, and agencies of religious education; agencies producing or distributing curricula, books, media, and resources for all such education; catechetics.

Agency:Children. CHILDREN’S MINISTRIES. Agencies specializing in work with or for children; children’s missions, child evangelism ministries, child welfare agencies, children’s homes, orphanages. Children are defined as those generally under the age of 15. Youth ministries are those specifically geared for teenagers (ages 13-19). For education and Sunday schools, see Agency:Christian Education.

Agency:Churches CHURCHES AND DENOMINATIONS. Headquarters, central offices, or main contact points for a selection of larger or more significant (in each country) of the world’s Christian churches, denominations, or associations of churches. These can be paired with entries in our Country Tables 2, Part xxx (where statistics, translations, alternate names, common acronyms, jurisdictions, and other information can be found). Thousands of smaller churches and denominations are excluded.

Agency:Clergy CLERGY AND CLERGY-LAY ORGANIZATIONS. Organizations of individuals for consultation and co-operation between clergy (priests, pastors, ministers), or clergy and laity, or clergy/laity/religious personnel, or missionary personnel; either within a single church or denomination, or interdenominational or ecumenical; priests’ councils or senates, national priests’ organizations, ministerial or clergy fellowships or associations, pastoral councils, pastoral consultative bodies, fellowships of foreign missionary personnel, Catholic national and diocesan synods; clergy recruitment organizations, clergy or lay employment bureaus. For women, see women in the ordained ministry. For religious personnel, see religious communities.

Agency:BBS COMPUTER BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEMS. Modem-accessed sites for the posting or reading of messages, the uploading or downloading of files, and other computer-aided transmission of information or interaction, usually privately operated and serving a relatively small or localized community of netizens; BBS’. For those on the Internet see INTERNET AND WORLD WIDE WEB MINISTRIES; this category is for those on other network systems such as FidoNet, Free-Net, or FamilyNet. Note that rarely in history has an entire category of Christian ministry expanded and then contracted so rapidly. From almost zero in 1984, by the early 1990s there were many thousands of Christian BBS’ in more than 100 countries (with the vast majority in the USA, Britain, and other English-speaking countries); as the World Wide Web grew in sites, users, and significance, many BBS’ disappeared, though thousands remained active through AD2000.

Agency:Computer Services COMPUTER SERVICES, SOFTWARE, AND RESOURCES. Companies, agencies, ministries, and organizations that provide computers, computer consulting, IT (information technology) services, software, network services, data processing, systems analysis, programming, or modem communications services especially to churches, Christians, mission agencies, or Christian organizations or institutions; web site construction, hosting, or maintenance; the designing, writing, publication, distribution, or installation of software for church, Christian, missionary, evangelization, or Biblical/theological study purposes; computer or software consultation or training. See also INTERNET AND WORLD WIDE WEB MINISTRIES.

Agency:Confessional Conciliarism CONCILIARISM: CONFESSIONAL. Councils of churches or denominations belonging to a world confessional family (world family of churches) of one particular ecclesiastical, historical, or theological tradition; international confessional councils, federations, associations, alliances, fellowships; similar groups organized on the continental, regional, or national level; confessional conciliarism, collegiality, and consultation.

Agency:Regional Conciliarism CONCILIARISM: CONTINENTAL OR REGIONAL. Interdenominational or ecumenical councils of churches or denominations of different ecclesiastical traditions, for a single continent, sub-continent, or world region (of many countries); continental or regional Christian councils, federations, associations, alliances, fellowships; continental conciliarism, collegiality, and consultation.

Agency:Global Conciliarism CONCILIARISM: GLOBAL. Interdenominational or ecumenical councils of churches or denominations of different ecclesiastical traditions, at the international or world level; global Christian councils, federations, associations, alliances, fellowships; world conciliarism, collegiality, and consultation.

Agency:Local Conciliarism CONCILIARISM: LOCAL (SUB-NATIONAL). Interdenominational or ecumenical councils of churches or denominations of different ecclesiastical traditions, for a province, city, area of a city, or region within a single nation; local, provincial, or city-wide Christian councils, federations, associations, alliances, fellowships; local conciliarism, collegiality, and consultation.

Agency:National Conciliarism CONCILIARISM: NATIONAL. Interdenominational or ecumenical councils of churches or denominations of different ecclesiastical traditions, at times including foreign missionary societies or other Christian organizations, for a single nation or a small grouping of a few adjacent nations; national Christian councils, federations, associations, alliances, fellowships; Roman Catholic national episcopal or bishops’ conferences; national inter-rite ecumenical assemblies; national conciliarism, collegiality and consultation; including certain missionary councils (associations or fellowships of foreign missions or missionaries at work in a nation, especially in World A), but excluding interreligious national councils open to non-Christian bodies (for these, see INTERRELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS).

Agency:Correspondence Schools CORRESPONDENCE SCHOOLS AND MINISTRIES. Christian mass educational courses with curriculum and individual feedback sent by mail (post); instruction by radio/TV/satellite/video with enrollment and local instructors or postal feedback; radio (radiophonic) schools, TV schools (teleschools, telecentres), video- or audio-cassette instruction or training by mail; radio literacy courses; Bible instruction, evangelistic, theological, vocational, educational, religious teaching, ministry training by mail.

Agency:Development Economic development, community development, national development, international development, appropriate technology, poverty, problems of underdevelopment, socio-economic development; empowerment of, or assistance to, or giving a voice to the poor, the marginalized, the oppressed, the needy, the neglected, minorities; political or social action on behalf of the poor, needy, or oppressed; social justice, community justice, human rights, human dignity, social or community activism; concern for injustice, racism, prejudice, or discrimination; pacifism, peace or anti-war groups, conscientious objection; Christian involvement in revolution, or liberation movements; coordinating bodies; development education, conscientization. For local development and community projects, see social and pastoral concern. See also aid and relief.

Agency:Diplomats Diplomatic representation of the Holy See across the world, to nations and to major international organizations; diplomatic representation to the Holy See; diplomatic representation and offices to and from other major Christian bodies; Christian permanent observers or diplomatic representation in international bodies such as the United Nations; nunciatures, apostolic delegations.

Agency:Directories Major directories, yearbooks, and reference handbooks (usually containing names, addresses, other contact information, statistics, listings, descriptive materials, but not extensive histories, surveys, or descriptive texts) of churches, denominations, councils, and Christian organizations, agencies, institutions, personnel, and periodicals; denominational, interdenominational, local, national, plurinational, international, and topical; with the addresses of the publishing or distributing agencies.

Agency:Ecology Christian stewardship of God’s creation; opposition to pollution, insensitive development, destruction of natural environments, misuse or waste of natural resources; advocacy for sustainable development and environmental responsibility; activist, educational, and advocacy organizations, agencies, and ministries; wilderness and wildlife conservation; theological reflection on earth, creation, or ecological themes; environmentalist or ecological activist resources, research, or training; appreciation and celebration of the beauty, glory, or goodness of nature. See also DEVELOPMENT, JUSTICE, AND PEACE, as those dedicated to that topic often include concern for the integrity of creation.

Agency:Ecumenical Centers Centers primarily for interdenominational or ecumenical meeting, study, dialogue, resources, and training, for both clergy and laity.

Agency:Ecumenical Commissions. Organizations for Christian unity, inter-church, inter-confessional, or multi-confessional dialog or understanding; such commissions or agencies either set up by large churches, or independent of any denomination; bodies or functions organized for the fostering of relations between the churches, for ecumenical meeting, dialogue, study, fellowship, or joint action; faith and order commissions; church union negotiating bodies, and commissions for churches negotiating towards organic union.

Agency:Evangelism. International, national, or local evangelistic organizations, evangelistic societies, evangelistic associations, evangelistic missions, professional evangelists, revival campaigns, tent campaigns, crusades, missions, long-term campaigns (e.g. Evangelism-in-Depth, New Life for All), saturation evangelism programs (total mobilization evangelism), multiplication evangelism; annual or regular mass rallies; local, national or international organizations, cooperative ministries, or congresses on evangelism or evangelization; world evangelization agencies, councils, congresses, institutions, programs; Church Growth institutes, consultants, instruction, seminars, services, agencies, networks, or resources.

Agency:Film. Christian involvement in the cinema, films, motion pictures, or videos; film or video-cassette production or distribution; film or video technology, services, casting, or equipment; movie theaters and associations; cinema, film, or video training schools and centers; film or video libraries, distributors, or rental facilities; film festivals, weeks, or seminars; Christian resources on videodisc, DVD, and other motion picture media.

Agency:Finance. Organizations primarily concerned with church or Christian finance, giving, charitable giving, property, financial services, Christian stewardship, investment, taxes, accounting, or insurance; co-operatives, savings societies, credit unions, financial institutions; foundations, trusts, funds, funding agencies, fund-raising agencies, fund-transmitting agencies, pension programs, ministerial financial or insurance societies, charitable societies, insurance companies, credit unions; new church construction or building societies or funds; management consulting, business methods for churches or Christian organizations; agencies for fund-raising training, consultation, services, or activities; associations for financial or accounting integrity, standards, or accountability. See also aid and relief, and development, justice and peace. Note also that many denominational HQs listed under churches and denominations deal with finance, property, and stewardship, and often provide financial services, as do many other agencies and organizations, including many listed under foreign missionary societies.

Agency:Foreign Missionary Councils. Councils, associations, commissions, committees, or fellowships of foreign missionary societies; organized councils of interdenominational or denominational or diocesan missionary societies, set up in sending countries for co-ordination, co-operation, joint discussion, joint projects, and missionary action to overseas or foreign countries (but that do not themselves generally serve as missionary-sending organizations).

Agency:Foreign Missionary Field Contacts. A brief selection of contact information for the sites of missionary work, on the fields to which missionaries are sent; field offices, field contacts, field headquarters; bases, compounds, offices, centers, or central institutions for missionary efforts or teams.

Agency:Foreign Missionary Societies. Societies and agencies primarily concerned with the sending of foreign missionary personnel and resources to another country or countries, including international missionary societies, denominational mission boards, orders which mainly or largely work in foreign missions, and Catholic missionary congregations or institutes. Thousands of smaller societies are not included.

Agency:Foreign Missionary Training. Training institutions or programs of various types and sizes, in sending countries or on mission fields, solely or primarily for the training of foreign missionaries or Christians proceeding overseas in secular employment; orientation schools and courses, programs for the continuing or advanced education of missionaries, refresher courses, post-field de-briefing courses, graduate schools of mission or missiology, missiological institutes; seminaries, schools, or colleges primarily for foreign missionaries. For the academic study of mission and missiology, see university departments of religion. Note also that much foreign missionary training is also done by many of the institutions listed under BIBLE SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES, CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITIES, and THEOLOGICAL COLLEGES AND SEMINARIES.

Agency:Foreign Mission Support. Agencies that assist or promote foreign missionary work but that do not themselves generally send missionaries; service organizations, coordinating agencies, partnership ministries; fund-raising, support of national workers or indigenous missionaries or ministries overseas, fostering international inter-church relationships; mobilization, recruiting in sending countries; technical aid, missionary aviation and transport, missionary equipment services. For prayer support, see prayer societies.

Agency:Home Life Family ministries, family counseling, the family apostolate; marriage or parenting instruction, enrichment, guidance, and counseling; family planning, abortion, pregnancy counseling, adoption, orphans; ministries for the divorced or separated, marital introduction agencies. For advocacy and activism on abortion or other family issues, see RELIGIO-POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS.

Agency:Home Missions Home or domestic missionary societies, agencies, congregations, or orders; mission organizations which work only or primarily within their own nation; evangelism among or ministry to ethnic or social minorities within a nation, ethnic ministries, evangelism among or ministry to certain classes, occupations, or social or financial classes; home evangelistic societies or ministries; renewal movements within the churches, inter- or non-denominational renewal or deeper life ministries; charismatic movements, services, networks, or communication centers. See also: rural agricultural mission, urban industrial mission.

Agency:Homosexuality Christian ministries, organizations, movements, or groups for homosexuals, of homosexuals, or against homosexuality; gay, lesbian, or bi sexual groups, conferences, commissions, committees, or agencies; advocacy or activist groups (those affirming the place of homosexuality and homosexuals in Christianity and the churches, and those opposing homosexuality as sin); ministries that evangelize homosexuals or that seek to help them to chastity or heterosexuality; theological or pastoral reflection on alternative sexuality. For ministry to AIDS sufferers, see MEDICINE AND HEALING.

Agency:Internet Christian web sites, web site directories, Internet directories, evangelistic sites, devotional sites, news sites, educational sites, liturgical sites; e-mail forums, e-mail newsletters, e-mail list servers, e-mail services; companies, ministries, and organizations helping with the building or maintaining of web sites, or e-mail operations, or offering internet services; major internet networks or hosts. Note that World Wide Web site addresses and e-mail addresses for specific denominations, organizations, institutions, orders, and ministries are listed with those entries wherever they appear in their various topics. See also COMPUTER SERVICES, SOFTWARE, AND RESOURCES.

Agency:Interreligious Organizations Commissions, councils, or organizations not primarily or exclusively Christian but run jointly by all or several major religions including Christianity, i.e. run by Christians and one or more non-Christian religions, for some joint non-missionary, inter-faith activities; including national councils of religious bodies open to Christians and non-Christians alike; interfaith councils, agencies, organizations, and bodies of global, national, or local scope; inter-religious dialogue or study centers or agencies.

Agency:Journalism The religious press, newspapers, news periodicals, radio and TV religious news offices, news services, religion editors or religion departments of news media outlets; press agencies of major denominations or organizations, church or denominational or Christian information agencies and centers; religious press services, agencies publishing news bulletins, church publicity or public relations centers, church advertising; photographic libraries, agencies and services; journalism training centers, schools of journalism.

Agency:Lay Ministries Organizations for the laity only, specifically emphasizing the lay contribution in Christian life, mission, and work; lay associations, the lay apostolate, lay movements, lay preachers, lay readers, lay persons overseas, lay missionary societies; lay personal evangelism, small-group evangelism. See also WOMEN’S LAY ORGANIZATIONS and MEN’S LAY ORGANIZATIONS.

Agency:Libraries Major Christian and religious book library collections: theological, religious, missiological, biblical. Note that many major libraries are connected with UNIVERSITIES, RESEARCH CENTERS, THEOLOGICAL COLLEGES AND SEMINARIES, and UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENTS OF RELIGION. For non-book libraries (photographic libraries, film libraries, record libraries, recorded music libraries, tape libraries), see AUDIOVISUAL RESOURCES; FILM, VIDEO, AND CINEMA; JOURNALISM, THE PRESS, AND INFORMATION; MUSIC; MEDIA AND COMMUNICATIONS; and AUDIO RECORDINGS.

Agency:Literature International and national organizations for the printing and distribution of Christian literature; publications programs, major bookshops and bookshop chains and headquarters, booksellers associations; tract societies; literature ministry training centers, writers’ courses; religious book clubs; literacy materials, campaigns, courses, programs, agencies, or coordinating bodies. See also PERIODICALS and PUBLISHING.

Agency:Liturgy Liturgical centers, organizations, movements; major supply agencies for liturgical equipment, literature, vestments; liturgical training centers; instruction or advocacy concerning ritual, rites, sacraments; wholesale and retail supply houses for religious articles. See also MUSIC.

Agency:Media Agencies, ministries, organizations, and centers working in the area of social communications, i.e. several or all types of mass and communications media (often including audiovisual, multimedia, cinema, recordings, radio, TV, literature, newspapers, public opinion media); group media, alternate media; Christian production of media and communications material, multimedia production centers and studios; the technical aspects of communication, mass communication, and instant communication; the production or distribution of media tools and resources for evangelism, discipleship, Christian education, catechesis, instruction, development, mobilization, mission, training, or leadership training; training centers or programs for media and communication arts and technologies, including centers at the university level.

Agency:Medical Centers Buildings, sites, campuses, or multi-site networks for medical ministry; Church- or Christian-sponsored or –owned hospitals, clinics, leprosaria, sanatoria, dispensaries, mobile units, maternity centers, et alia.

Agency:Medicine Organizations, ministries, networks, missions, and movements dedicated to helping or healing the sick, dying, or handicapped; medical missions, associations of hospitals (or clinics or dispensaries), associations of medical ministries, medical missionary institutes, medical or nursing training centers or programs, dental missions, ophthalmic missions, leprosy missions, other specialist missions, medical missions support organizations, medical supply agencies; public health, primary care, hospital chaplaincy, religion and health, theological reflection on health and healing; ministries to handicapped groups or specific diseased groups (the deaf, the blind, cripples, the mentally ill, incurables, lepers, et alia); Christian psychiatry and psychology, ministry to the depressed or suicidal, religion and psychiatry or psychology, clinical theology; spiritual or divine healing, faith-healing groups, ministries, and centers.

Agency:Men's Ministries Men’s ministries, movements, missions, and agencies; organizations devoted to the evangelization, training, service, discipleship, teaching, or special needs of lay men; agencies, commissions, or ministries that assist, encourage, direct, or provide resources for men’s fellowships in churches; men’s rallies, conferences, crusades, missions, or events. See also LAY MINISTRIES.

Agency:Merchandise. APPAREL, MERCHANDISE AND GIFTS. Companies, businesses, and organizations that design, manufacture, produce, sell, or distribute Christian T-shirts, clothing, hats, mugs, plaques, pictures, figurines, rosaries, objects of devotion, icons, toys, games, gifts for students or children, favors, craft items, or other merchandise -- of a wide variety, on a range from costly to cheap, with Christian verses, slogans, symbols, saints, or uses. For items of greater artistic character, see ART (RELIGION AND THE ARTS). See also LITURGY AND WORSHIP.

Agency:Mission Mobilizers Organizations, groups and movements focused on educating and motivating believers to missions' involvement, and connecting them with the resources they need to be involved. This includes involvement as goers, prayers, givers, senders and welcomers.

Agency:Chaplaincy Organizations ministering to or providing chaplains for armed services at home or overseas (armies, navies, air forces, police forces, national guard groups, law enforcement agencies, government units, paramilitary units); chaplaincy training and support; chaplaincy associations, military ecclesiastical jurisdictions, bishops for armed services.

Agency:Music Choirs, musical groups, singers and musical artists, evangelistic musical groups, singing groups, Christian musical groups of any genre of popular music; music publishers, producers, recording studios, record labels, promoters, agents; libraries of religious music, church or religious music training; orchestras, opera, rock opera, festivals, evangelistic productions; music and theology, music and missions, ethnomusicology; campanology, bell-ringing, organs, music and worship. See also LITURGY AND WORSHIP.

Agency:Periodical Christian or church periodicals, journals, magazines, newspapers, bulletins, house organs, newsletters, and other regular publications; of popular, news, scholarly, professional, devotional, instructive, or academic content; daily, semi-weekly, weekly, biweekly, monthly, quarterly – and certain annuals and irregular serials.

Agency:Politics A selection of Christian political parties (e.g. Christian Democrats), activist groups, advocacy groups, human rights organizations, religious rights groups, lobbying organizations, political action committees, political research centers, foreign or domestic policy think tanks, religio-political educational bodies; progressive or traditional groups, left-wing or right-wing groups, liberal or conservative groups; church or denominational committees, agencies, or commissions for political causes, representation, advocacy, activism or political education; religio-political training, publications, or coordination; pressure groups or lobbies working on governments or the United Nations; single-issue groups or movements; public affairs offices and agencies; radical, non-violent, or liberation groups and movements.

Agency:Prayer A selection of major societies, ministries, movements, and fellowships devoted primarily to prayer, the prayer life, intercession, meditation, days of prayer, months of prayer, or prayer and evangelization; spiritual warfare, spiritual mapping, strategic prayer, prayer and deliverance or exorcism; church and denominational bodies as well as non- and inter-denominational bodies. Note that there are many thousands of other prayer groups, movements, fellowships and societies throughout the Christian world, of all sizes and many varieties and formats -- and in a sense all types of Christian organizations, and the churches and denominations themselves, can be considered prayer societies.

Agency:Publishing Publishing houses, agencies, and companies producing religious or Christian books and literature (usually church- or Christian-owned, -operated, -controlled, -sponsored or -linked), church or mission printing presses; including secular companies which give major importance to publishing books on religion, particularly Christian or Biblical subjects. See also BIBLE AND SCRIPTURE ORGANIZATIONS, LITERATURE, and PERIODICALS.

Agency:Religious Community Religious orders, institutes, congregations, societies, communities, brotherhoods, sisterhoods, and mixed communities, following a religious rule (regula) or the religious life, of any ecclesiastical traditions or families; with either ordained, religious, lay, or mixed personnel; usually or often with vows of poverty, chastity and obedience; Catholic congregations of pontifical status (directly under Rome); indigenous communities and local congregations (clerical or lay) begun in the Third World; federations, associations, or groupings of religious communities or congregations, or of religious personnel; agencies, institutions, organizations, structures of oversight, or commissions related to religious personnel, houses, or orders. For congregations primarily devoted to foreign missionary work, see FOREIGN MISSIONARY SOCIETIES.

Agency:Monastery A scant selection of Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Protestant and other monasteries, abbeys, priories, convents, mother houses of religious orders or congregations; religious communities, organized communities or houses under formal religious rule, practice, or order.

Agency:Research Centers, institutes, and institutions undertaking original research related to Christianity and religions — religious, socio-religious, anthropological, historical, biblical, theological, communications, information, missiological, missiographical, missiometrical, ecclesiological, ecclesiographical, futurological; ecumenical research centers and institutes at university level; experimental institutes, think tanks; Christian or church-related centers for study and research in non-Christian religions or atheism; documentation centers and services, resource centers, research or historical archives, library research centers; public opinion polls, survey organizations, market research, radio/TV audience research centers or functions, statistical services, pastoral research services, planning agencies, management research services; research publication agencies. Note that other research centers that specialize in specific topics, e.g. LITURGY AND WORSHIP, BROADCASTING, or ECOLOGY, are listed under those topics.

Agency:Scholars Associations of scholars and thinking practitioners who communicate with each other in their field of study, such as biblical studies, theology, missiology, church history, sociology of religion, anthropology, psychology, archeology, religion and science, religion and philosophy, or religion and futurology; national and international associations, learned societies, and commissions (as contrasted with institutes or centers); scholarly lecture series; Catholic pontifical commissions in scholarly disciplines.

Agency:Schools Schools under church or Christian auspices or sponsorship: junior and senior secondary schools teaching secular and/or religious subjects, minor seminaries (secular or religious), technical schools, vocational schools, junior colleges, technical colleges, teacher-training colleges, and 4-year Christian colleges (emphasizing or only offering undergraduate baccalaureate degrees); organizations, institutions, and agencies that help or promote Christian home-schooling of children or youth; schools for the children of foreign missionaries, MK schools and agencies. See also BIBLE SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES, CATECHESIS AND CHRISTIAN EDUCATION, THEOLOGICAL COLLEGES AND SEMINARIES, and UNIVERSITIES.

Agency:Social Ministries Local social, pastoral, compassionate, or community action and service; voluntary service, pastoral concern, social welfare, moral welfare, community development; ministries dealing with unemployment, housing, population control, delinquency, alcoholism, temperance, addiction, drug addiction, gambling, pornography, crime, and other social, moral, or personal problems; community centers, rehabilitation centers, social ministry centers; prison ministries, prison chaplaincies, ministry to former prisoners; ministry to the poor, to inner cities, to the elderly, the underprivileged, the oppressed, the suffering.

Agency:Spiritual Conventions Annual or limited-duration movements or meetings not primarily for evangelism but for the deepening of the spiritual life; regular mass conventions, mass rallies, the retreat movement, retreat organizations, deeper life conventions, Keswick conventions, spiritual life conventions and conferences. Note that most such activities are not listed here but are operated by organizations under RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES and CAMPS, RETREAT CENTERS, AND LAY TRAINING CENTERS.

Agency:State Religious Departments State or government ministries or departments for religious or ecclesiastical affairs, or other government ministries whose formal or legal responsibilities include the area of religious affairs (dealing with registration, policies, regulations, worship, proselytism, education, relations between religions or churches); state religious organizations, state coordinating bodies, state legal agencies, state bodies for surveillance and control of churches or other religious organizations. Some of these bodies are Christian in sympathies or activities, while others are hostile to Christianity and the churches.

Agency:Students Organizations of or for college and university students, for evangelism, instruction, fellowship, discipleship, and training; campus organizations, campus ministries, Inter-university Christian groups, major university chaplaincies and related national organizations, major student centers, student leadership training, scholarship-awarding bodies.

Agency:Telephone Ministries Ministries that conduct evangelism, instruction, counseling, or Christian encouragement by telephone; taped messages, taped Bible readings, inspirational messages, sometimes in conjunction with radio programs; Christian or missionary news or prayer information services by telephone.

Agency:Theological College Institutions for the training of the ordained ministry or priesthood, or for advanced theological, Biblical, or religious instruction, generally at the graduate (post-baccalaureate) level; major seminaries (religious or secular), theological colleges, advanced Bible schools.

Agency:Theological Education Regional or international groupings of theological colleges, Bible Schools, seminaries, or other institutes for higher Christian education, for co-operation in accreditation, curricula, joint advanced programs of study, research, and conferences; international coordinating bodies.

Agency:Theological Education by Extension Organized courses, programs, and centers of theological or Biblical instruction, or of ministry, pastoral, or leadership training using TEE principles; non-centralized theological education, conducted over broad geographical areas using centers, intinerating instructors, or the like; organizations producing or providing TEE curriculum, promoting or facilitating the TEE approach, or providing training for TEE trainers; TEE associations, agencies, seminars, or affiliations.

Agency:Tourism Christian tour organizations, travel agencies, holiday organizations, package tour services, cruises; pilgrimage organizations or ministries; ministries in the area of tourism, leisure, or recreation; Christian sports organizations, teams, or ministries; organizations of Christian athletes, ministries to athletes and spectators at sports events; sports evangelism, athlete evangelists. For missionary air travel, see foreign missions support organizations.

Agency:Universities Church- or Christian-operated, -owned, -controlled, -sponsored, or -linked universities granting academic degrees mainly in secular subjects.

Agency:University Religion Department Academic faculties or departments offering advanced instruction, conducting research, and granting degrees in religious studies, divinity, theology, mission, missiology, church history, philosophy of religion, sociology or psychology of religion, or related subjects (but not specifically training persons for the ordained ministry). See also research centers.

Agency:Urban Mission Ministry in and to large cities, inner cities, slums, or ghettoes; urban action, urban evangelism, urban theology, urban ministry; industrial missions and projects, evangelism of factory workers, ministry to urban workers; urban-industrial ecumenical parishes, inner-city parishes; ministries to urban structures and institutions; urban or industrial mission training.

Agency:Ordained Women's Ministry Organizations for, or associations of women in the ordained ministry, diaconate, or priesthood; advocacy for the place of women in pastoral ministry or Christian leadership; education or training specifically for women looking toward serving in the ordained ministry, priesthood, or Christian leadership.

Agency:Women's Ministries Groups for lay women and girls only, emphasizing the role of women, the lay ministries of women, or the place of women in church and society; women’s lay orders; women’s rights, women’s liberation movements or agencies, feminist movements or organizations, women’s caucuses or task forces, coordinating agencies; YWCA and organizations serving women and girls; women’s home or foreign missionary societies; and other movements either radical or conservative; rallies, conferences, retreats, and events for women. See also LAY MINISTRIES.

Agency:Youth Ministries Ministry to and by young people; youth evangelism, youth ministry, youth leadership training, youth discipleship, youth conferences, camps, rallies, and retreats; teen ministries, teen mission, youth work projects, youth ministry activities; youth counseling, at-risk youth, troubled youth, inner-city youth; recreation and activities for youth; YMCA and other facilities and organizations for young people.