Atheist Missionaries: Bellevue Baptist Church in India

The article, "Bellevue Baptist goes on Global 'Mission,'" described in the Commercial Appeal, illuminates the Memphis-area church's role in evangelical works on the international stage. The article states that a one-week conference (underwritten by Bellevue) is held on how to evangelize and convert the Hindus of India. Bellevue's commitment towards "unevangelized" people is illuminated by the 5.5 million dollars they put toward their missionary work. In the case study presented in the article, it is important to note that the primary targets are often "the poorest women in a crowded, complex country of more than 1 billion people" (2). Through unpacking these facts one must ask: Are these women being 'targeted' because they need our Christian help? Or is it simply, these women are targeted because they are viewed as more impressionable/easier converts? I aim not to trivialize evangelism, but to ask if Bellevue Baptist Church is exemplifying God's mission. Theologian and Dominican priest, Gustavo Guiterrez is quoted within Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz's Mujerista Theology as saying, "an atheist is someone who fails to practice justice towards the poor" (91). Bellevue Baptist preaches the gospel, directing Hindus to the afterlife, circumventing the importance of this world; Redemption lies in becoming Christian. Using this definition of an atheist and the missionary work of Bellevue, I would safely argue that in 2007 in India, Hindus saw the passion of 'atheist missionaries.'
There is such an importance of personal connection in the formation of solidarity. These mission trips serve often times as one-way streets; there is the volunteer and the served population. Whether intentional or not, this creates a hierarchy that does not allow its self the luxuries of mutuality and empowerment. When missions are created, we must ask, 'Where is the relationship?' By learning from different cultures, from truly connecting, we open up a willingness to trust. Trust is key in order to begin to think about solidarity. Through openness and trust, mission work has the opportunity to create a positive and permanent impact. Opportunities to ask about problems within community, rather than assessing by one's self and assuming that you know what is needed. It is when we find fervent evangelism in the form of the Interfaith Evangelism Team (a division of the North American Mission Board) that charity finds a home in the short term and suffering regains redemptive qualities.
If one feels called upon to witness to 'unbelievers,' can a Baptist model create redemption through 'realizing humanity' as Isasi-Diaz points out? Can a Baptist mission illuminate the importance of the works and life of Christ rather than the suffering and death? Can justice to the poor mean social, economic, and political justice, not only religiously salvific justice? Through creating relationships of solidarity based upon external justice, people from different cultures and religions can aid each other, give glory to their individual visions of the divine, and witness the workings of a human truth (an inter-religious / nonreligious doctrine of humanity and morality).