On August 8, 2020, a simple tweet by Brooks Buser, president of Radius International, ignited a firestorm of controversy: “Thank you for the prayers for Amdu people and team. By God’s grace, there are now members of that people group who are reconciled to God, who no longer have their sins counted against them.” Skeptics, atheists, and even professed Christians joined together to denounce the missionaries for having the audacity to proselytize.
This week, Scott Dunford and Alex Kocman ask Brooks: what gives evangelical Christians the right to convert peoples? Are missionaries just glorified colonists stamping out unique cultures with minimal contact with the world—and why or why not?
Brooks and Nina Buser planted a church among the Yembiyembi people in Papua New Guinea. In 2016, they returned to San Diego. Both Brooks and Nina participate in the teaching at Radius International as well as leading and traveling to spread the word about the necessity of training.