We believe there is a gap in professional and lay-level Christian training. Jesus ended the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 7:24-27) by saying that teaching without doing is foolishness and a poor foundation for life. The amount of church and seminary resources devoted to doing is greatly out of balance with efforts toward teaching. According to Jesus: hearing + doing = wisdom (H+D=W) and hearing - doing = foolishness (H-D=F). We call this Jesus Math.

We believe a field and competency-based model of missions training can be a healthy part of the solution. We believe the local harvest (seminary students and church goers) is ripe for mobilization and training.

Dallas Missions Institute (DMI) is dedicated to a competency-based, field-first model of research, education, and training with the goal of promoting healing, rest, and adventure (missionary lifestyle) as the normal Christian experience. The core of DMI is competency-based, field-first, cohort-driven training programs that foster personal transformation by more deeply knowing and experiencing our identity in Jesus (healing and rest) alongside a deeper understanding and experience of our purpose (adventure). 

We believe that cultivating a healthy balance between teaching and doing is a critical catalyst for helping people say “yes” to the adventure Jesus created them for and becoming the hero he made them to be.

Dr. Brian Bain is the founder of DMI and has served in South Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and China. He taught missions at Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) for nine years and led the missions department for four. His professional training includes a Doctor of Intercultural Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary and a Master of Theology and Master of Counseling from DTS.

DMI Board includes Dr. Ken Cochrum (Senior VP of Leadership Development at East-West), Rusty Kennedy (Director at Leavener Ministries), and Ross Ramsey (Director of Church Relations at e3 Partners).

Healing: And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” - Luke 9:23

Rest: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” - Matthew 11:28

Adventure: “So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also, who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation...” - Romans 1:15–16

Engage the local harvest, applying core missionary strategy: enter→evangelize→disciple→start churches.

Provide lay and seminary-level training and education for deeply experiencing and walking with Jesus and eagerly proclaiming the gospel in any context.

Produce resources for shepherding and empowering the Body of Christ for mission and multiplication.

Formal (Four-course program offered for credit through graduate and undergraduate partners):

• Biblical Multiplication: Theology and Practice (3 hrs) - God’s mission has always been built on multiplication, from Adam to Abraham to the Great Commission of Jesus. This course studies the mission of God as revealed in Scripture and the role of the believer in it from both biblical theology and practical levels. Emphasis is placed on beginning a new gospel work.
• Communicating Across Cultures (3 hrs) - Communication and culture can both be deeply complex. Learn to understand both in order to simplify the effective communication of the gospel with any person in any context. Emphasis is placed on entering a new context and laying foundations for a new gospel work.
• Spiritual Warfare, Suffering, and Perseverance in Mission (3 hrs) - The Bible reveals that followers of Christ have an enemy and that everyone who desires to follow Jesus will face persecution. Develop a biblical theology of spiritual warfare with a special focus on the spiritual and cultural context of the Bible. Learn practical methods and strategies for engaging and persevering through suffering and persecution.
• Advancing the Gospel: Apostolic Strategy and Practice (3 hrs) - This capstone course integrates prior learning to focus on the advancement and establishment of gospel work in new and existing contexts. Drawing on the New Testament pattern of apostolic ministry, students will develop strategies for strengthening, expanding, and multiplying mission efforts. Emphasis is placed on leadership, sustainability, and long-term gospel impact.

Informal (Four-part program):

• The Bible as Relevant and Transformative
• Fellowship with God and Walking with the Spirit
• Creating and Shaping Culture
• Becoming the Hero God Made You to Be

Each program is designed to equip every student to actively live a missionary lifestyle in any context beginning with their own. The informal program is designed for people wanting to enter into the adventure of walking with Jesus through a missionary lifestyle while staying in their local community and maintaining their current vocation. The formal program is for people seeking formal credit toward a degree while pursuing professional ministry service domestically or internationally.