RCA Missionary Communications: Message, Purpose & Audience
This paper analyzes the missionary communications of Jeremy and Susan Beebout, operating under the Reformed Church in America (RCA) Global Mission program. Drawing on ten letters and five videos as primary sources, the paper examines historical context, messaging, purpose, and intended audience. It situates the RCA's 233-year missionary history within the broader framework of colonialism and post-colonial mission work, explores the evangelical and community development goals embedded in the Beebouts' Niger-focused projects, and identifies colonialist assumptions present in the communications. The paper concludes that these materials are primarily fundraising tools aimed at an American evangelical donor base.
- Historical Context: RCA's 233-year missionary history and colonial ties
- Message and Framing: Evangelical goals, cultural dynamics, and colonialist assumptions
- Purpose of Communications: Fundraising, alliance-building, and donor persuasion
- Intended Audience: American evangelical donors as primary readership
- References: Primary sources: Beebout letters and RCA website
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What makes this paper effective
- It grounds its critique in direct quotations from primary source letters, lending concrete textual evidence to broader analytical claims about colonial thinking and evangelical messaging.
- The paper moves efficiently through four distinct analytical lenses — context, message, purpose, and audience — keeping each section focused and clearly bounded.
- It balances descriptive summary with critical interpretation, noting, for example, the absence of financial transparency alongside the Beebouts' detailed project updates.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates primary source analysis applied to organizational communications. By treating missionary letters and videos as texts to be interrogated rather than simply summarized, the author uncovers embedded ideological assumptions — such as the colonialist belief in cultural and religious superiority — that would be invisible in a purely descriptive reading. This technique is particularly effective for media and communications analysis tasks.
Structure breakdown
The paper is organized into four short analytical sections preceded by a historical framing section. "Historical Context" situates the RCA within colonialism. "Message and Framing" is the longest section, exploring content, cultural dynamics, and ideological critique. "Purpose" pivots to rhetorical function — fundraising and alliance-building. "Audience" closes the body with a tight identification of the target readership. The structure mirrors a standard media/communications analysis framework: context → content → intent → audience.
Historical Context
The Reformed Church in America (RCA) is a contemporary missionary organization that does not offer a clear organizational history on its public-facing materials. However, the RCA Global Mission page on the organization's website claims 233 years of missionary work ("RCA Global Mission," 2018). The RCA and its missionary work can also be viewed within the overall historical context of colonialism and the evolution of post-colonial missionary work. One of the letters refers to the Beebouts' visit to a former slave trade port in Benin, as the authors reflect on the inhumanity of slavery without mentioning the complicity of Christians in the institution of slavery in the United States.
Message and Framing
A collection of videos and letters provides primary source data about the nature of Jeremy and Susan Beebout's missions within the RCA. The most recently highlighted mission is the partnership with the Evangelical Church of the Republic of Niger (EERN). An analysis of the most recent ten letters and five videos shows that the Beebout projects are focused on Niger, delivering a multitude of services within the framework of missionary activity. The primary message is that economic and social development can occur within a Christian framework, but also requires the formation of strategic partnerships with local Christian churches and international medical and development organizations that share common values. The letters also indicate that the overarching goal of the RCA is evangelical, with ancillary goals relating to community development.
One of the more illuminating letters explains the cultural differences that affect service delivery, particularly in the realm of health attitudes and beliefs. "As Americans we tend to use reason and are data-driven; Nigeriens determine the value of what is being taught by their relationship with the teacher" (Beebout 1). Beebout continues to explain how gender and age signify social status, and that an elder male in the village is perceived as more credible in the community than a young white female. The letters therefore offer candid insight into the normative framework of Nigerien society and reveal the intersections between race, class, gender, and social power.
The Beebouts exhibit classical colonialist thinking in that they believe in the superiority of their religion, customs, and culture. This pattern is well-documented in broader scholarship on Christian missions in Africa. Based on the letters and videos, the Beebouts and their fellow RCA missionaries are resolute that a Christian worldview is critical to bringing about the changes they believe can promote social justice. Susan Beebout is also surprised to learn that locals "revert to their old ways of practicing medicine," appearing shocked rather than demonstrating an understanding of the significance of indigenous health beliefs and their underlying sociological and psychological components.
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