Mission's Paradigm Shift

The Undoing of Modern Day Missions

Ever since Christ uttered His famous words of “Go ye into all he world and preach the gospel”, the hearts of young boys and girls have been stirred to dream of foreign cultures, different worlds and people who don’t know Jesus. Nothing in the hearts of all that hear this message has changed. There still exists a world to be reached and those that not only dream of reaching it, but dare to actually go; those that consider what has come to be known as the “Great Commission” still a valid undertaking in life. Yet, some things have changed. And those changes are what pose the greatest challenge and threat to missions, as we have always known it.

There has recently been a paradigm shift in the strategies for winning those of foreign countries. Rather than those “called” going, churches are more apt and even encouraged to invest in the locals to reach their own people. An idea noble and valid, yet fallible. Noble when looking at a particular people and seeing them as capable to win and disciple their own. And, considering the fact that you can support a local for about 10% of what you could support a “foreign missionary”, the whole deal seems to make good sense, dollars and cents. Some of the larger mission organizations are today making this shift and slowly phasing out what once was an honored and respected profession. Modern day missionaries are somewhat relics in the grand scheme of things and greatly misunderstood, seen as adventure seekers and wanderers. And in light of the new revelation, “we really don’t need to send foreigners to go and do what the locals can do”; missionaries really find themselves in a very precarious position. But, can the locals truly do what a foreign missionary does? And if so, perhaps Jesus was wrong in saying, “Go”. Perhaps He just should have said, “Stay”.

Modern day missionaries’ biggest challenges are on these fronts. It is not with the foreign people or cultures, but with those staying. The battle of trying to help people understand just what it is that they do and why. Modern day missionaries with access to the internet and many more resources than of old are at times scoffed at and not considered “real missionaries” because they have toilet paper and a website, while the old missionaries only had leaves and a pencil and paper. What is hard to make people understand is that the issue is not about toilet paper or “modern day comforts” as some would see it, but the realization that anyone who gives up his culture, family and life to go where God asks him to is never easy, even with toilet paper.

Part of the problem with these misunderstandings is a result of the insurgence of “mission’s organizations” that many times appear to be nothing more than a Christian tourist agency and a refuge for those that don’t want to work. Thus labeling many missionaries with stereotypes that are anything less than admirable. All of this coupled with the paradigm shift of “local missionaries” has made the modern day missionary somewhat of a dying breed, fighting for his survival. Something that I believe the church will one day repent of.

What is forgotten is the fact that Jesus said to “GO”. And I do not believe that He misspoke himself. There is something very important in the going, the giving up of all, that God honors and that the locals respect. Missions should never become a financial battleground, a simple business decision. I do not believe that 10 locals can do what one foreigner can. No, I do not believe that 100 locals can do what one foreigner can, as I believe that one who is called has something to offer that that no one in the local culture has, and for that very reason was called. If the people already have everything, then there is no need to go, that we can agree on. Certainly missions have changed with the times, as has everything. But, the need for missionaries, those who “GO”, has not changed.

Being a foreign missionary and public speaker, I am very well aware that the one of the biggest draws to have me speak at a conference is not that I am some great orator, but, that I am a foreigner, someone who gave up everything in a first world country, not to just come and live among them, but to come and become one of them. And that speaks louder to a native than any polished local sermon, for this is something that goes beyond their sense of reason, something that touches them in the deepest part of their heart, the realm of love. And with that love and respect comes authority. It is through that authority that we speak and see lives changed. It is something that no local possesses and something that we use to reach them and raise them up to carry on the work. We all have our roles to be played. The seed exists without the sun or the rain, but the growth, the budding, comes as a result of the sun and the rain. It would be foolish to put all of our money into the purchasing of seeds and dispense the work of the sun and the rain. Thus is it is with modern day missions.

“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news?” I believe that, as do all whose lives have been touched in one way or another by a foreign missionary.

The world more than ever needs foreign missionaries, not less.