On Supporting a Missionary
Why is the 20 - 40 something crowd in our church community just not into Missions? Is this typical? Or is our place of worship an anomaly in the grander scheme of Christian things? Many of our young families support Operation Christmas Child by frantically packing boxes of little surprises for underprivileged kids in third-world countries. But when it comes to attending a Missions event to hear a Missionary couple share their exciting stories in some foreign country, the crowd is visibly gray-haired.
Is the lack of interest in the area of evangelical missions due to larger commitments to local ministries? Is the idea of travelling overseas to share the message of Christ an undesirable concept since we live in a society that touts tolerance as an axiom, so much so, that it becomes politically incorrect to promote Jesus as the Only Way? Has promoting the social gospel in foreign settings (e.g. building wells, feeding the hungry, etc.) trumped the act of actually speaking the life changing message of Christ (where, ideally, both parts should be in balance). Are we so far removed from the initial faith conversions of our ancestors that it is difficult to relate to stories of changed destinies of people groups? Do we believe foreign missionaries are just not necessary, especially with globalization, Internet, and native church leaders, which means our churches are wasting money in sending a missionary from here to there? Is our younger generation just too plain busy attending school, building careers, and raising kids that we truly do not have enough time to invest in World Missions? Or is it simply a matter of entertainment and abstraction (i.e. it's boring or it's hard to get behind someone or some project "out there").
I am not saying that every single person who claims to follow Jesus Christ as his or her Lord and Saviour should be waving the banners of celebration at a Missions event. Some of us are definitely called to be promoters of Christ's Gospel here in North America. And I do believe in stages of life, when we can become quite preoccupied with the pressures of education and child rearing that it becomes difficult to look beyond the now to the future, let alone to the future of people seeking the truth in other countries.
But, there comes a point when some of us, or maybe many of us, are just making excuses. Let's face it, the ones who support missions, overseas missions that is, are getting old. And they will die, leaving a legacy of faith behind them. Who will take up the banner then? Who will stand behind these brave, courageous Missionaries who choose to leave the comforts of North America and their families to traverse oceans and lands to share their life and faith and fears and joys with a group of living, breathing people without hope? Who will? And who will go and join them? And before you tell me it isn't necessary anymore, I assure you, it is. Yes, national church leaders are awesome and the best source for contextualizing the Gospel within an existing cultural framework. Yes, globalization makes it easier to access the Bible anywhere. But somebody needs to go and plant the church that grows the leader to eventually take over.
We are so ridiculously blessed in this country with material goods, so much so that we (yes, even me) budget for entertainment, coffee runs, and spa treatments (after all, our society says, we deserve it). We are drenched in Christian resources, inundated with the latest slick Bible Study video series, and have money to spend on Christian novels about Amish romances while believers in countries hostile to the Gospel are ripping up the one Bible they have into sections so different churches can read and study something.
Is it just me, or is something wrong with this picture?
So, dear reader of mine, the very precious few audience members that ever so faithfully stop to read my broken words, I encourage you, if you stand on the fence of supporting a Missionary, step over and get involved. Somehow. It may change your life. And the life of someone else.
Is the lack of interest in the area of evangelical missions due to larger commitments to local ministries? Is the idea of travelling overseas to share the message of Christ an undesirable concept since we live in a society that touts tolerance as an axiom, so much so, that it becomes politically incorrect to promote Jesus as the Only Way? Has promoting the social gospel in foreign settings (e.g. building wells, feeding the hungry, etc.) trumped the act of actually speaking the life changing message of Christ (where, ideally, both parts should be in balance). Are we so far removed from the initial faith conversions of our ancestors that it is difficult to relate to stories of changed destinies of people groups? Do we believe foreign missionaries are just not necessary, especially with globalization, Internet, and native church leaders, which means our churches are wasting money in sending a missionary from here to there? Is our younger generation just too plain busy attending school, building careers, and raising kids that we truly do not have enough time to invest in World Missions? Or is it simply a matter of entertainment and abstraction (i.e. it's boring or it's hard to get behind someone or some project "out there").
I am not saying that every single person who claims to follow Jesus Christ as his or her Lord and Saviour should be waving the banners of celebration at a Missions event. Some of us are definitely called to be promoters of Christ's Gospel here in North America. And I do believe in stages of life, when we can become quite preoccupied with the pressures of education and child rearing that it becomes difficult to look beyond the now to the future, let alone to the future of people seeking the truth in other countries.
But, there comes a point when some of us, or maybe many of us, are just making excuses. Let's face it, the ones who support missions, overseas missions that is, are getting old. And they will die, leaving a legacy of faith behind them. Who will take up the banner then? Who will stand behind these brave, courageous Missionaries who choose to leave the comforts of North America and their families to traverse oceans and lands to share their life and faith and fears and joys with a group of living, breathing people without hope? Who will? And who will go and join them? And before you tell me it isn't necessary anymore, I assure you, it is. Yes, national church leaders are awesome and the best source for contextualizing the Gospel within an existing cultural framework. Yes, globalization makes it easier to access the Bible anywhere. But somebody needs to go and plant the church that grows the leader to eventually take over.
We are so ridiculously blessed in this country with material goods, so much so that we (yes, even me) budget for entertainment, coffee runs, and spa treatments (after all, our society says, we deserve it). We are drenched in Christian resources, inundated with the latest slick Bible Study video series, and have money to spend on Christian novels about Amish romances while believers in countries hostile to the Gospel are ripping up the one Bible they have into sections so different churches can read and study something.
Is it just me, or is something wrong with this picture?
So, dear reader of mine, the very precious few audience members that ever so faithfully stop to read my broken words, I encourage you, if you stand on the fence of supporting a Missionary, step over and get involved. Somehow. It may change your life. And the life of someone else.