by Steve Richardson, Pioneers USA president
No part of the global church is exempt from the Great Commission. Christ’s last words on earth were given to all disciples. He did not say to richer churches, “Just send your money. Poorer churches can provide the labor.”
Each culture that follows the Lord Jesus has a unique contribution to make in God’s redemptive plan. Just as Paul, the premier missionary, told the Ephesian church to “do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do,” believers in every society before or since are included in that, complete with preordained tasks appropriate for their DNA.
Unique Contribution. So what unique purpose do North American missionaries have in today’s global gospel enterprise? We must pioneer! Blueprints are needed to establish infrastructure on which others can build. We are good at starting things; We are entrepreneurs who see new opportunities for Kingdom advancement.
Our physical presence also provides tremendous encouragement to emerging churches and isolated workers. They value being part of an international movement that includes North Americans.
We are networkers. Our connections and resources in many cases extend beyond those of our national partners. In order to transfer available funds to the people and places of need, we need those “on the ground” to establish relationships and make the transactions.
Westerners are also missiologists. We’re hardwired to research, think, study, document and articulate. While every culture processes data differently, our linear minds plan, strategize and think systematically. We envision the “long term” more than other cultures, especially tropical cultures that never have to prepare for winter. As a result, we tend to administrate well and contribute to the health of field ministries.
We also take the stewardship of God’s resources seriously. We identify needs and connect donors with projects over an extended period of time, encouraging them with regular reports of how their funds are contributing to the work. Ethical money management is important to us.
Westerners, in general, are technologically savvy. Communications, use of English, and the creation of entry platforms are our forte. We are also respected in business, education, and finance.
These characteristics enhance our access to much of the world. Canadians can go just about anywhere, but it is hard to get a Solomon Islander or a sub-Saharan African into Turkey, for example. Racism and discrimination are rife in non-Western societies: Arabs look down on Africans; Indonesians despise Papuans. Westerners are generally respected or at least tolerated wherever they go.
Promised Blessing. It’s not, however, just what God wants us to give to the nations, but what we, in turn, receive from obedience. Our going impacts local growth. Outward focus and investment will yield expansion in the hearts, minds, and even size of our fellowships. Kingdom perspective multiplies when we’re connected to worlds outside of our own. We come closer to the biblical mandate of praying (and ultimately living and giving) as though we were the ones suffering or without access to the gospel. Such identification and personal sacrifice bring intangible reward. We are in community with Christ-followers from around the world. Knowing we’re in the race together makes us stronger. Not to mention that hearing stories from those who’ve gone out from our own doors gives us greater appreciation for the challenges and opportunities in sharing the gospel with those who have not heard it yet.
Quite simply, any church that stops sending its sons and daughters to the nations will eventually stop sending their money as well. We care more intently and will thus contribute more consistently when our own are involved.
“We lack financial resources.” The truth is evangelicals just give two percent (or less) of their income. Of that, a mere fraction goes to missions, and only a sliver of that to work among unreached peoples. There is no lack of money in the West, only a lack of vision, awareness and motivation.
“Nationals are available to fill all necessary roles overseas.” There are actually very few local believers among hundreds of unreached people groups, even among neighboring cultures. While those who do cross international boundaries find uniquely tailored opportunities to contribute to mission efforts, they also can encounter challenges with visas, employment, platforms, language, racism and culture.
“Other nationalities are better at cross-cultural work than North Americans.” This is often the case, but not always. Koreans, Chinese and Japanese, for example, tend to encounter greater cross-cultural challenges than Westerners. We come from a multi-cultural society. Not all believers do.
“The unreached love and accept ‘near-by’ cultures more than distant, Western cultures.” On the contrary, Sunnis may not appreciate nearby Shiites; Bosnian Muslims may not accept Serbs; but they may extend open arms to a Christian from Australia.
“We are sending more workers than needed from the West.” The reality is, given the numbers of believers in the West and our financial capacity, we actually send very few workers. The post-World War II “great generation” is retiring in large numbers. Our piece in the global pie is shrinking. While this reflects positive developments in some respects, it should be cause for concern if our churches lose the desire to send missionaries before the race is over.
The Priority? Sending our “sons” and sending our money are both an essential part of the big picture for the church in the West. If one must take priority, I would choose the sending of our own flesh and blood, because the money will naturally flow if we are faithful in doing that. But we should not have to choose. Both are critical.
