Utumishi Blog

First Things First

Andy communicates clearly that Mission belongs to the church. Missionaries are sent out by the church. And at the very least it is expected that missionaries are accountable to the church. There is no mission if there is no Church. Jesus did not send out missionaries but sent out the church to go and reach the ends of the earth with the message of the Gospel. The church, therefore, has a responsibility to help its members pray and support those who are reaching the unreached. We should always remember that the Church is a central player in the work of missions.

Andy further says that we ought not to focus on immediate results but always be reminded that patient endurance is of paramount importance in Missions. We are to leave the results of our work to God and know that both time and results are his. He is in charge of all time, efforts, and results of mission endeavors. Andy powerfully stands firm in saying that we cannot use our numbers as the only measure for mission success.

Short Term Trips

In his observation, small teams have become the ‘new’ practice where members of a church or small group take time off their normal schedules with the backing of their churches to travel long or short distances to go and get an experience of what the field looks like. These are not entirely bad but can have potentially harmful effects on the missionaries on the ground, as well as the people to whom the always available missionaries minister. Short-termers may have great stories, pictures, and even a list of decisions for Christ but the overall effect of their trip falls short of the Gospel expectation on Missions.

He mentions that the said trips can make the participants feel good for what they did and that creates a new problem where the trip is so much not for the Gospel but the experience and a boost on self-esteem. In this case, then it will be difficult to encourage support for a long-term missionary who hardly comes home when we can see the joy radiating from short-termers who went out for a week and had return tickets at their time of departure. I think this is a good argument to help us prepare well for such trips as we aim to make the Gospel central even for such trips. He advises that it would be far better if the missionaries themselves welcome short-termers and determined what they would participate in to help spur the Gospel agenda of missions.

Long Term Commitment

It is with great caution that he also points out the danger of having pastors, elders, and sending agency leaders imposing quick solutions, and making decisions when they visit the field. While it is okay to offer a piece of our mind it doesn’t mean that all we know would have to be applied in a field where we do not work and stay throughout the year. This is a wonderful call for us to take contextualization into perspective and to sensitively engage input from others before we respond to the urge of wanting to be problem solvers.

One area where we in Africa are trying to address is the entry point for small churches when it comes to being involved in global missions. The book has some wonderful insights on how every congregational size can participate. He suggests that research and prayer can be the first steps. Where the church gets information about possible fields and begins to pray for those fields. It will especially remain a great deal if the leaders are fully convinced that missions are important and that will trickle down to the members. An inversion to this flow would make it very hard for a congregation to participate in missions.

The Question of Support

Andy gives helpful parameters to help measure who qualifies for support. In my opinion, the criteria suggested are great but it would also easily lock out many who think or might have a different view or perspective of their calling in missions compared to his church’s view. I was drawn back by learning that a time came and some missionaries had to be informed about a huge change in their lives after a decision came about that their support would be withdrawn. What would happen to such missionaries and their families? Even with a 3-year notice, such a change would have lasting effects on the hearts of the missionaries and the people they were reaching out to.

There’s no cause for alarm there. We know it gets to a point where hard decisions need to be taken and communicated. The case cited is an example of a well-handled situation in my opinion. But it would be important to prepare missionaries on the field for when such a scenario would occur in our varied contexts. It is easy to prepare for the good news we hope to receive from the fields where we send workers, and this is great. However, it is important to marshal up strength if unforeseen changes will need to happen in our areas.

Recommendation

Andy Johnson has worked on a wonderful book addressing this matter of Missions. All the steps in the Missionary lifecycle have been well captured and the manner of writing is fit for any reader who wants or is already playing a part in missions. He has an unrelenting pastoral counsel over malpractices and even cites examples of how some ways of doing things didn’t work in his experience. The book’s content is surely thought-provoking and action stimulating to see that we engage in missions while being true to the scriptures the very words that will bring about salvation for men. I would recommend the book to every person who has come to the saving grace of Christ. These are the very people who have all it takes to participate in missions. I dare say that they are expected to do so!

The article was written by Stanley Wandeto

Director for Missions, iServe Africa.

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