“What is a church?
That was the question I feared most. He was 28 years old and had been promoted from missionary team leader to regional director. He was sitting at our monthly meeting of leaders, along with 10 other team leaders representing more than 80 full-time supported missionaries, who served in the 10/40 window. [1] Our discussions were supposed to be motivating and encouraging, and they often have been. We talk about evangelism and successful strategy, the growth of disciples and the potential for multiplication in the future. But then someone asks THIS question, or a similar question. goal of establishing churches? Are we doing that? And, by the way, do we really agree on what a church is?
- I was afraid of the question because I didn’t know the answer.
- Worse.
- He knew through repeated fruitless arguments that no one in the room knew the answer.
- We didn’t know how to define a church.
- Let alone a good or healthy one.
- What was the difference between a church and a meeting of 25 students on a college campus?What was the difference between a church and 30 business professionals gathered for regular Bible study?.
It was not just an academic subject for us, by the grace of God, we have witnessed that God is producing wonderful fruits through our work, so while we had these discussions, we knew that believers would gather the same week. The meetings were full of people to whom we had made disciples, many of whom they expected us to be addressed. People quickly found out we didn’t have much to offer.
Since I was nineteen, when I first entered the mission, I have seen and heard the same repeated history between organizations and regions. Western missionaries often have little to say about the church, at least not with biblical clarity. Evangelicals, fortunately, the gospel in general remains clear, the inerantance of Scripture is generally affirmed, and the importance of theology is generally recognized. But what about the church?
Ask the missionaries if they can explain how their work relates to the task of establishing churches, and will have fewer answers than you think. Ask them how they define the church and what a healthy church is like, and you’ll get even fewer answers.
The reality is that when you send missionaries, support them, and join others in supporting them, you export a church doctrine. Over the years, I have come to the conclusion that we often export bad ecclesiology.
And the results in the mission field can be tragic
There’s probably a lot of things that contribute to the problem, I suggest three.
Church leaders are able enough to deal with the internal problems of their own church; therefore, supervising and mobilizing missionaries often seems to exceed their ability or experience.
It is true that there are many advantages to finding missionary agencies that meet these needs, but the problem with this is that churches often overestimate what a missionary agency that sends can do. For example, no application process can replace the evaluation and qualification of a donation from a person with regular participation in the life of a local church. This type of research should start early in the process and not be a quick checklist when a church reference form is suddenly required.
Shipping agencies are created with a particular ministerial accent, or create one as they develop. Some decide to focus on evangelization within a specific segment of the population, such as students or professionals. Other groups focus on training leaders in a given theological program. others focus on establishing new churches in a particular region or among a specific village.
What seems strange in these scenarios is that the agency evaluates correctly, considering in the long run the extent to which the churches they have established will be healthy. As a mid-level leader in my shipping agency, I remember the struggle to live between the two. measurable organizational objectives (how many new groups have you created?) And the desire for our work to be sustainable in the long run. My attempts to discuss the quality of our work outside the absolute numbers did not go very far.
The saying goes, “Don’t aim for anything and you’ll always succeed. “All missionaries on the ground are trying to do a good job. They share their faith, seek to form new believers, and pray that God will bless the work. This is a good start, but it is not the same as having a clear perspective of an established church operating biblically and obtaining their own resources for ministry, they do not have this vision because they do not understand what the Word of God says. God says about the local church and the central role it plays in fulfilling the Great Commission.
What can you, as a pastor, do to help export better ecclesiology?
As a pastor, do you know the quality of the people you send?You know what these people are really doing on the ground?Have you asked them to describe your work in detail?
Focus on the quality of the missionaries, not the quantity. The Spirit pushed the Church of Antioch to send Paul and Barnabas, two of their best men (Acts 13. 2)!Seek to encourage those who are already ministering in the context of their church to think and pray about missions
Make missionary work a central part of your church life. The sending of Paul and Barnabas was a time of fasting and prayer for the whole church (Acts 13. 3). Similarly, consider how you can pray for your missionaries more consistently in your own church. Use your pastoral prayer and church prayer meetings as moments of regular prayer for the work of the missionaries you support and for the evangelization of people around the world.
Encourage your missionaries not to lose sight of the reward of establishing healthy churches. Paul and Barnabas not only preached or simply taught; they continued to visit and graze until they were appointed elders in each church (Acts 14:23). Presumably, this is what the Church of Antioch expects of them. Therefore, ask prospective missionaries to develop a ministry plan that includes establishing churches and their pastor in a healthy way.
Ask the missionaries to prepare to submit a full report to the church. Paul and Barnabas gathered the church and reported how many things God had done with them (Acts 14. 27). During a recent holiday, the elders’ councils of several supporting churches asked me to inform them. I liked it! Inwardly, missionaries want to know that their supporting churches accompany them in every task of establishing churches abroad. We also like the responsibility of knowing that we need to share more than a few photos with native and smiling people.
Finally, the export of bad ecclesiology comes from the Western idea that “more” means more. We send more workers and ask for more results. We measure our success in terms of more professions of faith and more established churches, without wondering to what extent?Converted to “churches. ” I think we know by nature that many local systems have more to do with integrity than depth, but we don’t know how to change them.
A simple start would be, over time, to better support fewer people. Give more money to fewer missionaries. Save money to regularly send an old man to visit the work of these missionaries. Allow leafless missionaries to spend more time in their church. Above all, consider your work as your job. Make your goal not only to administer a healthy church, but also to see healthy churches established wherever you send missionaries.
1: N. T. : The term