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Money--Manpower--Missions
Maria, a teenage girl in an Asian country, fearfully stepped into the small skills training center where she hoped to learn how to sew and cook. Missionaries from the United States had opened the center. It was open to everyone--even to those of little income. Maria’s parents and friends told her to listen only to the instruction, but to disregard anything else these foreigners would say to her. She was supposed to learn only the skills. It was a special privilege for her to get training from someone from another country, even if they were Christians. The training would make her more valuable as a housemaid and would bring her family much needed extra income, particularly since her family was very poor.
Maria minded her parents well. She did not listen to anything the foreign missionary teacher said about Christ, but she did watch and learn. She was amazed at how much the missionary teacher gave of herself to teach Maria as much as she wanted to learn. She watched as the missionary husband treated his wife with respect and love. She watched how the children interacted with their parents. Maria was astounded. Christianity was for her! Soon, she accepted Christ.
Today, Maria is married to a fine Christian man. She and her family are active and working in their church. Maria is also sharing Christ through the skills she learned from the missionary; and is teaching her students about Christ, just as the missionary did.
Another example is the story of Bart. He lives in Tennessee and jumped at the chance to sign up for a mission trip to Europe as soon as his church announced it. However, he soon began to wonder if it would be better to send the money he was going to spend for the trip instead of going. Surely the missionaries and European nationals could use the $2,000.00 that his trip would cost. He reasoned that his time there would only be about ten days whereas the mission trip money could be used to pay the salary of a pastor and even buy supplies for a church. However, Bart was encouraged to go. Once there he discovered why God had led him to go. His presence was a real encouragement to the missionaries and nationals. He was able to minister to many people that the churches had not been able to contact, and he was able to help a local pastor go to the government center, meet the mayor, and begin the process of getting a permit for an outdoor Christian youth concert that summer. Many of the things that Bart was able to do would have taken much longer, or would have been almost impossible had he not gone in person. In many places foreigners are welcomed quickly in tribal settings and in government offices; whereas, it often takes more time for nationals to gain access.
Only foreign missionaries, whether career or short-term volunteers, who are physically present, can make the kind of impact the missionary family made on Maria through the skills training center, or that Bart made while in Europe. God is still calling Christian people to leave their families and country, for whatever amount of time, and go to another country to live and minister and share the Good News of Jesus and His salvation.
One of the problems Christians in many countries face is that one class of people finds it difficult to reach across cultures into another class of people, even to reach them with the Gospel. Even pastors fail to cross the cultural and traditional divides within their own country simply because such cross-cultural outreach has not been modeled for them by redeemed believers from afar. Sending money will never take the place of sending godly people and godly families. Those who think the day of going overseas and doing missions is past, simply miss the mark. You cannot do missions by proxy. The following are several reasons why sending money without sending people will not work in the long run:
First, sending money builds dependence and fosters resentment between the pastors who are financially supported and those who are not. Sending money slows down the work because the next batch of national pastors/church planters will not want to go out and plant a church until they, too, can get money from a rich, overseas church or donor.
Second, sending money takes the responsibility away from the local group of believers to support their pastor and the work. After all, why should they give if money is coming from overseas? And when the money stops or is phased out, the church seldom begins to take up the slack for the support of their pastor. Frankly, the local believers often assume that the support has never stopped. The pastor is suspected of hiding it.
Third, if the local pastor is going to a tribe or group that has a cultural distrust for the pastor’s home ethnic group, it may take a while before he is able to break down any walls of separation between them and be accepted. Just because he may live next door to them doesn’t mean he will be accepted by them or that his message will be heard. On the other hand, a foreign missionary usually enjoys instant access simply because he is a foreigner and is seen as one who is to be treated with respect or at least with polite curiosity. The missionary is at least given the benefit of the doubt. This access is not only cultural, but often extends to being welcomed by tribal or government officials as well.
Fourth, it is always amazing to the locals to see that someone from another place would want to come and live among them and learn their language and customs. This is even true of short-term missionaries and volunteers. Anyone who is willing to spend his own money to come is showing great respect to the local population. Even in a short amount of time, missionaries can often reach those who would never even be touched by the local group of Christians because of the difficulty of ethnic and cultural cross-over.
Finally, there is a place for your money to be used overseas. Your one-time or short-term gift can be channeled to a national mission organization to help with church planting and evangelism projects. When money is channeled through the national association or mission organization, it will be distributed in a culturally-appropriate way that will avoid, as much as possible, the jealousies and hurt feelings of those who do not receive the financial support. Such giving does not build long-term dependence since it has a definite beginning and end.
To sum up, here are three short guidelines for supporting overseas missions
1. Never try to solve a specific local problem with your money. Giving money may tend to make the local believers dependent on your dollars rather than on God.
2. Do your research before giving toward a particular project to be sure the group is legitimate and the project is appropriate. Give only for a specific period of time. Make sure there is accountability for the funds. Avoid direct salary support.
3. When on an overseas mission trip, make no promises to the nationals about what you will do for them or send to them when you return to the U.S. Make a note of the needs and then tell your Christian friends when you return home. If the hoped-for funds do not materialize, there are no broken promises. If it works out, the nationals will be happy that the needs have been met.