Redefining Missionary0

Last month I had the privilege of spending a week in Dubai with some of our church planters in Central Asia. They live in a part of the world that is extremely hostile to Christianity, and it has shaped their perspective on missions in some really fascinating ways.

In particular, they shared something with me that I was surprised to hear: From their perspective, some of the least equipped individuals serving overseas are those coming straight out of seminary. Why? Because many of them have little to no experience holding down an actual job.

In countries where Christianity is oppressed, missionaries need a platform for their presence.  They need a job that permits them to live and work in country since they cannot openly serve as church planters. For someone who’s never functioned in the working world, this can be a problem. A seminary student may know how to teach the Bible, but they don’t always have the skills or job training to become influential in another country.

This perspective on missions leads to one rather obvious conclusion: What we really need on the mission field is people with work experience. We need doctors and nurses, we need contractors and businessmen. We need entrepreneurs and electricians. We need people with marketable skills who can go overseas and use those gifts to gain influence.

I love this perspective because it flies in the face of the traditional Christian hierarchy, which tends to look something like this:

Missionary (ie. Super Christian)

Minister

Regular Christian

As a result of this thinking, we assume that the crème de la crème ministers will graduate into missionary status. Unfortunately, that level of Christian supremacy is completely disconnected from the average Joe Christian.

This alternative perspective turns that paradigm on its head. Many of the most unreached mission fields need trained craftsmen and businessmen, not seminarians. It’s not that God can’t use ministers, but the Muslim culture isn’t hurting for a lack of ordained clergy. It’s hurting for a lack of Christians ANYWHERE. The culture needs to be infiltrated. And while they may not listen to a preacher, they might listen to their employer or co-worker.

So if you consider yourself an average Joe Christian, this call goes out to you. While we can certainly use more trained ministers overseas, what the field really needs is people like you. It’s very likely that there’s a job a lot like yours overseas that is waiting to be filled by a believer. Your position as a mechanic or a banker could also serve as a light post in a very dark world.

Think about it.

Find out more information on how you can get involved in God’s mission overseas by contacting the Summit’s church planting team at info@sendrdu.com.