The Urgency of the Evangelistic Task (Part 2)

Today’s reading is a continuation of Section 9 of the Lausanne Covenant - The Urgency of the Evangelistic Task. Read the full Section 9 here.

A reduction of foreign missionaries and money in an evangelized country may sometimes be necessary to facilitate the national church’s growth in self-reliance and to release resources for unevangelized areas. Missionaries should flow ever more freely from and to all six continents in a spirit of humble service. The goal should be, by all available means and at the earliest possible time, that every person will have the opportunity to hear, to understand, and to receive the good news. We cannot hope to attain this goal without sacrifice.

This section also gives attention to the practicalities of cross-cultural missional activity.

Cross-Cultural Missionaries

Since the Covenant was first written, the landscape of world mission has changed dramatically. Thousands of missionaries from the Global South now serve with great effect in the West, while many more serve cross-culturally within their own or neighbouring countries.

While in certain situations a reduction in cross-cultural missionaries, or in outside funding, may still be worth considering, it must be understood in light of three important qualifications:

• First, such a reduction would apply only in countries that are already well evangelised.
• Second, the aim of such a reduction would be to strengthen the local church’s self-reliance. In some cases, missionaries have unintentionally hindered growth by remaining too long in leadership roles, standing in the way of local leadership development, and perpetuating immature dependence. We must acknowledge and learn from this mistake.
• Third, the ultimate goal would never be to reduce overall missionary advance, but to accelerate it—freeing resources for the many regions still unreached with the gospel. Our desire should be to expand, not limit, the mission workforce. But this requires workers who serve with humility and love, not with pride or dominance; we need servants who hold out the word of life to all.

The ultimate goal remains unchanged: by every means available, and as soon as possible, every person should have the opportunity to hear the good news—not casually nor superficially, but in a way they can truly understand, and by God’s grace, believe and receive the good news.

Reflection:

How could cross-cultural mission be done more effectively in your region?

Prayer:

Lord, make me a humble servant, willing to go anywhere and serve anyone for your glory.