Globalisation is one of the most important factors changing the world we live in, directly impacting the task of missions. Despite the disadvantages of Globalization in the business structures worldwide, there are also advantages for mission, particularly as it relates to tent-making.
Today, as never before, we have a global workforce. People from all over the world are travelling to other countries to work. While we often think of this movement as from the West to the rest, involving professionals working as consultants or within multinational companies, there is also a significant movement of unskilled labour as well, with some of them being Christians. Some Christians use their vocation intentionally, to act as tentmakers and share the gospel in other countries. However, many simply go where the work is available. One of the challenges for the church is to train these people to become tentmakers and be effective in taking the gospel to the places that they travel to for work.
Relations Building
One of the foundational aspects of missionary work involves local church leaders, who are essentially co-workers, having to work together. As this aspect of involvement in missions takes place, we begin to see different parts of the body of Christ involved in the Great Commission. Most African missionaries do not have sending churches, or very little of a relationship with their home churches. (Most of the churches do not even have missions boards). This is attested by the fact that quite a number of missionaries have not secured an adequate level of financial and administrative support from their sending bodies; and it is all left to individual missionaries to maintain a direct contact with supporting congregations, and individual donors. For most of the missionaries on the field, their support comes from relationship with individuals who have caught the heart and concept of missions. (These are either individuals from their own countries, or from western supporters.)
Agencies and churches today have some contributions to offer to the contemporary mission of the church. The majority of world missionaries focus on planting churches and evangelism. The commitment to the missionary work is for lifetime; people do not think of it as something that is only for the short-term.
Chapter 8
Issues Affecting African Missionaries
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"I pray that no missionary will ever be as lonely as I have been."
- Lottie Moon
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We still have issues to address in terms of African missionaries. These are issues that only we as Africans can look into and seek to find the solutions and the strategic ways forward.
• Financial support to missionaries frequently is not long term.
Many missionaries go to the field with a harvest mentality, like in their own country and they become frustrated.
There are few candidates for ministries with a less “visible” success, like Bible translation or cultural interpretation or mobilization.
Limited Finances.
Lack of Support sending structures.
Church planting is done in terms of multiplication of church name of denomination.
Team Relationships, understanding and being understood.
Lack of Home church involvement.
Education.
Coordinating furloughs at home.
Taking care of ageing parents and family financially (especially for those that are outside of their own countries the pressure is more immerse).
Family opposition for taking on voluntary work.
Racial discrimination in certain countries.
Low opinion about what Black African’s can contribute (feeling that Black Africans don’t have what it takes to ‘compete’ with the big guns).
Black missionaries viewed as suspects.
Churches scared they will lose support for church programs if missionaries share about their needs in the church.
Lack of Resources.
Non-locals conception that any friendship made with locals is for the locals to get money from them.
Visas.
Challenges faced by African Missionaries
There are still a lot of countries, North Africa, Middle East, Gulf Area, that are difficult to get into; especially for Africans - whereas Asia is becoming increasing accessible for Africans. Additionally, when in these countries, they are faced with racism (as most of Asia and the Arabic countries look down on Blacks). But that difficulty can be overcome with the help of God, and the right strategies. When I was preparing to go to central Asia for a research and prayer journey, there were some concerns as to how people would react to me. Like with any other none western country one might visit, there is always more interest in people from North America or European countries. As I went further inland of the country, people would stop doing what they were doing and stare, and literary even come out of their shops to stare. There was one incident which a lady came to touch me, just to feel what my skin feels like. It’s an uneasy feeling, but it’s also important to knowing that God can use people’s curiosity to draw people to you. For some, I was the first black person they had ever seen.
For Africa to claim its inheritance of the nations, we need to see the church speaking and teaching more on missions. If Pastors and elders in the church have a heart for missions, the congregation will also catch that heart. If our congregations hear about God’s heart for the lost, and how God is moving in the world today; if they are involved in praying for the unreached, the Holy Spirit will call people as ‘goers’. We have vast numbers of African missionaries, yet we rarely hear of their stories. Let’s change our view of missionaries being people coming from the west, bringing aid, free education, healthcare, or whatever else they come to assist with. Most Africans are not willing to give up their comforts for a worse off situation. They think if I grew up in the village, and now living in the city, why should they then go live in another village - even if it means taking the Gospel. I have being impressed with Angolan and Mozambican missionaries. They are determined to see their nations changed, and will leave the city to go to live in the village, in order to see those villages changed.
In the year 2008 I took an outreach team to Mozambique. We worked in the far north, and for part of our time we visited an Island called Idugu, with a population of about 15, 000 people. Our journey included a canoe ride of about 3 hours to the Island; which the people of the island make to go into town and a walk in the mud to the bank, depending on the water level. On this little island, which we were able to walk around praying as we went, are fourteen Mosques and six witchdoctors, each with their speciality (one speciality being that of killing). The two churches there are run down, and no one attends anyway. The whole Island is Muslim, with the exception of around ten Christians. On the island is a Mozambican family who moved there with the specific intention of seeing it reached with the Gospel, and disciples made. They run what they call a simple church, and are discipling the aforementioned ten Christians, who have been impacted by the Gospel. They have also established two football clubs, which they are using to reach out to the people.
As we spoke to the people in Mozambique and would ask them why they became Muslims, their answers were heart breaking. As a lot of them would say that was all we have been taught, and they didn’t know anything else. The Sunday schools stories that most of us know and probably take for granted, were new to them. They didn’t even know the Name of Jesus.
Are we going to continue ignoring the call for missions, allowing our brothers and sisters, who are so near, to die in ignorance? Let us have the attitude of vigorously walking in the steps of Hudson Taylor, C. T. Studd, and Amy Carmichael - who often challenged people to take the same radical steps. (C. T. Studd entered Africa at age fifty, and remained for almost two decades, dying in the field.)
If the church is not missions-minded, then they will never think of sending a missionary cross-culturally; especially when the church budget does not allow for it, and they are struggling anyway to keep the church going and growing.
An Asian church with few resources believed they
should send a missionary to another country. So, every time church members came to the church for a meeting, they brought a handful of rice to place in containers. After a period of time, the full containers of rice were sold, and the money was sent to their missionary. Such a small sacrifice by the whole congregation enabled the church to send the gospel to a foreign land.
Right now, there are Zimbabweans working amongst the pygmies in the Congo; in China; a family from Zambia in Senegal working in Muslim villages; a Kenyan working in Chad; a Zimbabwean Couple in India; a Zambian Lady in Thailand; a South African couple in Turkey; and a South African lady wanting to go to Iraq.
It will not be an easy battle for the continent of Africa to become a missionary force. With Africa being one of the most evangelised continents, we have a strong force that needs to step into its God given destiny. In America, people have to be considerate of other religions and can’t say openly to strangers Merry Christmas in the name of political correctness and would say Happy Holidays. Most of Africa has the freedom and openness to speak about God as Lord, we have our news anchor openly saying “God Bless you on national TV. You can walk into a shop and hear Christian music playing. We are clearly experiencing a greater freedom of worship, and with that comes’ a greater responsibility. We are the ones who will be required to spread the Gospel where it is being stifled. The enemy doesn’t want this mission’s force to arise and start invading his territory. So many arrows are thrown at African missionaries in terms of finances, resources, visas, etc. Many of the sending nations faced the very same issues themselves once, as they were becoming sending nations. South Korea, Brazil and Nigeria are now some of the major sending nations. Nigeria, which is Africa’s strongest sending nation, faces a strong crisis at the present time - where the Islamic side is fighting for control of Northern Nigeria, and wanting to institute Sharia Law. Nigerian Christians are beginning to face persecution. We need to pray for this nation that nothing will stand in the way of what God is doing regards sending missionaries out of Nigeria.
Some of the African Missionaries are supported financially by their families. In instances where team leaders have written to their networks to describe what they do on the field and thank them, has been a tremendous help in relationship-building and accountability. This has made the networks feel that the missionaries are making a meaningful contribution. Those who are doing well financially are being supported by westerners overseas. For some people, the increased awareness of what they are doing has been an open door for them to raise support. To see a way forward regarding these issues, we need to see the body of Christ in Africa involved as a whole in carrying out the Great Commission. Brazil and South Korea both account for a huge number of Christian missionaries sent to other parts of the world; yet even with this great growth in world missionary activity, the preponderance of funding for missions still comes from the West.
Migration
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Here am I. Send Me."
- Isaiah
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One of the main hindrances for African missionaries to enter into other countries is visa restrictions. We see missionaries from predominantly western countries going into a country with a 3 month visa which they can just renew by travelling to a neighbouring country that they can also get at the point of entry. As for an African missionary this is not the case. Most immigration laws look at what contribution one makes into their country, i.e. jobs wise and skills. In most case as Africans we do not have the necessary skills nor meet the requirements.
So how do we evangelize and establish the church among the unreached peoples of the world, where vocational missionaries are not allowed - or where, as Africans, we do not have the ease of visas?” “How do we equip and connect marketplace Christians to carry the gospel, and establish churches in and through the markets and industries of the world?” As mentioned earlier, with Globalisation the world is becoming more open. With education and essential skills, it is easier to get a visa into a country that would otherwise be extremely difficult. Humanitarian relief and community development allows Christian workers access to places normally considered as restricted access communities, or restriction on visas. Community development facilitates the relationship-building within the community.
We need to be deliberately and intentionally be building on our skill and experience, in order to be a resource to the nations we are called to. There has being a lot of stereotyping of African’s in Western countries, and in a country where work ethics are high (and missions not understood) there can be a lot of misconceptions about a foreigner who has no job or source of income, and they spend their time trying to get to know local people. Employment and commercial activities can prevent any misconceptions from arising. We have a lot to offer as Africans to the other nations. Our aim should be to improve and become skilled in what we do best, and offer those skills to countries we are called to. Over the years, I have seen students come for a short term outreach/school just after finishing their high school; and then sense the call to missions. Instead of going back home to continue with their education, raising a support team, and while waiting on God to refine their call as well as trying to get themselves equipped) they continue on in missions. It is better to get your degree, seek God as to which area to pursue in terms of significance to your calling. If we are to influence society, we will need to be educated and skilled in our spheres of influence. In Galatians 1:11-24 Paul explains about his call and how he did not immediately start doing ministry. He took time to study more and understand the scriptures well even though he was advanced in Judaism studies.
Part 3
Chapter 9
Support Raising
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"All the resources of the Godhead are at our disposal!"
- Jonathan Goforth
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The aspect of support-raising which is considered routine: writing newsletters, slide shows in churches, furloughs, missions committees, and sabbatical are mostly a brand new concepts for those in Africa. One sometimes finds it difficult to implements these principles, with no successful models to look to. African missionaries then dismiss these models as a foreign strategy. Our missionaries need mentoring on how to apply these principles in own context. Very few African missionaries are supported by indigenous funds, as most will get their support from the west.
Raising support is not just a problem for individual missionaries, but is a significant unresolved issue that will continue to affect the future of missions in Africa. African missionaries are tired of feeling inferior, and ashamed of having to ask (yet again) for another handout. Continued reliance upon foreign funds to support our national workers hurts our staff, restricts our capacity for leadership development, hinders local churches and cripples our ministry. We need to come to a place where we avoid dependency - where receivers are helpless and dependent on the giving to survive, and do not have the resources or skills to enable them to move out of this state. Local church leaders feel wronged when a members of their church leaves to join a mission’s organization, with no accountability to them.
A lot of African missionaries do not have support, and if they do it’s not on a regular basis. How do they then live and survive? These missionaries have seen much of God’s faithfulness, when God puts people into their path who have met their needs in different ways and means. One person provides toiletries, another provides food, yet another provides transport. Though they do not physically touch the money, God is bringing people across their path to provide for them. Though their personal needs are met, most of these missionaries are sometimes deprived of the little things that are taken for granted. It could be something as small as buying themselves ice-cream.
It doesn’t take or require a lot to become part of a missionary’s support team. It’s a group of people brought together by God to partner with the missionary. If a missionary’s monthly support is, say US$500 a month, please note that in most instances this support includes the missionary’s personal and
ministry expenses. It will require a group of 10 People giving $50 a month, or a group of 20 people giving $25 a month. (Or whatever amount a person can give.) We sometimes spend more than $25 a month on eating out or entertainment.
From these commitments, some missionaries are promised support that is never forthcoming. I have on many occasions have heard people promise to give towards a missions trip, and then there is no follow through on the commitment. One of the greatest challenges African missionaries face once on the field is how they can have access to the support that has been raised. Cheques get lost in the mail, and when people send money through the banks the charges are high. (We don’t have international credit/debit cards to use ATM’s anywhere in the world!) Things have improved somewhat with the introduction of Western Union. Most missionaries have had to be very creative regarding the means and ways they have obtained their support. Support raising, therefore, involves learning and applying specific skills within the context of our home, our friends, our church, and especially our culture.
There are no set rules or guideline as to how missionaries should go about raising support. Each person will need to seek God, and hear from Him as to what they need to do; it may be different from time to time. In the west, there is a stronger push for making your needs known as missionaries will be relating to professionals who are used to this approach in business. This is the emphasis that most African missionaries are also now adopting, albeit with pit falls - as their congregations (and people they know) do not have the concept of giving to missions. Instead they are faced with answers such as: “Don’t you think you should get a job?” Or one of the most common responses I have heard from Africans, when going on a missions trip outside the country is: “What! Why should I give you money to go to such-and-such and country, when I myself haven’t even been there?”
The above has made missionaries feel like beggars as they monthly write about financial needs to be met. We need to find a balance between trusting God and giving the people an opportunity to participate in what God is doing. It’s about allowing people to be able to be involved in what we are doing - allowing them to partner, with us in the ministry we are involved in.
The Whisper That Echoes Through Africa Page 8