A Shift In Strategies For Foreign Missions
Generosity towards foreign missions and towards regions of the world that have been devastated by natural disasters is a historical virtue of American believers. Unquestionably, our faithfulness in doing so is one of the primary reasons that we’ve been so blessed. However, there are situations where there need to be reevaluations about the extent of our ongoing support. Such would be where the churches of certain nations have had adequate time to take root and to become self-supporting. It’s foreign fields in which clergymen have become addicted to financial support from Americans and from the redeemed communities of other prosperous countries. Within such, our parental funding has inhibited the maturing process of indigenous ministers and their fellowships. Perhaps, now is the hour to begin issuing encouragements that it’s high time for them to be weaned.
Distinctions
I’m not speaking of nations that are traumatized by genocides against believers and pandemics of famines, plagues and so forth. Those, along with ministries to orphans and to any locale totally closed to the Word of God should be targeted for our giving. The areas of my concerns are nations where there has been a Christian presence for multiple generations. It’s in places where there are functional business, industry and agricultural communities and so on. It’s where ornate cathedrals, temples and tributes to false deities exemplify that the populace is equipped to sustain its religions and the clerics of its society. The question is, how much more willing and able should second and third generations of Bible believing saints be to give sacrificially from their own resources for the purposes of the Kingdom of God? Is it biblically healthy for such to perpetually anticipate entitlements for their missions and building programs from their brethren in other Christianized nations? I think not. Since when were the scriptural benefits of sowing funds in faith with expectations of reaping subsequent blessings restricted to the believers of America and Europe? Such restrictions are nonexistent in the Word of God.
The purpose of this piece is to establish that the Gospel of the Kingdom of God is more than an insurance policy for the afterlife. The benefits eclipse physical healing and deliverance from satanic bondages. It is designed to transform people and societies from poverty to productivity. Jesus is the King of Kings. The administrations of rulers are judged on the basis of how well its subjects fare in comparison to those under other rulers. It is an indictment that the authentic Gospel of the Kingdom has not been enacted in circumstances wherein generation after generation communities of the redeemed doesn’t shine as lights to a superior way.
Observations
My ministry to the Lord and to His people has taken me to well over 30 nations. In countries that are deemed as 3rd world/developing nations, services are just as apt to be interrupted by the rings of cell phones as they are here in the USA. Brazil is a good example. I once exploded with laughter at the remark of an Irish tourist that I overheard speaking with his friends in Brazil: With a heavy Irish brogue he said, “Brazil, 3rd world? I’d like to visit the countries that qualify as 1rst and 2nd world.”
I’ve been in Brazil for weeks on end and have observed restaurants crowed with Brazilians and the bustles of business transactions in its malls are impressive. The same could be said of the food stands and open-air markets of a goodly percentage of African countries and those of the Middle East, Southern Europe, the Caribbean, Asia and the Far East. Nonetheless, many US and/or European based ministries that have Internet websites are blasted with avalanches of request for funds from all of the aforementioned regions. Such requests are often couched with invitations to come and minister at some special conference as the keynote guest speaker. There is a well worn spiritual cliché that says, seek the Giver and not the gifts. Only the most naïve would fail to sense that considerable numbers of the invitations they receive undermine the cliché’s message.
Christianity’s Launch
The Divine Council of the Godhead didn’t choose to introduce our Savior and His Church in an ideal religious, economic and political climate. It was excessively hostile and oppressive. Such happened when the ancient world was controlled by the idolatrous Roman Empire. Tribute taxes to Rome averaged around 40% and there were food shortages throughout the reign of Claudius who ruled during the developmental stages of the Early Church. Many of the first converts to the Faith were slaves. Religionists such as the Pharisees made preaching the Gospel a prosecutable offense including the death penalty. Yet, in spite of all of the adversities the churches located in the various cities became self-supporting within a remarkably brief period.
All were instructed and expected to provide for their own clergymen and special needs members such as widows. Most prepared gifts for traveling apostolic ministers who came their way and sent offerings to assist the believers in Jerusalem who’d been hard hit by a famine. In regard to the latter, it was a temporary measure than spanned over a couple of years, not decades. When Paul wrote the Corinthians about their relief collections for the saints at Jerusalem he anticipated the need would be short-lived. He inferred it was not fitting for one group of believers to endlessly be under pressures to meet the needs of another. He called for equity in the matter with strong indications that the day would come when the Jewish church would be back in full-stride as givers rather than receivers. (2 Cor 8:11-14)
Jesus’ Pattern
How is it that the Early Church acquired the wherewithal to become self-sustaining so quickly? The apostles who initially evangelized them imparted the principles gleaned from the life and ministry of the religion’s Founder, Jesus of Nazareth. Contrary to silly religious traditions, His ministry was a large flourishing enterprise. It had 41 teams of 2 that were sent forth to pave the way for His personal appearances at various venues. It would have been uncharacteristic for the Merciful Master to require His key men to forsake all and to follow Him at the expense of the wives and kids that many had at home. The ministry had a treasurer, a moneybox and regularly gave to the poor. Most sensible people would conclude that He paid His workers with some form of salaries. If not, the Apostle Paul misspoke about just compensations for spiritual leaders when he used the analogy of oxen that tread out the corn not being muzzled as they do so. In that context, he clearly declared that those who sowed spiritually were authorized to anticipate material rewards from the recipients, just as farmers do with seeds sown into their fields. (1 Cor 9:3-11)
Up until the time that the Lord sent forth His teams on their initial wonder working treks, they had existed on the coat tails of His faith for their livelihoods. To induce realistic perceptions about God’s abilities to provide wherever He guides, Jesus instructed His teams to go forth without funds for travel expenses. They were solely equipped with their ministries and faith as they ventured into the hostile environment of Israel’s antiquity. Upon their return, one of the first questions He asked was how well they’d fared financially. Their response was they’d lacked nothing. (Lk. 22:35)
Failures To Launch
Many take issue with what they denigrate as the health and wealth American Gospel. They claim that such is not applicable in 3rd World conditions. My firsthand experience dictates otherwise. I’ve seen its worth in Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Eastern Europe and the Philippines. Ministries and churches that had previously suffered economically were catapulted into vistas of homegrown provision that defied anything they’d ever thought attainable. I simply taught them the truths explored in this article and from the faith teachings of Kenneth Hagin and Derek Prince.
During the many years that I globe trotted, ministers from foreign lands would make their way to my stateside church. It was not unusual for them to come seeking funding for legitimate projects and outreaches. On rare occasions, I complied with outlined conditions: They must be willing to accept the concept that the Gospel of the Kingdom is designed to transform societies as well as hearts. I explained that we would not sponsor specific projects and programs as our focus was on building people’s faith. Our commitments were to individual ministers and for the welfare of their families. The pastors were set on courses of study about the principles of faith and were encouraged to impart the same to their congregations. We asked the ministers how much personal income it would take monthly to enable them to support their families in a manner that spoke well of the Kingdom of God. We generally sent them that figure or better each month until their faith had been activated to the extent that they could be weaned from our support. The gestation period was normally about 2 years. The ministries were told they would be expected to pay our accommodation and food expenses when we came for visits. In relation to that policy, all understood that our hearts were pure in the matter. We did not covet the funds, but rather that fruit would abound to their accounts. (Philip 4:15-17) More than a few frequently blessed me with love offerings in addition. I would routinely give the proceeds to the poor whom I encountered on the streets. There were instances wherein I purchased clothes and jewelry for my wife and daughters. Neither act was less noble than the other.
I was always polite with the majority who were denied sponsorship. As an alternative, I directed them to the fellowships in proximities to their nations that had embraced the teachings that enable ministers to go from faith to faith and from glory to glory. While it is true that the poor are always with us, the same people are not consigned to remain poor. Those who are poor are said to be rich in faith. The essence of faith is to believe the Lord rewards those who diligently seek Him. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God and it has inherent capacities to grow and to increase in fruitful dynamics. Those empowerments include more than faith to evangelize others and the ability to flow in experiential holiness. It includes the abilities to see the lifestyles of believers revolutionized from beggarly existences to reasonable prosperity.
In part, the Gentiles were given the Gospel to provoke the Jews to jealously as they see the blessings of Abraham that belong to them enjoyed by those who are not under the Old Covenant. Regardless of the most adverse conditions, the Jews have not failed to prosper and to prove beneficial for every nation they have inhabited. It is counterproductive to continually finance indigenous works that don’t challenge NT believers to accomplish similar feats. Any representation of the Faith in any nation that has had a Christian presence for multiple generations that does not advance the appeal of the Lordship of Christ to its Jewish population and to those of other spiritual disciplines has been short-circuited.
Conclusion
Hopefully, that which I’ve conveyed will resonate with some. If so, the Lord will direct you about how to proceed. I bless those who don’t concur with my call to reevaluate their approaches to missions. Within the many-sided wisdom of God, there are few absolutes and many variables about styles of ministry.