In the New Testament, the apostles rarely interacted with churches that they did not plant themselves. Therefore, there is no clear New Testament model for how frontline missionaries should interact with local churches in their places of service.
Today, the situation is quite different. God has been working to fill the world with the knowledge of His glory. The gospel has spread to many places and people groups worldwide. Churches have formed in many places and among many people groups. At the same time, there are about 3,000 unreached, unengaged people groups in the world (UUPGs). And there are vast areas where there are no churches. Due to these significant global gaps in the work, it remains necessary to send out cross-cultural missionaries to preach the gospel, make disciples, plant churches, and develop leaders among unreached peoples and in unreached places. However, due to the spread of the gospel, it is increasingly likely that frontier missionaries will live and operate out of cities that have existing churches.
Someone might ask, “If there are churches there, then why are pioneer workers necessary?” This is a great question! Let me share a story about one city in my mind, without naming its name. Imagine a city of 20 million people that has a few international churches and numerous churches among its many ethnic groups. However, imagine that there are 5-8 language groups in that city with at least 500,000 residents, among whom there is no visible church.
Additionally, in the rural areas surrounding the city of 20 million, there are many millions more people who are lost. In many places, there are no churches. In other areas, there are churches for one ethnic group, but other people groups have no witness. The reality is that in that area, there may be 40-50 million people who are not being engaged with the gospel by the existing churches.
Why are they not being engaged? There are several reasons. First, there are often significant linguistic and cultural challenges. For example, if a church worships in one language but the lost in that area do not speak that language or it is not their native language, barriers exist in the gospel reaching them. Second, religious barriers often exist. Many Christians are afraid to share the gospel with Muslims because of fear, anger, and hopelessness. In addition to these barriers and the barriers created by language and culture, most Christians lack training in how to share the gospel with Muslims (click here for an article on these five barriers). In fact, I have friends who are Muslim-background believers (MBBs) in South Asia who are regularly rejected by local churches. The churches do not want them to become members out of their own fears and prejudices. If the churches will not accept MBBs, what are the chances of them engaging Muslims with the gospel?
Because of this dynamic, we often see areas with churches that are growing and flourishing, yet pioneer missionaries are still needed in the same context. In this context, it is common that pioneer workers look to established churches for fellowship and partnership. Both these local churches and the pioneer missionaries should be celebrated. Both are doing necessary work. Both are seeking to be faithful to Jesus. However, tension often exists between the two.
Let me give an example. Imagine a new missionary going to our imaginary city of 20 million. He arrives and begins attending an international church in his city, where he learns the local language and initiates his evangelistic outreach. After attending for a while, he attends a new members class and learns that this church expects him to submit to its leadership in his missionary work to become a member. Through conversation, he learns that they expect him to bring any new believers to their church and that they will baptize and disciple those believers. The leaders of the church are delighted with his heart and passion for reaching out to new people groups if his work is submitted to the authority of the elders of that church. However, the missionary also knows that his people group speaks a different language from the one this church uses for worship. Additionally, many cultural barriers will make membership for new believers from this other culture at that church difficult. It will be the responsibility of the new believer to adapt culturally and linguistically to join the community.
Moreover, this church on the field clearly indicates to him that the missionary methods of his team are flawed. They direct him to share the gospel, make disciples, and plant churches in a manner quite different than his team leader.
Understandably, the new missionary becomes quite confused. After all, he was sent out by his church to make disciples and plant churches among a particular people group. His church in his home country energetically raised funds to support him in this work. But now, his church on the field is telling him that it is not the right way to do things. He is torn because now his missionary team leader is directing him in one way, but the elders of his new church have a different opinion. Moreover, he and his family have been very blessed by the fellowship of their church on the field. Their transition to the field has been challenging. Being able to worship every Sunday in English has been a great blessing. In their opinion, both their team leader and the elders at their new church are men of God.
As this new missionary begins to ask others, there is great confusion about authority and the Great Commission. In Matthew 21:23, the Pharisees asked Jesus, “By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority?” The same questions are brought to missionaries today. It is becoming increasingly common for elders of local churches to tell pioneer missionaries that they do not have the authority to do the work for which they were sent out by the churches.
In the face of questions like these, I am writing this article. I want to challenge my fellow missionaries to consider four attitudes that we should hold in our hearts when interacting with local churches on the field. At the same time, there are five non-negotiables that we must uphold as field workers in our interactions with local churches.
Attitude #1 – Missionaries Should Be Thankful for Local Churches. Before sending His disciples to preach, Jesus commanded them to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send more laborers (Luke 10:2). Whenever we meet more laborers in the harvest, we should be thankful. We should be grateful to God for sending more workers. We should be thankful for the other workers for their faithful service to Jesus. We should be grateful that we are not alone in the task.
Attitude #2 – Missionaries Should Be Humble Learners. When a missionary arrives in a new location, they are never the expert in that place or its people groups. They usually do not know how things work and often lack knowledge of the area’s history. All this calls for missionaries to be humble. They need to enter as learners and grow. They should pepper everyone they meet with questions. Over time, they will become experts in their people group, culture, language, and work area, if they are persistent. However, everyone benefits when missionaries show up as humble learners.
Attitude #3 – Missionaries Should Bless others with their Spiritual Gifts. Missionaries are usually sent out because their churches have seen incredible talents and gifts in them. Perhaps they are amazing evangelists, Bible teachers, or administrators. While not demanding to use their talents in their church, they should be willing. Maybe they are a gifted Bible teacher, but their church needs help teaching children. They should gladly teach Sunday school to children. A missionary should gladly assist a local church, utilizing their talents in a way that best meets the church’s needs. Perhaps they are a gifted evangelist but are not given a platform for this gift. They should not worry; instead, they should devote themselves wholeheartedly to evangelism.
Attitude #4 – For Missionaries, Their Ministry and Their Church Do Not Need to Be the Same. When a missionary arrives at a church with a single vision, but the church has a different one, it is rare for the church to adopt the missionary’s vision, and that is okay. I have usually found that church leaders want to know my vision and what I am seeking to do. I happily share with them. Usually, they are merely encouraged and pray that God will help me. Sometimes, they can help a little bit. But I never want to presume that upon them. Often, we fellowship in a local church for our own edification while pouring ourselves out in ministry elsewhere. We should still seek to be a blessing to the local church and serve there, even if it is not our primary place of ministry.
Having discussed these five attitudes that missionaries should have towards local churches, here are five non-negotiables that I urge as we seek to work together well. My advice is that if a local church asks you to compromise in these five areas, discuss these issues, but hold your ground. If they demand that you compromise in these areas to remain in good fellowship, my advice is to move on. After all, the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. We cannot allow ourselves as workers to be taken out of the game. Jesus has sent us through the churches for a purpose.
Non-Negotiable #1 – Missionaries are called to follow Paul’s Missionary Model. My conviction is that God purposefully set the apostle Paul in the New Testament as the ideal missionary model. When I say that Paul is our model, there is a difference in Paul’s authority and ours. Paul was appointed as an apostle by Jesus, while we were appointed as missionaries by churches. Paul was taken to heaven and given his teaching directly from Jesus; we have received our teaching from Scripture. At the same time, Paul presented himself as the ideal missionary and commanded Timothy to follow in his missionary model. Paul then instructed Timothy to follow that model. You can read more about my defense of this way of reading the New Testament here.
Non-Negotiable #2 – Missionaries are primarily under the direction of their missionary team rather than their local church. When missionaries are sent out by the churches, they are sent out in missionary teams, much like Paul’s band of missionaries. Those teams cannot function if the team members are unsure whose leadership to follow. Once, I had a member of my team join a church that told him that it was sinful for him to focus on trying to reach Muslims with the gospel. Instead, they said to him that he should put his energy into developing a healthy church with them, which would automatically lead to Muslims being saved. So, this young man was confused. I was urging him to share the gospel with Muslims. A local pastor was telling him not to and to focus on helping him with his church instead. The young man was confused about who to follow. Eventually, he just grew frustrated and left the field.
Non-Negotiable #3 – Missionaries are called to do the Missionary Task. They cannot abdicate their authority to go among the lost, share the gospel, make disciples, plant churches, and develop leaders among their people group. Missionaries are those who have been sent to go and make disciples of all nations. Usually, they have an unreached people group or several such people groups that they have been sent to engage with the gospel. Some churches on the field tell missionaries that they lack the authority to perform these tasks. What foolishness! Missionaries are cross-cultural church planters. If they are not permitted to plant churches, then what are they doing?
Non-Negotiable #4 – Specifically, missionaries cannot abdicate their authority to baptize; otherwise, they cannot do the Great Commission as described in Matthew 28:18-20. Some churches are arguing that missionaries do not have the authority to baptize. They are told that they can share the gospel, but to leave the baptizing to pastors. However, in Matthew 28:19-20, baptizing is one of the means by which someone makes disciples. In other words, according to the Great Commission, if someone cannot baptize, then they cannot make disciples. If they cannot make disciples, then they can’t do the Missionary Task. What use are missionaries who cannot baptize? If a church requires missionaries to relinquish authority to baptize, then those missionaries should consider leaving that church.
Non-Negotiable #5 – Missionary teams are not fully autonomous, but they are semi-autonomous. The clash between field churches and missionary teams centers on issues of authority and autonomy. The argument is usually presented as missionaries being either autonomous, with no one directing them except Jesus and the Holy Spirit, or as being under the authority of local pastors. I want to tell you that there is a more biblical way. In Scripture, the apostle Paul submitted to the leadership of others, even though he had been appointed directly by Jesus as an apostle. However, Paul assumed the authority to enter new places, share the gospel, make disciples, plant churches, and develop and appoint leaders in his everyday ministry. However, when controversy arose, he submitted to godly decisions made by the appropriate people. After he received his heavenly teaching, he submitted it to Peter, James, and John to ensure that he was not teaching incorrectly (Galatians 2:1-10). Later, when controversy arose over Gentile believers and circumcision, Paul submitted to the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15).
If Paul submitted to others, then we must also. Therefore, the ideal missionary team is not fully autonomous. Instead, it is semi-autonomous. In the day-to-day, missionary teams should devote themselves to the missionary task and move forward with confidence. If they step out of line or if controversy arises, then they should submit to their leadership as they seek to move forward. However, that does not mean that they are in submission to every church that seeks to direct their activities. Instead, they are accountable to those who sent them.
Summary and a Final Word
In today’s world, missionaries often interact with local churches on the field. Ideally, the churches will be a blessing to the missionaries, and the missionaries a blessing to the churches. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. However, missionaries must be careful not to abdicate the authority with which they were sent. If they cannot baptize and make disciples, then how will they plant churches? If they are not church planters, then what are they?
Missionaries, seek to be a blessing and find partnership with local churches. Be a humble learner. Use the gifts and talents God has provided you to bless other local Christians and churches. Do not be demanding of local churches. You certainly have no authority over them. But at the same time, focus your efforts on sharing the gospel, making disciples, and planting churches among the peoples God has sent you to reach. These things do not need to conflict with one another.
Pastors, missionaries can sometimes be difficult church members. God has often given them such a burden for the lost that they focus on sharing Jesus with those who have never heard rather than building up the church. Bless them in the gifts that God has given them. Release them and pray that they may flourish. Pray with hope that God will raise up new believers, new churches, and new leaders among people groups who have never heard. At the same time, encourage them and their families to walk with Jesus. Missionaries often need encouragement, and you can be the person who provides it as they undertake challenging work. Your vision for your church and their mission does not need to be in conflict.
Ultimately, both missionaries and pastors should heed the admonition of the apostle Paul in Philippians 2:3: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves.”
No Cousins Left 