The following article is an attempt to set forth a few thoughts on the subject of missionary work in a foreign field. The list of items covered is by no means exhaustive and the writer would enjoy the opportunity to discuss these and other thoughts with anyone whose heart has been kindled with a desire to participate in this portion of God’s service. These thoughts have been gleaned from discussions with those who have been in the field for a number of years and also represent the personal observations of the writer himself who had the opportunity to spend a few months in Jamaica.
Preparation for a Career
Although the trend today is toward total support for a person or couple allowing them to devote all of their time to the Lord’s work, this trend will in all probability never go beyond a short period of time (a year or two). One is still faced with the problem of selecting a career to provide for the necessities of life. We would hope that the missionary himself would recognize the responsibility of supporting himself and follow in the footsteps of Paul, who, though he did not discourage support for those engaged in a portion of God’s work, chose to maintain himself.
Developing countries desperately need people to fulfill functions in the basic service areas. People skilled in the areas of teaching, medicine and agriculture can, besides bringing the recipients the Bread of Life, make a positive contribution to the welfare of the country in which they are living.
The overall question that should be in the minds of young people who are planning a career and wish to do missionary work is, what sort of skills and training are needed in a developing country, specially those countries where the Christadelphians have been or are becoming engaged in preaching activity. A little research in the geography section of any library should provide some answers.
The “Best” Time to undertake Missionary Work
The young person sees life before him as a series of events, each event taking a certain amount of time. After graduation from High School it’s on to college, then graduate school or military obligation (for those in the States) or both, then marriage and raising a family. To fit a year or two of missionary work into the “schedule” seems to extend the whole plan so far into the future we become discouraged at the possibility of it ever being fulfilled.
Setting a goal early in life of devoting one or two years to missionary work will certainly raise that person’s chances of getting into the field. A summer vacation might be an excellent way for a person to get a taste of missionary work. He would go to an area where there is an established ecclesia and a resident missionary and concentrate on preaching leaving the pastoral work to those in the area. The satisfactions that come from a short stay such as this can be a tremendous motivation for a future longer stay.
Those couples who have gone right into the missionary field after marriage report that the sharing of the problems that arise in missionary work have served as a strengthening and unifying force to the marriage. Leaving shortly after marriage gets a young couple away from the tempting credit cards, installment payments and mortgages which provide considerable obstacles to overcome later on.
The possibility of combining things is not completely out of the question We know of a brother who is presently doing missionary work, serving a residency requirement in his professional field and doing his two year obligation to the country at the same time A little unique perhaps but not impossible
Learning a Second Language
A great deal of the work currently being undertaken is in the Spanish language A young person is strongly urged to take advantage of high school and college courses in languages For those who consider Spanish a little pedestrian and desire the more esoteric, we might remind you that one of the areas where the truth has grown the most rapidly in the past ten years has a dialect called Bantu Chinyanga
Familiarity with the Area
Access to good libraries and courses in geography offer the person going to school a tremendous opportunity to study the area where he is planning to go It is good to know the political structure of the country as this sometimes has ramifications Which extend to the brotherhood in the country It is good to know as much as you can about the economy of the country Unique cultural differences may save the missionary a great deal of grief in dealing with residents.
Knowledge of a country’s conditions, especially the poverty that exists in most developing countries can lessen the phenomena called “cultural shock” which strikes all visitors to a greater or lesser degree
The Missionary’s Goal
The missionary s overall goal should be to develop light-stands which can become independent ecclesias operating with only the occasional help from visiting speakers Finding and training leaders is a major part of his work He must constantly resist the temptation to do things himself, encouraging the local brothers to undertake the responsibility, realizing that this is the way by which the new found ecclesia will grow the quickest
Preparing for Speaking Duties
There is no question that a good command of first principle subjects is a prerequisite A good working knowledge of subjects such as the promises to Abraham, the return of Christ, the kingdom, the death and resurrection of Christ, the nature of man and the devil will provide the missionary with adequate material for his public talks which will be many
Bro Ron Abel’s book on wrested scripture is an excellent aid to handling arguments presented by other religious groups A good week spent copying Ron’s material into our Bible saved us more than once from public embarrassment
The missionary must remember that lie is a student of the Word first Presentations which razzle and dazzle an audience often have built in assumptions which would never survive a critical audience An audience less familiar with their Bible gives no license to the speak, er to be less critical of his own handling of the Word Any public speaking should always be approached with a great deal of humility, especially in the area of prophecy It is in this area where we often present things as gospel truths when they are at best hypotheses
Preparation For Pastoral Work
When a young person goes into the missionary field he is suddenly catapulted from being just another member of an ecclesia to a position of leadership and authority He should be prepared to meet these responsibilities and recognize that his personal demeanor is going to affect the ecclesia Study on such subjects as marriage and divorce which are usually left to the gray heads back home will stand the missionary in good stead when faced with a problem that he is expected to offer some guidance on
Sisters also face a much greater responsibility in teaching Sunday School, Sisters classes and administering to the sick She often has the time to conduct personal study classes and should be quite familiar with first principle subjects
Welfare policies should be well developed and adhered to This can be one of the most trying problems of the young missionaries There is a great need for clarification of thinking among the brotherhood on the question of welfare and the missionary is far too often left on his own to by trial and error learn the pitfalls of welfare It’s a thorny problem and should be recognized by the missionary as such
However much one is involved in pastoral work, he should realize that he is principally a guide His overall goal is to develop a strong independent ecclesia that can stand for many years after he leaves
Expenses
A missionary venture can be sometimes quite expensive This should not deter any young person who is properly motivated to go into this work It often happens that when the Bible Mission itself is unable to underwrite a portion of expenses, a private individual steps forward and assumes the financial burden Don’t be discouraged if your first request is turned down A few years can make a great deal of difference and you may realize that the first turn-down was for your own good
Bible Mission Committee
Since the Bible Mission committee is responsible for administering ecclesias in missionary fields and raising and distributing the necessary funds, it is important that the missionary work closely with the committee They have had the experience and close contact with the area that is required for proper administration
Waiting In Patience
What does one do while lie is waiting to finish school or to finish his two years obligation before he can get into the field? Keeping busy and active in campaigns and preaching work at home will help him to handle the work he plans to undertake There are very few brethren and sisters in the foreign field who were not active and busy in their own ecclesias before they left
Forming friendships with those who share an interest in doing missionary work will always help the time to go faster Some who had previously wanted to go to a foreign field have found the work they ye undertaken at home so demanding that they have changed their plans somewhat and intend to concentrate on areas at home such as the campus
Whatever it be that you have set your hand to, may God bless your efforts if it is to be to His glory and honor
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One