The Command is to Send Missionaries, Not Just Receive Them: A Call to the Church in Latin America
A Tale of Two Realities
Is your church a missionary church? Are you committed to praying for your brother or sister from your church? Are you giving towards or preparing them to go on a mission trip? Do you have a desire to work in missions?
In many Latin American countries, great missionary efforts from foreign organizations have been witnessed. Many churches have received groups of “missionaries,” and some have met them personally who work in their town or even in their local church. Many of the people in the Dominican Republic have been the fruit of these missionary efforts. What has been done in Latin America has happened despite the problems of the region, and God has used them despite these many difficulties. By God’s grace, the church arrived, and today, we have worshipers of Jesus Christ in Latin America for this reason. Does it have its problems? Yes. Is there work to be done? Very much! But we give thanks and glory to God first for that.
Nonetheless, there is something worrying that happened with the “passing of the torch of the Gospel”. The vision fell short in many places, or the mission was not communicated well in its fullness. When a people recognizes their responsibility to reach their population with the Gospel, they are headed in the right direction. But it must be understood that within the mandate remains the element of going beyond, and we can’t ignore it. So we must define the terms.
Defining the Terms: Evangelism vs. Missions
What happened after the transfer of that sacred truth? How did the gospel change as it passed from one distant land to another? Why do many countries receive missionaries? Generally speaking, very few in Latin America are sending missionaries to other places. Many believe that evangelizing their own people is enough. They think bringing the Gospel to other places in their own country is enough to participate in the Great Commission. For many, this is their concept of missions, and it falls short.
I have personally witnessed national “mission” campaigns by a certain denomination that focused their entire month of missions on encouraging people to share the Gospel in their neighborhoods, where most of their neighbors were exactly like them. I applaud the effort, but note that it was an emphasis on evangelism, not missions. When I was asked to speak at a church participating in this, as the only missionary there, I gently but clearly stated that the day’s activities focused more on evangelism, not missions, and that we shouldn’t stop there. I clearly remember receiving many blank stares after saying that, as their concept of missions was actually only evangelism. The terms must be defined.
Let’s see what the gospel of Matthew 28:18-20 says:
Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
Based on this text, Jesus declares his supreme authority before His disciples and gives them orders and a promise that include:
- Going to other places.
- Making disciples of all nations (παˊνταταˋἔθνη), which refers to groups with ethnolinguistic and cultural differences, within any nation, and outside in other nations as well.
- Baptizing believers.
- Teaching them to obey Him.
- Jesus promises to be with us always.
A biblical church should understand the importance of evangelizing and making disciples, which includes teaching new believers how to follow Christ. Many also grasp the ordinance of baptism and the importance of growing in knowledge and obedience. But for one reason or another, we have failed greatly in a vitally important element of the Great Commission. The mandate includes going beyond, to people different from us, in an intentionally transcultural ministry that crosses ethnolinguistic and geographical barriers. This ministry intentionally takes the Gospel to people different from us and starts the same process with them as was done when the Gospel came to our context. While some churches have managed to send, these churches are few if we are honest in light of the big picture.
The Challenge: A Disconnect from the Mandate
It is a mistake to think that evangelizing people of our own culture is the entire mission; in reality, it is only a part of it. The text does not present us with the luxury of only working here or there, one group or another. It is both. The Lord with all authority said to “all nations, to all the world,” and that was a command, not a suggestion. As the King of kings has given His orders, missions should not be optional for the church. I agrees with John Piper when he says,
“We only have three options, to go, to send, or to disobey”.
I can share with great sadness about the time a pastor told me he was not interested in reaching out to “those people” (speaking of a certain nationality from a neighboring land), stating, “They can visit my church if they want, but I will not reach out to them beyond that”. My heart was broken, as this pastor was contradicting part of the mandate of Jesus, and the irony is that missionaries from other countries brought the Gospel to his country and he regularly received American teams, yet was not willing to do unto others that which was done for him.
Below, are some evidences that show many churches have lost their focus on the mission:
- Churches with growth invest their resources in secondary matters, sometimes even going into debt, for things like better equipment, larger church buildings, and a multitude of fun activities. The author clarifies that these are good things, and none of them are sinful in and of themselves, but the budgets of each church reveal a lot about the true priorities.
- They receive missionaries from other countries who come and help, yet lack any urgency to imitate that sacrifice and dedication for others. What was received was never only for us.
- They have no long-term plan to prepare and send missionaries from local churches.
- They have no funds allocated in the church budget to support people already working in the mission field.
- They have no place on their prayer list for missionaries in other countries or for the Lord to raise up missionaries from their congregation.
It’s time for us to learn to obey the Lord and step outside our comfort zones, which is God’s plan. We should not give ourselves the luxury of ignoring the most difficult parts of following Christ. We should remember that in the book of Acts, the disciples faced persecution and endured it to spread the Gospel to other cities and nations. We should not expect anything different for us.
A Practical Plan for Participation
Here are some suggestions for adjusting our focus and beginning to participate in the Great Commission:
- Firstly, we must pray. Let us pray for missionaries in other countries, for brothers and sisters who give their lives in much more difficult contexts.
- Let us pray that the Lord will put a passion in the hearts of His church, that they may be willing to go and make disciples of other nations.
- Let us pray for provision so that we can support missionaries and eventually send others. Faithfulness is more important than quantity, and people who give and pray for missions faithfully have an equally important role.
- Let us pray and choose a country, and pray often for the missions and the church of that country. Praying for missions in other nations is participating in those missions. We depend on the Lord, and we can’t do it in our own strength.
- Let us pray that the Lord will raise someone up from your church to the mission field, and ask yourself if it could be you and if you would be willing.
- Be intentional in preparing leaders. This should always be a priority in any church, and faithful men who know the Word of Truth are ideal candidates. For them to be effective as missionaries, they must be good theologians.
- Above all, do the work of an evangelist. Preach to everyone. Be intentional in seeking opportunities to build relationships with people from other cultures, taking time to learn about them and their culture, with the goal of preaching the gospel to them. This is also participating in missions.
If you open your eyes, you will realize that God often even brings a mission field to your own doorstep. Opportunities abound, Christ has all authority and has promised to be with us. What else do we need? What stops us?
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” – Jesus
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