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By: Robert E. Zink
May 30, 2024
What does the global church have to say about the local church? That question feels a bit like asking, “What does Athens have to do with Rome?” In a sense, the global church has little influence on an autonomous local church. Yet, the trends of the global church speak to what’s happening within the local church. That’s why I found a recent article from Desiring God interesting (1).
Through the article, Zane Pratt (a professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) surveys the landscape of global missions through six trends. During my involvement in missions in the last 13 years, I can say that a number of missionaries would confirm these trends. I have no intention of recounting those trends – obviously, that article has already been written. However, I think the six trends reveal something not just about the state of global missions but the state of the church.
I find myself particularly struck by the first trend that Professor Pratt brings forth: Christianity's shifting center of gravity. The point that he makes is that missions is shifting from the West (specifically Europe and North America) to the global Southeast (notably from Asia). This is a trend that quite a few missionaries have seen over the years, and the implication is that fewer missionaries are being sent out from North America and more are being sent out from Asian countries. That shift tells us some things about the North American church while also demanding a response from us.
In pride, we may lament the fact that the United States in particular is no longer the leader in sending out missionaries. Personally, I'm OK with this if it's for the right reasons. To see others take the lead in global missions conjures up excitement because it means that the Lord is at work elsewhere. It also means they are not dependent on us in the United States.
The Lord's work should never be so dependent upon an individual group of people that if they cease their role, then the entire work collapses. Now, we know the Lord is capable, always preserving a remnant for the continuation of His Work, but I bring this up because we see this at a small scale. In the local church, or even in global missions, we have seen when a pastor or missionary leaves, the entire work ceases to exist. In the case of missions sustainability, though, we are seeing others raised up to fulfill the Great Commission, which is exciting.
In light of this shift, we begin to ask not, “What can we do to be better again?” but “What can we do to make others better?" The Great Commission is not a competition but cooperation. It's about utilizing the gifts of the body of Christ for the glory of God in the Great Commission of God. What gifts do we have within our churches here that can help enhance and encourage the missions of the churches there?
The easy answer is to point to our wealth and suggest directing that towards missions of others. If godly stewardship for particular churches or individuals warrants this, then certainly that can be an answer. However, let's think beyond our pocketbooks and consider other gifts we may have. Maybe we have gifted teachers who can support the missionaries, either by teaching them or by coming to the field to teach those they are reaching out to. We have some who are gifted in evangelism, so perhaps a visit in country would be helpful for making contacts. There are options and opportunities, but it means we have to ask, “What can we do?” and know our churches well enough to answer that question.
One of the key highlights of this shift is that it does not just speak to trends in missions, but it speaks to trends in Christianity within the United States. The transfer of sending from the West to the Southeast is not merely the result of increased efforts in the Southeast; it is also initiated by a decrease in sending from the United States. That decrease in missionaries is indicative of some larger-scale issues at hand, namely in the area of making disciples.
It may be that as the culture becomes antagonistic towards Christian beliefs and behaviors, fulfilling the Great Commission has become more difficult. However, this is only a partial explanation. Reality shows that fewer Christians actively engage in evangelism and discipleship. Thus, our failure to send our missionaries is partly because of our failure to evangelize. Therefore, Zane Pratt's insight about this change in missions compels us to recognize our shortcomings and call out the need to participate in the Great Commission more actively. In fact, he even says this, suggesting that the West needs to be reevangelized.
Finally, this shift brings up another concern. If we are not raising up missionaries for service overseas, we aren’t raising up pastors for service at home. This premise presents a problem for us because it means that we are in a concerning cycle in which we engage less in evangelism, causing fewer disciples, which ultimately limits the number of people called to ministry. And what happens when there are fewer people called to ministry? There are fewer people to motivate people towards evangelism, thus leading to a further decrease.Admittedly, that sounds a bit pragmatic and I don’t mean to minimize the Lord’s role as the ultimate authority in raising up missionaries or pastors. However, neither do I want us to be complacent in our responsibility as followers of Christ. Therefore, this shift reminds us of our call to equip people for the work, not just discipling them for following Christ but discipling them to serve Christ.
Articles like The State of Global Missions in 2024 can serve to discourage believers, reminding us of our shortcomings, and maybe we should be discouraged. But they also serve as a reminder that our Lord is in control, sovereignly orchestrating His plan while acting as a catalyst to call us to faithful obedience to fulfill the work that God has prepared in advance for us to do. Therefore, we read this and are excited, encourage others, engage in evangelism, and equip the body of Christ.
(1) You can find the article, titled The State of Global Missions in 2024 published on May 2, 2024 at the following link: https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-state-of-global-missions-in-2024.
