Vietnam Evangelical Covenant Church – Christian organizations often address knowledge, without focusing on the character and skills that help missionaries survive and thrive in cross-cultural ministry. The place best able to confirm a person’s missionary calling is the local church.
“And how can they preach unless they are sent?” (Romans 10:15). Sending missionaries is a vital responsibility of the church. But whom to send, and on what basis, needs careful thought. This article reminds us that sending should rest on God’s call and spiritual character, not just knowledge or skills. Scripture quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB).
Sending Missionaries According to God’s Call
When we read 3 John, we often miss a small detail with big significance: how the first churches did mission. This passage teaches us how the church sends people out.
Missionaries had visited Gaius and were warmly received by the church. When John heard this, he wrote to commend Gaius, a church leader, and to urge him to send these missionaries on their way (v. 6). The phrase “send on their way” appears several times in the New Testament, mostly in mission contexts. John not only encourages sending missionaries out; he wants the church to send them “in a manner worthy of God” (v. 6).
“Sending” Rather Than “Having”
There is a big difference between a church that “has” missionaries (including keeping them in the budget) and a church that “sends” missionaries. Sending is a verb implying intentional action, carried out carefully and thoroughly. “Having” can sound as though missionaries owe you something because they belong to your church.
A 1997 study by William Taylor found that a large share of missionaries leave the field each year, often because they were not carefully trained and equipped. Taylor concluded, in essence, that sending organizations tend to focus on knowledge rather than the character and skills that help missionaries survive and thrive cross-culturally, and that the local church is the best place to confirm a person’s missionary calling.
3 Things to Remember
So in the 21st century, what must we do to send missionaries in a manner worthy of God’s call? Here are three suggestions:
1. Avoid illusions about Christianity around the world
The easiest way to fail in mission is not to have a clear picture of what is happening in the world. Living in a technological world, we can easily learn about other nations and connect with Christians there to understand the situation in the country you are focusing on.
2. Recruit and equip
Jesus told the church, “Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest” (Matthew 9:38). Begin recruiting through prayer, and God answers in different ways, perhaps through a church program or by the Holy Spirit speaking to individuals. If your church has never sent a missionary, perhaps you have forgotten to pray about it. Once you have recruited someone, you must equip them (Ephesians 4:11–12). If you lack experience training missionaries, boldly seek help from organizations or people who are already doing it.
3. Commission and send
When missionaries are ready to go, commissioning is a public declaration that you bless and support them. It means you commit to at least two things:
- Finances. John reminded Gaius’ church that the missionaries had accepted nothing from the pagans (v. 7). Your church and individual members need to commit to supporting missionaries financially. Don’t try to “keep” many missionaries on staff and pay them each month; instead, select and send them out to other places. I know many stories of missionaries’ financial struggles. Sometimes they are forgotten by their churches and face great stress about money while ministering far from home. One critic said a person can live easily in another country by working at least two jobs, but I believe missionaries need to devote themselves fully to ministry when that is God’s call, so that His work can advance fully.
- Spiritual care. When missionaries board the plane, leaving behind family, country, culture and customs, they may be entering the hardest years of their lives. There will be stress and pressure they don’t know whom to share with. So who will care for them? Are you willing to spend time listening to and encouraging them? Will you talk with them online? Will you give them a safe place to open their hearts freely?
We live in a constantly changing world with challenges and hardships ahead. So we need to care for and encourage missionaries so they don’t feel alone, especially in their first years of ministry.
Covered by God’s Glory
3 John 7–8 defines the kind of mission we should support: those who go out “for the sake of the Name,” sent in a manner worthy of God. Likewise, Paul wanted “to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for His name’s sake” (Romans 1:5). The church needs to send people with a passion for mission like Jesus’… for the glory of the LORD.
God is not most glorified in us when we go out to prove something, win others’ approval or satisfy ourselves. He is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him. And we are most satisfied in Him when our hardships and persecution are joined with His sufferings, so that He is honored.
Send Them Out
Church: Mission agencies don’t send anyone; churches must send missionaries. Recruit. Equip. Commission. And when they are ready, send them out so God’s name is glorified.
Individual: Don’t rob yourself of your own responsibility by just giving money to missionaries and telling yourself “my job is done.” Be ready to step forward: “Here am I. Send me!”
The Church and Sending Missionaries
In Acts 13, the church in Antioch sent Barnabas and Saul after fasting, praying and hearing the Holy Spirit. That is still the pattern for the church today: pray, discern the call and walk alongside those who are sent.
Every believer has a part in sending missionaries: praying, giving, encouraging and caring for their families. Some go and some hold the rope, but all share one mission.
You may also like: 10 Prayers for Missions and Mission Trips and Effective Short-Term Missions.
Prayer
Lord, raise up those You call to carry the gospel to places that have not yet heard. Give the church wisdom in sending missionaries and faithfulness to walk alongside them. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Article: Thùy Trang
Adapted from: The Gospel Coalition
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