Generations of spiritual giants returning from the mission field have left the impression that missionaries are supermen. Our missionaries are made of the same stuff that you are.
-Philip Armstrong
Though I only have a vague recollection of what he looked like, no memory of any conversation with him or whatever, I did have the chance to meet Philip Armstrong when I was a young boy. I knew him as the General Director of Far Eastern Gospel Crusade (now known as SEND International) a missions organization with which my parents served and my grandparents on my Dad's side served with as well.
I came across this quote of Armstrong's recently and it captures something I've thought since returning to the US for college. I say this as a missionary kid, who only recently had lived more years in my homeland than the number of years I lived in a foreign country, and as a person who to this point has committed his live to full-time ministry. Too often we view those whom God calls to serve overseas as super-Christians or better-thans. Just because God hasn't called those who remain in the homeland, wherever that might be, doesn't make them less-thans. And interestingly, God uses strikingly similar approaches to making disciples regardless of what ocean you're closest too, so it's not like those in other countries live a Christian life that looks much different than the way we live our lives. I watched my Dad build relationships with Filipinos at the sari-sari stores at the end of the block as they grabbed the morning breakfast bread that everyone eats in the morning. And in a very similar fashion I know of many who are building relationships with the people they run into at Sheetz every morning as they pick up their morning coffee. Being the active kid that I was, I became friends with Filipino kids which eventually gave my parents an in to talk with the parents, not that much different from your kids who are in sports leagues, school plays and the like and because of car-pooling needs or parties etc., you get to know mom and dad.
Beyond the obvious, how does this impact the ministries of Grace? We need to view Missions as an extension of our ministry, not as a separate function from the rest of our ministries. Everything we do is missions. The purpose is the same: to make disciples. We're all praying that God would work through us to add more people to His Kingdom. The way all of that is carried out has a lot of similarities too. We invest in curriculum materials for our children through adult ministries, and if they don't already, I'm pretty sure the Beuggerts will too. We allocate resources to fix plumbing problems, so do the Weavers. So when you see the church budget for 2007-2008 in a few months, don't be surprised if Missions is replaced with something like Judea/Samaria/Ends of the Earth Ministries. That's really what they are, aren't they? Following our Biblical directive, it's our participation in what God is doing in the church universal.
Missionaries serving overseas are no different than the Christians who work at RR Donnelley or any other capacity. Missionaries don't wear capes, just maybe a sarong or a toga, depending on the country. What's taken me several paragraphs and a couple hundred words to express, Armstrong captured in three sentences...
You have your call: it is to God. If you accepted that call you are at divine disposal. Stop making distinctions about home and abroad. Don't let geography represent a roadblock.
-Philip Armstrong
