Friendly Elephants, pt. 3 What does our church get out of supporting missions?

It can be difficult to ascertain how pumping money and resources into supporting missionaries in far off lands is of benefit to our own local churches. We know that we ought to be obedient to the Great Commission, but it can feel like a one-way, guilt-laden pipeline, straining the limits of our church’s giving. While we may identify it as the right thing to do, it can be hard to reconcile with being the most prudent thing to do, especially when giving doesn’t meet budget projections, or when it’s time to add a staff member and financial priorities need to be reevaluated. 

It might be corrective to point out that these are the same stewardship considerations that individuals and families encounter when tithing and giving to church capital campaigns, but tit for tat is probably an insufficient motivator. 

I believe it is this particular return on investment equation that has led many mainstream evangelical churches to conclude that money is best invested in localized ministries which yield local returns, either in the form of church visibility in the community or attenders/members added. When international missions are engaged financially, there is an expectation of return on investment in the form of having a landing pad for short-term trips or some other very tangible or visible benefit. Admittedly, the list of immediate tangible benefits is a short one.

So, what does our church get out of supporting missionaries?

Of the 27 New Testament books, no less than 13 of them are missionary letters from the apostle Paul to the churches involved in his ministry. Few to none of us would regard Paul’s ministry as a one-way affair, draining resources from first-century churches. While the missionaries supported by your church will not be writing New Testament canon, the relationship you have with them can be of great benefit and mutual encouragement. The missionaries you partner with are ministering in varied places, engaging a range of cultures and problem-solving serious and unique challenges. You have a lot to learn from them. Yet, have you invited them to exhort your church? Have you given them permission to share the insights learned cross-culturally that your church could likewise benefit to understand? 

Paul faced a barrage of consistent and grave dangers and disillusionments. A real look into the life and ministry of Paul reveals a man bearing tremendous weight and suffering. The grace of God was made manifest in his frailty, but he was also sustained by the love and care of the churches partnering with him. Consider the eternal impact of the sacrifices of those early churches. I wonder if the Philippians ever complained, “We supported the ministry of Paul, and all we got was this letter”? 

These considerations might clarify the real question: What is the prize your church is striving toward? Is it filling auditoriums, so you can build bigger auditoriums, and fill those next(I recall some parable about barns, Luke 12:16-21)? Is it gravitating into the orbit of influential churches so that yours will be noticed, gain notoriety and your leadership invited to speak at the important meetings(ie. a competitive spirit, 1 Corinthians 3:3-7)? Is it developing cutting-edge ministries which will gain the applause and admiration of the other churches in your area(ie. pride of influence, 1 Corinthians 2:4-5)? 

Missions frees us from the perpetual and degrading cycle of self-elevation and inward gratifications. It is the outlet that keeps our churches from becoming Dead Seas. 

The incarnational ministry of Christ established a model of laying down our lives for those who are not of our tribe, engaging ministry which would not benefit ourselves, and setting aside our own temporal ambitions for those which will resonate in eternity. Obedience to the Great Commission is perhaps the purest proving grounds of our discipleship. 

We know that we are broken and crooked people, and the churches we establish and maintain are as broken and crooked as the people that comprise them. There are 1,001 ways we provoke the Lord’s judgment(Oh what a wonder the precious grace and mercy of our God!), but partnering with missionaries in fulfilling His Great Commission is one way we don’t. If your church is asking what the value is in supporting missions, it may rather find difficulty proving its own value to God. You are a lifeline to your missionaries, but your missionaries are a lifeline to you.