Missionary Fuel II
Another Helpful Collection of Powerful Missions Messages
I’ve got a problem.
I come across more (good!) articles on missions than I can keep up with.
Thus, the tabs on my browser keep increasing exponentially.
Something had to be done, and this is it.
Below you will find a number of powerful articles (in no particular order) on various aspects of missions. Maybe I’ll list them by source. This is definitely something to bookmark if you have a passion for spreading God’s fame among the nations.
So without further ado, here’s a few months worth of missionary fuel all in one place…
What Does the Bible Teach About Language Learning for Missions
Language is such a bear! If you’ve ever lived in a country where your own language is not widely spoken, you know the feeling. But, as a missionary, the purpose of language acquisition goes beyond convenience. You’ve been called to proclaim the gospel, make disciples, and plant churches among the unreached.
Fulfilling the Great Commission involves sacrifice and even suffering, and willingly submitting to the Lord’s call on your life. You recognize that part of that sacrifice is taking the time and effort to learn a new language, maybe even two.
But, if there is a biblical reason for the time and energy spent learning a heart language, could you make a clear case from scripture? Could you cite chapter and verse to explain why learning the language is not just helpful for missionaries, but a God-given task?
In a word; let the Lord be your portion, and Christ your leader and confidence; let grace be your speech, and humility your dress; let secret and social prayer be your breath; the glory of God in the salvation of souls your object, and heaven your final rest. Go, then, with the tender companions of your bosoms, like pilgrims and strangers, and lay your bodies by the side of Ziegenbalg and Swartz, that you may meet them and Eliot and Brainerd, and all other faithful missionaries, in the realms of light, and so be ever with the Lord. We, in the meantime, will pray, that the salvation of souls may be your joy, and crown of rejoicing in the day of the Lord. Amen.
Forged for the Frontlines: Essential Qualities for Pioneer Missionaries
The task of pioneer church planting should be approached with seriousness and diligence. Although no one can predict whether a person will successfully plant a church in an unreached language group. . .both churches and individuals should thoughtfully consider what is required to be a faithful pioneer church planter.
Those who go are real people with real lives, sent to some of the most challenging places in the world to share the glory of Christ and His church. This is not a matter to be taken lightly. Those who send must ensure that candidates are equipped with the necessary tools and resources for a successful mission.
Three Pillars of (Pioneer) Church Planting
My wife and I served among the Yembiyembi people for 13 years. How the gospel came to them could model what church planting looks like today as we send out workers to go to the ends of the earth.
We told them we were going to do four things: learn their language, teach them how to read and write in their own language, translate this really important book, and teach them what that book says.
Seven Lessons for (Missionary) Church Planters
The word of God can and should apply to all cultures in the world. The Spirit can work in people’s hearts savingly through the word of God, regardless of any culture differences.
My job is not to entertain people with all kinds of gimmicks, much less compromise the truth. Rather, my job as missionary is to preach and teach God’s word faithfully and clearly, and to pray for the Spirit to bless the preaching and teaching so that it will bring saving effect to boys and girls, men and women. . .
There are still many places in the world where the gospel is hardly heard. There are still many places in the world where people are weary and scattered like sheep without a shepherd. . .
Would you ask the Lord to help you to pray faithfully for the mission work over the world for the glory of our Savior?
My first time at a missions conference, I remember seeing booths with signs picturing happy and excited college-aged students. They boasted slogans like “Come Change the World,” “Have the Adventure of a Lifetime,” and “Be a World-Changer.” Each appealed to desires for self-fulfillment, fun, and excitement.
God’s word offers missionaries a different set of expectations, contrary to the idealization and romanticization of those slogans. We need look no further than perhaps the greatest missionary of all time, the Apostle Paul, whose missionary conference slogans might’ve been something like, “Come be afflicted in every way” (2 Corinthians 4:8) or maybe “Come be imprisoned more than your friends” (2 Corinthians 11:23).
Why Good Books Matter for Newly Churched Areas
[Here’s a] favorite quote of mine that demonstrates the unique strength of the written word for missions. As longtime missionary to the Middle East, Samuel Zwemer, put it:
“Although it is obvious that it can never be a substitute for the living voice, it is often true that the [written] message is more persuasive, more permanent and reaches a larger audience than that spoken by human lips. The printed page is the ubiquitous missionary and the printed message has often entered closed lands and penetrated into the most secluded villages.”
That is why this work is crucial. Books last into perpetuity, speaking long after their authors pass on. They can travel, be shared, traded, smuggled, or bought. For the sake of building the church, we must continue pressing on in pursuit of gospel-centered publishing and translation efforts, in hopes that more people’s life and faith may be more deeply influenced by the power of written Christian witness, to the glory of God.
What Makes the Mission Field Difficult?
In short, many things, including some that you would not necessarily expect:
“Language makes it difficult. . . poverty makes it difficult. I would say educational distances between the missionary and the person they’re seeking to reach can make it difficult. I would say persecution can make it difficult. I would say government red tape can make it difficult.”
Throughout the history of the Church, I’m not sure if there has been a term more detrimental to the completion of the Great Commission than the phrase ‘the call.’ The confusion surrounding this term and the hesitancy of thousands of potential gospel workers to move forward without a clear ‘call’ is tragic.
How this term came to have such power in the realm of missions is hard to say, but there is no doubt about its effect on many people’s minds.
In my own case, I’m grateful for a youth pastor who didn’t use that terminology. He talked about a ‘command,’ and thus many, many of ‘his kids’ spent decades overseas. Learning languages, doing evangelism, discipling young believers, planting churches, doing translations… and all without a call, but with a deep conviction that God wanted to be known and honored among every tongue, tribe, and nation. Who needs a call when a clear command has been issued by the One took my sin upon himself?
It’s time to de-mystify the call. Let’s focus our efforts and the best of our young people on completing the Great Commission.
Questions to Ask Sending Organizations
Question #1: What is the Gospel?
If you want to cut to the root of what an organization holds to, you need to ask them to articulate the gospel in two paragraphs or less. If it’s longer, about anything can sneak through. Two paragraphs are easily sufficient to see if they major on sin, lostness, Hell, redemption, substitution, atonement, Christ’s finished work, and reconciliation with the Father.
Question #2: What is a Church?
At Radius we spend hours and hours going over the church, the students have pop quizzes on it before class, they must be able to give a definition of a church from memory to graduate. It’s core to what we do. If you don’t know what the finish line is, what is the mission of the church, how will you get there?
Question #3. What level of fluency does someone need to have to share the gospel?
When someone jumps into a gospel presentation and they know the language at a novice level (most missionaries top out at Novice High/Intermediate Low) and they know the culture at a basic level, the gospel is anything but clear and false converts abound.
How fluent does an organization mandate its members to be before they share the gospel? Too often the answer is “whenever they want,” to the detriment of gospel clarity.
Things I Never Learned In Missions 101
Missionary life will break you, reshape you, and humble you in ways you never imagined—but this breaking is the pathway to true joy and eternal impact. If you’re considering this calling, know that while the cost is real, the reward is greater: seeing Christ formed in you and in those you serve. This sacred work of carrying light into darkness is worth every sacrifice, every tear, and every “death to self.” Don’t let fear of the unknown hold you back from this greatest adventure of faith, and the joy of obeying Jesus with your life.
