Four Building Blocks For Lifetime Service
by Robertson McQuilkinGod sent His only Son as a missionary to people who were without hope. It was a sacrificial plan, a costly one - but such is His love. The Apostle Paul spoke of himself as a colaborer with God. In God’s primary work of redemption, the career missionary is a special apostolic emissary - a credentialed ambassador of the King of all kings!
There are four important building blocks for a life of missionary service. To discover and shape them, you need a team. God has provided this team in His church.
1. Heart Preparation
If your attitudes and behavior don’t give people a valid picture of the character of Jesus Christ, what kind of salvation will you have to offer? The key is continual personal sacrifice, ever moving toward a greater likeness to the Savior. The path for this constant personal growth is a solid prayer life - a discipline that is learned over time.
2. Active Involvement in Ministry
Gifts of the Spirit are needed for full-time missionary service. For example, the gift of evangelism is needed for church planting work. There’s only one way to know if you have the gifts you need: minister. Try it, find out what your abilities are, and develop them.
But be patient. Give the process time. Don’t decide too soon that you don’t have a particular gift you think you need. I made this mistake. I assumed that if I had the gift of evangelism I must become a little Billy Graham. I pleaded with God to give me the gift of evangelism and expected people to respond to the gospel in droves when I spoke to a crowd. If I didn’t have this kind of gift, how else could I be a pioneer missionary?
Finally, I realized I had restricted my definition of evangelism. I discovered God was preparing me for evangelism in Japan, where mass meetings were not the best way to communicate the gospel. I could settle among unevangelized people and love them to Jesus Christ.
3. Formal Preparation/Basic Education
One of the normal contemporary routes to an effective ministry includes formal study of God, Scripture, and missions. Even those going into support roles in missions, like medicine and technology, can benefit from a year of Bible study. These support people must be able to function as part of the team and participate in winning others to faith and building up the church.
A full degree program in a Bible college or seminary is valuable for those pursuing a career in evangelism or Bible teaching. Find a school that has a strong reputation for preparing full-time missionaries - just as you would choose the best possible medical school if you were preparing to become a doctor. Consult with mission leaders to determine the relative quality of the schools that interest you.
4. Language and Cultural Studies
Don’t skimp on these. Don McAlpine arrived in Japan with the conviction that the Communists would take over momentarily or the Lord would return. He never paused long enough to learn the language - or the culture, either.
Using an interpreter for more than 30 years, he became a premier church-starting evangelist. He compensated for his lack of language and his occasional lapses in cultural sensitivity by maintaining a strong prayer life and a deep love for people. Of the hundreds of missionaries I’ve known, he is the only exception I’ve found to the rule of careful language and cultural study.
A Church Home
To fit these four building blocks of a missionary career together properly, build a relationship with at least one church that will give you partnership in vision and prayer. For confirmation of your call, for supervised experience in ministry, for prayer and financial support, for accountability and reinforcement while on the field, there is no substitute for a strong sending church.
When you are ready to choose a mission body and a place of service, one will follow the other. Some feel called to a particular location and look for the mission best suited to reach that particular people. Others choose the agency first, to be sure of the “team” before deciding on the “playing field.” If your church sends all its missionaries through a single board, then your choice of a board is predetermined. If not, your church can help you find the best mission agency for you - one that matches your doctrinal and philosophical views of missions, your gifts, and your calling.
If God calls you, He will prepare and empower you. What a glorious calling - to spend your life in partnership with the missionary God, reaching those whom He loves and has chosen!
Robertson McQuilkin is President Emeritus of Columbia International University in Columbia, South Carolina, and served as a church planting missionary in Japan.
Unless otherwise noted, all materials on the urbana.org web site are Copyright InterVarsity Christian Fellowship / USA. All rights reserved.
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