” that Last time used Kelly O’Donnell’s definition of Missionary Care / Member Care. O’Donnell says, “Member care is the ongoing investment of resources by mission agencies, churches, and other mission organizations for the nurture and development of missionary personnel. It focuses on everyone in missions (missionaries, support staff, children and families) and does so over the course of the missionary life cycle, from recruitment through retirement.” ( O’Donnell, Kelly, Ed., Doing Member Care Well: Perspectives and Practices From Around the World (Pasadena, William Carey Library, 2002), 4.) A definition of Missionary Care / Member Care is nice, but is there a biblical mandate to do Missionary / Member Care?
Does the Bible come out and say “Thou shalt commit to doing missionary care”? Or does it provide us a specific command to do missionary care? Well, honestly, we do not see anywhere in Scripture where it provides us with a specific command to do missionary care? Well if that is the case then is missionary care Biblical?
We would say that we believe that Missionary Care is God honoring and pleasing to Him, and not just because we are doing it. We believe that there is solid biblical evidence which strongly encourages us to do Missionary Care. First, when an individual or a family steps up and believes they are called to be a missionary, they are part of a local church (at least they better be!). When they are in the church there is clear evidence that they are one of the sheep (members) and should be cared for while there. There are around 100 “one another” statements in Scripture that help guide us in proper relationships with in the local church family as well as among Christians in general. For instance, “love one another” as found in John 13:34-35, 15:12 and 1 Peter 1:22. Also, “through love, serve another” as found in Galatians 5:13. We also see “confess sins to one another” in James 5:16. The list of “one another” commands goes on and on. These are things we are to be doing toward one another or not doing toward one another (like bite, devour) with in the body of Christ. When an individual or a family leaves their congregation to go overseas (or even with in the U.S.A.) they do not cease nor should they cease to be a member of that local body of Christ. Therefore they should continue to be cared for in some manner as any regular attender / member is.
Secondly, as we read the New Testament and follow the missionary journey’s of Paul in the Book of Acts you will see that the local church sought to not only minister to Paul and his team financially but they also invested in them in other ways. For instance, when we look at Acts we see the first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas occur in Chapters 13-14. In Acts 15, we find Paul and Barnabas go back to the Jerusalem church, which would most likely be called their sending church, to report back about what the Lord was doing as well as resolve doctrinal issues that had come up. In particular we see the Jerusalem church send them out in verses 22 and following. Also, we find the Ephesian Elders ministering to Paul in Acts 20:17 and following. As you look at Philippians and other places you see members of the local church doing missionary care toward Paul and his team. So as we look at the New Testament we may not find a direct command from God to provide Missionary Care, but we do see it happening regularly. The Church today should follow the example that we believe is clearly set forth throughout the New Testament.
Lastly, practically we need to see the huge need for Missionary’s to be cared for. As you read such information as found in the blog “Closer to the Truth about Current Missionary Attrition: An Initial Analysis of Results”, written by Katie Rowe on April 16, 2018, the number one preventable reason missionaries leave the field is lack of missionary care. The latest research indicates that missionaries are lacking missionary care and the church can easily help meet this need. With the onset of modern technology and the relative ease we can connect with others around the world, the church needs to help fill as many gaps in the missionary’s life as possible. We can now minister to missionaries who are often times lonely, hurting and struggling. We need to realize that missionaries are simply human beings with a call on their lives by God to leave everything they know and head overseas to serve the Lord. The local church can and should care for missionaries.
Next time, we will answer the question, “Who Is to provide Missionary Care: the Sending Agency or the Sending Church?”.
Recent Comments