by Jon Konnerup
W e hear the phrase “times are a-changing” more and more when it comes to world missions. I hear of various methods of reaching out to the physical and spiritual needs of the world. But I continue to believe in the ultimate importance of career missionaries on the field — as a result of personal experience on the mission field, of the testimony and gratitude of nationals for the long-term training they have received, and of the positive impact our missionaries have made for over 60 years.
I am not the only one who thinks this way. Even self-proclaimed atheist Matthew Parris, who grew up in Africa, writes how he returned to his boyhood home to confirm his belief that missionaries change cultures for the worse. However, he became convinced that career missionaries through their church ministries do much good and have been more effective than secular NGOs, government projects, and international aid efforts. He said, “Christianity changes people’s hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good.” He goes on to say, “Faith does more than support the missionary; it is also transferred to his flock. This is the effect that matters so immensely, and which I cannot help observing.” He admits that the African believers in Christ “don’t fear ancestors, evil spirits or spells. They are curious, engaged with the world. They take action, because they don’t believe they are victims of irresistible fate.”
Parris rejects the notion that missionaries should not have an effect on cultures. Although cultures have their values and strengths, they tend to “grind down the individual spirit, stunting curiosity. People won’t take the initiative, won’t take things into their own hands or on their own shoulders.” He observes, “Christianity, with its teaching of a direct, personal, two-way link between the individual and God, smashes straight through the philosophical/spiritual framework. It offers something to hold onto to those anxious to cast off a crushing tribal groupthink. That is why and how it liberates.”
As a nonbeliever, Parris recognizes an important fact — the gospel changes hearts and minds, transforms societies, and frees people from the cultural chains that bind them. In African cultures where the individual will is stifled, Christ shines the light of spiritual freedom. Churches are needed where people can learn more about Christ, His love for them, and how to love others.
“Removing Christian evangelism from the African equation,” Parris says, would “leave the continent at the mercy of a malign fusion of Nike, the witch doctor, the mobile phone and the machete.” In other words, if you remove from the equation career missionaries living on the field, giving their lives to impact people and their cultures with the gospel, you end up with a world confused and living in utter darkness without hope. Without the missionary, there is no one to exemplify Christ. They might find food, clothes, education, and better health, but how do they find the One who died for their sins?