by Jeff Iorg
Look for International Mission Study 2011 (London) materials available in August from WMU. Photo courtesy of the International Mission Board.
A missional Christian prioritizes people over places. This is true even for those who consider themselves called to be cross-cultural missionaries in the traditional sense.
God does still call some people to change geography—to learn a new culture and language to share the gospel in new places. But “place” is not the defining feature of this type of missionary call. The people, not the place, are God’s focus and should be the ultimate objective of anyone who claims a call to missions.
If the geography is the objective, you are only going on a religious junket—not living missionally as a missionary. If the place is the most important part of the call—you are just a religious tourist.
When a student at our school tells me he or she is called to be a missionary, my normal follow-up question is, “What people do you sense God leading you to reach?” My next question attempts to clarify their understanding of the nature of their call. If, for example, they reply, “God is calling me to China,” I ask them which Chinese church they plan to join while attending seminary.
Their answer reveals so much about their understanding of being a missionary. When a student answers, “Oh, I plan to go to an English-speaking church now, and start working among Chinese when we get to China,” then my response is kind but straightforward. “Oh, I thought you said you were called to reach out to Chinese people. It sounds like you really just want to take a trip to China.”
I try to say it nicely, but I also want to make a point. When God calls you to a specific people group, get busy reaching them (or at least preparing to do it by living among them). Why would a church, mission board, or sending agency support men and women to work with people in another country when they won’t first work with them in their own community?
Thankfully, most students understand their calling is primarily to people—not places. When they tell me about their call, they often ask me to direct them to the nearest church made up of their chosen people group.
One couple moved to seminary, expressed a call to missions in East Asia, joined a local congregation of believers from the country where they planned to serve, worked with second-generation teenagers in the youth ministry, started learning the language, increased their understanding of the culture, and jump-started the acculturation process. When they graduated we endorsed their service in East Asia with great pride, convinced by their lifestyle choices of the authenticity of their call.
The opportunity to work with people from almost any people group is found in almost every major American city today. Even many smaller cities and rural areas have growing international populations. If you are interested in reaching people from another culture, get busy! You can live like a missionary—even in the cross-cultural sense—right where you are.
Adapted from Live Like a Missionary: Giving Your Life for What Matters Most.
Jeff Iorg enjoys umpiring baseball, reading, and searching for the world’s best barbeque restaurant. He and his wife, Ann, have three adult children. His personal ministry includes outreach to the professional baseball community in the Bay Area. He also happens to be the president of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary.
