Tomorrow's Missionaries . . .

by Ray Thompson

“ Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.”

As a mission agency we are looking into the future and asking the question, “What will be the quality and character of tomorrow’s missionaries?”

Information gathered from missionary applications today does not reveal a traditional family background. Young people are at a disadvantage because of the general breakdown in many areas of our society. Family disturbances such as divorce, remarriage, frequent moves and two-career households have taken a toll on adolescent children. Today’s parents find themselves too busy and too involved in the struggles of life to give the time and direction that children need. The encroachment of immorality has had serious consequences.

In addition to all of this, the crisis seen in public education will have its effect on young people whom God will call into His service. As business executives are fearful of the time when today's teens reach the job market, we should be concerned also.

I recently read an article written by Jim Reapsome in his column Final Analysis in which he stated, “Mission agencies need to look down the road to prepare for at least two monumental shifts in today’s teens: (1) the increasing number who need professional psychiatric help, and (2) the increasing number who are not getting the education they need.” Consequently, tomorrow’s missionary recruits will most likely need emotional and educational rehabilitation.

Jim Reapsome's view is illustrated by the number of Americans between the ages of ten and nineteen that were discharged from psychiatric units between 1980 and 1990. The number ballooned 43 percent, from 126,000 to 180,000, according to the National Center of Health Statistics.

Furthermore, statistics reported by the public press tell us that U.S. corporations spend over $25 billion a year teaching employees skills they should have learned at school. Motorola alone spends $50 million a year teaching seventh-grade math and English to 12,500 factory workers. Kodak is teaching 2,500 to read and write.

I believe Owen Butler, retired chairman of Proctor & Gamble Co., was right when he said, “People have finally recognized that productivity comes from people, not machines. That’s the battle we have lost.”

Since the U.S. business corporations have to spend over $25 billion a year for training, our churches and mission agencies must realize that we will have to make a stronger commitment to pre-field training as well. This means that churches must support their training centers (seminaries, Bible colleges, institutes) financially and then require that proper training be given to their students and missionary trainees. This support will encourage applicants to get all the training they will need for the field and at the same time put forth effort to get their emotional houses in order.

Baptist International Missions, Inc. has its responsibility for regulating requirements and standards. With today's mindset of "instant everything", the temptation to take shortcuts is very strong. For example, some new missionaries want to side-step long arduous language study, but experience has proved this to be a serious mistake. Proper training is requisite for productive ministry. Knowing the language of the people to whom we minister is essential. While visiting in Beijing, China, we found that all the hotel staff spoke to us in English and knew how to care for our needs. I was so impressed that I asked the manager about their training program. He informed me that they all went to English language school for two years. I walked away thinking, "Should they be better trained in another language to serve in a hotel than our missionaries who will be communicating the Gospel of Christ to people in another language.

God expects His people to do the best possible job on the mission field. This can be, and will be, accomplished through the lives of dedicated Christian servants who have been trained to meet the ever-increasing demands of the field to which God has called them. There are hundreds of qualified missionaries on the field now, but we must be adding to their numbers and preparing replacements for those who will have to leave the field in the future.

WORLD PULSE, April 23, 1993, states the problem at hand: “For the first time in five decades, the reported number of overseas missionaries from the United States has fallen, from 50,500 in 1988, to 41,142 in 1992. David Hesselgrave, a missions expert, said the statistics reflect several new trends, including the replacement of long-termers with short-termers, the retirement of post-World War II missionaries, the high cost of support needed for their successors, and the increasing number of local churches that bypass mission agencies.”

In spite of the difficult time in which we live it is not necessary to declare "doom and gloom." God is still calling out skilled, highly motivated, and surrendered servants who are willing and able to hurdle many obsticles. They need our patience and encouragement as they, by God's grace, overcome difficult trends of the day. God's grace is sufficient!

Let us all be challenged to pray more and to be the right kind of role models for our young people. Parents, pastors, educators and all who are concerned about worldwide evangelization are called on to pray and show more concern for TOMORROW'S MISSIONARIES."