Feature Articles

by Chris Matthews, Director

A hill preacher once prayed, “God send me anywhere as long as I can see it from my front porch.” Like a fable, this fiction has a truth that we must consider. How far is too far for the Gospel’s sake?

The first word of the Great Commission is “Go:” not “wait,” not “gather,” but “go.” And not just go anywhere—go farther. Jesus did not say, “Stay where it is comfortable and convenient.” He said, “Go ye into all the world.” The heartbeat of the Great Commission has always pulsed outward, beyond familiar borders, faces, and languages.

When Jesus walked this earth, He was constantly moving toward the next town, the next village, the next soul. He said plainly, “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth” (Mark 1:38). That simple statement reveals the very purpose for which He came. His ministry was not stationary but advancing—never content with those already reached, always compelled by those who had not yet heard. He came to seek and to save that which was lost.

by Chris Matthews, Director

It is easy to forget that the partnership between churches and missionaries is not merely financial—it is a partnership for the sake of souls. The missionary labors in the field so that churches can reach their fields. When communication between them becomes mechanical, the partnership begins to lose its vitality. The Great Commission was never designed to be carried out by individuals working in isolation. It is a shared work, with each contributing to the same spiritual goal: the salvation of souls. When communication thrives, the partnership flourishes. When it withers, the work weakens.

Raymond, the director of a mission agency and a graduate of Baptist Bible Translators Institute (BBTI), was explaining to a pastor why his church members, Jack and Linda, who planned to be missionaries, needed BBTI. The pastor was not seeing the point. Raymond had spent many years in Africa, and he knew the arduous task facing this young couple, and he also knew how much BBTI had helped him and his wife. Raymond asked the pastor how this couple was going to survive and succeed. The pastor’s reply was, “He’ll figure it out when he gets there.” Unfortunately, most new missionaries are going ill-prepared and trying to figure it out. Experts in the fields of linguistics and anthropology have gone before us and figured out many mysteries of language and culture. Wouldn’t it be wise of us to draw on their expertise? We explain our Advanced Missionary Training (AMT) to every prospective missionary who will listen; all agree that better preparation would be a good idea. Unfortunately, they almost invariably add, “But I need to get on the field quickly. The program takes too long.” Because Jack and Linda’s pastor had never communicated in a new language and culture, his natural thinking was to get on the field ASAP and just do it!

“Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields…” —John 4:35

The gospel song writer W. S. Brown wrote: A volunteer for Jesus, a soldier true! Others have enlisted, why not you? Jesus is the Captain. We will never fear. Will you be enlisted as a volunteer?

When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, American men by the thousands volunteered for military service. For many it would mean the ultimate sacrifice. Some who were too young even lied about their age to join. Would to God that we had young men today with this same spirit who would volunteer to serve in the army of the Great Commission! The young patriots were saying to Uncle Sam, “Let me go!” It seems young men today are saying to our Captain, “If you want me, make me go.”

A Christian could not invest his life in any occupation more valuable than translating the eternal, living words of God into a language in which it has never existed. The Great Commission cannot be fulfilled without a Bible. With modern technology, Bible translation should be easier and faster than at any time in history. Not long ago, a Bible translator typed and retyped the New Testament twenty-five times before it was ready to print. Despite digital technology, it is still a very difficult work. It requires proper spiritual, physical, mental, intellectual, and linguistic preparation. Praise God that some see the need for Bible translation and are expressing a desire to engage in this worthy work, and we do not want to discourage them. However, they must “count the cost” and be aware of the long-term commitment required and the endurance needed to overcome many obstacles. While each language and place have their special challenges, you can be sure that the work of Bible translation is not easy anywhere.

We cannot overestimate the value of a missionary. Humanly speaking, he is the only one standing between a group of people and Hell! If a missionary leaves the field prematurely, he is often discouraged and feels that he has failed the Lord and those people who believed in him. He, his church, and his mission agency should be asking some questions: What went wrong? What could have prevented it? And what should we do now? A missionary that we know well worked with his wife and children in a very remote mountain village, accessed only by plane or helicopter. Alone, they faced a very frightening experience and were in imminent physical danger. Almost miraculously, they were rescued by helicopter. They returned to the States very traumatized. Their pastor—the one who should care most—spoke with them for less than one minute and then apparently wrote them off as quitters. Talk about adding insult to injury! What they needed was a thorough debriefing with caring, competent counselors.

There were many notable events in 1973. The infamous Supreme Court ruling Roe vs. Wade made legal the murder of sixty-six million babies over the next forty-nine years. The Watergate scandal was a top story for most of the year, and President Nixon assured us that he was not a crook. Vice president Spiro Agnew resigned over a tax evasion issue, and Gerald Ford was confirmed by the House of Representatives to replace him. The Twenty-fifth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified. The American Baseball League adopted the designated hitter position, and Secretariat won the Triple Crown. After the loss of over 58,000 men and one woman, we pulled out of Vietnam and gave South Vietnam to the
communists. Also, that year Papua New Guinea gained its independence from Australia.

Bible translation is an awesome task. Nevertheless, it can and must be done in the right way with the right method. Bible translators do not translate by inspiration. If they did, the task would be quite simple since there would be no need for checking or revising. The translator must struggle diligently to find the best possible way to say, in the target language , what God has said in the source language. He must pray for God’s help. It would be easy for us to decide translation is too much responsibility and risk. Are you not glad though, that when he gave us our first English Bible from the Greek received text, William Tyndale did not decide the risk and responsibility were too great? Speaking of risk; Tyndale was martyred by the Roman Catholic Church for his work!

With eight billion souls in our world, and three hundred eight-five thousand being born every day, the words of Jesus still ring true, “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few.” We need thousands of new missionaries; and we need the present ones to stay the course! No one announces their intention to go to the mission field without a desire for a long, fruitful ministry. Yet, it seems that missionaries who spend decades on the field have become less common. Why? Recently, a missions-minded pastor asked me to share my thoughts on selecting missionaries to support who will stay the course. This article, which I pray will be a help to both missionaries and pastors, is the result.

Seventy-five percent of our military age men are unfit for service. Some military branches are lowering standards and increasing financial incentives to recruit personnel. Sadly, recruitment for overseas missionary service is very low as well. The apostle Paul declares that salvation is available to everyone everywhere. “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). Then he launches into a series of rhetorical questions intended to motivate us to deliver the good news to the world. “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?” They cannot. “How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?” They cannot. “And how shall they hear without a preacher?” They cannot. “And how shall they preach, except they be sent?” Send preachers! God must send them, of course, but the church must recruit and prepare them for Him to send. “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest” (Matthew 9:38). Prayer is not a suggestion but a command. However, we seldom hear a public prayer for more laborers. We have not because we ask not! But why do we ask not? We ask for what we want. Apparently, we really do not want missionaries; or, we want them to come from other churches, not ours. The Antiochian church was a missionary recruitment center. The believers prayed for missionaries and produced them. According to Acts 13:14, God sent them; “So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed….” As co-laborers with God, we are failing to produce laborers for Him to send.