During one of our support meetings, someone asked us,
“Why should I give to your ministry, when there are organizations like Compassion, that will both feed and minister to children in Africa, while sharing the Gospel?”
It’s a good question. And it stirs up a lot of emotions within me. But here are the 5 points that come to mind:
1. Paul didn’t focus on poverty and social injustices. Paul, our prime biblical example of missionary, had one focus: the Gospel. Sharing it, and seeing it transform people and cities. In asking for support, his focus was on the spread of the Gospel. He trusted that as the churches he planted grew, that the resources God entrusted to them, would be enough to properly care for those in need.
2. Statistically, there are more christians in any single country in Africa, than there are in the whole of England. The western church has been focused on sending missionaries and help to the 3rd world countries for the better half of 2 centuries. Africa knows Christ. It is the post-christian nations, that are dying. The european valley of dry bones, are ready and eager to have the breath of God breathed into it. But there are not enough workers to reap the harvest. Must Europeans go to hell, because no one counts their need as dire? Are not the eternal needs more pressing than the temporal?
3. God placed you in our life for a reason. When the Lord calls a missionary, it is not a spur of the moment choice. God has been raising up, forming and shaping that individual, for the day they will begin the mission. I firmly believe that he has also been interweaving our networks, bringing people into our lives, that he plans to hold accountable to support us. God chose to spread his gospel this way. The pattern of missionaries being supported by the people of the church was his plan, not our own. So why then, are the people willing to sacrifice to give to their local church, but not to give to the ones he has appointed to send out with the Gospel? If you know a missionary, God has put them in your life for a reason. It is your responsibility to obey when he calls you to give. Even if it should require some sacrifice on your part.
4. God has not named you judge. Who are we to determine which cause is more worthy? Every ministry that brings eternal life to the lost is deserving of our finances. If you are seriously hung up on two causes that both need financial support, perhaps the Lord is signaling you to give to both. Americans are the wealthiest of people in this world. Possibly, God does not agree with you that you need to be spending money every month on Television, or manicures, or coffee, or {insert your vice here}. If there are two ministries vying for your finances, do not be so quick to assume God’s asking you to choose one or the other.
5. God has called us to England. Our heart beats for the people of England. Our constant prayer is for them to find salvation. We long to be over there. This is a compassion for the English people that goes far deeper than any human compassion. This is a longing that comes from God’s heart. He is doing miraculous things there. And he’s asked us to move there to be his hands and feet. Don’t you want to be part of that? We are going with or without you on board, so why not grab a front seat? You have been asked to join us, by God himself. We were just his mouthpieces.
Sussed and Sorted 