“Can’t we reach people more effectively here at home?” Why efficiency shouldn’t be the measure of missions
I have heard people say, “We don’t need to send missionaries overseas. Our mission field is our own city.” The rationale is, since we are engaged in the mission of reaching our own city, we don’t need to invest in reaching other places. After all, it is far more efficient and effective to reach people in your own culture than trying to reach them in a foreign culture.
I used to think this way as well. A few years after graduating from seminary, I was called by our presbytery to plant a church in east Orlando. It was a “scratch” church plant. That is, we had no core group. Our mission was to reach the unchurched people of our community. Amazingly, God blessed the work. Not only was a new church established, but many people came to faith in Christ.
While we were planting a church in Orlando, some of my seminary classmates went to Japan with Mission to the World. We had the same mission—reach lost people and plant a church. While they were still learning language and culture, we were already seeing conversions. Furthermore, it was much cheaper to send me to Orlando than it was to send them to Japan. So, on a CPS basis (Cost-Per-Soul), our Orlando church plant was a bargain. We were, seemingly, more effective and more efficient. So, why invest in planting churches in places like Japan when we can do it more effectively in the U.S.?
The mission of God, and of His church, is not merely to make disciples, but to make disciples of all nations and in all places.
First, we should continue to plant churches in the U.S. and strive to reach the lost here in the States. Yet, the mission of God, and of His church, is not merely to make disciples, but to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19-20) and in all places (Acts 1:8) so that God is worshipped in every place on earth (Psalm 22:27-28, Psalm 33:8).
The church must be serious about reaching its own community with the gospel. After all, you are in your community by God’s providential design. You are there to be a light. At the same time, the church must also participate in God’s global mission. It is not one or the other.
While the work in places like Japan is often inefficient, it is still very effective. Through MTW’s partnership with City to City and the Presbyterian Church in Japan, there is not just one church in Japan, but a network of churches. These churches are reaching people with the gospel in a place where there was no gospel witness before.
Cross-cultural missions is inefficient. It takes a lot of time and money to learn a new language, a new culture, and establish a church in a place where there are few to no Christians. Yet, God has an amazing way of working in these situations when we are faithful to His mission.
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Mark Bates
Mark Bates is MTW's senior director of Missions Engagement. Mark has a B.A. in Greek from Bryan College and a master's degree from RTS. He served as youth and singles pastor at Orangewood PCA, and founded University Presbyterian Church in Orlando. From 2007-2021, Mark served as senior pastor of Village Seven PCA in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Mark and his wife, Tricia, have three daughters.
