Definition of a Missionary
About the Author
Ben spends most of his time working with underprivileged kids in Tijuana, Mexico, encouraging them to continue their education. He's an unofficial member of Iglesia Bautista Monte Horeb, which runs the elementary school, Centro Pedagógico Didaque.
As a kid I used to define “missionary” as someone who went to another country in order to share the Gospel. Then in my late twenties I moved to Mexico. Many people, on both sides of the border, called me a missionary; yet I became more and more uncomfortable with the title. It seemed like a high calling that I didn’t fit into—not because I looked down upon myself, but because I didn’t fit into the U.S. 21st century definition of a missionary. I had not been to a Bible school or seminary, nor had I gone through any missionary training program. I was not officially sent by my church, denomination, or missions agency. I did not raise support.
With a real conviction that all Christians have the responsibility to share Christ with others, I began to define “missionary” as any Christian who took Christianity seriously. Or better put, every Christian is a missionary, ideally. Uhh, not so fast…
Now, back to Steve Saint’s book, The Great Omission, from my last article. He was posed the question, “Of all the unreached people groups, which is the largest?” The answer? Today’s youth. The number surpasses the amount of Muslims and Hindus. At first I thought, kind of a trick question—but what’s wrong with it? I understand the arguing side—1) that a people group is defined as distinct culture, and 2) that all of the youth in North America or Europe have access to the Gospel. There are statistics that say a person in the U.S. is presented (this is very loosely defined) the Gospel 300 times per year. And someone in Mexico, 500 times a year. Yet there are always many exceptions. My wife had never been directly presented the Gospel until she heard it on the radio when she was 23 years old.
Let’s go back to the first assumption just a minute. Take the premise that the largest unreached people group is today’s youth. If so, youth pastors are front line missionaries! They are responsible for presenting the Good News clearly and with love to fresh ears—and for guiding their growth. Is this a legit definition of a missionary? I believe some youth pastors’ are cutting edge missionaries.
But let’s not forget the big news last Thursday when photos of one of Brazil’s uncontacted tribes were let loose all over the net and evening news. Clearly the first Christians to visit them are missionaries—taking the Word (in story form) to this indigenous and raw tribe. That is a missionary. And possibly a martyr.
Following Apostle Paul’s example, a missionary is someone who [full-time] shares Christ’s love with someone who has never heard it before, and then moves on to the next unbeliever. Defining a missionary any broader begins to confuse things.
June 4th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Yeah, I think it’s kind of a mixed blessing that “missionary” ended up coming to mean specifically someone who crossed some sort of barrier in order to share the gospel, be it a language barrier, a cultural barrier, a body of water, or the invisible lines that separate one country from another. Really, I think it involves a process of translation that we all have to do when we communicate with someone else. It’s just pretty slight when we talk to our neighbor who shares our same skin color, values, and economic vantage point, and is a little more difficult when we relate to people across any of those other barriers previously mentioned. So, yeah, hopefully we are all missionaries in some sense. And, as a youth worker, I like that example!
June 5th, 2008 at 3:57 am
I think using Paul’s definition makes the most sense, thanks for reminding me to keep things simple.
June 5th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
I, too, think that all Christians are called to be “missionaries” and often times in our own backyards. As to what makes a missionary, I believe that it is a person that has the commission to “Go” into all the world. I don’t think that it particularly relate to crossing barriers, but it could. The barrier maybe a fence around you home, crossing into another neighborhood, crossing town, crossing into another language that your neighbor speaks or crossing “la frontera.”
June 8th, 2008 at 9:35 am
I agree with your basic definition of missionary. I too believe all are called to be a part of Kingdom work. However, I believe a priority must be placed on peoples who have no opportunity to hear the gospel. All children of God need to be reconciled back to him, thus there is no difference in the values of individuals. But there is a stark difference in access to the gospel. I myself did not hear who Christ was until I was in high school. But I knew people that were Christians, I knew where churches were located and if I wanted I could purchase a bible and read it. Its my conviction to prioritize those with no chance of hearing the bible in their heart language, or having a culturally contextualized community of believers. To me this does not take away from the need for the local church (people not building) to share the gospel with their community. I believe we should all also have a role in frontier missions. There is a list of roles that need to be filled in order to fulfill the great commission: http://www.thehoffmans.info/missions/tabid/3321/Default.aspx
July 24th, 2008 at 8:45 am
I am a full time, living in the deep bush, missionary; however, due the way many people these days see missionaries I have simply told others that I am a teacher when asked (depending on the situation). Such an answer I have found at least lets them get to know me first. I did not go to Bible school either, and I only audited my seminary classes (I’m holding out for an honorary doctorate, there cheeper); but what I have found to be missing on today’s mission fields are missionaries who have read and are reading their Bibles, and I don’t just mean in part let’s read it all!