Myths are ancient stories of origin and imagination—like the flight of Icarus, the journey of Odysseus, or the near-invincibility of the warrior Achilles. But the word “myth” also has a truth-stretching fictional meaning, and myths can develop over time around most any person, place, or movement, and so missions and missionaries have their myths, too.
In this 5-part series we are calling Missionary Mythbusters, I want to expose a few of these myths that I believe are detrimental to our understanding of Gospel work and our appreciation of the daily demands that missionaries face.
To add a light touch on these “myths,” I’m including cartoon illustrations done by my brilliant friend Dana Thompson. While I hope we can laugh at ourselves in the missions world, at the same time it’s important to call out these myths because of the way they puff us up, cause us to fear, and blur our vision for the worldwide work of Christ and our part in it.
Myth #1: The Great (American) Commission
Near the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, a little marble circle that marks a spot that the ancient Chinese believed was the very center of the universe. Today this cosmic bull’s-eye is just a place for grinning tourists to stand and have their pictures taken, but many other ancient peoples had similar beliefs about their realm being at the center of things. Why else, for example, would one say, “All roads lead to Rome”?
When it comes to The Great Commission, I’m afraid that for too long many of us here in America believe (or at least behave) as if we are at the center of the missions universe. Whether spoken or unspoken, the attitude is that our heritage, resources, seminaries, organizations, and obedience are critical to the breadth and depth of Gospel work throughout the world.
“Based on my personal experience, Americans do not make up the majority of the worldwide missionary force.”
I can’t cite a percentage, but based on my personal experience, Americans do not make up the majority of the worldwide missionary force. I’ve met many cross-cultural Gospel workers who are Dutch, Peruvian, Arab, Ukrainian, Canadian, Chinese, Ethiopian, Brazilian, British, and Korean. So, a little perspective here is important. This isn’t intended to put any nationality, including Americans, “in their place,” but instead is so we can better see Christ our King in His commanding place and rejoice in confidence over the unstoppable, God-driven Gospel at work everywhere!
Our missions world is very different from the one in which William Carey, Adoniram Judson, and Hudson Taylor lived. They and other missionary trailblazers inspired their generations to take up The Great Commission—a term which Taylor first popularized—so that in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Protestant missionary ranks were filled mostly by those from the English-speaking world: British, American, and Canadian. However, even then there were significant numbers of Dutch and German workers, too.
These missionaries crossed continents and cultures with the Gospel. Although the way was costly and often marked with untimely graves, it was successful—as God’s Gospel purposes always are! People from more and more nations, tongues, and tribes were saved through faith in Christ, churches sprang up, and these believers began sharing the Gospel with their own countrymen.
“Today there are tens of millions of believers who God brought to Himself largely apart from any western influence.”
In the 20th century, as political boundaries grew dramatically (from just over 50 independent countries in 1900 to nearly 200 a century later), so grew the political barriers to western missionaries. Yet, the advance of the Gospel was unhindered. In the past generation, we have seen tremendous growth in churches in parts of Latin America, Africa, and Asia—and the largest growth has been in China, primarily through the house church movement.
Today there are tens of millions of believers who God brought to Himself largely apart from any western influence. And today the missionary ranks are much more diverse than in the past because as God calls men and women to Himself from every tribe and nation, He also sends them out to every tribe and nation!