Communications and travel have “flattened” out the world, so that streaming video conferencing and frequent travel by supporters and missionaries has made the strange much more accessible and less foreboding. Familiarity breeds contempt and lessens the bar of commitment.  Satellite TV and the internet have also familiarized the world in other ways, most of which had not had a net positive gain for the Gospel.

These are the changes in world missions in my lifetime, so far. I went to the mission field in 1977, and worked in Haiti, Mexico, Japan, and Uganda with several different mission or service agencies. We raised support at three different times, and we also supported ourselves using the self-supporting, tentmaking model three times. I worked in church-planting, evangelism, education, health and sanitation, and administration. I am not an expert in world missions, just an observer. These observations are not in order of importance, simply recall.

1. Cost- in 1977 when I went to Haiti, a good monthly US salary was approximately $1500. I went to Haiti on a full-time basis, and my support cost was $250 per month, or one sixth of an average salary. That is skewed a little low, as I was single, and Haiti was a low-cost country. However, in 2011 a mission agency wanted my wife and I to raise $80,000 to go to another low-cost country in Africa. This is many times more in salary and of course overhead in real terms. In the post WWII era of the big era of faith missions, the amount that had to be raised seemed to make sense- and it supported a lot less administrative overhead.
2. Communications and travel have “flattened” out the world, so that streaming video conferencing and frequent travel by supporters and missionaries has made the strange much more accessible and less foreboding. Familiarity breeds contempt and lessens the bar of commitment. Satellite TV and the internet have also familiarized the world in other ways, most of which had not had a net positive gain for the Gospel. I am not sure that beaming TBS or Benny Hinn or Robert Tillman has caused any real movements of the Holy Spirit. It has, however, shown our culture to be lacking, and even threatening, especially to most of the world that has conservative values.
3. The rise of short term “missionaries” who have little cultural understanding and little accountability. They in turn have caused a rise in “service” agencies in our country to facilitate them, and “culture brokers” in target countries to provide logistics. The service agencies are a far cry from traditional mission agencies. The culture brokers are often second-generation Christians who love the money more than the message. Short term missions is now a 1.5-billion-dollar industry.

These “two-week wonders” often undermine long term workers, who have the agonizing task of calling workers into accountability. Their work can actually cause much damage but is often justified because of the “work” that they do- which is often inflicted on the poor locals, with no input or feedback. One soul being “won” to Christ has been used to justify incredibly stupid things.

However, I cannot throw the baby out with the bathwater. Short-term missions can be done effectively, if done properly. We are not doing most of it properly.

It is simply a fund-raising mechanism.

4. The false idea that God can use national workers more effectively in all cases. God throughout the Bible and in our time works incarnationally by using cross-cultural messengers. Conversely, oftentimes locals are mistrusted more than outsiders because of tribalism and racism. The Gospel is cross-cultural. God will continue to call us to minister in this fashion until He returns. There are agencies with appalling field practices and sizeable administrative overhead, and precious little accountability. They appeal to the corporate outsourcing model. But sacrifice demands that we go, not a substitute. And this will only become more difficult, demanding, and deadly.
5. The moral position of Westerners in general, and Americans in particular. Again, post WWII had missionaries going to a mostly grateful and appreciative world. People might not have agreed with the influx, but in general, went to mission schools and hospitals, and they were the best in country. Today, 60+ countries are openly hostile to Christians and have limited access. Another sizeable chunk of the nations has advanced to where the classic medical and educational models are superfluous, and may even not be allowed because of local licensing requirements. Further, as American culture has gone down, the American walking down the street may not be the sterling moral character to be emulated. IN 1988 we lived in Nagoya, Japan and we had around 75 missionaries working in the area. There was one club in town among many which employed exotic (nude) dancers from mostly California- and there were 100 working in just that one club! Our culture is speaking for us and loudly, outshouting our efforts to communicate God’s truths.

Conclusion: God, for His own reasons, still has an open call to serve Him by laying down our lives and taking up the cross. That may even mean buying airline tickets, and travel. However, far too few of us wake up every day with this simple question on our lips:

“Lord, what would you have me do today?”

Clark McNutt is a member of Wayside Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) in Chattanooga, TN.