10 Things you do not need to do as a missionary...

Missions goes through phases where we get fixated on this or that method, expecting it to bring great fruit.

People have said different things at different times:

• “We need to build church buildings.”
• “We need to fund local workers.”
• “We need to invest in the community.”
• “We need to have really, really credible platforms.”
• “We need to build a bridge of trust that can hold the weight of truth.”
• “We need to plant churches.”
• “We need to provide sustainable jobs and economic means for new believers.”
• “We need to start a certain kind of Bible study groups.”
• “We need to catalyze DMM movements”
• “We need to see the gospel spread through existing community networks.”

But are there any Biblical commands that say we must do any of these things?

No. None. So if any of this has been weighing heavy on you, take a deep breath and relax. You don’t actually have to do any of this. And you don’t have to make others do it.

You just have to love and obey Jesus, and spend your life living to be his witness. You just have to love, encourage, and ‘disciple’ those he entrusts to you.

Let’s look to the gospel as the source of life and fruit, and not the latest method.

Let’s look to the power of God, and not to our human strengths or plans.