Be the Missionary

Sometimes I get asked if I support missionaries.

The answer is yes, but I have a high standard for missionaries. Here are a few…

1. A missionary must be faithful to the right message from the right Bible rightly divided (2 Tim 2:2).

1. A missionary does not ask for money before he is proved a workman

1. A missionary is not young in the faith. I follow Hudson Taylor’s advice on this (missionary to China):

“To pay young converts, however sincere, for making known the Gospel — and to pay them with money from foreign sources — must inevitably weaken their influence if not their Christian character.” – Hudson Taylor

You may be thinking how do missionaries survive in ministry without foreign support? How did Hudson Taylor survive? They get jobs to earn money to fund their more eternal investment. This is Pauline (2 thess 3:8).

If a missionary is not willing to work, nor has the skills to do any other work, then it reveals much about their heart and aptitude, and are not ready for support.

Many of the missionaries I encourage are not professional missionaries (which often are looking to replace a secular career paycheck). They would not call themselves missionaries, but their works say otherwise.

They say things like, “there is no grace group around where I live, but I am starting a small Bible study and passing out tracts”. This is the missionary mindset. I send them materials.

I’ve sent packages of books and tracts to Singapore, China, Australia, Netherlands, Mauritius, California, Washington D.C, Ohio, and other places where souls need to be saved.

If there is no grace group in your area, there is a dearth of clear gospel presentation. You are in a mission field. You are the missionary. If you are not ready, then you need to get ready (Rom 1:15). There is a work that needs be done.

The Bible word for missionary is ambassador. Find what you need to be a faithful missionary at GraceAmbassadors.com.

For his glory,

Justin “missionary in Swayzee-land” Johnson