The missionary mentor I had in West Africa (who by the way died of cancer 2 years after my arrival) had 47 years of missions experience opening up new Pioneer works. He planted churches where there were none, with no missionaries around. One of his main thrusts and warnings to me was (As he saw and lived the mission errors of 50 years ago) "DO NOT LOOSE YOUR MOBILITY". Mobility is essential, as it is linked to Flexibility and Adaptability. The two greatest qualities needed in a missionary.
He said; "We need to be able to flex and move with the needs of the new church work." He said; "If you need a building rent it. Rent everything, own nothing." The reason for this was Lew Cass's pioneering work mentality. Everywhere we begin is not the right place, The first town we land in is not always the right town, nor the real strategic center.
If we raise $250,000 and build buildings and a center, only to discover in 7 -10 years time that we should have been located 50 miles down the road because, as it turns out, this other town or region is the real strategic center for these people.
Rarely are we able to know this from the outside in the early stages of the work; most certainly it is difficult before hand even with good research.
Will that missionary write home and tell of his Compound building Location Booboo? Nope!
Why do I share this? There is a lot of wisdom in considering how our compromised Mobility might affect our Flexibility and Adaptability as missionaries. Think long and hard before building something nationals may not ever be able to afford to take over, and waste the Lord's financial resources when rental properties would have served the same function.
Stop and reflect how mobility, or lack of, might effect you ministry down the road.
strategy
No comments:
Post a Comment