"Jim Lo was a church-planting missionary in Zimbabwe in the 1980s who was convinced that the Africans he worked with needed to take a larger role in the ministry. He was disturbed by the paternalistic attitude that only Western missionaries could do the work, especially as he rubbed shoulders with seasoned African leaders. Others on the missions leadership team agreed. They thought that the main reason these Africans were not involved in starting churches was a lack of money. So the money (only $500 a month for one Zimbabwean, versus $1,250 for a Westerner) was allocated to the church for three paid workers. Soon, however, giving in the churches that had already been started dried up. When Lo tried to find out why, one African told him, "If rich Americans can pay for salaries, they should also be able to pay for the needs of our church."
Ministry dried up, too, as church volunteers quickly came to believe that they also should be paid. Lo was told, "If the church in America can pay salaries for three men to do church planting, it should be able also to find money to pay us to teach Sunday school. "
Church members also would not financially support the three church planters, calling them "missionary boys" who were not accountable to the church. Indeed, one of the three told Lo, "I only listen to the person who pays my salary."
(Stan Guthrie, Missions in The Third Millennium, pg 10. 2000, paternoster Press, )
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