Is 21st Century missions to AFRAID? Afraid to Sacrifice and Suffer?

This quote struck me deeply. Why are the majority of missionaries serving where it is comfortable to live in a nice house and city, Often English works some what, and in close proximity to international mission schools? I’m convicted how about you. The authors have done us great service in this article. Read it all!

Lie #5: The safest place in the world Is within the will of
God.

“Are our missionaries safe? is a commonly asked question.
Missionary safety is of prime importance. Yet if that is the main issue for
families, churches and agencies, then there is only one thing to do: stop
sending. Western culture has attempted to cleanse faith of its rough edges.
Surely God only wants what is best for me, my family and my country! When
troubles come, are they not a sign of God’s disfavor? Has Western Christianity
attempted to neuter the heart of faith by removing the suffering and
persecution the New Testament promises are intrinsic to following Jesus?

It may be time for the Church in the West to admit we are
afraid. Often, when Muslim Background Believers are asked what they learn from
missionaries, they sadly respond, “Missionaries teach us to be afraid. This is
not just a missiological mistake. It is a sin. Missionaries may be afraid of
getting local believers arrested or harmed. They may be afraid they will lose
their visas or work permits. They may fear moving, learning another language or
placing their children in yet another school. Where did missionaries learn to
be afraid? They learned fear from their parents, churches and sending bodies.

The lie that personal safety and an absence of risk is of
paramount importance is a heinous lie that has infected Western, believing
enterprises globally. What do Chinese house church leaders call prison? They
call it their “theological training school.” What did pastors and lay leaders
call persecution, and even martyrdom, in
their environment during the years of the Soviet Union?
They called it “normal.” Fear is devastating. It paralyzes. It is the deadly
enemy of the Church. What can believers do in the face of such a destructive
lie? Choose not to be afraid. The one thing Satan can never take from one of
God’s created is the freedom to make the right and godly choice. Not being
afraid is commanded. What’s more, it is always possible."

(Five Lies about Missions,Nik Ripken & Barry Sticker. EMQ, Jan 2008, Vol 44, No1, p.38)