Having just returned from the visit to New Zealand and Fiji, I am even more convinced that churches who plant the gospel in foreign lands should exercise extreme caution as to how deeply they get involved in the local work and how long they stay involved in the “mission” congregation. It was more than fifty years ago that we entered the mission field just after graduating from college, and I believe that the experiences I have over the years justify the following comments.
As we were on the ship headed to New Zealand, Ron Coleman (the closest friend I have on this earth, other than Judie), spoke to the six of us headed for New Zealand in our Sunday services. I wrote in the front page of my Bible one of his comments. “We must have plans to leave this work, from the first day we arrive.” What profound truth. God’s plan is to establish His church with the ability to duplicate itself again and again and then “get out of the way.”
The tendency of Americans is to think we know far more than those in distant lands, and this actually hinders the work of the church. In years past, hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent in taking large numbers of Americans on multiple campaigns to cities in New Zealand, and while there were many initially baptized, the end results have shown such has not established strong churches. There is perhaps a way such campaigns can help, but if the “mission” church is not grounded in the gospel and developed to stand independently on its own, such efforts will not work.
Another aspect of American “expertise” is the support of men in foreign lands. The Bible clearly teaches that local churches are commanded to support their preachers (Gal. 6:6), and while preachers, like Paul, sometimes support themselves by “making tents,” to supply the support with “foreign” money for many years robs the local church of its right to support the local preacher.
Study Paul’s letters to Corinth carefully. Paul clearly taught that those who preach have the right to be supported (1 Cor. 9). In his second letter, he discussed the results of his receiving “foreign” money when he preached in Corinth. He said, “I robbed other churches, taking wages from them to minister to you” (11:8). He then asked, “For what is it in which you were inferior to other churches, except that I myself was not burdensome to you?” (12:13). The implication is that “superior” churches result from local churches supplying the support for those who preach. Look at his final words on this matter. “Forgive me this wrong!” Americans may not have that much expertise!