Lausanne World Pulse – Perspectives Articles – Desperately Needed: More Outsiders. A Biblical Mandate for Cross-cultural Missions

By Craig Greenfield
February 2009

John Perkins suggests that three types of people are needed in order to see real transformation of an urban neighborhood:

  1. The “relocators” are those people who were not born in the neighborhood, but who move into the area to tie their well-being to that of their neighbors.
  2. The “returners” were born and raised in the community and then left for a better life. They are no longer trapped by the poverty of their neighborhood, yet they choose to return and live in the community they once tried to escape.
  3. The “remainers” are the ones who could have fled the problems of the neighborhood, but who have chosen to stay and be part of the solution to the problems surrounding them.

Although Perkins was talking about inner-city USA, this is a helpful framework within which to think about international missions. Over the last few years, however, as the Church has gained a deeper appreciation for the contribution the poor can make in reaching their own people and rebuilding their own communities as “remainers,” I have observed the Church losing confidence in what we as westerners might have to offer as long-term international “relocators” among the poor.

The roots of this insecurity are complex. Partly it is a natural reaction against wrong emphases in the past. Yet somehow we must avoid the theological equivalent of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. So I want to briefly survey four reasons why we might have lost some of our confidence in long-term, cross-cultural missions.

1. We have rightly recognized the importance of language and cultural understanding. We cringe today at the colonial excesses carried out under the banner of “king and country,” yoking missions with imperialism, crushing local cultures condescendingly, and sneering at local customs and tongues. The correction of this sinful attitude was a long time coming. But to lovingly lift up one culture, it is not necessary to devalue everything that outsiders have to offer. The answer is to approach missions with humility and grace, seeking to learn first and serve rather than overpower.

2. We confuse empowerment with disengagement. The concept of empowering people is central to good mission work. But it takes wisdom to discern the difference between empowerment and disengagement. Just as a good manager of people will know just how much to delegate and how much support to provide, so a foreign missionary needs to learn how to empower rather than overpower. However, not showing up at all is not empowerment; it is apathy.

3. We have only partially embraced a theology of “from every nation to every nation.” It is a beautiful and exciting thing to see African, Asian, and Latino missionaries spreading out across the globe, and there is much more that can be done to assist and support them. But when Jesus told us to go into all the world and make disciples, he wasn’t letting any nation off the hook as though their contribution was not worthy or useful. We must come alongside our brothers and sisters from around the world and joyfully do our part in the Great Commission.

My pastor, Emmanuel, came to North America eight years ago as a refugee fleeing war in Burundi. Emmanuel was so poor when he arrived that he faced homelessness. But God brought him to one of our church ministries—a transition home which provides space for refugees to find their feet.

Craig Greenfield is the international coordinator of Servants to Asia’s Urban Poor. For the past six years he and his wife, Nay, have lived among the urban poor in the slums of Cambodia. They are now pioneering a new Servants team in downtown Vancouver, Canada. Greenfield is the co-founder and former director of Project HALO (Hope, Assistance, and Love for Orphans), a ministry of Servants Cambodia, which has helped Cambodian communities care for nearly one thousand children orphaned and affected by AIDS. Greenfield is also founder of Big Brothers and Sisters of Cambodia, a rapidly spreading youth movement mobilizing and training Christian young people in Cambodia to be mentors to orphans. He is the author of The Urban Halo: Hope for Orphans of the Poor.