WHEN YOU CROSS CULTURES - World Evangelical Alliance

90 WHEN YOU CROSS CULTURES
SPIRITUAL QUALITIES
1 A Consistent and Vital Relationship with God
The mission candidate must have a vital relationship with God
maintained by daily fellowship with God in prayer and the Word. This fellowship
is no mere routine. It means a life of deep trust and dependence on the Lord.
His passion is to know Christ, to love Him and to become like Him.
The candidate believes he has been sent by God. He realises that he will
not be able to carry out the ministry without God’s wise direction. He also rests
in the sovereignty of God as he will face hardships on the field. He is gladly
committed to Christ’s Lordship in his life. His fellowship with God enables
him to live a Spirit-controlled life. His relationship with God is a growing one
and his ministry is an overflow of this relationship.
A New Zealander, who had served in Papua New Guinea, had to return
from the field. He experienced failure and defeat. He was helped by an older
Christian worker to renew his fellowship with God, and to have a meaningful
and regular “quiet time” each day. He was revitalised. Meanwhile, some of his
co-workers on the field were struggling with similar problems and needed
practical help. The field leader, who had noticed the tremendous change in the
life of this once defeated missionary, invited him to minister at a missionary
conference in Papua New Guinea. A Navigator leader and I were also invited
to speak. For a whole week, the three of us had the privilege of personally
helping missionaries and nationals to have a vital relationship with God,
beginning with a daily “quiet time” in the Word and prayer. Field workers noticed
what God had done in the life of their colleague. This, indeed, was a testimony
in itself.
2 Biblical and Stable Family Relationships
Workers have had to return from the field because of difficult family
relationships. Difficulties may be between parents and children or between
husbands and wives. Such difficulties need to be resolved before candidates
proceed to the field. Husband and wife relationships must be stable before the
couple leaves for the field. Wives will face similar pressures on the field as their
husbands. Sometimes initial adjustments are more severe for the wife. She has
to learn a new language with responsibilities for shopping and relating to new
neighbours. She shares the load of caring for young children.
The family unit must not be seen as a hindrance to the ministry.
Realistically, this is no easy task. Emotional tensions relating to the home and
family can sap the energy of Christian workers more than cultural factors.