URGENCY OF THE HOUR - IFCA International

The Case of the Missing Mentor
Rev. Paul Seger
I was speaking recently to a pastor who expressed his hesitancy to let missionaries fill his pulpit. He said
that at times missionaries had done an inadequate of communicating to a large audience. I asked him
why he thought this was the case. His perplexed expression made it clear he did not know where I was
going with my question. I pressed further. "Who is to blame?", I asked. "Why are 'missionaries not good
preachers'? A missionary should not be excused for lack of passion, but what if he is not a good platform
communicator? Whose fault is this?" In the end, I suggested there could be several reasons:
1. A church may have sent a missionary who was not adequately trained.
2. A mission agency may have recruited someone and by passed the local church that knew the
missionary was not ready to go.
3. A missionary may be a very effective missionary without being a pulpiteer. Most of his time is spent
talking to individuals or small groups. By the time there is a large audience, it is time for him to move
on. He may be a very effective missionary on the field without giving that impression when he is out of
his element in our churches here in America.
4. There is another possibility. It could be the fault of his pastor that this missionary "can't preach".
Ouch! That one hurts. Could it be that a missionary's incompetence is due to a missing mentor? As we
prepare the next generation of missionaries, there are some critical concepts that need to govern our
thinking. Some basic presuppositions must form the foundation of our training systems. Here are three
of them:
1. Churches Train Missionaries - Most of us would agree that God chose the local church to be the
vehicle for accomplishing His business on this planet during this particular period of history. We moved
from an Old Testament economy that revolved around the temple into a New Testament era where the
local churches are the focus. God obviously designed the church to be His center of operations. It would
seem that local churches, then, should take responsibility for equipping future missionaries. While we
may out source training to Bible colleges, seminaries, or mission agencies, it is still the responsibility of
local churches to ensure the training is adequate. If an institution does not finish the job, it is the local
church's job to do so.
Ultimately, it is the church's responsibility to have a complete plan for moving a new believer all the
way to vocational ministry. Obviously, not everyone is headed to the mission field. But there are several
categories of believers that need training.
(1) There should be a strategy for helping new believers learn basic Christian disciplines.
(2) There must be a plan to equip workers to serve in the church.
(3) There must be a specific process for producing teachers.
(4) Finally, there should be a way to prepare missionaries and pastors for full-time ministry.
What if a young person came and asked you what he needed to do to prepare for the mission field?
Would you have a clear-cut answer? Is the road map specific? Does your church have a proactive
approach to producing future missionaries? What is your list of qualifications? What if a 43-year-old
came to you and said that ten years from now, he could envision going to a mission field. What would
you do in the next decade to prepare him?