Zambia Hunt

Missionary, you must see the big picture of what God has called you to do, or you will be frustrated and quit in the face of short-term failures and setbacks. Charles Noble said, “You must have long-range goals to keep you from being frustrated by short-term failures.”

To the degree that a man brings himself under the law of Christ (Scriptures) is the degree to which he will have “good success” in the mission.

This “bringing ourselves under” involves both the precepts and the principles! Perhaps we lack success in our missionary enterprise because we fail to believe and follow the Lord’s promises and instructions relentlessly, so we take shortcuts for the sake of expediency.

“Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:7)

A missionary’s task is to raise godly, competent leaders for God’s work and then hand off to them.

“A work originated by God and conducted on spiritual principles will surmount the shock of a change of leadership and indeed will probably thrive better as a result.” — J. Oswald Sanders, Spiritual Leadership, p. 132

“No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.” (Joshua 1:5)

A fundamental error often made in missionary work is to take a position and assume that the people group to which we are going is too poor to ever faithfully take ownership of their own ministry. A congregation in a poor community may not observe the forms of church in the way we perceive as normal, but we deny the promise of God and the power of God when we say they can’t do it. It is ultimately not the people, nor is it the missionary; it is God Himself who has taken responsibility for planting the church upon the foundation of Jesus Christ and building that church for His glory.