Short-term Missions
A Strategy For Home And World Missions
By Chuck King
Introduction
The USA has experienced unprecedented economic wealth and blessing throughout its history. This is not the result of chance or just the hard work of its people. The blessing of the God of heaven has been poured out upon this nation for His own purposes. He has a plan that has been His will before the creation of the world: to use this nation to bless believers among the nations as they establish the Kingdom of God. This abundant blessing of material wealth makes us most accountable to God and responsible to bear His fruit. He expects us to follow His plan.
The difficulty we face in these early years of the 21st century is that so much has been left undone concerning the work of His Kingdom among the nations. Nearly half of the world's ethnic groups remain unevangelized.
Less than 2% of the annual income of all global Christians is given for all Christian purposes. A pitiful one tenth of one percent of the annual personal income of all Christians is invested in foreign missions. Nearly 90% of all Christian workers minister among the approximately two billion Christians (committed or nominal) or the two billion most evangelized unbelievers, while only 10% serve among the two billion unreached who have no relevant Christian church in their community of their language or culture. Is there something wrong with this response to God's goodness to us?
How did the first century church so effectively reach their world for Jesus with little wealth or technology? Have we neglected to obey the clear Word of God in these matters? Have we allowed our culture and tradition to make us self-centered and unfruitful? What Biblical strategy can we use to finally reach the nations for His glory?
His Revelation To Us
The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law (Deut. 29:29).
God does not change! His Word is eternal, impartial, and is not subject to our laws, culture, or traditions. He has placed Jesus Christ in the highest place of authority over heaven and earth. The church is His body in the earth to establish His Kingdom. The church is both local and universal, and the Lord has placed His gifted leadership over it to bring His body into maturity. The Holy Spirit directs the coordination of His body, and we must rely upon Him to establish the Kingdom in this world. If men get in the way of the work of the Holy Spirit via their laws, culture, or traditions, then His work is frustrated.
The purpose of this message is to call the church back to obedience to His Word. We must repent of those things that have hindered His work in the earth. What follows is a strategy for indigenous missions. It is both Biblical and practical. It is also attainable, for the application of these principles has transformed my local churches. For example, in the first nine years of my senior pastorate at the New Life Center in Ford City, PA, we grew our annual missions outreach with a budget of just over $20,000 in 1991 to over $180,000 in 2000 with a congregation of only about 250 people whose numbers remained essentially unchanged during those years. The spiritual maturity level, however, of the people grew proportionately to their obedience to His Word.
The Self-supporting Local Church
The tithe is the Lord's, and it is holy in His eyes. God has a plan to support His full time workers by means of the tithe. Tithing has always been the practice of God's faithful: before the Law of Moses, under the Law, during the earthly ministry of Jesus, and also that of the first century church.
Both Abram and Jacob practiced tithing before Moses (Gen. 14:18-20, Hebrews 7:6-8, and Gen. 28:20-22). They obviously knew that this practice pleased God and was a key to their own prosperity. It should be noted that offerings were also presented to the Lord as an act of worship and obedience before the Law of Moses (Gen. 4:4; 22:2).
The Pentateuch has many verses that reveal God's tithing program (Lev. 27:30-33; Num. 18:21, 24, 26-32; Mal. 3:6-12, 16-18; 2 Chron. 31:4-8 & 19-21; Neh. 10:32-39 & 12:44-47 & 13:10-12). The tithe was the Lord's, and its payment was mandatory. The penalty was severe for robbing God and placed the people under the curse of disobedience and the judgment of God. The tithe always went to support people, never to support the tabernacle or the temple. Its priority was for the support of the Levites and priests.
Jesus taught that tithing should be practiced while not neglecting the demonstration of love to our neighbor (Lk. 11:37-42).
Paul taught the Corinthians that itinerant, God-called, gifted ministers of the Word of God should be supported with some of the tithe from the local churches (1 Cor. 9:1-14). He also taught that the elder, overseer who is gifted in the ministry of the Word of God should be supported with the tithe (1 Tim. 5:17-18).
If each local church is committed to tithing, it will not only be fully supportive of its local church overseers, but it will also have a supply for helping to support other Ephesians chapter four, gifted ministers.
A great mistake is made when the tithe is used to fund the church building. This is not Biblical and will reduce the church's ability to reach the unreached. We should neither condone the individual Christian’s use of the Lord’s tithe to pay his private household expenses, nor should we tolerate the local church’s use of this same tithe for church building expenses. Offerings should be used for the expenses of buildings, not tithes. It is interesting that in the Old Covenant, God only provided ONE building for the whole nation of Israel to meet at. So literally millions of people supported ONE building for worship with their offerings, while the tithes supported full time ministers and the poor.
The Bible has several guidelines concerning the offering. The offering is to be willingly given without pressure or compulsion and was usually not mandatory (Ex. 25:1-2 and 35:20-22, 29 & 36:3-7). It was used to secure needed materials from the people to build both the tabernacle and the temples (1 Chron. 29:1-9; Neh. 2:8; Ezra). Another offering, the census offering or temple tax, was collected from the people to maintain these worship centers (Ex. 30:11-16; Mt. 17:24-27; 2 Chron. 24:2,4,6,9,11; Neh. 10:32). It was a mandatory offering unlike the other offerings, and this is the offering Malachi may have been referring to when he denounced their practice of robbing God of His tithes and offerings.
In the New Testament, Paul collected offerings from several churches to help the poor church in Jerusalem (2 Cor. chapters 8 and 9). Both the rich and the poor participated in such offerings according to their means and willingness to give as directed by the Lord. The purpose was to help the poor, not to give to others so they would prosper while the giver lacked. Equality was the standard that determined when and whom to help with offerings. The Book of Acts is clear on this issue (Acts 2:42-47 and 4:32-37). Those who had an abundance helped those who were in need of material support. Poor widows and orphans were certainly recipients of such offerings (Acts 6:1-2 and James 1:27). The priority was to help the family of God (Gal. 6:9-10), although it pleased the Lord when you helped a stranger or your enemy who was in need (Luke 6:35-36). The amount of the offering was not important (note the poor widow's offering to the temple or the two fish and five loaves of bread the little boy offered), but the cheerful, willing, and sacrificial nature of this gift made it pleasing to the Lord.
The Bible makes many, many references to the Lord's desire for us to help those in need (Matt. 25:31-46; Gal. 6:9-10; James chapter 2; 1 John 3:16-18). And the rich are warned repeatedly to flee their greedy lifestyles and to avoid the love of money (1 Tim. 6:6-19 and James 5:1-6).
Your Priority? The Least Of These? Buildings? Rich People?
The priority of the ministries of Jesus and the early church was to the poor and oppressed, while there was little or no New Testament church emphasis given to church buildings. Why have we invested so much in real estate? This tradition cripples both our local church and our outreach ministries and takes our focus away from the spiritual harvest. If we commit to spending offerings only for our church buildings, we will have so much more of our budget available to send Christian ministers into the ripe harvest fields.
Why do we give offerings to support rich ministries who do little to help the poor or evangelize the unreached, while so many needy ministries to the poor and unreached go begging for support?
An Indigenous Missions Strategy
This is a challenge and a warning to you to change your direction (repent) and begin to implement a strategy to reach the nations. Certainly the Holy Spirit must direct us, for an individual local church can only do so much within its means. But if we bring Him what we have, it will be enough. He will show us the open doors of opportunity to accomplish His plan for us. Don't let tradition or culture deter you from obeying His Word!
1. Start with a conviction concerning tithing. Everyone should participate, and the local church is the storehouse. Use the tithe only for supporting God-called and gifted people in the ministry of the Word (local and itinerant elders).
2. Determine to support your church real estate with offerings. It can be done. You can adjust your local church budget to make ministry to people a priority above your building. In the year 2000, only 7% of our local church's income was spent on building expenses. This amount was less than what was given beyond tithes as additional mission offerings. Nearly 50% of our church's income went to home and foreign missions. Another 38% supported our local church staff.
3. Be committed to the Great Commission. The whole world is our parish! Seek the Lord for your fields of service and obey His leading (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; Rom. 1:11-17).
4. Be committed to the Body of Christ. We are a global as well as a local family. The Lord will show you how and where to serve His body if you seek His will to do so (Rom. 12:4-8; 1 Cor. 12:12-31; Eph. 4:11-16).
5. Do not trust in your riches (1 Tim. 6:6-19; Heb. 13:5-6; James 4:13-17; James 5:1-6). Flee from the snare that materialism spreads for you! Instead, use your blessings to bless others. When we give to the poor, we lend to the Lord, and we lay up treasure in heaven.
6. Be obedient and give to help poor and oppressed believers (Matt. 25:31-46; Luke 4:18-19; Gal. 6:9-10; James chapter 2; 1 John 3:16-18; 1 Cor. 9:1-14; 1 Tim. 5:17-18; 2 Cor. chapters 8 and 9). If you sow generously you will reap a generous harvest both in this life and the next.
Conclusion
You must be strong and courageous to walk this way! Many will oppose you, for worldly, materialistic strongholds are everywhere in the minds of men. So be strong and courageous! The rewards are eternal. No longer will you give the least to the least of these. There is no higher calling than to minister to our Christian family in need, for when you bless the least of these, you are really blessing Him.
