By Andrew Richards – Institute for Strategic Foresight: arichards.isf@gmail.com
I recently heard a testimony out of a Muslim nation, where Jesus appeared to a Muslim in a dream. The Muslim had a Christian friend who he asked about the dream, saying that a man appeared to him in a dream wearing white clothes with marks on his hands. He asked his Christian friend what it could mean. The friend recognised the person in the dream as Jesus and told his Muslim friend that it might be the Jesus of the Christian bible. He advised his Muslim friend to pray before he went to sleep that night, asking Jesus if he was really the son of God. You can guess the end of this testimony – the man clothed in white with marks on his hands appeared again and said he was Jesus Christs the son of God. Today, the Muslim who received those dreams, is a Christian and actively shares the Gospel wherever he goes.
For some, this testimony proves that God is reaching the nations and building His kingdom, and for others it simply shows that (we) don’t have to cross the ocean to reach the nations. Prayer is enough, God will do the rest. For me, testimonies like these are not only troublesome, but shameful. I remember meeting a high-ranking Bishop within the Coptic church in Egypt, right after the Arab Spring revolution rocked the nation in 2011. I had travelled through the country listening to many similar testimonies to the one shared above, and excitedly wanted to confirm whether the bishop was experiencing the same in his area of service. Wanting to know if this was what revival looked like. With tears in his eyes, he answered “if God has to appear to Muslims in dreams and visions, it means that the church is not doing its job”.
At that point I was still so overwhelmed by all the miracle testimonies of what God was doing amongst Muslims, that I disrespectfully countered the bishop by making my own claim, saying that perhaps the role of the church has changed from going and making disciples to receiving those that Jesus himself converted through dreams and visions. It all made sense to me. Egypt was a country where Christians were persecuted for their faith, and the church was constantly under scrutiny and had to perform her mission underground, finding few converts amongst the Muslims it was trying to reach. It made sense, that the inability of the church to perform outreach, legally, amongst Muslims, made it necessary for Jesus to step in and take over. As with the outcome of the testimony above, you can surely guess the lesson the bishop taught me after making such a misguided assumption.
A PHYSICAL CALLING
The great commission text of Matthew 28:18-20 makes it clear that in making Jesus known involves a physical church that actively partakes. “And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Make disciples – Baptize – Teach. Above all, this is the primary function of the church, to build the Kingdom, by going (making), including (baptize) and growing (teach). All of these are physical functions of the church. To quote the bishop, if God has to appear to Muslims in dreams and visions, it means that the church is not doing its job. So, I too cry with the bishop when I hear testimonies of how people of other faiths became children of the one true God, after Jesus appeared to them in a dream, and shared the good news of salvation...when it was the church who should have appeared.
To be fair, the church is not altogether absent, and each testimony must be taken within its specific context. In some cases, it becomes necessary for God to intervene on behalf of the church. I am always reminded of the fact that it is God who prepares the heart to be receptive to the Gospel. The church can save no one if the unsaved have not been prepared beforehand. So, God prepares, and has equipped the church, his instrument for delivering the truth of who He is and the salvation that comes in His name, to share the message by making disciples of all nations, baptizing them, and teaching them to observe all that God commanded. If this is the model, ordained by God, then why are testimonies of people receiving dreams and visions of Jesus becoming the norm among the unreached?
ABANDONING THE CALL
Research by the Center for the Study of Global Christianity has revealed that Christian missionaries are no longer going to where the unreached are1. More and more missionaries are going to the easier to reach areas of the world, with fewer going to the hard, unsafe, dangerous and unreached places. Once again, to be fair, it is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain visas to countries that host the most unreached, and missionaries often opt for a position to work amongst the diaspora of a certain unreached group – like reaching Somalis in South Africa (safe) rather than trying to get into Somalia (dangerous). The conversation on why fewer missionaries are going to the unreached is far from over. Each calling deserves explanation within its own context and its not for me to judge a missionary who serves in a Christian country, if he believes that God specifically called him to that country. So, lets take a look at Christian finance instead.
Romans 10: 14-15 makes a compelling case for Christians to give of their income towards sharing the Gospel message with those who have never heard it. “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
In simple terms, missionaries can’t share the Gospel if they are not sent, and those who send cannot do so without providing the means, financially, to support missionaries in going. As with the research revealing the unbalanced distribution of missionaries throughout the world, the Center for the Study of Global Christianity found that Christian money largely remains in Christian countries2. Research shows that only $1.70 is given towards reaching the unreached for every $100 000.00 that Christians make. The World Christian Database for 2021 showed that only 0.0009% of tithed money go towards reaching the unreached.
I’ve been involved fulltime in missions for the past twelve years, and I’ve not only seen proof that the majority of Christians are abandoning the call to go, or at least send, but I’ve also seen many willing to spend their last on making Jesus know where He is most needed. As Rudi Lack once said “being a missionary is like having caviar on Mondays and breadcrumbs on Tuesdays”. The breadcrumbs are far more than the caviar, as the research shows, but nevertheless, missionaries continue notwithstanding.
Taking it all in, it now makes a lot more sense why God has to step in and make himself known without the help of the church. And it is for this reason that I invite every Christian reading this message to cry with me. Tears of joy for ever person that shares their testimony of Jesus appearing in a dream – for God continues to build His Kingdom. And tears of shame for every missed opportunity.
1. Missionaries not going to the unreached. The Traveling Team.
https://www.thetravelingteam.org/go-sen
https://www.thetravelingteam.org/go-sen
2. Money and Missions. Status of Global Christianity, 2021, in the context of 1900-2050. World Christian Database.
https://www.gordonconwell.edu/center-for-global-christianity/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2020/12/Status-of-Global-Christianity-2021.pdf
https://www.gordonconwell.edu/center-for-global-christianity/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2020/12/Status-of-Global-Christianity-2021.pdf