Missionary Work to Europe

[John Chrysostom]

Recently some friends and I from Church were discussing that we had heard about several Protestant Churches that went on mission trips to Romania, we asked if this was a profitable venture since Romania already has a large Christian population? And could trips by other denominations be viewed as unfriendly towards the Churches already there?

[The Top Crusader]

Missionaries to already evangelized areas always seemed odd to me. If it is someone's calling then, well, its someones calling to go there. But I recall when I was in high school the church's youth group went to New York City on a missions trip... and they did good stuff there, definitely. But while New York has its issues I don't think its utterly godless and churchless... lots of ministries already exist there so it seemed an odd choice to me.

[Joanne]

If you are sharing the gospel how could that ever be a waste of time? I would agree that you should be called before you go, but as long as the gospel is preached it will be profitable. We can't all go to Africa, and I'm sure places that have already heard the gospel still need encouragement.

[The Top Crusader]

We could do it like in the old day and convert people then kill them!

Then we know who we've "reached" already.

[John Chrysostom]

What my friends were saying is that the Church in Romania feels several things. One that these groups are attempting to convert their members; to them it'd be like if a Church group from across town came to your Church and started ministering to your members. Two these groups aren't working with the Church that's already there and are ignoring them. And lastly that these groups are short term missions and since they aren't always working with the Church that's already there after they leave there's no continuing support for the people they helped during their stay.

[The Top Crusader]

Yeah, it seems a bad idea to go in short term if you aren't working directly with an existing church.

[Josef1004]

Sometimes the choir are the people who need preaching to the most.

[American Eagle]

If you are sharing the gospel how could that ever be a waste of time?

after they leave there's no continuing support for the people they helped during their stay.

Sometimes the choir are the people who need preaching to the most.

Strongly agree with all three of these statements.

I don't think anyone should be restrained/discouraged from preaching the Gospel, as long as it is not tainted with outright blasphemy. My city has like 8 Baptist churches, and yet our city still has NOTHING to do with God. If some Presbyterians/Pentecostals/non-denominationalists/etc want to come in and spread the Gospel, I salute you and hope that many come to Christ through your efforts. I'm sure many people are unsaved in Romania, so I won't stop those mission trips.

However, I do agree with the statement you made above, Ayn. Too often churches put together big, "fun" mission trips that ultimately don't make a lasting impact. I certainly think groups should try to work with the assistance of missionaries, or as you suggested, churches in the area if possible.

[King Butter Turtle]

My sister is a missionary in Ukraine (which in this context, is very comparable to Romania) and even though it's largely Christian (orthodox), there are still a lot of people who need the light of God. Also, that's where God called her so, who can really argue with that?

My other sister is actually a missionary in Uganda (not to rant on my family or anything but, they both seemed rather applicable). Uganda (and a lot of southern Africa, for that matter) is actually largely Christian. But, it's difficult to rely on statistics because it's very common in certain cultures (especially Africa) for people to meld elements of various belief systems. For example, where my sister and her husband work, it's not uncommon to find a man who goes to church every Sunday and professes Christ, yet goes to a witch doctor and has multiple wives. Also, we shouldn't rely on statistics anyway because even if a missionary spends a lifetime to bring one person to Christ, it was absolutely worth it!

Also, there's a difference between missions and evangelism. Even if the gospel has already been brought to a particular country, building up the local church is still a humongous task. That's why a lot of missionaries start/teach in local seminaries. It might seem like, "these guys aren't even helping people directly, they're just training local leaders to help people". But, that's exactly it. We don't want Christians in third world nations relying on rich White people. We want to build up the local church so that it can exist on its own and develop its own ministry. My point is that it takes a very long time for a country to go from hearing the Gospel for the first time to having a thriving, fruitful and self sufficient community of believers.

[John Chrysostom]

I have a good friend from Ukraine and know some missionaries in Ukraine so I'd be very interested to hear more about your sisters work in the Ukraine, for instance does she ever work with the local Church there?

As to your point about it taking a long time to go from hearing the Gospel for the first time to having a thriving, fruitful and self sufficient community of believers I totally agree. However what my friends and I were discussing is that there has been a fruitful and self sufficient community of Christians in Ukraine for quite some time. On the flip side, there are actually several Ukrainian seminaries here in America. Do you think it's is profitable to have such religious cross pollination?

[King Butter Turtle]

As to your point about it taking a long time to go from hearing the Gospel for the first time to having a thriving, fruitful and self sufficient community of believers I totally agree. However what my friends and I were discussing is that there has been a fruitful and self sufficient community of Christians in Ukraine for quite some time. On the flip side, there are actually several Ukrainian seminaries here in America. Do you think it's is profitable to have such religious cross pollination?

You can't look at spreading the kingdom of God in terms of economics or logistics. If God tells an American to serve him in Ukraine and a Ukrainian to serve him in America, it's only a small part of a huge picture that we can't understand.

[John Chrysostom]

I'm not denying that people are called to serve in a variety of places but are you saying that we can't question the best way to serve? I mean what I'm called to serve in your city and I decide to hand out flyers outside your Church telling people to come to my Church instead, should that be covered under my calling?