Leadership in the church takes many forms. Some are highly
visible—like the rostered ministers—and some lead with very little
public recognition. This series, which first appeared in Bethlehem
Evangelical Lutheran Church’s weekly newsletter, gives an overview of
many kinds of leaders in the church.
For good or for ill, it’s hard to separate the public’s perception of Christianity from missionary work. The word “missionary” is so deeply entwined with the global experience of Christianity, it’s easy to forget that missionaries are not a uniquely Christian phenomenon.
What is a Missionary?
A missionary is someone sent by a primarily (but not always) religious group to another people or place in order to both share their faith or ideals and to provide service to that community. The word comes from the Latin missiō, which means “sending, dispatch, charge”.
Missionaries predate Christianity by hundreds of years. There are records of Hindu, Buddhist, and even the occasional Taoist missionary in the first millennium BCE. Other ancient religions, such as Zoroastrianism and Judaism, were known to avoid sending missionaries. Since our written records only go back so far, it’s impossible to know when religious groups first decided to send people out to share their faith.
Christians as a Missionary People
Sending people out to tell others about life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is as old as Christianity. Jesus himself sends out the first missionaries, the Twelve Disciples, in the Gospel according to Mark (6:6-13). They are sent in pairs, must rely on the hospitality of those they encounter, and are charged with teaching that all should repent. They are also sent to cast out demons and heal the sick. The Gospel according to Luke also records this mission and a second mission of seventy (or seventy-two) apostles (from the Greek word meaning, “emissary, one who is sent”—a missionary). Early Christian tradition says that the disciples/apostles spread out after the Day of Pentecost c. 33 CE, and by the end of their lifetimes had reached as far east as India and as far west as Spain, preaching and teaching as they went.
The most famous Christian missionary by far is Paul, Apostle, who lived c. 5-65 CE. Paul (also known by his Hebrew name, Saul), a Jewish Pharisee sent to arrest Christians in Damascus, became a disciple of Jesus c. 33 CE after experiencing a vision of Christ on the road. After his change of heart, he began preaching the Gospel in synagogues, and his travels took him all over the Mediterranean world. Wherever he founded a new community, he appointed others to continue his work in his stead. His letters to the churches he founded in Thessalonici, Philippi, Corinth, and Galatia; to a fellow coworker, Philemon; and to the church in Rome were saved by the church and became part of the Biblical canon, providing the earliest records of Christian life we have. When Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE and the Christian community there was almost wiped out, the existence of Paul’s churches saved Christianity from an early extinction.
Missionaries throughout History
Christians continued Paul’s missionary activity, traveling as far as they could to tell others about Jesus Christ. History records a rapid growth in the number of Christians in the first few centuries CE, even though Christians were subjected to periodic persecution. After the Edict of Milan of 313 CE made Christianity a legal religion in the Roman Empire, Christianity missionaries had a new system of support: the funding and power of the state.
Missionaries were not always welcome. Sometimes they were persecuted simply because they were Christian. Other times they made themselves unwelcome through their own actions: forced conversions under threat of death, forced baptisms, excusing genocide if it gave them a chance at converting others, all of this and more did not ingratiate Christian missionaries to those they encountered. Missionaries more often than we like to think were, and some remain today, willing to justify any means if it led to conversion.
Other missionaries though were welcomed with open arms. Missionaries who expected nothing in return for their work, who served the people to which they had been sent, built schools, educated children, protected their charges, and practiced intense humility often drew the admiration of the people around them, and through their own living witness drew others to their faith. Many communities would ask for missionaries to come to them, knowing that a missionary was someone sent to help.
Missionaries Today
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America practices an accompaniment model of missionary work. This model was born in Lutheran churches in Latin America and was outlined in a 1995 Strategy document. People are no longer seen as “objects” of mission, but as partners from which we are to learn as we serve and work alongside them. It is no longer about converting people to “our” Christianity, but about recognizing God’s work among all of us together in service to the community. It focuses on mutuality, inclusivity, vulnerability, empowerment, and sustainability. Missionaries are the frontier edge of the church’s work in service to our neighbors across the world. ELCA missionaries don’t ask themselves, “What can I bring to the table?”. They ask the people among whom they serve, “What do you need me to bring to the table?”
In 2022, the ELCA had 131 missionary households serving in 45 countries around the world. 24 of these missionaries were new, and 24 more were Young Adults in Global Mission, young adults to agree to serve for one year. They served in education, administration, parish ministry, and healthcare settings. This year, that number increased to 29 YAGM volunteers.
One of these young adult missionaries, Benjamin David (Pastor Ken’s cousin!), who started his year as a Young Adult in Global Mission just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit, had this to say about his experience:
The YAGM year was very transformative for me. I spent seven months in the city of La Plata, Argentina, both volunteering at the local Lutheran congregation and an after-school program. Although my year was cut short due to the pandemic, I would not change the experience I had for anything. Having the opportunity to both live in a new place, speak a language not my own, and meet people with vastly different world perspectives from my own was once in a lifetime.
For me, the experience was one of immense freedom. Yes, in doing so you commit to living simply and being uncomfortable a significant amount. However, the YAGM experience is one that allows for leaving one’s former ideas of life on the backburner and opening oneself up to experiencing self, others, and God in a completely new way. It is not a question of if YAGM will change your life, it is a question of how. YAGM is a personal journey and looks different for everyone.
That being said, I strongly encourage any and all young people to consider this as an option and to not let fear of anything be the reason of opting out. You will be scared, but let the love of God take you to places beyond fear.
The ELCA only sends missionaries and YAGMs when our global partners ask us to. Missionaries can serve long-term (usually four or more years), in the Global Mission two-year program, as Young Adults in Global Mission for one year, or as short-term volunteers. Long-term missionaries usually serve in coordinating roles, and short-term missionaries serve a particular need. YAGMs are part of a rotating program—they are always looking for more YAGMs.
As Ben David pointed out, being a missionary, even short-term, can be intimidating. But it’s also worth it, and the church–and the world–still needs courageous proclaimers of the Gospel willing to go the distance to serve our neighbors.
Applications for YAGM are open now, and those who apply by 1 February will be considered for the service year beginning August 2024.
Featured Image: A photo of Young Adults in Global Mission in September 2022, from the YAGM Facebook page.
Living an Ecumenical Life 