My friend Aaron wrote on his blog about people working with "hard" or "resistant" people. He made some very good points and I wanted to share a few. As most people know, Spain is a country with very resistant people. It seems that more missionaries are coming and then leaving, then coming and staying. I have been here for 2 years and I have already seen at least 3 families that I know of leave the field. So what is to be done in a country with resistant people? Here are some things Aaron pointed out on his blog...
"2. Every people group is resistant until they hear over and over and over…
Did you know that India had no Christians when William Carry arrived? He labored preaching and translating for six years before the first convert. Today there are millions of believers in India. The same story is told of Adoniram Judson of Burma.
Places where the gospel has never been planted are hard. They must be plowed, planted, and watered over many years. The first missionaries one hundred years ago that served in the Muslim country I am in during the push of the Student Volunteer Missions Movement served for sometimes 10 to 20 years with no converts. Just fifteen years ago the number of believers here was around 100 after almost a century of sowing. Today the number is in the thousands and growing faster than anyone really knows though it’s still less than .01%.
A friend who is a missionary in China asked me the other day how long it takes for someone here to accept Christ on average after hearing the Gospel for the first time. The answer was years, not days or weeks. Actually the quickest I had known someone here to believe on Christ was after two years. The average is a lot more. That being the case, if I drop into a city where few have ever heard the Gospel and there is massive pressure against conversion, I can expect to sow more than I reap in the first few years of ministry. So what can I do? I can sow like a wild man. I can be creative and throw the seed out in as many ways as I can imagine. I can use internet, TV, mailouts, DVDs, booklets, New Testaments, friendships, …and a hundred ideas I haven’t thought of yet."
He makes a valid point here. Sometimes as missionaries, we come to a country with preconceived ideas of what it is going to be like. We see others who have thriving ministries in other countries and we desire to have the same. The desire is not a bad one as it is great to set goals in our life and ministry to strive for. However, it takes a mature, well-informed laborer to understand his/her field. Every place is different and understanding where you are is imperative. When you understand that you are in a place to sow and to sow and to sow, you will understand your purpose for being there and when you don’t have a church of 50 to 100 people in the first year, you won’t be discouraged, give up, and leave. Does that mean you suppress your desires for a thriving work? Of course not. But we must not be naïve or disillusioned and we must understand the field in which we work.
Deanna and I are part of a team here in Spain. Before the team came together and we knew that God was leading us to Spain, we understood the field of Spain and the need for sowing and sowing and more sowing. So God had placed on my heart various ministries and outreaches in order to sow the seed such as printing, mailouts, CD's, booklets, internet, etc. Right now we are working on the Gospel DVD project that will sow the seed in our city. 150,000 people will hear the Gospel on DVD. We are excited about this project. But what about the other cities of Spain? Who will sow? We all want to be reapers. But who will be the faithful sowers?
"5. Examine your methods
Here are some questions we all must ask ourselves: What could I do to get the Word out more? I’ve never seen a fish jump in a boat. But I have sat in a boat all day with my dad with only two strings in the water and caught just a couple fish. Could I put more poles out? Could I use a net? Am I utilizing every possible tool in the search for what works best in this culture? We have found that internet is a great way to find those interested in the Gospel here in North Africa. It may not be necessary in China but here it has catapulted our ministry years ahead of where it would have been otherwise. We’ve seen people saved and baptized and churches started through the internet outreach alone. What might work in your country? Maybe those little pink and grey tracts aren’t cutting it in your culture? Maybe?"
What works in America doesn't mean it will work in other countries and cultures. God gives us the principle in his Word to spread the Gospel to all the World. The interesting thing is that he doesn't set guidelines for "how." Everything we do is a method. This DVD project is a method. Passing out tracts is a method. Going to a park to talk to someone is a method. Going door to door is a method. We have to examine our methods and understand what is working for us. When I say "working" I don't mean how many people are coming to Christ through what we do. We must never forget that someone comes to Christ because GOD is working in his or her lives, not us. God may give us the privilege to be the one who is present while they make their decision for Christ, but He is the one who has done the work, not us. We never know who seeded and who sowed in that person's life to get them to the point where they are ready to accept Christ. So when I say we must examine our methods to see if they are "working" what I mean is are people having the chance to hear the Gospel through what we are doing. For example, if we found out that 99% of the people who received the DVD from this DVD project did not watch them, then we would seriously have to reconsider this method. I have heard some preachers say that you aren't fulfilling your personal evangelism responsibilities if you aren't witnessing to people face to face. This is simply not true and an unbiblical statement. This places more emphasis on the person being a "soulwinner" instead of the word of God being the power of God that works in the hearts of people. The pastor I was saved under was saved because someone placed a Gospel tract on his desk. He read it, went home that night and accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior. The Word of God penetrated his heart and did an eternal work. Was that person, who placed the tract on his desk, not fulfilling his personal evangelism duty because he did not talk to him face to face? Of course not.
One man got saved after watching our Gospel DVD presentation. Was it any less valid that this man was saved by watching the DVD instead of someone personally talking to him face to face? Of course no; because it was the power of the Word of God that penetrated this man’s heart. God did the saving work. This man was saved, not just because of seeing our Gospel on DVD, but because of countless emails and letters from a friend who became a Christian 11 years ago here in Spain. God used all of these things to plant a seed and sow in this man’s heart to prepare it for His salvation.
The point is, we must examine our methods and get rid of all the “traditions” we have been taught about spreading the Gospel. Don’t’ misunderstand me. I am not saying that we should not talk to people face to face or spread the Gospel through traditional ways. I personally believe one of the most effective ways is being able to talk with those “in your world” i.e. your workplace, school, etc. What I am saying is that so many are caught up in the idea that the Gospel has to be spread “this one way” or we are not fulfilling our duty as Christians. This idea is false. As my friend stated, the Muslim world is coming to Christ heavily through Internet, TV, radio, etc.
So what will it take here in Spain? What ways can we think of to spread the Gospel and to sow and to sow and to sow even more to spread the Gospel to the 44 million people here in Spain?
If you would like to read the full post on my friends blog, go here.
