Church-planting in hostile cultures in Asia (4)

It is obvious that we cannot enter into an anti-Christian culture in Asia and share the Gospel without receiving a violent reaction. In conservative Muslim cultures, evangelizing foreign missionaries will be strongly resisted and even killed, and churches will be burned.

In xenophobic socialist nations, foreign missionaries will be expelled and their passports black-listed to prevent further access into that nation. Because of these reactions, such nations are often labeled as “closed countries,” though a more correct name for them is “restricted-access nations” (RAN’s) because they are really not closed to alternative methods of access.

Most RAN’s are poorly evangelized because most missionaries lack the imagination, resources and faith to enter them. The final result is that most missionaries go to the countries which are “open” to them, rather than to the countries where they are most needed.

This poor allocation of our limited resources of missionaries can only be remedied if we focus our efforts on sending more missionaries into RAN’s. And missionaries can only enter RAN’s and evangelize effectively only if we focus our efforts on building the right bridges for them to cross.

A “missionary bridge” is any occupation or organization that is needed in that culture, which allows missionaries to enter and be accepted into that community. Depending on the needs of a community, a bridge can be a consultant, a teacher, a clinic, hospital, literacy center, school, micro-finance organization, etc.

In an anti-Christian culture, the only bridge that is unacceptable is a Christian missionary. Almost any other occupation is acceptable – the list is only limited by the needs of that community and by our imagination and creativity.

Since the list of bridges is almost limitless, I will only mention three that I’ve personally found to be most effective at this time and simple (though not necessarily cheap) to build.

1. Literacy centers are very effective in communities where there are large numbers of illiterate people, especially children. This situation can be due to the fact that the children are simply too poor to go to school even though schools are available, or because they are unable to enrol in school because they are illegals (eg. stateless refugees).

Today, there are few countries where schooling is not available. Literacy centers are welcome in areas where many children cannot attend school because every parent knows the importance of education. Literacy centers are generally not expensive to establish and operate. They are also wonderful bridges into the hearts and minds of that community. For example, a teacher has more influence on the heart and mind of a student than a doctor/surgeon has on his patient.

2. English teachers are in great demand in most RAN’s. Most countries realize that English is a very useful skill in this globalized world but qualified English teachers are expensive to employ. English teachers who are willing to work for little pay in spare living conditions can find employment in the most restricted of RAN’s.

Needless to say, they will have great opportunities to share God’s love with their students. The additional benefits are that they are paid a salary by the RAN (though the salary may be small), they are provided with accommodation and huge opportunities to reach large numbers of students.

3. Learning centers where life-skills (eg. computer skills, leadership skills) are effective bridges. In poor communities, most people do not own computers, neither can they afford to attend computer-skills classes. In more affluent RAN’s, students attend schools and universities but the educational system may not prepare them with certain skills (eg. communication, leadership). Therefore, activity centers where they can learn these skills will be in demand.

Christian missionaries can enter RAN’s through these bridges and they can make many friends through these bridges.

If they pray for opportunities to share the Gospel, God will surely open the way for them into the hearts of those who are “imprisoned” in these RAN’s. i’ve personally seen how effective these bridges are even in the most restrictive of RAN’s and more importantly I’ve personally seen the awesome liberating power of the Gospel in the lives of even the most resistant people in these RAN’s!

There are no closed countries in the world because “all power is given unto our Lord” so let us go into ALL nations!

There are no closed countries, nor closed hearts in those countries. The problem is that too many of us believe Satan’s lie and our hearts are closed to God’s promises!!