Missions conferences – a waste of time? (1)

Several years ago I decided to stop speaking at missions conferences because I believed that they were a waste of everyone’s time.

However, a few months ago I was invited to speak at a missions’ conference at a Filipino church and accepted the invitation. At that time, I wasn’t exactly sure why I accepted the invitation – maybe it was because I had other meetings to attend to at that same time in the Philippines, or maybe it was because I hadn’t seen some good friends there for over 10 years. Today, I believe the Holy Spirit led me to attend the conference because he wanted to open my eyes to the “typical” attitude of our churches to missions.

First let me explain why I believe that missions’ conferences are a waste of everybody’s time. Traditionally, many churches have allocated a “missions’ month” or a “missions’ conference” into the yearly church calendar. This has become such a part of traditional church life (or “churchianity”) that few ask themselves if these “missions” events have really resulted in an increase in real missions in their churches.

For many churches, not a single missionary has been sent forth from their midst in spite of many years of missions’ events. Maybe there was a little temporary excitement about missions and missionaries, or maybe a little more funds were raised for “their missionaries” (most of “their” missionaries are “strangers” from other churches whom they support financially) – but is this really “missions”?

I believe this is Satan’s substitute for real missions – which is clearly described in Matthew 28:19,20 (“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations……”).

The critical shortage is in the lack of laborers (Matthew 9:37 “the laborers are few”).

The starting point is not another missions’ conference or more funds but sincere prayer for laborers to be sent forth (Matthew 9:38 “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest’)

I’ve attended too many missions’ conferences to count and seen too many missions’ exhibits and heard too many missions’ related sermons but I’ve hardly heard true heartfelt prayers for laborers to be sent forth from the churches that organize these missions’ events!!