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Reason #2:
EFFECTIVENESS
National missionaries are effective in reaching their own people for Christ
The national missionary...
- knows the local language;
- requires little or no cultural adjustment;
- usually lives the same lifestyle as the people
to which he or she ministers, generally a lifestyle of poverty compared to what Westerners require;
- is able to engage in evangelistic and church planting
activities in countries which do not grant missionary visas to
Westerners;
- is often willing to labor in ministry in the midst
of great danger and with much personal sacrifice to reach his
own people;
- needs no furlough, which normally is a disruption
to the ministry of the Western missionary.
Investment
with a manifold return
The cost to
support an American missionary family is usually between $3000 and
$5000 per month. Many national missionaries require only $100 to
$150 per month, depending on where they live. (Note: Some require considerably more if they live in urban settings, or nations where the standard of living is higher. National missionary ‘key leaders’ supported by Mission ONE—usually those who are the team leaders or ministry directors—also require higher levels of support.)
The relatively small amount of support provided provided by Mission ONE to national missionary teams and their key leaders—makes a huge difference in the lives of these
families and enhances their ministries.
According to researchers at Global Evangelization Movement,
headed by David Barrett, (author of the World Christian Encyclopedia):
“In tomorrow's world, the Western missionary — though no doubt
still present — will be vastly outnumbered by his Third-World
counterpart. Many of these will be doing the job far more effectively
and cheaply than Western missionaries due simply to the fact that
they have fewer cultural barriers to cross, understand the geography,
politics and economics of their area better, and their ministries
cost less.”
Who sets the support level?
Mission ONE provides financial assistance through a “team support” model, and does not set the support levels for the nationals. Levels of support for national missionary individuals or families are decided by the team leaders based on the local needs on the mission field. Moreover, the support provided by Mission ONE is often not “full support,” but rather, a supplement to what they are receiving from others in the Church.
Compassion
| Strategy | Personalization
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