The Future Of Independent Baptist Missions: 10 Predictions

I think there is a great danger of a full-time Pastor losing touch with reality. This may ruffle a few feathers, but I’m just thinking out loud …

I am very glad I learned a trade in the military - law enforcement and emergency planning. I have a BA in Emergency & Disaster Management. I’m sitting right now at in a secure operations center with cognizance over every Navy asset in the Mid-Western US. I have spoken to many Pastors who have literally no marketable skills outside of ministry. They have no trade, they have no experience. If they had to become bi-vocational, they would be forced to take menial, low-paying jobs. There is nothing wrong with these jobs, please understand, but their lack of experience and/or training for the real world marketplace bothers them.

I am bi-vocational. I’m 29, and serve in too many capacities to count in church. I’m not “officially” a Pastor yet - I graduate with my MA in two months and will go through ordination then. I am very glad that my trade gives me options. I am thankful I still interact with real people in the real world - not merely the bubble surrounding the local church.

There is nothing wrong with full-time ministry, obviously, but how easy is it to lose touch with “normal” people?

[T Howard] I am thankful that I won’t have to spend 3-4 years driving all over the US raising support by begging for $25 a month from pastors / churches who won’t support me if my wife wears pants, we listen to Steve Green, or I take my son to see The Hobbit. That model of ministry needs jettisoned ASAP, whether in missions or church planting.

I definitely like the idea of missionaries receiving most of their support from their sending church plus a few others versus hitting up 200+ churches for $25 / month.

I really feel sorry for this brother if this is what he thinks deputation is like. Not in my experience or not in this neck of the woods. Maybe some churches still support at the $25 rate but not many around MN.

Moreover, Fourth Baptist is in a missions conference now and I am glad for the three men humble enough to “drive all over the US” to present their burden and their fields. I, a professor of missions and a former missionary, learned much from one particular young man who is going to Salt Lake City to plant a church. He claims that the need is so great that realistically there is only one evangelical church for every 10,000 people! Compare that with the national average of 1 evangelical church for every 950 people. I learned something new this week.

These poor, pitiful, but humble missionaries who are willing to be used of the Lord by “driving all over the country” have been having a good ministry here at Fourth this week.

Oh, but I forgot—mission conferences are passé and not very useful anymore!

I don’t want to hijack the thread. So if this is that, moderators please remove my post. But I do think that our younger men coming in now need to be prepared for the fact that more of them than not will be bi-vocational. I think this is a reality that they need to be prepared for.

Tyler is right that pastors should have marketable skills. I have been fortunate, and now my other jobs are somewhat ministry related. I think this will be reality in the near future.

[Jeff Straub] I really feel sorry for this brother if this is what he thinks deputation is like. Not in my experience or not in this neck of the woods. Maybe some churches still support at the $25 rate but not many around MN.

Jeff, that is refreshing to hear. Unfortunately, many of the missionary families that I’ve met (and who were transparent about their deputation experience) have related similar experiences. One of the large IFB churches in Ohio that I attended regularly brought on missionaries at $25 / month, and they boasted of supporting over 300 missionaries. Don’t get me wrong, they spent nearly $500K / year on missions and missions trips / projects, but a new missionary family would usually get $25 / month.

Furthermore, I’ve heard from a handful of missionaries about some of the crazy questions churches ask prospective missionaries to even be in the running to receive $25 / month. Again, I’m glad this isn’t / wasn’t your experience, but it does seem to still be a common experience.

Of course, if missionaries were to openly express their frustration with the deputation status quo, I doubt many pastors would support them. It’s almost seen as “paying your dues” to be a missionary.

And, I’ll second what rogercarlson recommends for new pastors. Get a marketable degree in business, engineering, or education. Spend some time gaining experience in the work force. Then go to seminary. If after 5 years in ministry you decide (or it is decided for you) that full-time ministry isn’t your thing, you’ll have the ability to earn a decent living and provide for your growing family.

Have to be careful so as to not lose support :-), but I appreciate my friend, Steve Davis’, insights and his thesis was great! Fortunately, I serve with a mission board (Baptist Mid-Missions) that does well at serving their missionaries and local churches and from all that I see exhibits great integrity. There is a place for solid mission boards.

Many of the “trends” listed might be regional or limited to certain countries (tentmaking on many foreign fields would get you tossed, most churches can not help with international laws, insurance issues…). I would like to see even more cooperation among like-minded brothers serving in foreign fields, but at least that happens better than in the US many times.

I also appreciated Jeff Straub’s insights and see the benefits of mission conferences that are done well and not just as a “continued tradition”. And the use of technology in conjunction with the conferences is great.

Finally, I thank God for great supporting churches. We have zero individuals supporting us, not that I am not tempted at times to seek a bit more support. (I also do not think it “wrong” to have individual support. However, I do like the accountability to our home church, about five other churches that are “like home churches” to us, and others who show their love for our family and ministry in ways that go beyond the norm (though we appreciate the “norm” of prayers and financial support too). Those relationships with involved supporting churches are precious!

Blessings,

Bob Metze