Mission Field on the Edge

By James H. Eaton

The mission field calls to our minds far-away places of sacrifice, physical hardship, long separation from loved ones, and a touch of the exotic. In many cases, this is exactly what the mission field is. I know; I grew up in the Far East.

Yet the Bible tells us that the mission field is any place: 1) where paganism saturates daily life, 2) where differing cultures exist, and 3) where a clear gospel witness is absent. Jesus said, "The field is the world" (Matthew 13:38). By this definition North America has become a mission field. Luder Whitlock writes that the "catastrophic loss of Christian understanding and influence that has occurred during the last 30 years has made North America one of the most important mission fields in the world."

The Suburbs: The Edge Cities

Historically, demographers classified North Americans as living in urban, suburban or rural areas. Now the suburbs are fast becoming the true center of North American life. County planners insist upon suburb-to-suburb highway systems, since studies show that three out of four new jobs are based in the suburbs. Some people say we should not even call them suburbs any longer, but cities in their own right- "edge cities."

These edge cities are growing at a rapid pace. In the Washington, D.C. area, where I live, this growth is on a massive scale. The local AAA moans, "If you think traffic is already bad, just wait. Our region will grow by 120%."

It isn't just that America's new cities are really in the suburbs, nor that they are the new focal point of influence, nor that the population in these edge cities is soaring. While the number crunchers do their thing, my heart is elsewhere. I am a missionary in pastor's clothing. Within the edge city called Laurel, my home town, I find paganism. I find multiple cultures living side by side, pursuing the American dream. I find scores of churches, yet little gospel witness. I find an enormous and highly strategic mission field. And my heart cries out to God that He would send workers here.

I am not diminishing the importance of ministry in the cities, nor am I am belittling those who minister in North America's towns and rural settings. But the edge cities constitute a new and vast mission field, and we must seize the opportunities "while it is still today."

Living in the suburbs is like standing at Cape Point on Africa's southern tip watching the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans meet. They do not meet quietly; they surge and seethe. Powerful currents swirl and tug at one another. So it is in the suburbs, as the currents of paganism, cultural diversity and apostasy pull at the lives of men and women.

A Place Where Paganism Saturates Daily Life

Though the United States was never truly a Christian nation, until recently a cultural consensus freely accommodated and sometimes encouraged Christianity. This is no longer the case. Paganism is alive and well.

In the suburbs Christianity is not despised, it is simply deemed irrelevant and out of touch with reality. Like the Mom and Pop stores on Main Street where one goes to look but seldom to buy (the mall is the place for serious shopping), the church is preserved and venerated, but not taken seriously. Sunday in Laurel is as busy as Saturday; residents shop at Northern Reflections and eat at The Olive Garden, oblivious to the churches nearby.

This is not to say that nothing is sacred anymore. Monday morning is sacred. By 10 p.m. on Sunday, the streets are deserted. People are in bed early, for at 6 a.m. the rush is on to go and worship at the feet of the god The Corporate Ladder. This god is not always kind to his worshippers. In the suburbs, people live with apparent security and confidence, yet they ache for a touch of something divine. Cults and religion flourish here: Mormonism, Jehovah's Witness, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, mysticism. There is little objective truth any more so, ironically the secular breeds a pseudo-spirituality anchored, not in truth, but in personal feeling and experience.

A Place Where Differing Cultures Exist

Someone has said that the United States today is less a melting pot and more a stir-fry wok. Furthermore, the racial and ethnic makeup has changed. According to the Statistical Yearbook of the Immigration Service, in the 1950's, 68% of immigrants were from Europe, 21% from Latin America and 6% from Asia. In the 1980's that had changed to 13% from Europe, 41% from Latin America and 37% from Asia.

These thousands of immigrants first move into the cities. Then they move to the suburbs, chasing the American dream. In suburban Maryland, we have 50,000 Indians, 15,000 Pakistanis and 5,000 Koreans. These delightful people are usually college-educated, family-oriented and enthusiastic about America. Ed Arshad, a pharmacist from Pakistan, recently opened a store in Laurel. He home delivers prescriptions, bringing along a video, for $1.49. Why does he go to all this trouble? The Laurel Leader quotes him as saying, "I like the whole concept of the pharmacy in American society. It used to be a meeting place. The pharmacist knew everybody in town. I'm trying to bring back that small-town touch."

Asians starting their own businesses is a common trend. Corporations scramble to tap into this new market. MCI recently set up a list of toll-free numbers, each one answering in a different language. So you speak Korean? Hindi? Vietnamese? Just dial 1-800 ... We born-again believers need to think seriously about our roles. There are more Akbars than Millers in Laurel. Many of these immigrants come from nations that have historically been resistant to the gospel. Within 10 miles of my home I find four mosques, one Hindu and one Buddhist temple. We would gladly send a missionary to their home country. Shouldn't we, just as gladly, reach them HERE?

A Place Where There is no Clear Gospel Witness

Before the turn of the century, most North American churches preached the gospel. After the fundamentalist-modernist battles, that number declined; yet, until recently, one could reasonably assume that an evangelical church in the community was a gospel-preaching church. That is becoming a naive assumption. Apostasy, like secularism and immigration, is accelerating. More and more churches are drifting into serious theological error. In the suburbs especially you will look in vain for a church that heralds the pure Word of God.

I can almost hear you say, "But this is America! The gospel is available everywhere!" I understand your reaction. But may I ask, "Where is it heard clearly?" In the schools? In the shopping malls? And what of Christian radio? A growing percentage of air-time is now devoted to other issues, which though possibly helpful do not inform the listener of his sin, the wrath of God and the way of salvation. Yes, you say, but we still have TV and everybody watches TV. Solid gospel preaching on television is rare. Wait, somebody will hand them a tract! How? Many neighborhoods forbid solicitation. So I ask you,

"How will they hear?"

We need a generation of men and women who will rise up and think like missionaries; who will reach the cultural crossroads found in North American suburbs. How can YOU be involved?

Pray that God would open the blind eyes of men and women and draw them to Himself. God has said, "I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live (Ezekiel 33:11).

Pray that God would call workers. The work is hard, but not beyond the power of God. "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him" (II Chronicles 16:9).

If God leads you into this demanding work, become a student of its culture and learn its languages. Communicate the gospel to those who are lost in sin. This will take the courage to study the Bible rigorously, to preach in a culturally-sensitive way, and to use methods adapted to the particular needs of the community. This is precisely what a missionary working anywhere must do. It is demanding this being a missionary.

The North American suburbs, where families live, work, shop, buy homes and go to school may not look like a mission field, but it is. Someone must reach these people. Will YOU consider serving in this mission field?

Jim Eaton lived in the Far East from 1967 to 1976. He holds the M.Div. and Th.M. from BBC/ Seminary of PA. In connection with his seminary training Jim, his wife and three children spent nine months in an internship in Cape Town, South Africa. In September 1993 he began his pastorate in Laurel, MD.

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