Support Nationals Or Missionaries?

By Bill Commons

Is it better to support American missionaries, or foreign nationals who already have the language and culture, and cost less to support? The answer is probably not either/or, but both/and. Yet, the tendency is to polarize in the debate.

Did Jesus instruct His disciples to go, or send money, into all the world?

What did we learn from the painful pre-World War II period when subsidizing nationals (all missions did) reaped a harvest of dependence on foreign money and undermined the indigenous church? After WWII, evangelical missions shifted to the three “selfs” as a dominant philosophy: promoting self-supporting, self-governing, and self-propagating local churches on the fields.

After a quarter century of indigenous philosophy that focused on partnering with nationals in mostly non-financial ways, some national leaders began to promote a philosophy that said, “Send money, not missionaries. We can do it better for less.” It made sense, and the tide was turned once again. Many North American churches now prefer to support nationals directly. This shifting strategy often translates into fewer resources available to get “their own missionaries” to the field.

A variety of strategic and discerning partnerships with nationals is an essential ingredient in missions strategy for the future. How can we best facilitate national church multiplication and missions movements without recreating a culture of dependence? That is the challenge facing informed local churches in the new century.

The key is careful research and investigation, selecting wisely those national ministries that are committed to indigenous goals. Good examples are seed-funding of national missions movements for effective startup, but without ongoing subsidies; providing facilities, equipment, or literature to maximize national effectiveness; offering training onsite rather than Americanizing nationals by bringing them to North America for their theological education.

Onetime projects are less likely to create increasing expectations than subsidies.

Find a program with appropriate accountability, and develop a balanced missions philosophy for your local church. And remember the Biblical principle of every local church, in whatever culture and economy, sending their own missionaries on their own financial level. It is happening all over the world, thriving without foreign funds, so let's not kill it by throwing foreign money at it. The trick is keeping the balance.

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