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Reaching CANs—Creative Access Nations

By the ABWE Executive Administrator for Muslim Ministries

How does one preach the gospel in places where governments will not give visas for religious work? How does one make disciples and plant churches in places where governments do not allow missionaries?

Missionaries have served in difficult places for years. In those places where there is resistance to evangelistic efforts, the Holy Spirit gives the wisdom required as we ask for it. Missionary personnel look for opportunities to provide humanitarian aid or meet other needs in major areas like education, medicine, or training. Sometimes we use business to meet the needs for goods and services. We call these opportunities platforms, and they come in all shapes and sizes, like a hospital and clinic in The Gambia, or an ESL program in the Middle East, or a business on the Arabian Peninsula. Thus, we use platforms.

Platforms allow our missionaries to obtain residential visas. They provide a legal means of entry that we use with integrity. We do what we have promised to do, whether it’s medical care for a district, education and training in English at a school or university, or selling a product in a business. When we use platforms like these, we are above reproach in the government’s eyes and we bring something of value to the people.

But, to concentrate on platforms is to miss the word “use.” We use platforms like we use a tool. The tool is not as important as what that tool is able to do. 

As regional administrator of Muslim ministries in the 10/40 window, I am always looking to match the platform tool with the circumstance in a particular country. Our goal is to build relationships that lead to evangelism, discipleship, and church planting. Therefore, platforms that allow us to be with people, form relationships, and then allow us enough time to pursue those relationships are ideal. Platforms are never valued above the goal of reaching people: platforms allow us entry to countries to reach those that would otherwise be unreachable.

Do platforms require extra missionary qualifications? Not really. Many of us have experience and education that allow us to do a variety of jobs in North America. The same applies over the ocean. I believe that anyone with a college education can easily enter the world of creative access countries. 

Does that mean that a “traditional” missionary with a seminary or Bible college education is excluded? Not in the least. That college or seminary education is easily translated into a variety of work from ESL to counseling to teaching in universities. In fact, these are the men and women I am most actively recruiting for Muslim works. We need people who can train men to a pastoral level, and whose Bible knowledge and pastoral experience can be poured into nationals who will pour themselves into others.  

Yes, it’s difficult to be in places of isolation, places where the evil one has been active for centuries, places where there are few missionaries, places of blindness and resistance to the gospel, places where the gospel has never been heard, places of persecution and sometimes risk.  But just because it is difficult does not mean we shouldn’t go. Jesus’ call is to all men and tongues and nations and tribes. He has all authority in heaven and earth. He has promised to be with us wherever we go, and His Word does not return void as we sow it abundantly in every nation of the world.