We live within paradigms, which are frameworks that contain basic assumptions, ways of thinking, and methodologies that are commonly accepted by a group. In the Christian community, one paradigm that has existed for over 300 years is the function and engagement of western missionaries in fulfilling the Great Commission. Jesus’ last command as recorded in Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The efforts to fulfill this “Great Commission” have been played out in numerous ways over the last two millennia. In the first century, the Apostle Paul and his co-leaders were commissioned directly by God to take the Good News to the gentile world, while the other apostles continued to evangelize the Jewish people of Israel. Paul’s strategy of church planting and disciple making was quite successful in the modern, gentile world of that era. From this point, the church multiplied and spread throughout Europe and Western Asia over the ensuing centuries. As the earth’s population grew, and Europe began colonizing the planet, the work of what we now call “missionaries” flourished. Men and women left Europe to journey to other parts of the earth bringing the truth about Christ to peoples throughout the planet. Eventually, America developed enough to begin sending missionaries. This has been the paradigm of disciple making that has existed for the last 300 years – the missionary paradigm.
But the world and humanity have dramatically changed. It took almost 2000 years after Jesus’ birth for the human population to reach 2 billion people. In fact, it wasn’t until 1927 that the 2 billion mark was achieved. What’s happened in the last 100 years has been unexpected and absolutely remarkable. I refer to it as the “100-year phenomena”. In less than 100 years, the earth’s population has literally exploded. We have seen a growth of humanity from the 2 billion in 1927 to a record-breaking 8 billion as of November 15, 2022. In light of this explosion, the “missionary model” is being replaced by God with an alternate strategy. It appears that God has and is calling native/national catalytic leaders in countries to reach their own people with the gospel. In the last 25 years over 2,000 native led church planting / disciple making movements have come into existence. This is a paradigm shift.
This new paradigm perfectly fits today’s world. It’s geographically dispersed without “sending” from the West. This means that God has created an infrastructure that covers the planet, enabling the unreached to be reached by people in their own countries. It would be impossible to reach billions over the planet through the former missionary “sending” strategy. It’s because of God’s wisdom and foreknowledge that He’s created this strategy to replace the former paradigm. The missionary model was God’s plan for the 17th through the 20th centuries, but a change was needed for the 21st century and God has produced it.
These new leaders and their teams are indigenous to their countries, so there’s no learning curve for understanding culture, language, customs, etc. as Western missionaries had to be trained. The world of the 21st century is extremely different from even the world of 50 years ago. Technology has thoroughly enveloped our lives, including the amazing expansion of communications. The use of cell phones connecting to the internet allows humans to communicate with anyone in the world. Let’s remember that the first Apple iPhone sale was in June 2007 and has created a world in 2023 where there is virtually no place that internet connectivity can’t be accomplished. Knowledge and information sharing is spread throughout the world on an instantaneous basis. Therefore, those living in unreached areas now have an awareness of other world cultures like never before. This has driven a growing worldview of pro-nativism and anti-colonialism (of the West).
Therefore, there has begun a dramatic shift in strategy in global evangelism. Instead of utilizing only Western missionaries to spread the Gospel and make disciples, there has been a transition to national leaders taking the lead in reaching their own people. This model is not only more cost-effective, but it also allows for greater cultural understanding and integration.
According to a study conducted 10 years ago by Excellence in Giving, indigenous ministries are 23 times more cost-effective at planting churches than Western missionaries, and each Western missionary costs 40 times more than national church planters. This is due to the high costs associated with training Western missionaries and their limited ability to integrate fully into a new culture.
However, this does not mean that the West has no role to play in global evangelism. Rather, we are called to assist these nationally led movements through financial resources and other forms of support. As Christians living in the West, we have been blessed with abundant resources, and it is our responsibility to use these resources to further God’s work around the world.
This is where an organization like Global Assist comes in. We know we have been called by God to increase the capability of national leaders who are working to increase the kingdom of God in their own countries. Global Assist acts as a critical resource provider in two key areas which elevate native ministries to higher levels within their cultural context. The two are launch-pad funding in conjunction with increasing native ministry capabilities. These capabilities are elevated through training in Catalytic Leadership Development, Organizational Planning and Growth, and Financial Resource Management.
In addition, Global Assist is creating a virtual “community” of these independent church planting ministries. We facilitate networking and peer support among these leaders so they can learn from each other and share “best practices” for more effective ministry. The creation of a vibrant, healthy global network of these like-minded, like-missioned native church planting ministries will accelerate the work of the Great Commission.
The world has dramatically changed, and humanity is experiencing a paradigm shift into the technology era. We as followers of Jesus are also experiencing a major paradigm shift as it relates to apostolic disciple making. We are transitioning from the former western missionary model to movements led by indigenous nationals. This shift provides the capacity of reaching all humanity with the Good News of Jesus and making disciples, no matter how much the population numbers grow. It’s an extremely scalable model that God has created.
Dr James Kirchner, President Global Assist
