2nd September, 2010

DANNY BELL

When coming to the topic of evangelism there is need for a church community to remember those continents and far off places where the Gospel has not been preached and to provide resources that may be scant or nonexistent for the continuation of the work in those areas. The importance of wealthier communities supporting and sending people into these regions so that all people have opportunity to hear the 'good news' is a Christian duty. The Pacific islands in particular have been a long term focus of the church for over a century and there is now a well established presence in these fields where the Gospel has had a large impact.

PICTURE: Wong Mei Teng (www.sxc.hu) "We would need to admit at some stage that our fixation to head to the islands may be more about tradition and undertaken for the “experience” rather than being serious in our efforts to reach our own unchurched communities. When we think of mission work, are we always thinking of easier and better options that guarantee results and status, rather than the much more difficult and challenging work of winning our fellow countrymen?"

You could say, however, that the back of the Pacific islands has been broken for many years now as population ratios of non-churched nationals to church membership is lower than in western countries like Australia. While there are some isolated pockets of outlying villages still clinging to traditional forms, the Christian impact on the Pacific islands has been significant, all encompassing and extensive. This thought was echoed as far back as a decade ago when a PNG political reporter said that, “the place is overrun with churches” (Personal Freedom Outreach, 2000). Commentators at that time were also saying that there is a lot of resentment coming from Nationals towards the many denominations that hold a stake in the island fields (see Stahnke, Tad, Brigham Young University Law Review, 1999).

Given this knowledge then, wouldn’t it now be time to start concentrating on other fields where less success is being felt? Large scale missionary journeys are still being undertaken to the Islands by as many religious offshoots and groups as there are denominations, all seeking to make their mark in the Pacific. Many retired Island missionaries can’t seem to let go of their nostalgia and are largely the organisers of these events, even though these places have reached saturation point. Also, when individual Christians want to do something more substantial, there seems to be a stampede for the Islands which can only be described as feverish.

Most of us have heard the accounts of recent converts to island evangelism trips returning with wonderful stories, but how many of these stories are of true conversions? Mostly these excitable inductees have only been working with local natives who are already culturally Christianised. Also, when missionaries enter the outer lying villages in these island fields, there is already a deep religious aspect present and their poverty often lends them to adopting anything that looks better than what they have. Is our insatiable desire to head to the islands then, more fuelled by wanting to feel like a true missionary than a deep concern to finish the work of the Gospel in the world field?

One has to wonder why the islands, normally considered a conquered field, still attract Christians young and old when other areas deserving of as much attention go unserviced? Maybe it has become easier to go on trophy hunting tours and come back with guaranteed stories of success than to enter our own difficult to reach westernised country. We would need to admit at some stage that our fixation to head to the islands may be more about tradition and undertaken for the “experience” rather than being serious in our efforts to reach our own unchurched communities. When we think of mission work, are we always thinking of easier and better options that guarantee results and status, rather than the much more difficult and challenging work of winning our fellow countrymen?

We know how hard it is to reach the average Australian who usually has no background in religion except Darwinism and has been brought up from birth on a steady diet of evolution and distrust of Christianity. A much harder fish to catch, we all would agree, and there is definitely much much more effort required to bring them to an acceptance of Christ. Courting an Aussie and attracting them to the church is a very difficult task if one is into proselytising. Here is a field which offers little reward and minimal fanfare for the homespun missionary, eager to get out there and lay claim to a success story.

The island experience on the other hand, has no rivals when it comes to soul saving experiences compared to an invitation to stand in a shopping mall in front of Coles and hand out brochures for a Better Life Seminar. In the islands everyone is so friendly and welcoming - in Australia everyone is so suspicious and distant. In the islands people join in willingly and your efforts to help are appreciated a thousand times over - in Australia getting people to help is like extracting teeth and appreciation leaves much to be desired. In the islands results are seeing buildings erected and filled on the same day - in Australia results are having too many buildings and seeing them empty all the time. And so it goes.

Nobody would blame someone who genuinely wished to have an island missionary experience, especially when brought up on a steady diet of stories from the pioneering days in the Pacific. But with the danger of headhunting gone and the vast majority of island people identifying with Christianity now, maybe it’s time to turn our focus to mission fields where there has been less success and more risk of failure. When looking at the miniscule impact of our church on Australians, maybe we need to place our own country on the endangered “unreached people groups” list.

We have a mission field right under our noses and we shouldn’t let the excitement of far off spiritual hunting safaris affect our church community’s basic responsibility - to seek and to save our local neighbours. God still calls some individuals to far off regions and pockets of isolation where there is a need to enter new territory but the majority of us are called to be missionaries right where we live, as difficult and uninspiring as that may be. A wise old well travelled Christian author once said: "But we need not go to Nazareth, to Capernaum, or to Bethany, in order to walk in the steps of Jesus. We shall find His footprints beside the sick-bed, in the hovels of poverty, in the crowded alleys of the great city, and in every place where there are human hearts in need of consolation. In doing as Jesus did when on earth, we shall walk in His steps". (from 'The Desire of Ages', p. 640).

Next time we sit in a group and are thinking about what to do for God, spare a thought for a very large island whose population is mostly ignorant of what Jesus did for it. Working for our own local community may not have the “Getaway experience” like heading off for the islands, but the rewards will be just as special as anything in the Pacific. Maybe we need to “rethink our heroes” as the TV ad says, and pay tribute to those missionaries who work in one of the toughest and challenging soul winning environments on the planet - Australia.

Danny Bell has a BA Theology Degree and has worked in pastoral roles for seven years. Currently he is a registered Family Court Mediator and a member of WAAMM, a WA Christian Men's organisation.

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