missionary roles

Missionaries are sent out by the Holy Spirit through a church for the work the Spirit has called them to do (Acts 13:3,4). We saw in the last post how missionary ministry is different from pastoral ministry. The missionary never stays where he spreads the word and plants church but continues led by the Spirit to new harvest fields. Paul stayed in most places for only weeks, sometimes months. Only on three occasions he stayed in a particular field for more than one year. Paul never abandoned the new churches that he planted. There were others that stayed behind or sent later to strengthen and encourage. Paul would often revisit the churches after leaving. Paul also corresponded with the churches. Should all missionaries follow Paul’s model of staying only for a short period of time and then moving on? Do all missionaries have the same role as Paul? Look at what Paul says to the church at Corinth:

“Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but servants through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. We are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building” (I Corinthians 3:5-9).

I see at least four insights concerning missionary roles in this passage:
1. The mission is not about the missionary. It is about God. The Lord gives the harvest of new believers and He gives the increase of that harvest. The missionaries are not anything but lowly servants, or field hands, playing their assigned role.
2. Paul played the role of a planter. He spread the gospel until he found good soil where he could plant church.
3. Apollos played the role of a cultivator. He nurtured the new plant so that it could grow and reproduce.
4. Even though Paul and Apollos did not work together directly, they were fellow servants and part of a larger team effort.

Timothy was another that played a role different from Paul. We know that Paul sent him to the Corinthians to “remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church” (I Cor. 4:17). We see many examples of disciples sent to play a cultivating role in the life of new churches. Barnabas and John Mark revisited Cyprus (Acts 15:39). Timothy and Silas remained in Macedonia a little longer (Acts 17:14). Priscilla and Aquila stayed in Ephesus (Acts 18:19) and ended up helping Apollos. Paul sent Timothy several places to cultivate churches and leaders. Paul also sent other fellow workers like Epaphroditus (Phil. 2:25) and Titus (Titus 1:5). We could name several others who played a role in the life of newly planted churches. These were not elders (pastors) but missionaries serving in a team effort to encourage and strengthen the new churches (and pastoral leaders) to grow and reproduce.

Did Paul do some cultivating? Of course he did. We can assume there were times that Apollos planted. But cultivating was not Paul's major role. God called him to lay the foundation for new churches among the gentiles. His goal was to proclaim Christ where there was no church and not to build on another's foundation (Romans 15:20).

Missionaries are outsiders; we don’t take the place of local indigenous leadership. As missionaries, we should be careful to play the role that the Holy Spirit has prepared for each one of us. Some will be more like Paul and do the planting. Many will be more like Apollos and do the cultivating. Hopefully none of us missionary outsiders will take a role that belongs to a local leader or local believers.