From Recipients to Senders
The big news of November was a trip to Cameroon to continue equipping a cohort of six missions pastors. It was a life-changing experience!
God has moved mightily in Africa. It now has more Christians than any other continent (667 million)!
However, Africa has also been among the lowest senders of missionaries. Why? One of the biggest reasons is because Africans have often been treated as recipients of the gospel rather than also senders. Christian missions has sometimes been conducted in such a way as to make new believers and churches dependent on the work of foreign missionaries and structures. Also, because Western missiology has been so deeply tied to wealth, it is easy to assume that churches in the developing world are simply not as capable of sending their people.
But this is not true! Our moment in missions history has become truly "polycentric": not "from the West to the rest," but "from everywhere to everywhere". I believe that other parts of the global church, such as Africa, will lead the way into the future of missions. This is why I was so excited to visit Cameroon and help equip sending churches.
"Dear Missionary Bradley"
It has been over thirteen years since I served as a missionary in Africa. I have deeply grieved the loss of no longer living out my calling there (see my recent article, "The Fleeting Privilege of Missionary Service"). However, this trip was healing in unexpected ways. It felt so natural to be back in Africa, like I had never left. Plus, I can see how investing in pastors and churches is even more exponentially impactful than what I was doing thirteen years ago.
My time spent with the Cameroonian pastors was delightful. They were the most devoted, enthusiastic, and thoughtful cohort members I've ever led. In fact, I felt I was learning more from them than they were from me. Their application of sending is richly biblical and beautifully contextualized. I think it will be instructive for other sending churches around the world.
At the end of the week the pastors surprised me with gifts. The first was traditional clothes from their region of Cameroon (see video here). The second was a thank you note that began with "Dear missionary Bradley". In it they affirmed me as still being a sent one to Africa. One of them said, "Africa has been sitting, but you will help them to stand." I wept. They had no idea how much that would mean to me.
"Will You Train Us?"
The biggest surprise of the trip was how God would open doors among other pastors and churches. Not only did I receive royal hospitality everywhere I traveled, I also met wonderful people who also desire to be equipped to send well.
In one gathering of church leaders, I simply asked the question, "How has the mission of God been working through your churches here?" I was eager to learn. To my sorrow, they began sharing stories of how foreign missionaries had mistreated them at times. The eldest among them gave a painful example. He said a missionary had left on furlough and employed a local pastor to keep his house and dog until he returned. The missionary left 75,000 francs of allowance for the dog, but only 25,000 for the pastor. Then the elder asked me, "Why should we trust you when foreigners still view us as slaves?"
I was heartbroken and wept. I had no resolution. I simply said, "Only Christ can atone for the harms done to you. But for what it's worth, please forgive us." The room was tense. Then the elderly man quoted Isaiah 43:18-19: "Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?" He offered forgiveness and said, "I can tell you are different."
After that, it was like a massive door flew open. For the remainder of the trip pastor after pastor came to me and asked the same question: "Will you train us?" Some of them told me that in the past year the Holy Spirit had been stirring in them a vision for Cameroon being a "trigger" for a great global missions movement. If you look at the shape of Africa and were to hold it as a gun, Cameroon is in the trigger position. What a vision. May it be!
Join Us in Prayer
As you can see, your prayers have been quite effective! Please keep them coming. Here are a few ways you can pray specifically:
For the six missions pastors and their churches as they seek to send well. From them: "Pray that we should continue to have a deeper understanding of the concepts that we are being taught. Pray that this learning should not end in class but that it will fully be translated into practice and that it shall bear eternal fruits."
For wisdom and resources to train other pastors and churches in Cameroon. From them: "Pray that this mindset should multiply in our country and our continent at large. Pray that one day not long from now we will be able to dispatch and have an avalanche of missionaries flooding the nations."
For a posture of true mutuality as we serve other parts of the global church. At Upstream we don't want to perpetuate the mistakes of the past. Pray that we would be humble servants, good friends, and eager learners as other parts of the global church take their rightful place in God's global mission.
As always, thanks for your support!
If you're interested in participating in what God is doing through Upstream in Cameroon, consider directing some of your year end giving to our Global Fund. You can hear more from the Cameroonian pastors themselves at our Live From Africa event on October 11th at 3:00-3:00 PM EST.
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