Should A Missionary Be Paid For What They Do? A Bible Study

Should missionaries get paid for what they do? If so, why and if not, why not?

The Missionaries Mission

Jesus gave a clear and obvious command in the form of an imperative to all of His disciples, saying “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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” (Matt 28:18-20). Sorry Christian; there is no plan B. We are to make disciples by going into all nations and then teach them everything that Jesus taught the disciples, but not all of us are able to go into all the world, however can go into our own neighborhoods, family, and co-workers. Jesus never gave us a plan B. He expected them, and I believe He expects us, to go into all the world, even if we can only go next door. Even a shut-in can pray for missionaries and pray and witness to their caregivers. Really, everybody in the church is on mission or a missionary team of one.

Missionaries Supporting Themselves

Most of the missionaries I know have had as part of their calling the need to raise funds so that they can bring the gospel into all parts of the world. The Southern Baptist church I attended years ago had annual fund raisers, like the Lottie Moon fund, where the church body donated over a period of time to fund the missionaries who go in the name of Christ to far flung places around the globe. Many of these missionaries go to where there is little or no previous exposure to the gospel of Jesus Christ and there is great risk from being killed by locals or by disease. Sometimes the missionaries must learn a new language in order that they can communicate the message of faith in Christ. This is not easy at all because some native languages have no word for mercy, humility, or salvation so just imagine the task that some missionaries are faced with. They must start from zero and then trust God to provide and after that, pray for His protection as they often go into hostile territory. Talk about needing faith! Sadly, most missionaries must raise their own funds and they are self-supporting like the Apostle Paul who was a tentmaker at times but Paul had no choice because he was compelled to preach the gospel, writing “For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel” (1st Cor 9:16) and so he was “under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish” (Rom 1:14).

Supporting Missionaries

Should missionaries get paid? What is more important than bringing a message that can deliver a people from the wrath of God into eternal life through Jesus Christ? Which of the following is more important; soup, sandwiches, or salvation? You can make the world a better place for people by bringing them water through a well, food through seeds, or livestock which can provide them meat, milk, cheese, and things like this. That’s actually biblical (Matt 25). In this way, the locals can support themselves, but if you don’t add the gospel of Jesus Christ to your mission, then you’re just making them more comfortable on their way to hell. To bring healing to a disease or sickness falls far short of the healing that brings the forgiveness of sins through the blood of the Lamb of God. Even Lazarus who Jesus raised from the dead would die again, but to die without Christ is the ultimate tragedy (Rev 20:12-15). No one can know the day they breath their last and after which they’ll be judged (Heb 9:27). These are all the reasons that missionaries go into all the world. They know that God doesn’t desire any to perish outside of faith in Christ (2nd Pet 3:9) and that should be our desire too. That’s why missionaries are compelled to go. What breaks God’s heart should break our hearts too. That’s why these missionaries often “go,” even if they’re underfunded, because they are like Paul; “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel” (1st Cor 9:16).

Conclusion

If you can’t support a missionary, be one. At least be one in your own corner of the world. That way, you can join with other Christians around the world who are doing the same and reaching those who are spread out throughout the earth, but for those hard to reach places and people, where most of us can’t go, there go the missionaries. Therefore, we should pray for them, pray for those they witness to, pray for their support, be a part of their support, and by the way, why don’t you go into all the world too, even if it’s right next door?

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.