Cross-Cultural Missionary vs Mass Evangelist

I have heard about Justin Long in one missions gatherings in 2007. I visit his site and was overwhelmed with the huge database. I may not have been a regular visitor but his name never slipped my mind as a great mission data resource.

I want to share one of his posts here:

What will it take to make a difference?

This article offers examples of single men or small teams. Individuals who did not depend on technology like radio and television, which can reach audiences of hundreds of millions of people. The list included, among others:

• Israel, AD 33. Jesus himself evangelized the whole of Palestine in three years, thus impacting about 800,000 people.
• Antioch, AD 39. Evangelized largely through believers that fled persecution in Jerusalem, then later by Paul and Barnabas. Antioch had a population of about 130,000, and became the sending base for mission to the Gentiles.
• Iran, AD 49. Judas (Lebbaeus) and Simon the Zealot had about 100,000 converts; far more must have been evangelized despite immense hostility from Iran’s priestly caste.
• Asia, AD 55. The Roman province of Asia has been completely evangelized: 500 cities reached in 2 years by Paul and related missionary teams.
• Ireland, AD 435. Patrick planted over 200 churches and baptized over 100,000 converts. He created very effective mission structures to extend this work. 

He also enumerated some of the significant differences between the cross-cultural missionary team and the mass evangelist.

• Evangelists work in their own language.  
• Evangelists are already contextualized.
• Evangelists have fewer security issues.
• Evangelists find it easier to raise funds.

And went on to list the lives of cross-cultural missionaries like:

• Robert Morrison, the first Protestant missionary in China for nearly 30 years. He translated the Bible into Mandarin by 1818 and a dictionary by 1821. He faced numerous pressures. Imperial edicts against foreigners forced him to hide in his house. He died in 1834—having seen only 10 converts.
• Amy Carmichael? She didn’t see hundreds of thousands of converts, either. She was rejected by the China Inland Mission in 1892—for “frailty.” She went as a Keswick missionary to Japan, but decided that was not where God wanted her and eventually ended up in India in 1895. By 1899 she had developed a ministry rescuing children who had been dedicated by their families to serve as temple prostitutes; she eventually founded a society called the “Sisters of the Common Life.” She served for 56 years without furlough, took in more than 1,000 children in her orphanages, and wrote over 35 books.
• Adoniram Judson, the first American missionary to Burma (modern Myanmar), served for 37 years with only one home leave. During his ministry he translated the Bible, planted 100 churches, and saw 8,000 converts. The believers continued to grow and multiply after his death, and Burma eventually attained the status it now holds: the country with the third largest number of Baptist believers worldwide.

And others.

When it comes to cross-cultural work, it seems long-term significance is far more important than short-term success. The role of the missionary is to raise up a core of nationals who will present the Gospel and make disciples. Start with a small group of converts, who in turn make disciples, who in turn make disciples.

Please go on and read the entire article here.  His facebook profile is here https://www.facebook.com/justindavidlong