I pastored a small church in the mountains of western North Carolina right out of seminary. My wife and I fondly remember this as our first cross-cultural experience. For the better part of 4 years, my world was no larger than Haywood County, and most of my time was spent ministering to 50 or so families. 

Then came God’s call to international missions, and all of a sudden, I was viewing the world through a wide angle lens: 13,000 people groups, 7,400 unreached, 3,000 of those with no access to the gospel. For a guy who loves the big picture, this was rocket fuel.

In time, we joined the International Mission Board (IMB) to engage an unreached people group in East Asia. I was passionate and focused. All my effort centered on several families, living within a few hundred feet of one another. 

I was also busy and isolated. I couldn’t tell you much about the rest of our city and even less about other unreached people groups in our host country. 

If you would have asked me, I would have told you I had an expanded view of the world. In actuality, my view of the world had never been so nearsighted.

The Problem of Isolation

Missionary leaders are necessarily passionate and focused. These traits propel the gospel advance. In time though, missionary leaders can find themselves busy and isolated. This nearsightedness slows us down.

1. Isolation wastes kingdom resources.

Isolation makes us prone to duplicate limited kingdom resources in one place that could be better used elsewhere—simply because we don’t know what other mission leaders are doing. I’ve seen on more than one occasion, well-meaning missionary organizations tripping over one another to get to new believers from an unreached people group. This miscommunication creates competition among churches and agencies, as well as confusion and jealousy among new believers. 

2. Isolation creates confusion and redundancy.

Isolation increases the likelihood that we don’t know what missionaries in the field actually need. We tend to approach the field asking “How can you use this tool?” instead of asking, “What will it take to reach your people?” 

Let’s be honest, mission leaders are pretty good at what they do. But when busy and isolated, resources can drive strategy. Missionary leaders might decline strategically important partnerships because we look more at what we have to offer than considering what the field actually needs.

3. Isolation hinders the work.

Isolation means we don’t realize what we have to offer other missionary leaders. No one church can do it all. The range of Great Commission needs from Houston to Hyderabad is too broad. And though all of our UBA churches have a similar capacity to identify Great Commission workers, not all churches have the same capacity to equip them. 

But that’s the beauty of working together. UBA’s Missionary Leaders’ Banquet is a great way to connect with other mission leaders, learn what’s going on in missions, discuss tools that work, partner with other churches, and see the bigger picture of what God is doing.

Join us Feb 23, 2023 at Bayou City Fellowship Spring Branch. We’re providing this chance to slow down, enjoy free tex-mex, and meet other missionary leaders from across the Houston area. Sure, this banquet won’t solve all the challenges mission leaders face. But together we can begin to build the kind of relationships required for a greater missionary advance.

Cris Alley is the Senior Consultant for Sending Pathways. He helps support the local church in thinking and acting like missionaries.

We’ll send one succinct weekly email 

with the best news, events, and info

for churches in the Houston area.

Photo by Simon English on Unsplash