The Unenvisioned Global Ministry Opportunity Review of “The Global Ministry Opportunity We Don’t Talk About”
Jason Seville, in his article “The Global Ministry Opportunity We Don’t Talk About” (https://www.
First are the global cities full of “international international students”—students temporarily living and studying in a country that is not their own. Second is the need to plant churches among the expatriate community. Seville notes that global companies rarely invest the time or resources for their employees to learn the local language. By planting an international church, not only would expats have the opportunity to hear and respond to the message of the gospel but they could also become engaged participants in the work of the church. The final overlooked group mentioned by Seville are the gospel workers and professional or marketplace workers.
Without a healthy local international church Seville contends that 1) the marketplace workers “would likely have little access to the gospel” and 2) the Christian marketplace workers and the gospel workers often become physically and spiritually drained, resulting in them leaving earlier than planned. Healthy international churches can provide a place where they are encouraged, challenged spiritually, and also prepared for ministry to those around them.
Many of us involved in international church ministry find ourselves in agreement with Seville’s assessment and can even greatly expand on the value and missional potential of international churches in reaching today’s global communities with the gospel. The international global people group is indeed a field of mission growing exponentially. I pray there will be a growing awareness of the gap in the vision of cross-cultural ministry among our supporters and mission-sending agencies as more and more ICs intentionally engage the global ministry opportunities very few organizations and agencies are envisioning.
MICN Resource Development
