What does it mean to be a missionary?

So I've been thinking, and Beth and I have been talking about this whole thing of being a missionary. What does that really mean?

When you say the word "missionary" to someone, it usually conjures up images of stalwart Christian men and women giving up their Western lifestyle, selling everything they own and moving to the remotest parts of the earth to work among the "natives" who have never heard the Gospel. They work for years with the indigenous tribes, gaining their trust, learning their language, teaching them about Christ and how to sing "Amazing Grace" in their own language...

(the sound of screeching tires is heard)

In walk the Hodges. They live in a regular home in Florida. They drive a car. They don't look like missionaries. They don't even live in Ireland yet. (Does Ireland really need missionaries?)

"Now what is it you're doing in Ireland?"

Well, we're Worship Trainers!

"But I thought a missiona..."

I think it's time for a new definition. Now don't be alarmed at the following statements:

We aren't going to Ireland with the primary focus of evangelization.

We don't have an agenda to do tent meetings and large outreach events with altar calls.

We aren't setting out to save a whole village.

That said, this is in no way intended to belittle the ministries of those whom God has called for the purposes mentioned above. God has all sorts of people in all sorts of roles -- all of them important.

Here's the deal. Europe is what is referred to as a "post-Christian" society. There are many churches, cathedrals and other religious structures throughout the continent and into the British Isles. However, the church as a spiritual institution is languishing. In fact, in Ireland -- which was once the center of Christian scholarship and evangelism -- less than 1% of the population are Bible-believing Christians. That means that greater than 99% are NOT Bible-believing Christians. This figure holds pretty close throughout Europe.

Our organization, Greater Europe Mission has as its purpose statement:

"...to assist the peoples of Greater Europe in building up the Body of Christ so that every person is within reach of a witnessing fellowship."

For GEM, it's not about invading a country with an American model of how to do church. Instead it is working within the belief that God has people within the cultures of Europe whom He is raising up as the leaders of the church in those cultures. GEM is there to come alongside those individuals and assist them in establishing fellowships that are indigenous. This method establishes a grassroots foundation that is not then dependent upon foreign leadership.

Do we evangelize? Of course! In the same way that the vast majority of Americans are evangelized -- through one-on-one relationships over time. (And every now and then an outreach event is organized.)

So Beth and I have an interesting role in that we are coming alongside worship leaders, worship teams and pastors to encourage, mentor, train, resource -- in short, to equip those whom God has called to lead others in worship in the local church setting. It just so happens that the focus of our ministry is Ireland.

"How does that work now -- long distance?"

I'm glad you asked.

For the next year or two, until we make a permanent move to Ireland, we will be traveling to Ireland and Europe several times throughout the year. During those visits we will be conducting workshops, retreats and training seminars, as well as developing relationships with local church leaders -- providing whatever assistance we can to enable local fellowships to develop the most effective worship ministry possible.

During our time at home in the States, we will be developing curricula for said events, planning and scheduling those events, making contacts with new people via email and phone, maintaining relationships with those with whom we are already working, building our website (to be used as a clearinghouse of information and resources for worship ministry), developing other ministry tools for training, maintaining our own musical skills and ministry, working for GEM in the area of recruiting, etc., and anything else that happens to become a part of our ministry.

It's a full-time job, despite the fact that we won't yet be living in Ireland.

Which brings me to my final point.

The definition of what it means to be a foreign missionary is not quite as clear-cut as it once was -- especially in our case. Our ministry is focused on Ireland. That makes it foreign. Yet we live in Florida -- for now. Our ministry also doesn't quite line up with the traditional definition of "missions", does it?

There is another full-time missionary with GEM that I know who lives in Memphis. Tennessee, that is -- not Egypt. His children are at that critical age of transition from high school to college (sounds like us), so he and his wife made the decision to be based in the States for now. However, his ministry is ongoing to Europe and beyond. It is an effective ministry that impacts hundreds each year.

All that to say -- if there is confusion, try not to think of our work as missionaries in the traditional sense, but instead as more of a multinational ministry working in the area of developing worship ministries in the local church.

Yeah, I think that's it.

Thanks for listening.