The End of an Empire

Is the era of US Overseas Mission over?

On June 6, 1944, the US and her Allies landed at Normandy, France. It was known as D-Day. That invasion, known as Operation Overlord was a combined effort of over 155,000 troops, representing more than fifteen different countries. Within days, the Allied forces, while suffering thousands of casualties had established several beachheads across France. 

D-Day, as important as it was as events unfolded, was even more so when you consider what came to be as a result of those deadly days of fighting. There is wide agreement among historians that the events at Normandy set the stage for the eventual victory of the US forces in the European theater.

While there was still much fighting to come, the die had been cast in Normandy and and it was just a matter of time before official victory would be declared.

I’ve been thinking a lot about those events the last few weeks. I wonder if General Eisenhower knew as he was overseeing the invasion if that invasion would turn out to be the lynchpin upon which victory turned?

I’ve also been wondering a lot lately if we are in another of those moments. A moment, as Ken Blue explains it in an essay included in the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement Reader, of the “already and not yet.”

I’ve asked myself repeatedly the last few weeks the following questions…

Is the age of US Missions over? Has the era of US church’s and denominational involvement in effective worldwide Christian evangelism effectively ended? 

Has the country that sent out people like Adoniram Judson, Jim Elliot and William Cameron Townsend decided it is no longer interested in, or able to stay engaged missionally around the globe?

Are we in Blue’s period of between? Are we in a time where we will still see missionaries leaving our shores, but in reality, much like the German forces fighting for their homeland after D-Day it will be for naught?

Sadly, I think the answer is not just yes, but a resounding yes!. But it’s not just me. 

I reached out to a number of colleagues across the spectrum who have years of experience as missionaries, pastors and leaders of mission organizations to get their opinions. And not many of them are bullish on the ability of the church to effectively mobilize another generation of global missionaries calling people into a relationship with Jesus. A few even posited that the end of the US era of global mission leadership may be a good thing.

While some will argue that we were never the great missionary force we believed ourselves to be, numbers don’t lie. Long term numbers for commissioned missionary and their families stayed constant at around 35,000 for years. Pre-pandemic levels of short-term participants went as high as 300,000 participants annually with budgets stretching to over three billion dollars.

During the pandemic restrictions, short-term missions all but dried up. Some long term missionaries found themselves on extended home leave, unable to get the needed approvals to serve the countries where they believe God has called them. Others saw their financial support dry up and as a result have been forced to seek out other work to feed their families.

I do not believe we will ever again see massive numbers of young people piling into vans to head south or head to the local airport to jet off for the Annual Church Mission Trip. The call in US churches to “take up your cross” and go to the “ends of the earth” will not be answered as it once was if it is even given. 

How did we get here? It’s a mix of reasons, some within our control, others perhaps not. As someone with more than 30 years experience in the US Missions world, let me explain. 

In my 30+ years of experience in the US Mission world, hundreds of people have served on short-term mission alongside me from every continent on the globe. I’ve had countless conversations with church leaders, pastors, long term missionaries, sending organizations and mission mobilizers. I’ve led and participated on teams organizing mission conferences for both churches and the wider missions world.

Over the years I’ve served at churches as both a Youth and a Missions Pastor. I’ve spoke in more churches and conferences across Mexico and the US than I can count and have heard the good, the bad and the ugly regarding missions from an incredible group of leaders and participants over the years. 

What I’m sharing comes from the sum total of my experiences and what I’ve heard from others who walk in a missionary’s shoes. It’s also mixed with what I see happening today in the real world of our churches, denominations and the US. 

So, as we look at the current missions landscape, what are the canaries that I see dying? What are the emergency lights currently blinking red? 

Here are three of my main worries.

Buzz… Let me put it as succinctly as I can. There’s no buzz in the local church as it relates to international missions. No longer do we open our pulpits to people who serve “over there.” As an old guy, I can remember the regular Sunday night service where we met the missionary, saw the cheesy slide shows and heard a call to forsake all for the sake of sharing the Gospel with others around the world. There is no equivalent of that today.

No longer are people in our churches talking much about what God is doing around the world. No longer are we challenging people to ask how they can be part of God’s missionary work and seldom are we considering what our responsibility is as global Christians for sharing the Gospel outside of our borders. Worse, for parents, the idea that their son or daughter would go halfway around the world to serve on the mission field would elicit more fear than pride.

Bucks… Let’s face it, international missions work is expensive. I know because each year I have to raise almost $250,000 to make the work of Adventures in Life possible. Now, the average person who says he or she is moving to another country may not need to raise that level of funding, but even a modest annual salary and ministry costs of $75,000 seems almost insurmountable in many of our churches.

Is this an issue of ability, or priority? I would argue priority. 

One of my friends serves in Southeast Asia with his wife. They are commissioned missionaries of a local church here in Las Vegas. He points out that his church, with over 7000 members has sent out only 2 couples and 1 single missionary over the last 10 years. And this is a church that unabashedly says they have a “huge group of staff” on site each week.

If that church of 7000 people cannot see themselves increasing their investment in global missions to support more than five people, where does that put the smallish 80 member church struggling to pay a senior pastor, rent, and maybe a part time music leader? 

To put it more directly, many churches don’t have the resources to support their local mission, let alone one focused on global ministries.

Bickering… This is perhaps the hardest issue confronting the church today, especially as it relates to mission and ministry. Right now there is a level of bickering and mistrust just beneath the surface of many relationships in the church.

Be it Covid, Trump, Biden, abortion, racism, or civil rights, the urge to bicker, win an argument and own an opponent is strong in our churches. And it is causing people to retreat into silos. Worse, it is spilling over into the global missions atmosphere and hurting our Gospel witness.

I know this because I now regularly get asked by perspective participants what the political leanings are of the other participants serving with us. Why? Because people are self selecting into groups of like minded people and choosing when and where to serve based on their fellow team members, not on God’s call on their lives. Adventures has even had to go so far as to schedule a “Trump Ministry Week” and a “Woke Ministry Week” to work around this discord.

It’s the homogeneous unit idea of the church growth gurus of the 1970’s on steroids. Deadly steroids.

Buzz, bucks and bickering. 

Any one of these issues, taken separately, could be overcome. My fear however is that we’ve entered a perfect storm of horrific conditions. It is as if while we were busy extracting coal from deep in the mine, we’ve completely missed the fact that our canary has died and as a result, so has the missionary spirit of many US churches.

I hope I’m wrong.

Dave Miller is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Adventures in Life Ministry. Since 1992 he has been leading and receiving short term ministry teams across Mexico. Having come to Adventures from the business world where he managed for Carl’s Jr, Miller’s Outpost and Mervyn’s Department Stores, Dave brings a unique real world take on faith, missions and the Christian life.