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Our classical view of missionaries is a bit naive. They are seen as good-hearted types serving the needs of others; nice people we can admire; giving their lives away to the poor in foreign lands...

In the Gospel of John Chapter Four however, Jesus called them "Laborers." He said the fields of the world were ripe and ready for harvest. Yet, relative to the volume of that harvest, the workers (harvesters) were few.

When He said this however, He was not speaking to the 'field laborers.' When Jesus said: "Lift up your eyes and look on the fields", He was talking to all of us. He was calling all of us to take notice and do something to see the harvest brought in.

The Church in the developed world really does need to lift up Her eyes to a present-day-reality. Christianity is growing three times faster than the world's population! Every day, more than 178,000 people come into the Kingdom of God! And twenty percent (20%) of that total daily growth takes place in Latin America to the tune of 35,000 new Christians every single day.

We might want to note some interesting figures here. This 20% growth of 35,000 daily Latin American salvations is a 12% greater volume than China, which experiences 28,000 daily salvations. It is a salvation rate 15% greater than all daily Christian growth in Africa as well. (20,000) Yet Latin America receives much less attention than either China or Africa. Why?

The Stewardship Factor

Latin America is a relatively new mission field. There were only 50,000 born-again believers here in 1900. Yet only 80 years later, there were more than 20 million! By the year 2000, that number grew to more than 100 million! And the fire continues to burn. But who will effectively disciple them? And with what tools?

With 308,000 Christian missionaries working outside of the United States (who are financially sponsored); only a very small percent of that number (3,400 people) are working to reach the 1.19 billion people in the unevangelized parts of the world.

Think in terms of prioritized strewardship. Relative to what Jesus said, those 3,400 people are only 1.1 percent of all of the workers in the global fields. And such a number certainly qualifies what Jesus meant (in real-world terms) by the workers 'in the fields' being few.

Latin Americans however are not reading statistics. Instead, they continue to get saved at four times their population growth rate! (Which to me screams of an undeniable kairos time of harvest, crying-out for 'effective' response.) Yet as Bolivia nears a population of 10 million people; the slice of that neglected, unevangelized world which surrounds me feels up-hill and all but forgotten...

The 'Why' Factor

Over the years, I have asked God a lot of "why" questions. Why me... Why this... Why that... Before coming to Bolivia however, God spoke a very strong personal word to me: "You need to trust Me." He said. "There just isn't time to do things as neatly as you'd like. YOU need to act - YOU need to obey."

With that, I obeyed. I put my hand to this plow in Bolivia without looking back. Yet obviously, I cannot guide the plow and be the ox that pulls it at the same time...

Matthew 9:38 says:

"Pray that the Lord of the Harvest would send forth laborers into His harvest"

'Laborer' is the noun, not the verb-action-focus in this statement. SEND is what Jesus is talking about. The emphasis of Jesus' statement is actually focused on the responsibility of the broader Church-Body to be obedient in sending forth these laborers by faith.

Being sent and empowered to get any work done depends entirely upon the ENABLER...not the laborer. And if that definition is biblically sound, (and I believe it to be so); then sending forth implies a much greater enabling responsibility from the Body of Christ as a whole than we are taking responsibility for in our day.

Volume of Involvement = Volume of Harvest

Bolivia is a third world country where it is not unusual to see people with hoe or sickle harvesting fields by hand. Like many missionaries, these field laborers work really hard. They do not complain. And they are to be respected for the character of their work and determination. Yet in the field right next to them, I have seen Mennonite farmers in $75,000 John Deer Harvesters whacking out hundreds of acres at a time...right next to what is being done by hand.

The effectiveness, (relative to volume), is incomparable. The harvests of those better equipped workers is drastically different. Because at the end of the day, it isn't the good heart of a man or the sharpness of ones plow that makes the difference. It is simply the strength of one's enabling that determines the actual volume-of-available-harvest brought in. And as the Church of this century, we need a fresh revelation of our responsibility in this.

In the end of time, the eternal balance of souls in heaven and hell will judge the decisions we are presently making - Not the work and good intentions in it, but the effectiveness of who became involved and how we went about our Father's business - Maximizing the stewardship of our resources.

I read an article referring to a study, which stated: In a given single year, there is an average of $1,500 spent on programs in North American churches for each one soul who comes to the alter to accept Christ in that same year. In a related study, (the piece stated); approximately $20 in building and operational funds are spent for each one person responding to an alter call for salvation in Latin America.

I haven't validated those figures as yet, but I find them believable. $1,500 verses $20 for a soul... And if you do the math; you'll find that is a comparative ratio of 75-to-One (souls) for every dollar invested... Selah

Let's try a little more math according to this 75-to-One ratio:

Scenario #1

If the average American's giving is $50 a month; it would take 2.5 years (30 months) for an individual to sow enough seed for one lost person to be saved in the United States.

2.5 years for 1 soul

Scenario #2

On the other hand, that same monthly giving by a single individual would produce 5 souls saved every two months in Latin America...

5 souls every 60 days

"Which financial investment makes more sense to you?"

We are of course to sow in both fields and abandon neither. But have no doubt of what God is doing in these last days of harvest. He is raising local & foreign missions more to the forefront of the Church's thinking. And He is demanding a responsible care and stewardship of His fields.

What You Can Do

My passion is to rob hell and fill heaven with the people God loves and Jesus died for. It is a necessary passion, but not sufficient in itself.

Relative to the 'volume' of the opportunities set before me, I can't really do much on my own. The volume of lives ultimately touched will be directly proportional to the 'volume' of those who reach out to the harvest. Some must work. More must support. And all must pray. Yet, without an effective, enabling support...my desire and commitment will accomplish very little in terms of volume.

At present, Vertical Life Missions only receives $500 monthly in fixed commitments. And we certainly need more on-going fixed commitments than that for effective daily operations.

Though some call this partnership, I call it 'The Volume Factor'. Because, the greater the unified volume-of-people who directly and actively involve themselves in the Great Commission; the greater, faster, and sooner that mission will be accomplished.

The more people who take-up VLM's yoke of on-going operational support here in Bolivia,

the lesser the pull for each person. In this way, our joined strength lasts longer; goes further; and produces more through its combined effort.

The Bottom Line

What if you were presented a personal financial investment opportunity which could provide a 75-to-One return on your investment? I dare say, you would probably not ignore it.

In spiritual terms, working in and sowing toward the Great Commission is one of the highest priorities of the Father's heart. Sacrificially doing so reaps eternal rewards. And though you may never meet the person you help in this world; you can be sure that they will find you out in heaven where they will thank you for sharing what you had in this world, so that they could share eternity with Christ.