Page 12 - Cross_Booklet ver1.2

VALUE OF A JOB

Many of you missionary identity. This access
reading this can come through income-
are in college generating work (let?s call this
and consider- ?business?) or some kind of relief
ing cross- and development work (let?s call
cultural work. this a ?non-governmental organiza-
To entertain a tion,? or NGO). This is not the place
discussion re- to debate the merits of business
garding a future job may seem un- versus NGOs, but we must recog-
necessary. To clarify, when I use the nize that both generally need work-
term ?job? I mean any work that ers with marketplace-accepted cre-
generates income and is distinct dentials and skills in order to oper-
from donor-funded work with reli- ate in country.
gious organizations.
Remember that to reach the last
unreached language/people groups
the gospel worker will have to gain
access to some very difficult loca-
tions. The question to be asking
yourself is, ?Will a job among that
people group better position me to
accomplish the task of proclaiming
the gospel, discipling the converts,
and organizing them into
churches?? The answer to this
question is all about access. Some
foreign governments have closed
their borders to foreign missionar-
ies. So, if you want to access the
people groups within closed bor-
ders, you?l have to do so with
l
something other than a traditional
Photo by Facundo Ruiz on Unsplash
missionary visa and traditional
But access is more than just enter-
ing the country. We must have ac-
cess to the people with whom we
desire to share the good news
about Jesus. In some places, the
strongest access occurs when you
are embedded in the workplace
with the local people (or perhaps
serving them through a develop-
Photo by Preston Goff on Unsplash
ment project). In such a situation,