International Mission Board missionaries can’t always live in the countries among the people they serve. While this can make ministry challenging, missionaries have navigated this in many ways, depending on the context and country.
Dean and Sybil Polk, who serve a Central Asian people group, are examples of IMB workers who cannot live in the country of their people. That hasn’t kept them from investing in national church planters.
RELATED: For more stories on international missions, click here.
The Polks meet with their national ministry partners who can travel to them for training and retreats. During a recent training, discussions centered on the nature of the church and what churches might look like in different communities. The retreats are more than training, they are rich times of community, fellowship and encouragement.
Shared responsibilities
Missionaries and their ministry partners share the responsibilities of the missionary task, which include entry, evangelism, discipleship, healthy church formation, leadership development and exit to partnership. Each part of the task happens while abiding in Christ. Some steps, like entry, evangelism, discipleship and church development are easier for those who live in-country, Dean said. But the Polks can focus on leadership development, as well as inspiration when the church planters travel to them.
The believers the Polks partner with serve in difficult places and in areas where the Polks may not be welcomed. Though scrutiny and hostility toward Christians is often suffocating in these areas, doors are opening instead of closing. People are meeting in the homes of the church planters to study the Bible.
The Polks also lead the work with global missionary partners (GMPs) serving in Central Asia. Many of these GMPs can serve in places Westerners cannot. That’s one of the beauties of the program, Dean said.
The GMP program provides a team for missionaries sent from other countries. Someone from Eastern Europe or South America can connect with IMB missionaries reaching the same people groups. The missionaries then have a team, community, accountability, finances, training, logistical support and help with finding language tutors.
One GMP family, who lives among a Central Asian people group, moved from an apartment into a single-family home, giving them more privacy and the ability to host people without as much scrutiny from neighbors who are hostile to Christianity.
A couple began attending a Bible study in their home. The wife is a Christian but has never been a part of a church. Her husband is not a Christian but is interested in learning more. Dean is hopeful this couple will be the gateway for the GMPs to build relationships and share the gospel with the couple’s family and networks.
Casting a vision
One of the most recent GMPs to Central Asia is from Eastern Europe. Dean recently made several trips to cast vision among churches and train leaders there. He preached at the commissioning service of this GMP couple, who are gearing up to begin their ministry.
IMB missionaries who reside in other countries invest themselves in local ministry as well as their long-distance ministry. Dean and Sybil invest in the lives of people in their community, their children’s school and in their church.
Join Dean and Sybil in praying for missionary pipelines with like-minded churches and organizations. The IMB asks for prayer for visa access for GMPs and the work of missionaries with a far reach into areas of lostness.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Tessa Sanchez and originally published by the International Mission Board.
