by; Sulad Jhun Cardeinte
“Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:46,47
What is the true goal of church planting? How do some missionaries view church planting? How does it affect our mission? Is church a building? What does the word “ekklessia”(church) mean? Let us examine the word “ekklesia” in the concept of cross-cultural ministry. I like the two among the five definitions cited in the Greek dictionary that define “ekklesia” as,(1)an assembly of Christians gathered for worship in a religious meeting.(2) A company of Christian, or of those who, hoping for eternal salvation through Jesus Christ, observe their own religious rites, hold their own religious meetings, and manage their own affairs, according to regulations prescribed for the body for order’s sake.
A notable Adventist scholar Siegfried Horn has similar observation when he said, “In NT (New Testament) times this term is most frequently applied to a body of people who believe in Jesus as the Messiah and who accept Him and His teachings, and who are joined to the organization originated by Him.” Acts 2:38,41,47.
With those definitions, it is safe to say that the term church or ekklesia has nothing to do with the building. As it is “the total number of Christians living in one place.”
Sad to say that we have the feeling that if we cannot see the finish building project that is standing, we feel we are not successful in the ministry, this is not necessarily the measuring standard of the ministry. We must be patient to wait for the right time. Since we are just mere human instrumentalities and what usually see is limited, we must be patient and asked God to reveal His plan about the work we engaged in. So that His divine leading will become clear to us.
Frustrations Amidst Victory
I remember a missionary family who left the mission field with disappointment. Feeling that they were not successful after 6 years of hard work, the husband said, “we are not yet done.” There were baptisms and meetings in one of his member’s house. Two years later after they left, they heard the house of worship being established. They felt they are not really effective and successful in their ministry. “The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.” 1 Cor. 3:8.
One of our Korean companions in the Philippines had the same feeling. He left our country so disappointed since he wanted to see the church-building within his term. We tried to do our best to support his goal but the situation did not permit since we are working in the Moslem area. We were even receiving threats many times. We were even disappointed one time when our companion asked permission to the local officials for the church building permit. Though the situation is tight but the plan to build a worship hall was there. We know it would really take time. But he was not really satisfied with the almost 20 active members we have had. Finally he left our country broken hearted. But almost two years later, that was the time the members started to work out the church building.
Similarly, if a missionary is doing a church planting project it is not necessarily mean that building project is part of it. But rather he is planting people for Christ’s sake, sowing the seeds in the heart not ground breaking ceremony for the building to be put up.
Satan Can Use the Building Projects
Satan wants to focus our mind to plan for the building projects and so that we have only little energy and time to feed our flock. Satan can use the building projects so that our primary goal of church planting will be delay. He tries to do his best that the missionary will loose his focus.
Cross-culturally, this building project has been proven to be the cause that many of our works were close in other places. For example, in the Moslem and Buddhist area, these worship hall- building projects are so painful to their eyes.
There was a case in the mission field that we are about to put up a big building project, we are wondering that the members were not so cooperative about the beautiful plan. It seems they were not responsive and interested. We wondered why they were so satisfied with our church services done in one of their home.
When we started to mount the costly pillars, the members saw it was not an ordinary meeting place that is going to be when it’s done. With a positive anticipation that the building is really big, our church members were begging a favor and warned us not to build a costly one, but just simple and low profile meeting place because they will be endangered. Few weeks later, with only just the skeletal frame of the building being done, they received threats from the local Moslem leaders and our layman was in trouble.
Another sad story was about a missionary lady who lost her relationship with the people because she tried to insist to put up a building thinking that she was building a church. Many years before that incident, no previous missionaries dared to insist about the plan because the village chieftain is so oppose to Christianity. Besides, some villagers were enjoying their worship services in the mission school building. The worse result is beyond we can imagine, the missionary lady who was so excited about church building project ended her term with devastating failure while the missionaries who took over her place suffer the open prejudices from the village head and his loyalist.
Now we don’t need to repeat these sad experiences. We cannot afford to close our work earlier. We need to be observant and learn from the situation we are in. We need to know the heart of our members whether they are willing to put up a house of worship or not. Sad to say, that there are some building projects in other places which this time were abandon because the local members have no interest at all.
We must understand that the finished and beautiful building you can see along the highway is not a church itself rather it is a sign that there is a church actively moving in that certain place.
This should be the lesson young generation missionaries’ need to learn. That instead of focusing to the building projects we should focus on disciple-making and reaching the non-believers in the village. Church planting’s priority is people. We should not focus on the “monumental banner” (building projects) of our ministry. We should not plant a beautiful building rather plant a beautiful church! Because whether you left the place this beautiful-committed people can plant a building themselves.
Sad Mission Stories
Many of our Adventist church-building projects seem to give message to the world that we will not go to heaven anymore. The building is so luxurious, that what the building lack seems the label “The Kingdom of Seventh-day Adventist.” This gives wrong impression to the world. If we still believe and sing “This World is not my Home” then we should not be luxurious in our building so we could save enough funds for our evangelistic efforts.
Donors who love to donate funds for the building projects, should honestly seek God’s guidance in their decision, whether it is in God’s time that the place needs a building or not or else it would just be abandon and useless.
Excepting those committed and sincere donors, it is tempting to donate funds for the building projects since building can easily be seen. This may endangered our spiritual condition. Not because of some wanting their names to be written in front of the building, but we may take the pride of ourselves, hearing the clap and appreciation from the recipient church. Is it not the modern blowing of trumpet Jesus’ talk about? “…They have received their reward in full.” Matt.6:2
Sad to say, when a missionary itself focus on the building project, asking funds for the building project rather than the personal evangelism. Perhaps, there are three reasons why missionary are get excited on the building project. First, he is not totally aware of his role as church planter. Second, he wants to have a name in the building and wanted the clapping of hands of his home church, supervisor and donors-like an actor wanting a lot of fans. Third, he wants his donors see the monument of the result of their financial support to have more funds coming in.
There are many building projects in the Philippines which are so beautiful, but it is no longer operational. This may hold true to other places. After the foreign missionaries left the mission field, the members stop worshipping. Why? Because the missionary have only put up a good foundation on his building project but he was not able to build up strong foundation that the members themselves will not be shaken.
Another sad story I learned since I started working as missionary was that big budget for the building project is already there before we launched out the evangelistic effort, but sad to say that the office did not have enough budget to support the laymen and the missionary who took time to nurture the infant churches. The result, we have a nice abandon Adventist building but literally the church does not exist! No real church coming in to worship. This has been the sad mission story that many missionaries don’t want to tell!
Many missionaries have a very impressive report when they went back to their homeland. Telling about the beautiful mission stories they’re doing about the nice church they have finished, where in fact the reality is that they only accomplished the building project but not really their mission to plant the “ekklesia”. This has been the real story not included in the missionaries’ camera!
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