Did Paul expect material aid as he spread the Gospel?

[Pergamum]

Missions - a Sovereign Grace Perspective: Did the Apostle Paul make his material needs known?

Much more could be said about the Apostle Paul and money, but here is a short beginning.

Did the Apostle Paul, as our model missionary, make his needs known on the mission field? Furthermore, did he expect a response to those expressed needs?

I Corinthians 1:15-16:

15And in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before, that ye might have a second benefit;

16And to pass by you into Macedonia, and to come again out of Macedonia unto you, and of you to be brought on my way toward Judaea.

And again,

Romans 15:24:
24Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you: for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you,

Paul expected help in being sent on his way. What does that mean?

The greek word (sorry, I've got no Greek font here) is propemfthenai, derived from propempo, and Baur and other Greek scholars state that this word denotes an expectation of "help on one's journey with food, money, by arranging for companions, means of travel, etc." Thus, Paul is stating an expectation that the church will provide for him materially as he goes out beyond them with the Gospel.

What is more, Paul had never even personally visited this Roman church before, and still has the audacity to expect help from them as he continues westward!

Furthermore, Paul is so bold as to assert, in Philippians 4:15-17,

Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.

For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.

Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.
Paul wants the Philippians to give in order that they may be blessed by giving.

Furthermore, though he desired not to appear like the travelling paid teachers (sophists) and so personally made tents, the Apostle Paul did vigorously defend the right of other servants of God to be recompensed; "the laborer is worthy of his hire."
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I have heard some missionaries pride themselves on not "begging like other missionaries," meaning that they either never vocalize their needs or else never ask supporters to give towards those needs. They, in contrast, were just "praying and trusting in God."

Wow, now imagine how that makes this missionary feel? I, after all, always make it a policy to be very open and transparent about all my needs? I have never thought of myself as a begger before. And the last I checked, I am still "praying and trusting God" also; I merely add the common-sensical and permissible means of informing supporters of those needs, since the normal means by which the church moves is through known information.

Concerning personal views regarding missionary support raising, my wish is that we allow the same measure of freedom that the Apostle Paul allows for (and which the Apostle even practices on occasion, making known his hope of material support on the occasions quoted above) when it concerns this thorny issue of missions and money.

George Muller does not trump the Great Apostle, and Muller's personal calling should not be made normative for all missionaries.

Missionaries are not beggers, but we are extensions of the established church who are sent out to do the work of missions in the name of the church.

May I be so bold as to say that, when I communicate missionary needs on the field, I am not at all begging, but giving churches the opportunity to be blessed. After all, if I am truly working towards the spread of the Gospel and following the Apostle Paul's motives, then I, too, "...seek a profit which increases to your account" (Phil. 4:17).

 

[Scott1]

The Apostle also worked part time in some instances, as a tent maker and even relieved the burden to support him, though he could expect to be "fed" by those he ministered to.

It's important to view "expect" from the standpoint of faith- that GOD would provide. Often, and by rights that might be through the people he ministered to, but not always.

It's admirable to see people who are working, or who saved money in advance so they self-fund their mission work.

 

[Pergamum]

Scott,

Working and saving would be fine for a short-term mission trip; but it is much to expect someone to save enough to self-fund for a 10 or 20 year stint as a missionary.

Paul doesn't seem to expect this, he seems to expect that workers will be funded ordinarily by churches.

 

[MW]

Thus, Paul is stating an expectation that the church will provide for him materially as he goes out beyond them with the Gospel.

While this is evidently true, it is rather one-sided. The apostle writes to the Romans in hope of seeing them, and that for the purpose of mutual benefit, chap. 1:9-12. The Epistle as a whole shows Paul's willingness to be transparent about the gospel which he preaches and teaches, and with some sense of accountability to the Romans for the support he desires to receive from them. There were extraordinary and ordinary aspects to the apostle's ministry. He had an immediate call to act as a witness of Christ's resurrection to the Gentiles, as the other apostles were His witnesses to the Jews. Notwithstanding this immediate call, he sought to act in accord with the ordinary process as much as possible in order that he might lay down a pattern for the churches. In this ordinary pattern a man's graces and gifts are discerned by the church, then he is trained, and finally he is entrusted with a particular work in a particular place, which he is to undertake with some degree of accountability to those who have sent him. When a man gives himself to the work of the ministry (at home or abroad), and has submitted himself to the ordinary process, he can reasonably expect to have his material needs provided for. If, however, a man chooses to go out on his own without first subjecting himself to the normal process by which men are sent into service, he is in no position to ask for material support. The Scriptures teach liberal and cheerful giving, but never indiscriminate giving. The gift given is seed sown. The person who gives to a work is responsible for it in some measure, and must ensure that he is supporting a work which holds the mystery of the faith with a good conscience.

 

[Scott1]

This is not intended as comment on any particular mission situation, only general comment.

Looking at several passages about this topic in Scripture, it seems we see several different examples of the Apostle being supported, some seem implicit in Scripture:

1) He was completely supported by the local church he ministered to
2) He was collectively supported by churches he ministered to
3) He worked (tent making) and supported himself
4) He did combinations of these

We might deduce from Scripture there is a time and place for each.

Savings, and cultivating an ethic of savings and advance preparation are basic disciplines all God's people must learn.

Some part of the mix must be people saving for themselves with a goal of going on a mission field, self supporting or partially supporting themselves. It can be, and ought be, a planned goal.

 

[Pergamum]

Thus, Paul is stating an expectation that the church will provide for him materially as he goes out beyond them with the Gospel.

While this is evidently true, it is rather one-sided. The apostle writes to the Romans in hope of seeing them, and that for the purpose of mutual benefit, chap. 1:9-12. The Epistle as a whole shows Paul's willingness to be transparent about the gospel which he preaches and teaches, and with some sense of accountability to the Romans for the support he desires to receive from them. There were extraordinary and ordinary aspects to the apostle's ministry. He had an immediate call to act as a witness of Christ's resurrection to the Gentiles, as the other apostles were His witnesses to the Jews. Notwithstanding this immediate call, he sought to act in accord with the ordinary process as much as possible in order that he might lay down a pattern for the churches. In this ordinary pattern a man's graces and gifts are discerned by the church, then he is trained, and finally he is entrusted with a particular work in a particular place, which he is to undertake with some degree of accountability to those who have sent him. When a man gives himself to the work of the ministry (at home or abroad), and has submitted himself to the ordinary process, he can reasonably expect to have his material needs provided for. If, however, a man chooses to go out on his own without first subjecting himself to the normal process by which men are sent into service, he is in no position to ask for material support. The Scriptures teach liberal and cheerful giving, but never indiscriminate giving. The gift given is seed sown. The person who gives to a work is responsible for it in some measure, and must ensure that he is supporting a work which holds the mystery of the faith with a good conscience.

Yes, all very true, but beyond the scope of a small blog entry.

Perhaps this subject would belong to another entry entitled, "The place of the local church in sending out the missionary."

It is certainly true that missionaries are not merely "those who go," but are, instread, "those who are sent" - and so local churches must be good senders, which normally involves material support fitting with their abilities.

In cases in which single local churches cannot fully support a missionary, the local elders or pastors often help the missionary connect with the Broader Body of Christ and writes letters of recommendations or otherwise commends the worker to other congregations who can then share the load.

In 2nd and 3rd John we have John commending the churches of those, who were often strangers it seems, who go out for the sake of the name.

---------- Post added at 11:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:45 PM ----------

This is not intended as comment on any particular mission situation, only general comment.

Looking at several passages about this topic in Scripture, it seems we see several different examples of the Apostle being supported, some seem implicit in Scripture:

1) He was completely supported by the local church he ministered to
2) He was collectively supported by churches he ministered to
3) He worked (tent making) and supported himself
4) He did combinations of these

We might deduce from Scripture there is a time and place for each.

Savings, and cultivating an ethic of savings and advance preparation are basic disciplines all God's people must learn.

Some part of the mix must be people saving for themselves with a goal of going on a mission field, self supporting or partially supporting themselves. It can be, and ought be, a planned goal.

Yes, I agree.

There are a variety of permissable methods of support and a time and a place for each.

The blog entry, in large part, was responding to a trend among some missionaries I know, who believe dogmatically that one should either not make one's needs know at all or, if doing so, must never hope or solicit or ask for any material help.

---------- Post added at 11:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:52 PM ----------

Savings, and cultivating an ethic of savings and advance preparation are basic disciplines all God's people must learn.

Some part of the mix must be people saving for themselves with a goal of going on a mission field, self supporting or partially supporting themselves. It can be, and ought be, a planned goal.

Every missionary I know has sacrificed a great deal of their own money, savings, house-sale profits, in order to get them on the field. However, since most of them desire long-term service, a more sustainable long-term plan of support must be established because getting to the field and staying on the field long-term are two different animals.

 

[Kevin]

Yes.

 

[steadfast7]

So the question in my mind becomes what is the justification of those organizations like omf and wec, who do not encourage people to ask for financial support? Do the view it as more spiritual? Is it a pride issue? Or merely a matter of following the tradition of their founders?

 

[Scott1]

You are swerving into the issue of church vs. para church, as Pergumum noted.

An important issue, perhaps needs its own thread.

 

[Jack K]

What I find interesting is that Paul didn't just look for funds from his "sending church" in Antioch. He also solicited and expected help from the wider body of Christ wherever he encountered it including, at times, from those very new in the faith. He has great confidence that getting believers to support him is a good and helpful thing for them spiritually.

While we wouldn't want to hold up Paul's methods or his role in the Spirit's work as normative for all missionaries in all times, this does suggest that (1) missionary endeavors may be thought of as work that flows from the wider church, not just individual congregations and (2) asking for support is a way to greatly bless and encourage the giver. Faithful gospel missionaries should ask for support, not just for the good of the work, but for the good of the whole church and of those they ask.

 

[Pergamum]

I am always amazed at 2nd and 3rd John where John commends the church for supporting strangers who are going out for the sake of the name.


Yes, Dennis, I have been having a lot of "faith missions" folks tell me that we should never speak of our needs or else this means we have less faith. I am getting sick of the "We don't raise funds, we trust in God" sort of false dichotomy talk from some corners. "We dont beg, we pray and God answers...."

But, I am pretty direct and transparent and it seems silly to hide anything about my use of monies and so I report all (even needs).

 

[LawrenceU]

Good job, Perg. This type of 'hyper faith funding' where no mention of need is every made is now creeping, or perhaps rushing into the mindset of many regarding the financial support of pastors as well. It is amazing how many times I run into this.

 

[steadfast7]

I am always amazed at 2nd and 3rd John where John commends the church for supporting strangers who are going out for the sake of the name.


Yes, Dennis, I have been having a lot of "faith missions" folks tell me that we should never speak of our needs or else this means we have less faith. I am getting sick of the "We don't raise funds, we trust in God" sort of false dichotomy talk from some corners. "We dont beg, we pray and God answers...."

But, I am pretty direct and transparent and it seems silly to hide anything about my use of monies and so I report all (even needs).

I'll admit that I basically took this "faith" approach in my missions attempt in India and can safely say that it did not please the Lord to provide using this particular means. Lesson learned. From this experience, I believe what can happen is that many potential supporters can view silence regarding finances as a lack of direction and clarity about what you're doing in the country and what is required for you to do it. Thus, when they don't hear you saying that you are in need or X amount to accomplish Y, they infer that you're either 1) not doing much of anything worth supporting, or 2) you are not in any need from the church to help fund your ministry. Either way, my personal finances drained and caused me to leave the field. I also have to humbly admit that I perhaps should have gone out with a mission org, knowing how inexperienced my supporting church was in sending out missionaries. Another lesson learned. Give me about a year or two to get out of debt, Pergy. Scout out a good little spot for me in Indo!

 

[Pergamum]

Brother, if you wanted to come and join me I would use my personal savings to help you get here!