Marketplace Missions Myth #3: Reaching the Unreached=Alone and Scary (FREE assessment!)

By Mark Canada, CEO of Marketplace & Development Enterprises

During the month of September, Go. Serve. Love is tickled pink to share stories and thoughts from MDE, an organization providing business, vocational, missional, and personal services to fellow believers who want to make money and make disciples in unreached communities.

In light of the 4.13 billion unreached–and the need for the solution of an equal size–-MDE is looking for Christians who truly want to be in the workplace, either as employees or entrepreneurs, and who truly want to be intentional about developing authentic relationships.

They’re looking for a few good men (and women) to take both the presence and the message of Jesus to co-workers and neighbors.

Catch the first myths Here:

“‘Missions’ is for missionaries.”

“Business as Mission (BAM) Takes Away from Ministry.”

Today’s myth traipses after a typical train of thought. If a people group is unreached, then

• There’s probably a good reason.
• They’re probably hostile. (Let me address this one briefly. Would you believe Muslims displaced to Europe as refugees are coming to Jesus in droves…and reviving European churches in the process? Check out this podcast from Christianity Today.)
• They’re probably remote. (See above. And did you know that the largest unreached people group in the world is the Japanese, followed by the Xiang people of the Han Chinese?)
• I basically need to be a Christian superhero. And preferably one without a family. Because “Hey, want to go to a remote Muslim nation with me?” can be a bit of a first-date killer.

While this myth isn’t as loud as it used to be, echoes are there.

We in the West can’t quite get rid of images of jungles and pith helmets and dirt floor huts when we think of “real” missions.

But over half of the world’s population lives in cities now. And the percentage is rising.

That means the majority of people who haven’t heard of Jesus or know much about him live in urban areas.

Hearing the implications? We need more believers sharing the gospel in cities.

Eye on the Flow

While no hard data is available, cultural changes tend to flow from urban areas to rural areas, not the reverse.

So, if you want to change the culture of a region, you need to impact cities in that region. We need to go to the cities, not just the hinterlands.

In Good Company

We also need to go with, or go join, believers who are also committed to being intentional disciple-makers.

Teaming is a good thing. Doing missions in a community, with a community–as a greater reflection of Christ’s Body and its critical support–is a great strategy.

Remember: “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).

There need is urgent for Christians to go live and work–in normal jobs–in cities all over the world. And to do so in community with other Christians doing the same.

Could you be a good fit?

We’ve created a FREE self-assessment to help you consider whether marketplace missions (also known as BAM: Business as Mission) could be a good fit for you–and what you could do next.

Want to check it out?