¡H U M SYMPOSIUM If the Mission Board to which I have applied decides to send me to another country to which I do not feel called, should I apply to another mission board?
Philippine Miracles
sometimes misleading, I would like to show you a few of the ratios for different parts of the world. Africa — - 1 missionary to every 14,610 people. Indonesia — 1 missionary to ev ery 21,700 people. Latin America — 1 missionary to every 31,634 people. Far East — 1 missionary to every 58,232 people. Southeast Asia — 1 missionary to every 79,400 people. India, Pakistan, Ceylon — 1 mis sionary to every 86,000 people. Asia Minor- S i missionary to every 114,000 people. This is the ratio of missionary to population in a continent or large country breakdown. In the Bel gian Congo, with a population of 11,390,950, church members num bering 506,079, with a Christian constituency of 133,540. On the other hand, Arabia with a popula tion of 15,573,660, has a church membership of only 103 and a Christian community of only 163. Going to another part of the world, the Philippines, with a pop ulation of 19,234,182, with church members numbered at 1,305,780 and a Christian community of 3,- 664,574. Turkey with approxi mately the same population, 19,- 308,441, have for church members 45, and a Christian community of 123. This shows you the difficulty of working in some fields. These figures are all from the World Christian Handbook of 1952. How are missionaries supported while they are home on furlough? Usually, a missionary receives his regular monthly allowance plus the amount necessary to cover his actual expenses. In some ip- stances adequate provision has been lacking. This is true partic ularly of some of the smaller mis sions. Christians in general, but especially the home church should see to it that their missionaries are properly cared for while they are at home. There is a need for more missionary homes where fur loughed missionaries can go with their families so they will not feel they are a burden to their friends. Too many times I have heard mis sionaries say they were glad to get back to their field because of the inconveniences and discomforts of being on furlough.
A Report from Orient Crusades H ere is what happened in the Philippines in just one week: During an evangelistic cam paign in one of the Christian schools, heaven seemed to break loose. For two days students came with their spiritual problems. Over half of the student body experienced a new re lationship to Jesus Christ. The Methodist church has carried on work in the Philippines for many years, and has 17 district conferences. The head of the church has asked representatives from Orient Crusades to speak to each one. Furthermore, the Bishop wants all of his pastors to begin the Orient Crusades Bible Study and Scripture Memory Course. In his invitation, he closed by saying, “ I want our church to be a Bible church.” The Philippine Independent Church is a break-off of the Roman Catholic church, and claims a million and a half members. The leading Bishop asked Orient Crusades to bring the message of salvation to his people. This is indeed an open door. The Bishop wrote a letter to his entire clergy and said, “We cannot know the truth until we find it. We can not find it but by searching. Orient Crusades is an organization that strives to help anyone discover the fundamental truths of the Holy Scrip tures. Its activities cover many coun tries. Its services are offered free. Its aim is to tolerate no poisonous criticisms nor theological controver sies. This society has just started its work in the Philippines and has al ready reaped a rich harvest among the youth of our Republic. Her workers are excellent Christians, su perbly trained and ever ready to help in the spread of the Word of God . . . I pray that their work might be richly blessed by our Heavenly Father and that you my people will become familiar with the Holy Scriptures.” These open doors and tremendous opportunities call for real interces sion. Joshua’s victory over the Amal- ekites was possible through the inter cession of Moses and Aaron and Hur.
This is a difficult question to answer because in many ways, it is an individual decision over against a mission board’s decision. In most instances a missionary can didate will apply to a board that is working in a specific field be cause the candidate feels called to that field. However, there are a number of mission boards who work in several different fields and do have specific needs at certain times in one country over another. If you state your preference of the field of work and the mission board decides that you are better quali fied and adapted to another field and they suggest your going to the field of their choice, I believe that you should abide by their decision. I would like to quote from Dr. Eugene Nida of the Wyc- liffe Bible Translators in regard to this subject. “The missionary candidate should locate the mis sion board with which he can work efficiently and effectively. He should not particularly look for the field of operation, but should be more interested in choosing the right team to work with rather than select the stadiumi in which to work. He should choose a mis sion board that suits the candi date’s background and viewpoint. To be a successful team member means that the candidate needs similar training, balance of per sonalities, identical goals, willing ness to be subordinated to the re quirements of the game.” In the majority of cases the mission board will endeavor to send the candi date to the field that he feels called. However, in looking over the applications and studying the candidate, I feel the board is able to make a wiser decision for the missionary candidate than perhaps the candidate himself. In some in stances the Lord does call people to specific fields and they should be quite sure of the Lord’s leading before they throw over a decision of the mission board. Which field is in the most need of missionary work today? There is a tremendous amount of work needed in every field, including the United States. How ever, although statistics can be
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