When you think about a Christian who moves cross-culturally to spread the gospel, you’d probably give them the title missionary.

What faith! you might think.

What sacrificial love!

What devotion to Christ!

Courageous men and women like Hudson Taylor and Amy Carmichael have given the word missionary a rich heritage, and many of us grew up hearing their stories and wanting to become missionaries ourselves.

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But not everyone around the world has the same positive feelings when they hear the word. Some people hear missionary and think:

Colonialist!

Proselytizer!

Bigot!

Yikes! I’m guessing that’s not how you want to be perceived. What does that mean for labeling yourself as a missionary? Let’s start by going back to the Bible.

Is the word missionary in the Bible?

No, the word missionary is not in the Bible. Scripture does give us the example of Paul and Barnabas being sent out by the church at Antioch (Acts 13:1-3). And it describes what we refer to as Paul’s “missionary journeys” where he traveled the Roman world proclaiming the good news, making disciples, and planting churches. But the term missionary is never used.

Then where does the word missionary come from? It’s derived from a Latin word meaning “sending,” and it first appeared in 1625 in the writings of an English clergyman.

We’ve only been calling ourselves missionaries for 400 years, and I would argue it’s time to stop. 

Being a missionary in the world

Missionaries were once able to get a religious visa to live and work in almost any country. Today, nearly 40 percent of the world’s countries — namely, those that need the gospel most — reject missionaries and no longer grant religious visas.

We’ve only been calling ourselves missionaries for 400 years, and I would argue it’s time to stop.

In many of these least-reached areas, missionary is now a dirty word. Call yourself a missionary and you’ll be ostracized, at best; at worst, you may face deportation, imprisonment, or even death.

Are those reasons not to obey Jesus’ command to go? Certainly not. I acknowledge that there is a cost in following Christ and that persecution isn’t necessarily the result of using the word missionary, but rather, the result of great spiritual warfare happening behind the scenes.

Today nearly 40 percent of the world’s countries — namely, those that need the gospel most — reject missionaries and no longer grant religious visas.

Being a missionary in the church

This word missionary has, perhaps unintentionally, caused a dichotomy between people in ministry and those out of it. Have you ever felt like a second-class Christian because of this? As if missionaries hold an elevated status you’ll never reach?

Not only has this done a disservice to the body of Christ, it’s also hindered the fulfillment of the Great Commission by limiting the number of people qualified to go.

All of God’s people, from all vocations, are commanded to go and make disciples of all nations. But we have failed to send them unless they quit their jobs, go to seminary, and start planting churches.

If we replaced the word missionary, could we tear down this barrier between those in professional ministry and those in other professions — and in doing so, unleash scores of sidelined workers into the harvest?
 

Forsaking the word missionary

What’s in a name? William Shakespeare suggested, “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

If we call a missionary by another name, wouldn’t we still pursue and accomplish the same task? If we rid ourselves of a term that’s offensive to those we’re trying to reach, might we, perhaps, find greater welcome into their lives?

All I ever wanted to be growing up was a missionary. But if clinging to that label hinders me from the work, then what’s that name really worth? I’d rather be called by any name that would allow me to share the hope of Jesus with people I meet.

If using the term missionary hinders our integrity and credibility, is it worth it?

What if we used a biblical word that applies to everyone, like disciple-maker? After all, “make disciples” is what we are all commanded to do.

What if, instead of turning Christian teachers and engineers into missionaries before we sent them, we sent them as they are — as disciple-making teachers, engineers, businesspeople, lawyers, and doctors? Instead of being ostracized by their community as missionaries, they could be part of their community as professionals and bless their neighbors with their skills.

Missionary isn’t inherently a dirty word, but weigh it carefully before you use it. Don’t let it hinder your effectiveness among the least-reached.

I greatly admire those who faithfully served under the missionary banner, but in today’s world, let’s strive to break down any man-made barriers to the spread of the gospel.

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Mark Silvers served with Crossworld in the Philippines for 10 years and joined the Recruitment team in 2009. Mark’s driving passion is to reach the 3.4 billion people in the world today with no access to the gospel.