As we have previously discussed, it is likely that some of the greatest Christian leaders and missionaries to have ever lived are alive and serving now. Even so, as much as 90 to 95 percent of Christian missions are either ineffective or counterproductive—sometimes being negative witnesses for the gospel. There are various reasons for this, but most of these missionaries are good Christians, devoted to their work, and would be appalled at the thought that their work could actually be counterproductive to the cause of Christ. However, the problem may not be with them as much as it is a lack of proper training, equipping, and placement. I use the word "proper" here because, in many cases, the missionaries are highly trained and well-equipped, but not for the situations they have been placed in.

Sometimes their approach in sharing the gospel is so Western, European, or American that it does not fit well where they have been placed. The Apostle Paul shared that when in Rome he did as the Romans, which means we must be sensitive to cultures and customs of the people we are trying to reach. The failure to do this may not only hinder the preaching of the gospel, but it can greatly hinder whatever church is raised up in the area, which will tend to take on the characteristics of the message that founded it. This can unnecessarily keep that church in perpetual conflict with the locals. There are enough stumbling blocks to the gospel without us contributing unnecessary ones.

In considering this, we do need to understand that the Lord sometimes plans for His missionaries to be an offense to those they are sent to. A good example of this is when He chose Peter as the apostle to the Jews and Paul to go to the Gentiles. Doesn't it look like the Lord got that backwards? Peter, being an unlearned fisherman, was an offense to the Jews he was sent to. Paul, being "a Pharisee of Pharisees," was such an offense to the Gentiles he was sent to that he acknowledged to the Galatians that his "flesh was a trial to them" (see Galatians 4:14).

Why would the Lord do this? Doesn't it seem that Paul would have been able to reach the Jews much easier than Peter? Certainly, the Jews would have respected Paul. The Gentiles would have been much more comfortable with Peter. One main reason the Lord may have done this was that it cast both of them in utter dependence on the Holy Spirit to fulfill their callings. Neither Paul nor Peter would ever be prone to draw attention to themselves, but only to Christ.

In drawing the people to Christ instead of to them, the church was able to begin on the right foundation, Christ, and not a human personality, even with such great ones like Peter and Paul. Even so, as Paul wrote that when in Rome he tried to do like the Romans, he was resolved not to do things that would make it even harder for the people to hear his message.  

Sometimes the lack of fruit in a mission is the result of a lack of understanding the spiritual warfare in their target regions or spiritual warfare in general. Despite the considerable evidence of the difference this could make, many still give little or no credence to it. The most successful missionaries and missions do.
 
Whatever the reason for the failure of a mission, and they are varied, the Lord said that He would cut off every branch that does not bear fruit, and we need to have the same wisdom. If we do not cut off the branches that are not bearing fruit, they will consume the resources that should be going to the branches that are bearing fruit. This is happening with many missions—maybe as much as 90 percent or more of the resources are going to missions that are bearing little or no fruit. How much more fruit would there be if these resources were going to the truly effective missions? These are often the most strapped for resources because they are not good fundraisers.

Then we have the other great question: Wasn't it a waste of resources to take Philip from a revival that was stirring an entire city and send him to the desert to talk to just one man? God's economy can obviously be very different than ours. So what if a missionary spends his or her entire life just reaching one person if it is God's will? That is precisely the great question: Is it God's will? 

As we see in Luke 10, when the Lord sends His people out, they will come back rejoicing because of the great results. If that does not happen, we may still be in the Lord's will because He said to those that He sent out in Luke 10:10, "...and when they do not receive you..." implying that He would send some out where they would not be received. Even so, when there seems to be little or no fruit from a mission, we need to hear loudly and clearly from the Lord that it is His will to continue.

Mismanagement is a serious violation to the Lord, as He made clear in the Parable of the Talents. Wasting people is far worse than wasting money or other resources, especially people so devoted that they want to be missionaries. When we allow failures or wasteful situations to continue, it not only wastes, but perpetuates a mentality that tolerates failure and wastefulness as acceptable. They are not.

When I meet missionaries in the field, I usually ask them what their objectives are. If the answer is too general, I already know the answer to my next question about what they have accomplished. It will inevitably be little or nothing, because the less clear and specific our objectives are, the less likely we are to accomplish anything. This is true in any job, not just missions or the ministry. Far too many missions and missionaries do not have clear objectives.

Again, there are missionaries who are very focused and well-trained in their purposes, who accomplish a great deal. The Wycliffe Bible Translators come to mind, along with a sister organization, The Jungle Aviation and Radio Service (JAARS). Whenever I meet a person in the field from Samaritan's Purse, I feel a sense of devotion to excellence and focus on their purpose. That is why they get so much done.

IRIS Ministries in Mozambique is so outrageously fruitful for the resources they have that I don't think it is fair to compare them with any other group. Certainly, when so much is accomplished with so little, the Lord receives more glory. However, if our goal is more fruit, why not get more with more?

I have been discussing missions, but how would the average church measure up to good management standards? If we are leading a church, do we have clear objectives? Have they been articulated? Can we measure the progress toward accomplishing them? If measured, it is likely that at least 90 percent of the resources of the church are devoted to what is producing less than 10 percent of the fruit. Some would put this ratio as much worse, but I'm trying to be generous. What would happen if that ratio were reversed, and we started putting 90 percent of the resources to what was producing 90 percent of the fruit? Could we not expect to see at least ten times the fruit that we are now seeing?

Let's take a brief look at our church buildings, since they are where most of the resources of the church are now being spent. Many of them, even the most elaborate and expensive, are only used for two to four hours a week. There are 168 hours in a week, so this means many church buildings are used as little as 2 percent of the time, and probably an average of all churches, being generous, would still be less than 5 percent.

First, we need to ask if the buildings are really helping us to fulfill our purpose as a church, which is to help the people mature in Christ, becoming like Him, and doing the works that He did. Many would answer, with some reason, that our devotion to buildings is a distraction from our purpose. For the sake of this study, however, let's assume that having our own buildings can be helpful and often less expensive than renting a place to meet. To increase the efficiency may simply be a case of devising ways to get more use out of them.

Could they not be used as schools? Many church facilities would make excellent facilities for either day schools for children or night schools for adults. Some might be used for other things like starting micro businesses.

Efficiency and good management are not the answers to everything, and we certainly do not want to emphasize them at the expense of such heart issues as compassion, morality, and the other basics of the faith, but we do need to understand how mismanagement is immoral. Liberal politicians are constantly decrying how much is spent on such things as defense when more should be going to the poor or to education, and so on. The truth is, if you give resources to the government agencies who are supposed to give it to the needy, only a fraction of it is likely to make it, regardless of the good intentions. That, too, is immoral.

It is more immoral to mismanage people than it is money or things. Most of the ineffective missionaries would probably be very effective if they were in the right place, serving in the right phase of ministry. Many are trying to be Phase I, who really were created to be Phase II or III. Many are trying to be Phase I, II, and III all at the same time, and therefore cannot do any of them well. This is the result of a basic lack of coordination within the body of Christ, which will only be remedied when we come into more unity.

One example of this was when we started digging wells in Africa. We quickly happened upon information that about 5,000 wells had been dug in that general region of Africa by other ministries and missions, but only a small fraction of them were still working. Why? Because no one had put them on a maintenance schedule or trained the locals to maintain them. Many were no longer working for the lack of a $5 part, while the same groups were spending up to $5,000 to drill new wells that likewise were not going to work for long.

It is an honorable thing for these ministries to be digging these wells, but we just need to do what we are doing with more of a long-term strategy. This problem with the wells was symbolic to the way missions in general had been done there. Phase I, which was digging the well, had been accomplished, but there was no Phase II in place for establishing and maintaining the well. Then Phase III, which was the multiplication by teaching those who had received a well to learn how to dig one and then learn how to help their neighbors, did not seem to be on anyone's mind.

Crusades in Africa are often done the same way. Millions are coming to Christ in Africa, and we should all rejoice, as it is helping to change the continent. However, how much more lasting fruit would there be if apostles, prophets, pastors, and teachers followed the great evangelists into a region and established the believers in the faith?

There are pastors of large churches in Africa who only have one sermon, the one they heard when they got saved. They preach this one sermon week after week. Thank the Lord for such faithfulness, but with the abundance of great teachers we have in the West, we should be able to help establish some of the best ministry schools anywhere in the world. Right now most of this teaching is given to those who already have too much! 

Much of this is going to change because the possessiveness and territorial attitudes that have prevailed over much of the church are being broken through. Mature leaders are being raised up who are secure enough not to be threatened by those who are different from them, but are starting to recognize how the differences complement each other instead of conflict with each other. There are Phase I, II, and III movements in the body of Christ, which if they start working together, will become the most powerful and effective forces on the planet. 
   
We have nothing to lose, but everything to gain by unifying. The first to seek unity, the peacemakers, are given the great promise of being called the sons of God (see Matthew 5:9). Why wait? What can we do this week to bring interchange, increasing trust, and increasing unity in the church? Unity means joining together the parts that are different. It takes great grace, humility, and wisdom to embrace those who are different from us, which is the essence of what we are all called to do. Evidence of our maturity will be this unity.