Before our family arrived at our assignment to serve alongside an indigenous church in Central Asia, missionary colleagues advised us to stay in the background as we learned the language and culture. They encouraged us to focus on serving—cleaning toilets, mopping floors, taking elderly members to the hospital. We should adopt a learner’s posture, being slow to share our ideas and opinions.
Their advice served us well, not only as we accumulated the trust of the church and her leaders but as we grew in humility and patience.
Then, two and a half years into our assignment, the national pastor asked me to consider serving as an elder. I didn’t know what to do. All the training I’d received prompted me to resist his request. Nationals should own the work from the beginning. Having foreign workers leading perpetuates paternalism and dependency. Don’t take ministry from nationals. Release authority.
I’d internalized such principles, and they echoed in my mind. My national partner’s request created a small crisis for me. I didn’t want to disappoint him. At the same time, I feared taking on a role that might imply the inferiority of nationals or, worse, foster dependency that could take years to undo.
But in the end, I became convinced the benefits of missionaries modeling biblical eldership in indigenous churches outweigh the potential drawbacks.
History of Indigenous Leadership
The wisdom and missiological principles with which I came to the field have roots in missions history. In the mid-19th century, mission leaders such as Rufus Anderson, Henry Venn, and Francis Wayland began to address long-held concerns that missionary efforts imposed Western cultural norms. They believed a colonial mindset among missionaries kept churches and other institutions out of the hands of nationals. In response, they pioneered an indigenous church movement that sought to reform missions and establish self-governing, self-propagating, and financially self-supporting churches.
Writing decades later, the English missionary Roland Allen—himself deeply influenced by the indigenous church movement—chastised missionaries who held leadership roles and authority until they were satisfied nationals were ready to take it from them: “The moment is never clear. . . . The inevitable result of this method is discontent and strife.”
For Allen, evidence of discontentment was all around him as movements for national sovereignty sought to push off the colonial empires’ rule in all spheres, including in newly assertive national churches led by local leaders. A less authoritative, background role for the foreigner became the conventional wisdom in missions circles.
This new vision for the foreign missionary’s role addressed real and pressing concerns, but did the pendulum swing too far? In the New Testament, Paul’s approach to the missionary task indicates no hesitancy toward modeling faithful leadership.
Paul’s approach to the missionary task indicates no hesitancy toward modeling faithful leadership.
His account of his extended ministry in Ephesus suggests he took an active role leading during his time there (Acts 20:17–38). In addition, he encouraged those he mentored to lead as well. Paul exhorts Timothy to “do the work of an evangelist” (2 Tim. 4:5), a phrase Eckhard Schnabel claims is “closely connected with teaching and exercising leadership in the local congregation.” Finally, Paul’s letter-writing ministry hardly implies an approach dedicated to remaining in the background.
Teaching and Modeling
The New Testament pattern suggests missionaries may have a role to play in teaching and modeling as an elder in the indigenous church. There are at least two reasons for this.
First, missionaries modeling Christlike shepherding teach by example (1 Pet. 5:1–4). They can demonstrate how to handle delicate situations with pastoral sensitivity and how to reason toward wisdom from the Bible when faced with difficult questions. They can put forward a radical alternative image of what faithful church leaders look like, especially in cultures that value authoritarian or Machiavellian leadership qualities.
This second benefit is compounded in pioneer situations when, for example, only one qualified national leader has emerged in a local church. A foreign missionary serving as a second elder and introducing plurality can help prevent singular “strong man” leadership models from taking hold. Especially in places where Christian influence has been minimal and biblical servant leadership is countercultural, how will nationals learn to lead unless we show them?
Second, foreign missionaries serving as elders demonstrate their deep commitment to the local church. In our Muslim context, members of our church faced limited employment opportunities, limited marital prospects, and ostracization from family and the community. Pastors are often particularly targeted. My closest national partner was falsely accused of having terrorist connections and running a prostitution ring. At one point, he was even kidnapped for a few hours to intimidate him.
Missionaries willing to share the burden of protecting the sheep—which can risk making them more of a target—show the church they’re unafraid to identify with their local brothers and sisters.
Humble Service
Still, missionaries should heed the historical lessons of missionary leadership wielded poorly.
Foreign workers serving as elders in national churches must approach the role with humility and a genuine desire to raise up local leaders as soon as possible. They should always see their role—and insist others see their role—as transitional. They dare not compel a church to accept them as leaders because of their status as “foreign experts” but should serve in such a way that their fitness for leadership becomes evident over time. This approach requires missionaries to be patient and to keep their tenure open-ended.
Foreign missionaries serving as elders demonstrate their deep investment in the local church.
Finally, missionaries who might serve as elders in national churches should be elder-qualified according to Scripture. They should have mentorship and practice in biblical shepherding before leaving for the field. Missionaries aren’t qualified for eldership just because they’re foreigners. We have the same need to learn from faithful models as the brothers we go to serve.
As I wrestled with what to do, God graciously allowed me to cross paths with a wise missionary who had decades of experience. “Brother, here’s a national pastor who’s asking you to come alongside him and share the responsibility of shepherding Jesus’s church. What biblical principle prevents you from saying yes?”
My fellow worker helped me see that telling my national partner I knew what he needed better than he did was just as paternalistic as me insisting on having a leadership role. In accepting the request of my church and the national pastor to serve as an elder, God taught me that while missiological wisdom can serve as an important guide, the Bible alone constrains the missionary task.