Is the Role of North American Missionaries Over?

They shared our meals and our struggles as if they were their own. Despite facing persecution and opposition from Idi Amin’s regime, the missionaries persevered. They quietly and faithfully discipled many believers and planted churches. 

Fifty years later, the men that they discipled are government leaders, business leaders, a judge in Uganda’s supreme court, and academics at major universities in Uganda. The churches they started eventually planted multiple other congregations in Uganda and beyond. My dad was evangelized and discipled by this couple. He was a first-generation Christian, the first in our clan and community. He went on to disciple his own family and hundreds of others, later planting churches in war-ravaged northern Uganda. 

This North American, Christian couple heard the call to global missions and responded because they believed they had a role to play.  They saw the darkness in Uganda not as a barrier, but as a place where they had a role to proclaim the good news. 

Decades later, is this still a valid model for ministry?  

Some people look at a technologically advanced, globalized world with international political tensions and a shifting understanding of the role of missionaries, and they ask: Is the role of North American missionaries over?

I’d argue no. 

LOOK UP TO GOD’S WORD

There’s still a biblical calling for the global church to play a part in missions, and the Great Commission is still a binding command for believers from every nation (Matthew 28:19-20). 

But there are also important principles for the North America church to remember when pursuing the work of proclaiming the gospel to all nations: stay focused on the local church, partner with local believers—and strive to learn from them as well. 

LOOK INTO THE LOCAL CHURCH

Though there’s still an important role for North American missionaries to play, one concerning trend I’ve observed among some missionary organizations from North America is the rise of a missiology without an ecclesiology: Theologically anemic organizations pursue ‘mission’ activity detached from the accountability of the local church. 

This is attempting to fulfill God’s mission while ignoring God’s primary instrument for that mission—the local church. This has resulted in “convert collector” syndrome, where ministries focus heavily on numbers of decisions for Christ and baptisms, with minimal attention on discipleship and incorporation of the new Christians into a local church family. 

LOOK BACK AT THE PAST

History reminds us of North American missionaries like Adoniram Judson, D. L. Moody, Billy Graham, Donald McGavran, and lesser-known individuals, who have dedicated their lives to spreading the gospel. Many pioneered gospel work among many unreached people, and laid a strong foundation for other mission work.

But one historical challenge that needs correction is cultural insensitivity. 

Even while using the language of partnership and contextualization, there can be an unconscious syncretism of the gospel and American identity, compounded with a default posture of paternalism. 

For example, several mission agencies export prepackaged, program-driven, and resource-heavy models of ministry that create dependency, stifle the local leadership, and mix up the acceptance of aid with conversion.

LOOK BESIDE FOR YOUR PARTNERS

Meanwhile, there’s also been the emergence of a strong, indigenous Christian presence and leadership in the Global South. Previously less than 20% of the population in the Global South—comprising Asia, Africa, and South America—identified as Christian. Today, the Global South is developing Christian leaders and sending missionaries globally.

What does this mean for North American missions? One clear implication is to establish robust and authentic gospel partnerships with the church in the Global South. This is different from paternalism, where North American missionaries see themselves as the sole parent with authority to decide matters of the church in the Global South. 

The Global South can no longer only be viewed as the ‘child’ in missions, but as an equal partner that has something to offer and teach North America. This can be accomplished through genuine gospel partnership and humility as one body.

LOOK AROUND STRATEGICALLY 

The United States is the top sender of missionaries globally, with 135,000 missionaries currently sent out from America. This is a significant contribution to the Great Commission. 

North Americans have also generously financed the advancement of the Great Commission. In 2024 alone, 23% of the total private giving in the U.S. went toward religious causes, including global missions,

But North American missionaries often continue to serve in heavily evangelized areas, and often invest in programs that might not be a priority to the local leadership. It is common to see a well-resourced, foreign-led discipleship ministry running independently of the local church. This dependency drains good leaders from the local church toward organizations with more money. 

In their generosity, North American believers should look for ways to direct their resources to the places that need it most, and rely on local believers to help them understand the spiritual needs of their communities. 

LOOK AHEAD WITH HOPE

So, is the role of North American missionaries over? No, it is not over. 

North America has a role to play, but it won’t always be in the same way that it has operated in the past. There’s a need to recalibrate and engage with an incarnational missiology that embodies a sound ecclesiology, draws lessons from the past to inform the present, and embraces the exponential growth of the church in the Global South as an opportunity to finish the task as one body with many interdependent parts. 

Just as we learned from the couple that served Uganda with the gospel through so many dark years—and just as we learn from Jesus—the goal not to be served, but to serve.