WHERE ARE WE GOING IN GLOBAL MISSIONS?

by Rev Erick Tan, MMS Director of the Centre for Missions Analysis, Reconstruction, and Development. He is also the MMS Regional Director for Timor-Leste. Motorbikes have been a part of his life since he was growing up. His late father used to alternate taking either his brother or him as the pillion to go with him for meals and when running errands. When he visited the mission field in 2019, their roles reversed: Ps Erick became the rider, and his father happily rode along as the passenger.

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At the time of John Wesley’s death on 2 March 1791, Methodism had grown remarkably: there were 294 preachers and 71,668 members in Great Britain, 19 missionaries and 5,300 members on mission stations, and 198 preachers with 43,265 members in America. (Source: Frederick Mills, “John Wesley,” New Georgia Encyclopedia, last modified July 23, 2018, https:// www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/ john-wesley-1703-1791)

These figures would be impressive even to 21st-century church leaders. Yet, just two years earlier, Wesley had voiced a deep concern about the Methodist movement’s effectiveness in spreading scriptural holiness across the world. In his sermon Sermon 116: Causes of the Inefficacy of Christianity, preached in Dublin on 2 July 1789, Wesley expressed a kind of spiritual crisis.

Repeatedly in that sermon, he posed the sobering question: “Why has Christianity done so little good in the world?” His conclusion was clear—Christian doctrine must be accompanied by Christian discipline.

He asked, “Why has Christianity done so little good, even among us? Among the Methodists, among them that hear and receive the whole Christian doctrine, and that have Christian discipline added thereto, in the most essential parts of it? Plainly, because we have forgot, or at least not duly attended to, those solemn words of our Lord, ‘If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.’” At the heart of Christian discipline is self-denial and the rejection of self-indulgence.

In the same sermon, Wesley referenced again the three rules he had taught at length in Sermon 50: The Use of Money - earn all you can, save all you can, give all you can. These principles, he believed, were essential for the practice of Christian discipline. However, he lamented that the Methodists had become entangled in the trappings of material prosperity, endangering the very mission they were called to uphold. He painted a sobering picture of the future:

“And riches naturally beget pride, love of the world, and even temper that is destructive of Christianity. Now, if there be no way to prevent this, Christianity is inconsistent with itself, and, of consequence, cannot stand, cannot continue long among any people; since, wherever it generally prevails, it saps its own foundation.”

To be honest, many Christians today are unsettled by the idea of practising self-denial as taught by Jesus in Matthew 16:24–26. What does it mean in practical terms? To what extent must one give up personal possessions? Must everything be surrendered?

If you’re reading this and feel a desire to counter the trend Wesley warned against—to apply the three rules in your own life—I encourage you to do so prayerfully and thoughtfully, guided by Sermon 50: The Use of Money. I dare you to imagine that we, as a Christian community, are progressing in applying these principles and are ready to give what we can.

But that leads us to the question: To whom should we give?

To answer this, we return to the foundation of Wesley’s vision for spreading scriptural holiness, the main thrust of Sermon 116. As one who famously declared “the world is my parish”, Wesley believed that the transformative power of Christianity was not merely for sustaining ministry operations, but for healing and restoring the brokenness of humanity.

He was acutely aware of the “nineteen of thirty parts”—about two-thirds—of the world’s population who had yet to hear and receive the full Christian doctrine. Wesley urged his followers to give whatever they could, starting with the poor in the Methodist societies he had established in England and North America. Through self-denial and compassionate action towards the poor, believers could not only grow in personal holiness but also give real momentum to the mission of preaching the gospel meaningfully.

Through self-denial and compassionate action towards the poor, believers could not only grow in personal holiness but also give real momentum to the mission of preaching the gospel meaningfully.

More than two centuries after Wesley’s passing, the global Christian population still stands at around 32%. (Source: https://lausanne.org/report/hope/world-religions) In recent times, it is not uncommon to hear Christian leaders argue for a focus on local ministry, citing limited resources as justification. This mindset can lead to mission resources being redirected towards the ever-growing internal demands of church ministries.

But global evangelism should not be neglected simply because the outcomes appear uncertain or less tangible. Instead, we should imagine the lives truly transformed and the communities renewed through the power of the gospel. Christianity continues to do good in the world when it is supported by believers who practise scriptural holiness with conviction and generosity.