Christ has authorized the church, (eph. 1:22-23), and only the church, working in the power of the holy spirit, (micah 3:8; luke 4:14; rom. 15:19), for the gathering of the elect, (mark 13:27), the edification of the saints, (rom. 14:17-19), and the building up of his spiritual body (jude 1:20).

He qualifies the church for this great task by endowing her with spiritual gifts (1 cor. 14:12; eph. 4:8), and by the institution of the offices (1 tim. 3:1ff; eph. 4:11-12), for the administration of the word (2 tim. 4:2; rom. 10:8) and the sacraments, (psa. 99:7; 1 cor. 11:2,20; luke 22:17ff; matt. 3:16; acts 2:38; 1 cor. 1:13), which are used to lead the elect to their eternal destiny. As such, the agent through which the work of christ is accomplished on the earth is the church.

The question must be asked: do para-church ministries do the work of the church? Yes and no. In the positive, para-church ministries engage in church activities, often serving as an extension of the church under church guidance. In the negative, they operate as independent, autonomous agencies, unaccountable to the church, but rather attempting to function on par with the church without either the authority or accountability.

My philosophy is that those called to the mission field ought to meet the same qualifications as those called to minister at home, and that the work of the field is essentially the same at home. We cannot have separate qualifications, for this implies a separate function of the same ecclesial expression. Granted, the challenge of re-orienting ecclesial ministry outside one’s familiar context is an added element and essential component of missions, “contextualization” (shaping the message to fit a culture) should not take precedence over biblical fidelity. I am thoroughly convinced a missionary is first and foremost a pastor; all other activity associated with foreign missions is subordinate to this.