Grace and Truth 

Ministries 

International

1. It's Scriptural                                                                                                                                                                    Acts 14:23 says of Paul and Barnabas, " And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.” It's obvious from the context of this passage, that it was the indigenous people, (Gentiles) who were ordained. The Jews fought against them. We also find in Titus 1:5 that Paul instructs Titus to "ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee". Interestingly, right before this Paul tells Titus to "set in order things that are wanting (lacking). This also gives us scriptural directive to teach and train Nationals, but then to ordain them for the Gospel ministry and to pastor their own people.
2. Cost Effective                                                                                                                                                                       A National can be supported for a fraction of what an American needs. This is not to condemn the American Missionary at all, but a foreigner has far more expenses than a national, like visas, passage fare from America to the field, deputation, language study, and reporting back to the home churches.
3. Learning Curve                                                                                                                                                            Culturally there’s no “learning curve” for a National. A  National not only knows and speaks the language fluently, but also knows all of the cultural idiosyncrasies of his own native land. It takes a foreigner a lifetime to learn such things, and can never fully learn them.
4. Timing                                                                                                                                                                                   If we believe Jesus is coming soon, and also that people die every day without Christ, we must recognize that waiting approximately five years for a foreigner to get to the field and to learn the language is time that can be used by a national to preach the Gospel, winning people to Christ, while the foreigner is laboring to raise support, etc.
5.  Pension/Taxes                                                                                                                                                              Almost every  mission board has to set aside pension and tax money for a foreign missionary. Though it is possible that some of this may have to be done for a national, the costs are miniscule in comparison. We are called upon in scripture to be "Good stewards.” This means finances and time among many other items.
6. Does GTMI believe American missionaries should go to foreign fields as missionaries?                                                 Of course. If, and as God calls, we go. In fact that's why I as the director and founder of Grace and Truth Ministries International Go, but we need to be wise. There are many countries an American can't get a permanent visa, and even temporary visas, can be only 3- 6 months. This is not true for a national.

1.   Keep in close contact with them by making repeated trips to the field to build relationships with the Pastors and their flock.

2.   Preaching in the churches

3.   Meeting and mentoring

4.   Teach sound doctrine, which includes leadership and accountability.

5.   Give them report forms to fill out. If reports are not received, nationals do not receive support.

6.   Visit in their homes. Meet and grow close to them and their family. This creates not only accountability for national missionary, but also the wife of the missionary.