A Window on Missions - A Room with a View

We stood on the third floor of the Hope Center in Gorazde, Bosnia. The room and balcony are not finished yet, but the view is spectacular. Standing there one can look down on the Drina River gently making its way to the Black Sea. Over beyond the river are the lush green mountains with touches of fall colors looking down on the Drina valley. It was a room with a view. However, the Hope Center, which is near completion, was not built to serve as a Bosnian tourist resort. It functions as a place where a variety of activities are to be conducted to build relationships and create good will in the surrounding predominately Muslim community. Steve Reitz has been pouring all his energy into the construction of a place where the message of hope in Jesus Christ will be made known.

The view from the window at the Hope Center also serves as a useful reminder of how missionary work is done. One window through which we may look frames the presence of a missionary family. That family is Steve and Kim Reitz and their three children, Lauren, Jenna, and Rebecca. They serve with CrossWorld in the war-torn city of Gorazde (see May, 2007 Berachah World Missions Calendar). There is no substitute for the traditional missionary who goes and stays in a place for the long haul. It has been reported that it takes an average of ten years for a missionary to learn a language and gain an elementary grasp of the culture. There are exceptions and variations involved, but the point is that church planting and other effective cross-cultural ministries require spiritually-strong, biblically-wise, culturally-savvy, God-pursuing, and faithful servants of Christ who live among the people and pay the necessary price for establishing an enduring work of God. One of the concerns expressed by mission leaders today is the reluctance of young people to make a long-term commitment to a particular place. Too many would-be missionaries lack a commitment to staying in one location for the time it takes to lay a foundation and maximize effectiveness. It takes time to break up the ground, plant the seed, water the crop, and wait for the harvest. And sometimes the harvest may not even come for a generation or longer.

Another window reveals the value of short-term missionaries. This may at first seem to be a contradiction to what has already been said regarding the need for long-term commitment. The key concept here is team-work. Those who come alongside of the resident missionaries and fit into their plans can be an asset. One immediate benefit is the training that can be received. This is happening in Gorazde. Steve and Kim Reitz have taken about seven young ladies under their wings and they are all serving together in an admirable way. Each has a different kind of giftedness but one thing they have in common is a zeal for God and His gospel. One of these young ladies will be going to another Muslim country within a year. Another team member may be going back to her native country of Brazil for missionary work there. So, actually, “short-term missionary” is probably not the best way to describe those who have a relatively brief stay in a place like Gorazde. They are there for a limited time but are meaningfully involved in gospel work. These young women are making a difference for Christ as they are being equipped for service wherever the Lord directs them.

There has been some debate about the value of mission’s teams that go out from their local church to various fields for short periods of time. These have become quite popular in the last fifteen or twenty years. Some see this as not the best use of time or money. The complaint is that the money it takes to finance such trips could be put to better use in supporting those who have committed themselves to missions as a lifework. This is a legitimate concern and every church should carefully examine its priorities and not let this happen. However, there are benefits involved in short-term teams. Again the work in Bosnia is an example of how this can work. Through well-planned activities a team of disciplined, culturally sensitive, and caring Christians can complement the gospel witness that is already taking place. Friendships have been forged between the visitors from the States and local Muslim families. The walls of suspicion and prejudice are being broken down and are giving way to opportunities to show Christ’s love.

Gorazde has suffered through a horrific war. Thousands of innocent people were killed and wounded. Many of the homes and public buildings have been replaced or repaired but a host of resentments, fears, and mistrust lie just beneath the surface. Sadly, the Muslims in Bosnia have been given a grotesque picture of Christianity. Men, women, and children were slaughtered by the Serbs “in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” To speak of Jesus, the Bible, and church can give a cold chill to a Muslim who lost a family member in the war. Only the love of Christ as seen in the kindnesses of His people can provide a window through which non-Christians can look and see the real meaning of the Cross. Yes, windows work both ways. Through them we can look out on a landscape upon which ambassadors of the message of reconciliation in Christ are offering their lives for the kingdom. And at the same time those who are outside of Christ can look through the same window and want to come inside and discover the God we worship.

Dr. Howard E. Dial
Berachah Bible Church