Paul wanted to reach the unreached. This was a matter of urgency for him, as it should be for our churches. But was that Paul’s primary motivation in missions? Perhaps more important, was that the goal that set his missionary agenda?
If you were to listen in on many conversations within the missions community, you might think reaching the unreached was Paul’s preeminent aim and therefore it should be ours. In fact, other possible goals for missions, such as teaching young believers or leading healthy churches, are often deliberately and consciously sidelined for the sake of this more “urgent” goal. The critical need of the unreached demands it.
Programmatically, that means mission agencies and schools often direct missionaries to lead people to Jesus and then, as quickly as possible, leave. To go to the next locale. To release new believers to work on their own toward maturity. Because the missionary must, like Paul, always move on. But does that accurately represent Paul’s example?
In one sense, it’s hard to imagine a missionary with a more clear-eyed vision than the apostle from Tarsus. He was passionate to go where the gospel hadn’t, to reach the unreached. And Christians often quote Romans
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