
Mimicking great missionaries is the best way to prepare for the mission field.
I know of no better example for such preparation than the Thessalonian Model in 1 Thessalonians 1. They followed a three-step process that every Christian can imitate today. After conversion, they became three kinds of people, each one in succession and in the proper order.
If prospective missionaries do not mirror this model, rarely will they reach the Arabs in Morocco, the Fulani in Niger, or the Bengali Muslims in Bangladesh. At the least, missionaries that shortcut the Thessalonian’s model will flame out fast, leaving the field soon after arriving.
The Emulator
The first person a prospective missionary must become is an emulator. They locate a godly person they can follow and then emulate what they say and do. Paul said the Thessalonians “became imitators” (1Th. 1:6), a word meaning to mimic or mime. Yes, they copied “the Lord”, as this is primary for Christians. But the Lord is not the only person they imitated. By proxy, they followed “us”—meaning Paul and his companions. Paul not only allowed imitation, he commanded it, telling the Corinthians: “I urge you, then, be imitators of me” (1Cor. 4:16).
Charles Spurgeon found that many pastors in his day were stealing his sermons, including some of his students, preaching his words as though they were their own. This was wrong and he rebuked his pupils for such brazen plagiarism. But there was some virtue in their vice, a lesson from whom some pompous youth could learn. The thieves saw a good example and they copied it, in some ways less evil than Mr. Know-It-All who doesn’t even think of asking his pastor a question, let alone following his example. Continue reading →