The Indigenous Church, by Melvin L. Hodges, is an excellent resource for one who is in the ministry of missions.
First of all, as a church planting missionary, I was reminded that the local church is the focus, and all other ministries such as schools, seminaries, orphanages, and hospitals are secondary ministries.
Secondly, the church must teach and encourage the converts to share the Gospel with family, friends, and co-workers. The converts must reproduce themselves. If the converts are reproducing themselves, when the missionary leaves, the church will continue to grow.
In addition, discipleship is one of the most important tasks of the church. While discipling the converts, we not only have the opportunity to teach them how to grow spiritually, but we also have the opportunity to teach them responsibility. The converts must be taught to work in the church. The convert must not be taught dependence on the missionary but to shoulder responsibility in the church.
Also, a church must be able financially support itself and its ministries. It must not depend on foreign funds to meet the expenses of the work. To achieve this characteristic of self supporting, the missionary must be careful to not rent a building or start a program that the church could never afford on its own. As a missionary in the unstable country of Venezuela, it will be important to keep this question in mind; “If I am forced to leave Venezuela, will the withdrawal of my funds be a mortal blow to my church, or will my church be able to survive?”
Finally, while reading this book, I have learned the importance of not centering the work too completely in the missionary, the missionary’s money, or the missionary’s abilities. “A modern missionary is not intended to be a permanent factor in the life of an alien people. His work is to make Christ the permanent factor...”
