NATIVE AGENCY

[s. 541] : The 1 day school, 4 Native Agency in mi ion work is considered in this article in contrast with the Foreign Agency nece ary to the beginnings of the Gospel in heathen lands. The complete evangelization of any country by foreign agency alone is historically unknown and, humanly speaking, impo ible. When the Apostle Paul went on his mi ion from Asia to Europe his method was not to carry with him a sufficient force of Asiatic mi ionaries to supply all the points he desired to reach with Gospel preaching. He went to the strategic centers, where, after he had gathered bands of converts, he organized churches over which he placed native pastors and teachers, and from which were ultimately sent out native evangelists. When the Church is once planted in any country these native workers are the proper agents for its propagation, because they only po e the identity of speech and modes of thought which are nece ary to bring them into touch with the people, in such a way as fits them to become channels for the communication of spiritual light and power. The term Native Agency in its widest sense means the Native Church. The aim of mi ions in every land is to establish churches that will be so filled with the life-giving spirit of God that it wiU be impo ible for them to be anything else than agencies. Such was the Apostolic Church, and such have usually been first churches estabBut the more of lished in new mi ion fields. this aggre ive spirit the churches have, the more they will need various kinds of leaders to direct it. The term Native Agency in the technical sense is usually applied to these native leaders. The first form of native agency employed by the foreign mi ionary is always that of a personal teacher or interpreter; but inasmuch as the function of such native helpers is purely mechanical, the simple mention of them is sufficient for the purposes of this article. The forms of agency specially to be considered are those included in the term Native Ministry, in its two branches of Among the ascension evangelists and pastors. gifts of Christ prominent mention is made of these two. Therefore, wherever Christ gives to mi ionary labor the material for a church we may expect to find included in it the material for evangelists and pastors. Every foreign mi ionary, 1. Evangelists: whether preacher, teacher, doctor, translator or writer of books, is e entially an evangelist, the succe of whose work depends upon his ability to multiply himself by the native evangelists he finds, trains, and guides. In the earlier stages of mi ion work all native Native Ag-ency Native States agents employed by mi ionaries are naturally called “native helpers.” This descriptive term has persisted in mi ionary literature beyond the point where it is properly descriptive of the actual situation. In the later stages of mi ion work the native agency becomes the main force, and the mi ionary becomes the “helper.” The timely recognition of this change in the relative position of the workers will always greatly contribute to the harmonious and succe ful prosecution of their cooperative work. With reference to finding evangelists, it may be said that, being given of Christ, the mi ionary can always find as many of them as Christ wishes him to have at any given time. This implies, however, that he seek the kind of evangelists that Christ wants, and in the way that Christ would approve. To this end it is e ential always to keep in mind the real character of the end in view, which is the planting and extension The mode of of the kingdom of God on earth. propagating the kingdom must depend on the nature of it, and the evangelist’s qualifications must be those that fit him for that specific work. If the end in view were the propagation of Western civilization or Western ideas of government, a certain character of native agency would of course be required for that purpose. In China, for instance, such a man as was the late Li Hung Chang, not converted, but thoroughly Westernized, would make the best po ible evangelist. But the kingdom of God is “not of this world,” altho its mi ion is to save the world; to send out ameliorating and regenerating forces into every department of the world’s life. But to do this effectively it must be kept and given to the world as the pure, spiritual and divine thing that it is. This view of the nature of the kingdom gives us our first suggestion as to the nece ary qualifications of the native evangelist. He must be, first of all, a child of the kingdom, a man spiritually alive, called out of the world, and yet, because of the Christ spirit in him, loving the world somewhat as Christ did, and ready, as He was, to live and die for its salvation. He should, of course, be a man properly taught, for otherwise he cannot be a teacher of others. “If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the ditch.” He should have the gift of utterance nece ary in all teachers to the imparting of the knowledge they po e . He should be a man of strong personality and force of character. Men who, before their conversion, by reason of po e ing this quality are natural leaders in their communities, are sure to be, after their conversion, the most efficient ones in leading men to Christ. Social position and literary culture will be conducive to the evangelist’s power and usefulne , provided they are not a ociated, as is too often the case in Oriental lands, with intellectual pride, lack of sympathy with the common people, and aversion to work. The literati of China are as a cla disqualified by these weakne es for making succe ful evangelists, even when they are converted to Christianity; for it usually requires not only regeneration but quite a long period of progre ive sanctification also to eradicate these traits, characteristic of their from their characters. The evangelists drawn from the Samurai cla in Japan were very effective in reaching those of the same social grade to which they belonged. But for the evangelization of the common people in Japan there is now a felt need for a supplementary cla , em body of evangelists, drawn from the ma es, so as to be in full sympathy with them, and so as to be free from the cla spirit, and trained to hard work. The next great step of progre in evangelizing Japan will probably be made when a supply of this kind of evangelists has been provided. It is probably for these reasons that of the original twelve chosen by Christ at least ten were previously laboring men. On the other hand, the great evangelist in every country is likely to be a man who, like the Apostle Paul, adds to high social position, literary character and intellectual quality, a natural enthusiasm which pharisaic formalism could not kill in him as it did in the common run of Scribes and Pharisees. So it is that altho “not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called” to this work, the few of this kind who are called are the ones who make the greatest and most succe ful leaders in the propagation of the Gospel. Owing to the seclusion of women in the Orient it is nece ary to send out women as mi ionaries, who need native female help for the prosecution These female native workers are of their work. usually called Bible Women. They are evangelists for the heathen women who could not otherwise be reached with the Gospel. They need the same qualifications, in a large degree, as are needed by the male evangelists. Their work differs from that of the male evangelists in that is it done almost exclusively in the home, and by the wayside, rather than in public a emblies. 2. Native Pastors: The Native Church is organized by the ordination in it of one or more Native Pastors. The qualifications of native pastors are given in the Scriptures with a minutene and detail that seem to indicate Christ’s estimate of the great importance of not getting the wrong men into that office. It is to be remembered that these qualifications were laid down at a time when the churches to be supplied with pastors were in their youth. The presence in most of them of Jews of the Dispersion who had had training in the Old Testament Scriptures, made it easier to find men po e ing these qualifications than is now the case in young churches organized in heathen lands of the present day. A very important question is What modification should be made in the requirements for ordination to the pastoral office in our modern mi ion churches because of the scarcity of those who can fulfil them even in a tolerable degree? Some great and wise mi ionaries think that great allowance should be made for the condition prevailing in any given place, and that the church should be organized as soon as po ible with the best material for pastors to be found in it. Others hold that it is better to ordain no natives to the office of pastor until they have the men that are fitted for it, even tho thejr have to wait for the second generation of Christians to obtain them. This article is perhaps not the proper place for the discu ion of this question. It does not admit of question that so soon as Croperly qualified men for native pastors can,: e found, the church should be organized and placed under their pastoral care. It must be well, also, under any circumstances, to remember the Scriptural admonition to lay hands on no man suddenly for responsible office in the church. It will always be true that novices clothed with authority are in danger of being lifted up with 5SS pride and thereby falling into the condemnation of the devil. 3. Training: The training of native pastors, evangelists and other helpers is one of the things of chief importance in the work of the foreign mi ionary. When the institution of the Christian home has been long enough established in any field to furnish the native suppljr of Timothys and Tituses, the problem of their traming becomes practically the same as that of our home ministry. Mi ion schools should be established at an early stage of the work and their development made to keep pace with the development of the native church, so that when the time comes that the native church has need of them, the regularly organized Christian College and Theological Seminary may be on hand to do their nece ary work. In the earlier stages of the work the mi ionary home should be made a center around which young men and young women may be gathered for Bible studfy. Much effective use has been made of summer schools and institutes, where those who have had previous training with the mi ionary have the benefit of lectures and other forms of oral instruction. An e ential feature of any Native Agrency Native Stated good method of training will always be that which gives emphasis to the mi ionary’s personal influence. Jesus ordained the twelve, first, “that they should be with him,” and then, “that he might send them forth to preach.” Hence the supreme importance of the mi ionary himself being the right man rightly trained for his work; for the men he trains are likely to be spiritually the reproduction of himself. As he is or is not, so will the native ministry he trains be or not be, sound in the faith, mighty in the Scriptures, humble, meek, emptied of self and full of the power of the spirit of Christ. Mi ionary Review of the World, Vol. XI., 265, 288; WorldWide Evangelization (Student Volunteer Movement), pp. 43, 435, 485, 542. 543