Tentmaking in Scripture
“Paul, Silas, and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians…You yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow.” – 2 Th 1:1;3:7-9
The Ultimate Goal of Missions
When “Robert” first went to the “Yanyin” region of China in 1991, he found 3 house churches and 85 Han Chinese Christians in a region of among 7 million people and 5 people groups. After surveying the region, he began mobilizing Chinese co-laborers and planting churches with them in 1994. Just three year later, the number of churches had grown to 195 in number and spread throughout the region, taking root in all five people groups. Robert describes his church planting strategy as POUCH: Participative Bible study/worship groups; Obedience to God’s word as a the measure of success; Unpaid and multiple lay or bi-vocational church leaders; Cell churches rarely exceeding 15 members before starting new groups; and Homes or store-fronts as primary meeting places for these cell churches. Robert would first model “doing church” with new believers using the POUCH approach. Then he would assist them to plant a daughter church. Third, he’d watch to see that they started a third-generation church without his involvement. Then he would leave–the crucial final step to ensure an indigenous, self-propagating movement.
The ultimate goal of missions is to plant self-multiplying, self-nurturing, self-led, self-supporting (Great Commission) churches of genuine disciples capable of evangelizing their own people and also reaching other peoples. Where an indigenous church already exists, our task is to integrate new believers into it, and to help it be the kind of church just described. Why is this the ultimate goal? Because Jesus commands us to “make disciples…[who] obey everything I have commanded.” As soon as two or more turn to Christ, they are transformed and called to love each other as Christ has loved them. (Jn. 15:12) God is building a new family. This means simple house churches, not complex, organizational churches. This is something that committed, everyday, workplace Christians can do, with a little preparation.Many think that tentmakers only play a complimentary role of assisting “real” missionaries as if tentmakers are not full-fledged mission workers. As a result, Many tentmakers don’t plant churches because they don’t aim to. Paul, the apostle, and his co-workers, proved this by planting many churches as self-supporting, everyday Christians. In fact, Paul deliberately chose “lay” strategy of working for his living to set a pattern of every Christian being a disciple-maker and of everyday Christians giving leadership and planting churches. This is why the early church spread so fast. This was no super feat of a spiritual superman.
Everyday, workplace Christians (tentmakers) did it then; they are doing it today! The full Commission belongs to every Christian, not just to “full-time” missionaries. God does not relegate any Christian to second-class status, nor to any reduction of their God-given role! As Jesus left for heaven, he said, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given unto me. Go therefore…” With the command, he promised his power. Tentmakers can! They just need training and experience to develop skill. This is a core component of Global Opportunities’