Steinar Opheim
The US is sending out more tentmakers today than ever before according to statistics from US mission agencies.
From 2005 to 2008 the number of tentmakers deployed by US agencies grew a dramatic 73.4 percent, an annual growth of 20.1 percent, writes professor A. Scott Moreau in the latest issue of International Bulletin of Missionary Research (IBMR).
Figures in the bulletin show that 3,354 US citizens were serving overseas as tentmakers in 2008. Ten years earlier the number of tentmakers was 1,853.
Overall fifty-nine agencies reported more tentmakers than in 2005, while sixty-two agencies reported fewer, writes Moreau.
Unclear definitions
This is great news and it is wonderful to see that so many agencies make more use of tentmakers in their work. At the same time the IBMR-article raises some crucial questions regarding the nature of the tentmakers reported.
Certainly one advantage to agencies in a tighter economy is that tentmakers can earn at least a part of their salary through their employment or business ventures, states Moreau. This indicates that many of the tentmakers in the statistic cannot live by the money they make and are therefore partly supported by their sending agencies.
The title “tentmaker” is not protected in any way, and anyone who wants to may call themselves tentmakers. Often we hear people describing themselves as tentmakers even when they work and live in their own culture. As long as this label is helping people to gain an identity of being God´s ambassadors where they are this is very well. Then God´s kingdom is made known in new circles and more people are led to Christ.
Great advantages
In the GO-Tent alliance however we promote tentmakers as people crossing cultural borders in order to bring the gospel onwards through their professional work. Most of the people we work with are fully supported through their jobs or through the businesses they have created. There are several advantages to this way of doing tentmaking. Here are some of them:
– When you get your full salary from your job you live under the same conditions as the people around you. Thus you can model what it means to follow Jesus Christ in a common, everyday life.
– Through your work you´ll get in touch with a lot of people in a natural way.
– No one needs to ask you where you are getting money from since you have your full salary from your work.
– All nations are open to Christian professionals. Even countries that are closed to missions have a desire to recruit skilled, Christian workers.
The most sad part of GO´s and Tents jobs as tentmaking mobilizers is to face the fact that we are unable to find workers for so many of the wonderful job openings we get information about in places where Christ´s love is not known. Maybe it is time for you to sign up?