We have to let go of the idea that being a missionary is about changing people, and embrace the idea that it is about accompanying people. It is not a title of honor; it is a posture of humility.
So, is the term “missionary” dead? Or is it simply waiting for a reboot? Let’s not skip the hard part. The traditional missionary movement has a complicated legacy. For every hospital built or school founded, there was often a culture erased. The unspoken assumption was often: Your way is wrong; our way is right. The goal was to save souls, but the method frequently involved erasing identity.
The pith helmet is gone. The pocket watch is broken. What remains is the quiet, terrifying, glorious call to simply show up and love. Missionary
That core is still beautiful. It is the doctor who leaves a comfortable city practice to treat river blindness in a remote village. It is the teacher who learns a difficult language just to read stories to children who have never held a book. It is the engineer who digs wells not for a contract, but for the quiet joy of clean water.
The old model was additive: We bring Jesus. We bring medicine. We bring schools. We bring civilization. We have to let go of the idea
Because of this, the word carries baggage. In many global south communities, "missionary" is still a slur, shorthand for religious imperialism.
At its absolute core, a missionary is simply someone who is sent . Specifically, someone sent to love people who are not like them. Or is it simply waiting for a reboot
And that, I think, is a mission worth keeping.
But words are living things. They evolve, get bruised by history, and sometimes—if we’re lucky—get redeemed.
For many of us, it’s a specific, grainy snapshot from a history book: a stoic figure in a starched collar, standing awkwardly next to a thatched hut, holding a leather-bound Bible in one hand and perhaps a pocket watch in the other. There’s often a pith helmet involved. The vibe is colonialism, conversion, and cultural superiority.
The best missionaries in history weren't the ones who built the biggest churches. They were the ones who learned the local word for "pain" before they learned the local word for "sin." Here is my proposal for the 21st-century missionary mindset. I call it The Law of Subtraction .
