Missional churches are churches that are driven to support worldwide missions through resources and manpower. Missionary churches are churches started by missionaries. Are they the same thing?

Protestant churches have only been in the Philippines (where I live) for a little over 100 years. Many Protestant churches are 1st-generation missionary churches. That is, foreign missionaries started these churches. Once you have added 2nd-generation and 3rd-generation churches, you have a huge percentage of the churches here.

One might expect that churches started by missionaries should be missional. One would think that a church would in some way fit the mold of the founder. I am reminded of the church in Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick”. The church was founded and built by a former whaling ship captain. The building, pulpit, and sermons draw on ocean and whaling themes. This just makes sense.

But Protestant churches in the Philippines (in my experience at least) are not missional. They do not support missionaries, except as tentmakers (and do little to nothing to train, empower, and encourage such tentmaker missionaries). Those who want to go into cross-cultural missions are not supported and are, in fact, generally encouraged to stay in the church working on local ministry. (There are exceptions… but so few.)

Why is this? I would like to offer a suggestion. This suggestion is consistent with some comments I have heard from other missionaries.

Missionaries did not come to the Philippines to create missionaries. They did not want to create missionaries. For decades, missionaries have been supposed to come from Western countries (or perhaps South Korea). Missionaries are not supposed to come from the Philippines. The Philippines is supposed to receive missionaries, not send them.

So what were the missionaries doing in the Philippines?  They were seeking to create local churches that would create other local churches. They were seeking to create local pastors who would train up other local pastors.

So, in effect, the churches created did develop in the image of their founders. The churches in the Philippines created are focused on local church growth, local church multiplication, and local church leader development.

But sometimes it is best to leave the founders behind and for churches to make their own way. The Philippines is poised to change the world.

There is a “prophecy” given by a self-styled prophet that the Philippines will do great things in sharing the gospel with the world. To say I am skeptical of the prophet is an understatement. But that does not mean that I disagree with the thought that the Philippines is poised to change the world.

However, doing this may happen regardless of whether foreign missionaries will jump on board.