How Are National Missionaries a Key to Overcoming Poverty in South Asia Nations?

National missionaries are a vital part of overcoming poverty in South Asia nations. Because national missionaries were born and raised in the area where they serve, they have fewer cultural barriers to overcome. They can readily share the hope of Jesus with their own countrymen and women. They look and talk the same. They know the culture and the best ways to communicate.

GFA’s national missionaries are handpicked and given the training needed to serve effectively. They have several advantages over missionaries who come from other countries:

• They move freely in restricted areas. Sometimes these areas are not accessible to outsiders. This allows them to minister in under-served areas.
• They understand cultural taboos and can avoid them. This helps them respect those they are serving.
• They know the language well and don’t need to spend years learning a new language. Dialects of nearby people groups are often easily learned.
• They live in the region and know their way around.
• They know the food, clothes and cultural interests of the locals. They often have the same likes, dislikes and interests as those they are serving.
• They have a passion to serve their own people group.

National missionaries serve in a variety of ways. They are God’s ambassadors to their villages and regions. They pray for those who are sick. They provide income-generating gifts to those in poverty. They clean up villages. They provide water wells to villages that don’t have access to clean water. They help parents value education and the future of their children. They want others to know the love of Jesus and have given their lives to this worthy cause.