CAN TENTMAKERS BE REAL MISSIONARIES?
The assumption is that tentmakers who work forty or more hours a week don’t have as much time as donor supported missionaries for the “real” ministry of teaching, preaching, evangelism, and discipleship. Being “part-time”, they are at best “second class missionaries”.
This reasoning stems from a dichotomized worldview that divides all of life into sacred versus secular spheres. The sacred has eternal value. The secular only has temporal value. “I’m just firing bricks to build the Pharaoh’s pyramid,” said the deacon of a church who is an engineer. To him, church and parachurch workers, who give up secular vocations for the sacred work of ministry have more impactful lives than a layman like himself.
Missionaries therefore deserve even more honor because they leave the security and comforts of their home culture to serve overseas. Finally, martyrs who give up their lives for the faith are most venerated. But this spiritual hierarchy is not biblical.
God’s creation mandate is for man to care for the world and keep it in good order (Gen 1:28, 2:15). In caring for the earth and stewarding its resources, man is reflecting the image of God that has been placed in him. The pleasure from work well done is a gift from God (Eccl 5:19). Even the labor of a first century slave, performed in the spirit of service to the Lord, is worthy of divine reward (Col 3:22-24, Eph 6:5-7). Protestant Reformers, John Calvin and Martin Luther taught that all work is a sacred calling from God to glorify Him and benefit humanity. There is no distinction between greater and lesser vocations.
Therefore, the vocation of a tentmaker is a divine calling that fulfills God’s creation mandate for man. Furthermore, the tentmaker’s job puts him consistently in the company of non-believers, making his workplace a ready, natural, and accessible mission field for his redemptive mandate.
Local people are always observing the foreigner’s conduct and performance. If the tentmaker shows an excellent spirit like Daniel in the Old Testament, it will not go unnoticed. When people see the gospel in action, they will be likely to ask what makes the Christian different. The tentmaker’s witness through his work is preparing the soil and sowing seeds for a spiritual harvest. Meanwhile, he is supporting himself and providing goods and services to the benefit of the host country’s economy.
Tentmaking missions is incarnational and holistic. It fulfills God’s creation mandate for man to work and the redemptive mandate to witness. He is every bit a real and full-time missionary.
(excerpt from Spring Networker 2023)