Empowering Locals: A Strategic Way to Build the Kingdom - Part 3
In March 2023, I went to Nosy-Be, Madagascar, to visit a village called Ambatozavavy. I was visiting on behalf of Spoken, an organization where I work. While there, I experienced how powerful it is to empower locals. The leaders in this community wake up early and labor in the harvest for many hours. Then they must find time to be a guide in an Eco-Park close to their village to provide for their family. Even so, they are committed to serving Jesus faithfully by carving out time for ministry!
I saw a stark contrast as I looked at their reality and compared it to our Western culture. We receive salaries and sit in a comfy chair with fabulous headphones and noise isolation to help our focus. We even choose from many different types of mugs to enjoy our coffee!
At Lead by the Name, we simplify the common mission strategy of the West by empowering locals to serve with the gifts God has given them. The common Western strategy of sending missionaries is more expensive, takes more time, and is often unnecessary. We have found that the locals are capable of effective ministry when they are given the opportunity.
Sometimes in the Western mind, we feel we are more “capable,” but we would like to propose that is more about opportunities than being more capable. If the locals could have the same opportunities, what could they do it?
One example is Spoken Worldwide (www.spoken.org), a ministry focused on oral people—those cultures who communicate orally rather than through the written word. Spoken Worldwide empowers locals to translate the Bible into their language, using an oral translation that communicates to their hearts. The locals lead the projects. Spoken serve them by providing them with the “comfy chair” opportunities—consultants, books, salaries, tools, etc.
Empowering locals is the way! They can do the work and are better qualified to minister in their own culture. We still need people going overseas, but it is not the only and primary option. It’s time to empower locals—with finances and salaries, training, and tools. We can walk alongside them (not in front of them) and serve them.
Eduardo Mendes
Founder and President
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