In the past decade or so, there has been a good, healthy shift in the way we do mission work. North Americans going on mission trips used to go with a view to rescue and save the people they were serving. Now, many groups and individuals have a posture of listening and learning. In People Are the Wealth, native Kenyan Christian Mungai takes this shift further with his vision for global missions, or what he calls “The Great Collaboration.”
Mungai, the global movement pastor at Mariner’s Church in California, has gained a unique understanding of the issues inherent in the old models of mission work: “When you come to Africa, you want to fix Africa,” he writes. “Well, you can’t fix Africa. You must learn to come as listeners and learners.”
He focuses on becoming a bridge builder, whether it be on a cross-cultural mission trip or at the coffee shop down the street. “Anybody who learns the importance of mutual respect, healthy cultural engagement, reciprocal partnerships, and seeing the image of God in everyone can become a bridge builder.”
Seeing the image of God in every human and every ministry is a key concept in these pages. Without that foundation, he writes, we will not see the treasure in the people all around us. Because, as the title asserts, they are the wealth. This means we must make another shift, from content first (i.e. tracts and scripted evangelistic messages) to connection first.
“When we put content before connection we can start treating people as merely the targets of our message, rather than a treasure that prompted God to create the message in the first place.”
Mungai energizes his concepts with lots of stories, something I loved about the book. Readers learn about the Kenyan concept of harambee, or “pulling together” as communities all pitch in for the funerals and education of people they barely know, just because they are in community together.
He tells the story of an American woman his dad helped on a flight once, who never forgot the kindness and years later was prompted to reach out and ended up paying for a chunk of Mungai’s college tuition.
It’s all in how you view people, beyond the obvious. A facilities manager at his church is tapped to go on a mission trip to share the wealth of his years of experience with a new church building project in Africa. An accountant who attends their church doesn’t think she has any gifts to bring to the table, but ends up being a huge help to the church plant trying to balance their budget. Even a church parking lot, seen through new eyes, becomes a Saturday host for a farmer’s market, bringing thousands of unchurched people to the property, resulting in new and curious attendees.
When we “hit the ground listening,” instead of running, we can see with new eyes the image of God in others. We can dignify people with connection and learn from them as we seek to fulfill the Great Commission.
This wise and engaging book should be in every mission committee’s hands as people in the pews consider how they might become more missional here and all over the world.
Whether it’s inviting an international student home for a meal, chatting with our favorite barista, or on a service trip to a far-flung locale, we are never alone. “When we go … on assignment with the Great Collaboration, we don’t take God with us,” Mungai writes. “He is already there.” (Tyndale Elevate)
About the Author
Lorilee Craker, a native of Winnipeg, Man., lives in Grand Rapids, Mich. The author of 16 books, she is the Mixed Media editor of The Banner. Her latest book is called Eat Like a Heroine: Nourish and Flourish With Bookish Stars From Anne of Green Gables to Zora Neale Hurston.