Lay people make the best missionaries

One of the things about the apostle Paul was that his tent-making business allowed him to move from place to place to preach the gospel. Full-time paid gospel workers don't have the ability to go anywhere - they have to go where the jobs are and often have to live very close to where the work is. You might want to work in mission in Bankstown, but if Dural is where the work is then Dural bound you are.

Lay people, on the other hand, often don't have the restriction of having to live near where they work and can choose to live and minister in areas where there are not the resources to pay for a full-time gospel minister. My theory is that the lay people in our churches need to see themselves as the pioneers in Christian mission. The full-time paid workers only follow the hard work of the lay people (and their financial giving for gospel growth).

As we labour in the Lord's field we need to see that we are not playing games but have a serious task to perform - each and every one of us.