Missionaries – should we pay them more?

In Johannesburg, where I used to live, electricity supply was not always that predictable. Sadly, it was far worse in the poorer rural areas, where many (even today) have no access to the national power grid.

When I ministered in South Africa, I knew of a missionary who moved to work amongst such people. When he arrived, he immediately decided to live like the locals. He moved into a very poorly constructed house and lived without any electricity and water. At first, I thought this all sounded very noble. It certainly fitted with some of my stereotypes about ‘mission work’. But all the locals he worked amongst thought it was an extremely odd decision.

‘Why would you choose to live like this?’ the locals said. ‘If we had a choice, we would certainly not choose suffering.’

Consequently, the young missionary built a brick house and secured electricity along with running water. The locals did not respect him any less as a result, and I came to see the reasonableness of the move.

Yet this way of thinking about missionaries seems to subtly persist in many evangelical circles today. ‘You want to be a missionary pastor? Well then you must be willing to be poor, because the people you will be ministering amongst are poor.’ No doubt such thinking stems from a desire to remove barriers to the gospel, but when one studies the lives of some of our missionary heroes the above mindset does not seem to feature much.

Consider the example of William Carey. When Adonaraim Judson and his wife Harriet visited Carey (on their way to Burma) they noted his lack of financial and practical deficiency. According to Harriet Judson, the stone house belonging to Dr Carey in 1812 was ‘so large, that to her wondering eyes, it looked like a palace’. While it is likely Carey was influenced by British Imperialism, there could be no questioning of Carey’s sacrificial gospel work among the poorest of the poor.

All this makes me wonder if we are thinking rightly on this topic. Here are two Biblical reasons why I believe we should not pay missionaries poorly simply because they work among the poor.

1. Churches are called to honour their pastors with generous pay

The New Testament instructs the church to honour her leaders (1Thess.5:12; Heb.13:17). We should treat them with special respect, without placing them in a special class of Christian. One of the ways such respect is given is by paying the pastor well. Observe how Paul frames his instruction to pay the elder generously: ‘Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honour, especially those who labour in preaching and teaching’ (1 Tim.5:17). Therefore, we should not be surprised or offended if pastors in poorer settings, like a mission field, are entrusted with a more affluent lifestyle relative to some of their church members.

2. Missionaries may leave their work on Biblical grounds

The nagging idea that we should impoverish the missionary has unintended and potentially disastrous consequences. Such people may consider leaving their work among the poor, merely so that they can provide basic necessities for their families. While the missionary pastor must certainly not be driven by money (1 Tim. 6:6-10; 1 Peter 5:2), in the event that he is forced to choose between ‘ministry-plus-poverty’ and ‘ministry-minus-poverty’ he cannot be blamed for choosing the latter.

Think of the scenario where a missionary-pastor is labouring amongst the poor somewhere in the world. This pastor is a particularly gifted preacher and evangelist, but he is supported in very minimal way by his sending church. His family really struggles to get by, and his wife is fairly discouraged. Imagine that he is then called by another church, located in a more middle-income neighbourhood. Imagine further that this other church offers him a manse, a hospitality budget, a better salary, etc. Is the missionary wrong to consider this other ministry opportunity based on his ability to provide for his family? He is, after all, a husband and father before he is a pastor.

When we structure a missionary-pastor’s support in the poorer areas, such that there is a significant gap between his pay and that of his colleagues elsewhere, we create an incentive that perversely undermines ministry among the poor. This incentivises godly men away from the poorer mission fields as they quite rightly consider provision for their families, which is obedience to the Lord.

It goes without saying that pastors ought to be model stewards with their finances. They must not be working with the aim of becoming rich, and they must not be seen to chase after wealth and earthly pleasures. Nonetheless, we must recognise the huge responsibility for every Christian husband and father to provide for his family. Thus, it seems unkind and short-sighted for churches to support missionaries in such a way that they are often forced to choose between their mission and their family.

Certainly, gospel work in poorer areas brings with it many additional burdens. And fewer men are drawn to these hard places as a result. We should aim to encourage more men to consider labouring in these needy places. But when we further insist that they must live in poverty, we create even greater hindrances to work among the poor. These hindrances are unreasonable and appear to be unbiblical too.