‘The work of missions is urgent, but it’s not frantic,’ says Andy Johnson. He’s right. Too many missionaries in their creative and rapid methods forget this. Here’s what else Johnson says on the same page of his book, Missions: How the local church goes global, under the subheading, ‘Beware of a Focus on Speed, Numbers, and Magic Bullets.’

• ‘A word of caution needs to be said as we consider our missions engagements. As we evaluate missions projects, agencies, and workers we need to realize that our natural affinity for speed, big numbers, and shortcuts can sometimes lead to tragic results in missions.

• ‘I’ve personally visited several countries where well-meaning missionaries became so urgent in their desire for speed and numbers, and so careless in their methods, that new churches were declared planted and then abandoned in a manner resembling spiritual abortions more than births. Their desire for shortcuts meant that the slow work of patient biblical teaching was cast aside.’

-Johnson, p68

(GSiV: Missions and Evangelism; Evangelism and Calvinism; Researching Calvinism and Missions?; Healthy Church and Missions–part 1;Faithfulness, Missions (and Speed?); Rapid)