By Phil Knott, Former International Missions Director • BMA of America
Believe it or not, the nations of Peru, Turkey, Panama and Mozambique all have something in common. They are all points of interest on the world map for the churches of the BMA of Costa Rica.
Missionaries and families from Costa Rica, commissioned and supported by their home churches, have gone to those far-flung places, following a calling and vision for global missions. Pastors and leaders decided some years ago that they had been a receiving nation. Now they want to be a sending nation.
Achieving that vision required some level of organization and associational structure. One of the challenges in global missions is often the transition from American missionaries to national, homegrown leadership. Costa Rican churches certainly went through a period of change and growth in that area.
There is always the inevitable tension between the old and the new, the known and the unknown, going from the comfortable (receiving) to the uncomfortable challenge of doing it on your own (sending). Three things were necessary to push through that wall of resistance — adaptability, teamwork and unity.
• The first step, a very important asset, is establishing a clear vision and calling. That starts with pastoral leadership at the local church level, where people live and have a sense of calling and service that is born and nurtured. Costa Rican churches have been blessed with a high level of pastoral ministry. The founding work of BMA Missions in the country always involved training, teaching and encouraging pastors.
• The next step would eventually come — ownership of a missionary vision. That began, of course, with planting new churches in other towns and cities, but soon led to the dream of going beyond their own borders. Achieving that step required not only people willing to pick up and move but also people willing to take risks, understand complicated logistics and have a level of partnerships they had never attempted.
• The final element is a long-term commitment. You can’t uproot families and send them around the world without some sense of purpose and persevering faith that stands the test of time. Today, Costa Rica is a sending nation with a strong network of established churches and a thriving BMA Costa Rica to help sustain the missionary vision.
