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Question: If missionaries do humanitarian work (food distribution, teaching skills/trades, disaster relief, medical care, etc.), doesnt that distract them from preaching the Gospel?

Ray: The Bible describes man as a unified whole. The physical and spiritual parts of man have incredible influence on each other. In places where there is physical suffering, people tend to be more open to Gods Word if we also seek to meet their obvious needs.

Q: Language learning is expensive and time consuming. Isnt it better to just invest your time in ministry and speak through an interpreter?


A: It is impossible to separate language from culture. One must have an intimate knowledge of the culture in order to minister effectively in it. Another reason to invest time in language acquisition is that those who speak it will be much more apt to take the learner and his message seriously. As Americans we expect people (especially professionals) coming into the US to learn English. Our willingness to listen to them is often based on how well they have learned to speak our language. The same attitude about language is held by people worldwide.