Why Nationals?
At OTAN, we believe that training nationals to reach nationals is the most effective method of bringing the gospel to the “uttermost” parts of Asia. It is also the method modeled by the apostle Paul in the Book of Acts as he traveled from city to city and country to country training the nationals to do God’s work. Rather than creating a culture of dependency on churches in the United States, OTAN strives to empower local Asian churches to flourish and grow in faith, knowledge, and maturity.
By nationals, we mean trained, tried, faithful, and educated men of God who are pastors and evangelists working to evangelize their own country and culture. These men of God already know the language and culture, thus saving months and years of training required by a Western missionary.
Nationals are able to fully assimilate the gospel of our Lord and Savior into their culture, without compromise, so that their people will have a better understanding of Christianity.
A national pastor can work in countries controlled by a hostile government or hostile religion with much less confrontation. These men are the only method of evangelization available to their people. They are, however, without tools and material.
The job of evangelizing the masses in Asia can never be accomplished through the traditional missionary-sending method alone. We must activate, finance, and provide for the national pastors and evangelists in order to complete the work.
A national pastor in most Asian countries needs approximately 10% of the support costs of a North American missionary overseas.
Nationals Are
- Fluent in the national language
- Faultless with culture
- Faces that “fit in with the crowd”
- Forget visa/passport problems
- Family and support system nearby
- Furlough – not needed
- Financially efficient