Abba on the missionfield?
Once upon a time, there was a music team that went on a mission trip with a large mission organization. They had been invited by churches to tour through several countries with Christian music as a form of evangelism. There would be speakers, and the music team would support them with music.
Unfortunately, it turned out several times that the preselection of those churches had not been done very well….
Sometimes the band was simply dropped off at a public square to make music: no speaker, no program, just play some music and people will come naturally… And then what? Who would talk to them? Nobody, because the band was there to make music, and there was no one else….
They were also once dropped off at a courtyard surrounded by several cafés. Same situation: no speaker, good luck tonight!
But what were they supposed to play? “Oh, just play some music that fits the atmosphere of this square: ABBA, Queen, The Beatles… you know those songs, right?”
And there they stood… they had no other option than to play those songs… thousands of kilometers traveled for an evangelistic outreach, and what do you end up playing? “Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight)”. Unbelievable.
Can we all try VERY hard to prevent these kinds of mistakes? On behalf of the missionaries we receive on retreats, who have been deeply wounded by experiences like these: please do. Because this is not an exception, and we are (secondhand) deeply ashamed.
Have you experienced something like this, and are you still struggling with it? Feel free to contact us. You are not the only one this has happened to…. We would love to help you process it, so that you can move forward again. Focus on God, not on people. Do not give the devil an opportunity to silence you.