Making Disciples Instead of Converts

“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’” (Matthew 28:18-20, NIV)



I wake up for yet another day of my 10-week intercultural studies internship in Cambodia, fully aware of the tropical heat, dusty streets, and eventful day that await me. After eating some breakfast and running around, as usual, trying to get ready in time to leave, my two internship teammates and I leave our apartment and head out for the orphanage a few minutes outside of Siem Reap town. Today will not be a typical day, for my two teammates and I will be helping a short-term missions team from the U.S. conduct a one-day Vacation Bible School at the orphanage for the orphans and the children from the surrounding community. We arrive at the orphanage and, upon the short-term team’s arrival, strategize and commence the day’s activities. My job is to pass out coloring books and crayons to each of the rotating groups of children that come into my small classroom. Simple enough.



Today becomes a significant point of reflection for me, but not so much due to my repetitive yet fast-paced rotating coloring regimen. Instead, I find the day to be particularly significant when I meet a young Cambodian boy with a clear dedication to conscientious coloring. Unlike many of the children who, like many American children, fail to remain or to even strive to remain inside the lines, this young boy has obvious concern for the quality of his work. When it is time for the boys’ group to finish coloring and meet the other children in the mess hall to eat lunch and conclude Vacation Bible School, the boy asks me, nonverbally of course, if he can keep his box of crayons. This presents a dilemma, for while the children are supposed to keep their coloring books, I have no permission to give them the crayons. I struggle to communicate to the little boy that I will ask someone and give him the crayons if I can.

Now I have something really substantial to do today, for the coloring books the children have been coloring tell the story of Jesus, and, if the little boy I’ve met takes a box of crayons home, I really believe he will take the time to color his coloring book and learn of Jesus every page along the way. I ask around about giving the boy the crayons and, eventually, find the little boy again and discreetly hand him his gift of colored wax. I’ve done my deed.

But have I? There’s no doubt in my mind that I’ve done the right thing, no doubt that it is good for the little boy to have those crayons and to color his story-of-Jesus coloring book. There is doubt about how much I’ve really done, however, and about how the story will progress or end. By the end of my internship, after one of my teammates and I have given a Khmer-English Bible to two of our Buddhist friends, this question is not just something that I’m forced to think about in terms of one pack of crayons, one little boy, and one story-of-Jesus coloring book. This question is something I’m forced to think about in terms of missions in general.

So many times those of us with a heart for missions pride ourselves on how many “converts” we can claim. Perhaps we even pride ourselves on how many “seeds” we’ve planted, never really being concerned with how those seeds are watered or what fruit those seeds bear. Aside from the fact that missions should be about working for a greater realization of the kingdom of God and not just about saving souls, when we’re specifically talking about confessing Christ as Lord and Savior, we need to understand that Jesus’ desire is not converts but disciples (Matthew 28:19). And here we find the down-and-dirty work of the many long-term missionaries on the field. My giving crayons to the little boy who wanted to keep coloring his story-of-Jesus coloring book was undoubtedly a worthy action, not unlike giving a Bible to a Buddhist friend.

Yet, as someone in Cambodia for only a short time, I must acknowledge the limitations of my actions and highly value the ongoing efforts of the long-term missionaries who work day and night not only sowing but also watering and reaping the harvest. Only as we come to understand the significance of making disciples instead of converts can those of us involved in short-term internships or missions trips understand our true place of supporting the work of the missionaries in it for the long haul.

May the hard work be done in this world, Lord, and may You use us in whatever way You see fit to accomplish Your purpose. Amen.

~ Breanna Dillon

Breanna is a senior intercultural studies major at Lee University. She traveled to Cambodia for her required 10-week internship during the summer of 2007.