![Missionary work](https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/dailytitan.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/0/2c/02c79e7a-6a6b-11eb-81bf-679b25779c6f/6021ddfb14aa7.image.jpg?resize=150%2C195 150w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/dailytitan.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/0/2c/02c79e7a-6a6b-11eb-81bf-679b25779c6f/6021ddfb14aa7.image.jpg?resize=200%2C260 200w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/dailytitan.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/0/2c/02c79e7a-6a6b-11eb-81bf-679b25779c6f/6021ddfb14aa7.image.jpg?resize=225%2C292 225w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/dailytitan.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/0/2c/02c79e7a-6a6b-11eb-81bf-679b25779c6f/6021ddfb14aa7.image.jpg?resize=300%2C390 300w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/dailytitan.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/0/2c/02c79e7a-6a6b-11eb-81bf-679b25779c6f/6021ddfb14aa7.image.jpg?resize=400%2C520 400w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/dailytitan.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/0/2c/02c79e7a-6a6b-11eb-81bf-679b25779c6f/6021ddfb14aa7.image.jpg?resize=540%2C702 540w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/dailytitan.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/0/2c/02c79e7a-6a6b-11eb-81bf-679b25779c6f/6021ddfb14aa7.image.jpg?resize=640%2C832 640w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/dailytitan.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/0/2c/02c79e7a-6a6b-11eb-81bf-679b25779c6f/6021ddfb14aa7.image.jpg?resize=750%2C974 750w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/dailytitan.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/0/2c/02c79e7a-6a6b-11eb-81bf-679b25779c6f/6021ddfb14aa7.image.jpg?resize=990%2C1286 990w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/dailytitan.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/0/2c/02c79e7a-6a6b-11eb-81bf-679b25779c6f/6021ddfb14aa7.image.jpg?resize=1035%2C1345 1035w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/dailytitan.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/0/2c/02c79e7a-6a6b-11eb-81bf-679b25779c6f/6021ddfb14aa7.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C1559 1200w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/dailytitan.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/0/2c/02c79e7a-6a6b-11eb-81bf-679b25779c6f/6021ddfb14aa7.image.jpg?resize=1263%2C1641 1333w)
(Jade Mclntyre/Daily Titan)
Due to the patterns of corruption and flawless execution of the infamous white savior complex in the United States, the evangelical church and its global mission efforts have been a controversial topic for years.
Missionary work is a practice intended to educate diverse communities about Jesus Christ and his teachings of love and kindness. This motive is not at all cruel or discriminatory, but when missionaries move away from their religious calling and follow their own personal will, they preserve their personal interests over communities.
When one considers the extent of the damage caused by American missionaries in several countries, one must wonder how long it will take for these churches to stop their global activities and work harder to first help those who are struggling in their own communities.
The romanticized idea that one must go on a quest, or more realistically take a 20-hour trip on a middle-class plane, visit rural villagers, take pictures with them as if they were at the zoo, give them a multitude of resources and never communicate. with them is racist, classist and should never be affiliated with God.
Viewing their self-centered operations as humanism, these believers are sadly blinded by their own destruction, some of which stems from the corruption of indigenous communities.
According to the Atlanta Black Star, Christian missionaries have been accused of bribing communities with food, clothing, tools and medicine in order to coerce them into conversion, forcing them to make an agonizing choice between religious freedom and survival. Setting out on a mission to promote love and salvation, these people leave foreign countries after sometimes manipulating vulnerable people and insulting the belief systems of others.
If the true purpose of a missionary is simply to teach the word of God, why are so many dedicated to meeting an insignificant quota for inauthentic salvation?
While mistreating members of a country they were not invited to for their own righteousness, evangelical missionaries were accused of labeling indigenous religions as “Satanism”, stealing children from their families, taking samples of illegal blood and even accuse medical establishments of infanticide.
In 2019, a lawsuit was filed against Renee Bach, a Virginia native who moved to Uganda when she was 18 and founded the charity Serving His Children.
Bach often played the role of a doctor while dressed in a white coat with a stethoscope around her neck as she administered sick and malnourished children at her facility for short-term medical treatment, and Bach herself administered medication.
At a glance, Bach’s decision to settle in Uganda and provide medical treatment to sick children is worthy of praise and awe. Unfortunately, Bach never received any medical training before his move. According to The Sun, his performance as a licensed doctor led to accusations of causing the deaths of hundreds of babies.
The ability of these missionaries to prey on innocent communities, going so far as to corrupt or falsify medical knowledge and label it a religious quest, is a clear example of how out of touch with reality many appear to be.
Traveling the world simply to sow terror and promote Western ideals is frankly a waste of airfare. However, these missionaries might not feel as justified in committing their heinous crimes if they had committed them within their own communities rather than among the rural indigenous tribes they feel so inclined to help.
Missionary work is not inherently evil or racist, but its execution is. If evangelical missionaries want to make a real difference in the world and truly promote the love of Christ, they can start in their own communities.
There are people suffering everywhere. Across the country, families are hungry, homeless and in need of immediate resources. The belief that one must go to people whose beliefs differ from traditional American values to fulfill one’s religious duty promotes white savior perspectives and distracts from the fact that approximately 30 million people in the United States live in poverty.
Instead of visiting foreign regions and assuming that their communities are in dire need of salvation and support, evangelical missionaries can have a greater impact by simply helping the people around them.