In thinking about whom, when and how to send people on mission or into ministry, I think one qualification stands out. One qualification after we have determined this person meets all the character and ability criteria for the role (which is, probably, the same as those for an elder). We can get caught up in all sorts of other things, but I think this one is a basic backstop.

Don’t send anyone to serve away who hasn’t served at home. That’s it. if a person does no evangelism at home, don’t send them out to do evangelism abroad. If a person has not done any sort of pastoral work at home, don’t send them out to pastor a church elsewhere. If a person hasn’t preached in your pulpit, don’t send them to preach in another pulpit.

No other church will want people that you don’t want. No other church will benefit from people who have been a problem to you. No other church will suddenly find someone a valuable member of the church who hasn’t already been a valuable member of a church. We simply shouldn’t be sending anyone, anywhere, to do anything, unless they have shown some evidence, desire and aptitude for that work at home.

I suspect a lot of churches would be spared a lot of difficulty if we took this criteria a bit more seriously. Few churches are going to benefit from your cast-offs who have been particularly unhelpful to you. The guys another church will probably want are those who have proven particularly helpful to you. Send them your best, not your worst. Send them those helpful members, not just those you are glad to be rid of.