“The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; pray ye the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9:37-38)
Recently, I found myself in a discussion about the growing number of churches searching for pastors and associate pastors. Just a year ago, while visiting one of our supporting churches, the pastor shared a sobering statistic: thirty missionaries they supported had left the field for various reasons, and only seventeen replacements had been found so far. This shortage isn’t limited to the United States; the situation is equally dire, if not worse, in Brazil.
In 1998, Brazil had five independent Baptist Bible schools, each with at least 20 students preparing for ministry. By 2008, three of those schools had closed, and the remaining two had not grown in student numbers. Conversations with pastors and youth workers over the past two years reveal a troubling trend: fewer young people are surrendering to ministry, and even the number of students preparing for Christian education is declining.
It’s important to recognize that this isn’t just a recent issue. Nearly 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ made the statement quoted above. At that time, the harvest field had a population of 150 to 300 million. In Palestine alone, there were about 600,000 people. Jesus called twelve apostles from among His followers, and according to Paul, there were at least 520 disciples at the time of His resurrection. Each disciple was responsible for reaching thousands, highlighting the immense challenge even then.
Fast forward to today: the world’s population has soared to 8.2 billion—41,000 times greater than in Jesus’ day. While the number of Christians has grown (estimated at 660 million evangelical Christians worldwide), if all were truly born again and actively serving, each would only need to reach 12 people. Sadly, this is far from reality. The low number of missionaries and the high number of empty pulpits prove that Jesus’ statement remains true.
So, what’s the solution? Jesus gave us the answer: PRAYER. To pray means to ask or beg. We are called to pray that the Lord of the harvest—Jesus Himself—would send laborers. A sincere and submissive prayer, with genuine concern for the ripe fields, is the first step toward seeing more laborers.
With so few entering the field, it’s clear that something isn’t aligning with the Lord’s principle. The problem isn’t with the Lord of the harvest, who promises to answer prayers according to His will. God desires the world to be reached, so the issue must be with the petitioners. James teaches that unanswered prayer results from asking incorrectly (James 4:3). We shouldn’t pray for laborers out of convenience or self-interest. It was after Isaiah recognized the need to proclaim God’s truth, he declared, “Here am I Lord, send me” (Isaiah 6:8).
We must pray with true knowledge of the need. Many Christians, like the proverbial ostrich, avoid making the challenge personal. Missionary presentations and conferences are often less attended because personal involvement is uncomfortable. Many are content that their church supports missions but remain uninvolved themselves, resulting in infrequent and less fervent prayers.
Sometimes, this lack of knowledge stems from the local church leadership. Without a vision for missionary need, individual members lack vision too. Strong involvement in praying for and sending missionaries produces workers for both foreign and local ministry. Churches that actively share missionary news and challenges see more young people surrendering to missions and greater participation from members.
Perhaps the saddest obstacle is family opposition to those who surrender during missions conferences or Bible camps. Many families, even Christian ones, hold a materialistic worldview, believing it’s better for young people to pursue stable, enjoyable professions. Yet, the biblical worldview teaches that God’s will is good, acceptable, and perfect (Romans 12:2). Anything outside God’s will is less than ideal. Satan may offer seemingly attractive opportunities, but the true answer lies in surrendering to God’s will and praying for laborers. When believers are truly surrendered and pleading for laborers, God will call and send them—both at home and abroad.