As Christians living in the West, we recognize that we are tremendously privileged. We have the economic wherewithal to support a remarkable number of missionaries on the field. We also have almost unlimited access to the Scriptures, theological training, and the great literary works of historic Christianity. This has been God’s blessing upon the West, and there is no need to apologize for our abundance. However, it is required of us that we be good stewards in using our resources for the advancement of our own faith and in making the same resources available to our brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world. At HeartCry, we strive to make the best use of the resources entrusted to us to advance the kingdom through indigenous missionaries by giving them the support and theological resources that they need to fulfill their calling. The primary avenues of our support are detailed below.

Missionary Support

There is a multitude of indigenous missionaries throughout the world who are laboring faithfully in the places where God has sent them but are hindered by a lack of financial and/or ministry resources. Due to poverty or the lack of established churches, they must devote a large portion of their time and strength to secular labor in order to support their families. As a result, the work often suffers.

At HeartCry, the most significant portion of the financial resources that we receive is designated to the support of indigenous missionaries so that they might devote themselves to their calling, care for their families, and live with dignity among their people. We believe that such a ministry is confirmed by John’s encouragement to Gaius in III John 5-8:

“Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren, and especially when they are strangers; and they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers with the truth.”

Church Planting

At HeartCry, we believe that church planting is the primary task of the Great Commission. There are many gifts and callings in the body of Christ, but all of them must work together on the field toward the planting of biblical churches. It is one thing to do mass evangelism and to boast about the number of decisions made or hands raised; it is quite another to establish a biblical church. Satan will oppose any ministry that purposes to advance Christ’s kingdom, but his greatest disdain and most focused attack is against those who would labor to establish a biblical church in the terrain which he has claimed for himself (I John 5:19).

In Matthew 16:18, the Lord Jesus declared, “I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.” This text assures us that Christ is still at work in the world today, calling out a people who have been redeemed by His blood and set apart for His glory and good pleasure. This redeemed body is most powerfully manifested to the world through local churches that abide in His Word, call upon His name, and love one another. For this reason, HeartCry is dedicated to working with and supporting pastors and missionaries across the globe who labor to establish biblical churches. It is our non-negotiable conviction that this is the greatest need of any nation, people group, or culture.

Chapel Procurement

Many congregations on the foreign field are limited in their ministry by not having an adequate meeting place. In some cultures, the lack of a church building is equated with being a charlatan or a sect that is temporary and disreputable. In other instances, the absence of a building means that a struggling congregation must use whatever offerings it receives to pay exorbitant fees for a facility that is woefully inadequate or may be lost from week to week.  As a result, it can never save the necessary capital to purchase its own land or begin construction.

In such cases, and only after thorough examination of the need, HeartCry will provide the funds necessary for a congregation to procure an adequate facility—whether via the purchase of property, the construction of a permanent structure, or the reimbursement of rental fees. We are always extremely careful with such expenditures, as we prefer to use funds for missionary support, training, and literature. However, the last thirty years have proven that such expenditures are a great encouragement to struggling churches and serve to advance Christ’s kingdom.

Ministry Tools

The work of indigenous missionaries is often limited by the lack of proper tools for ministry. After careful research, HeartCry provides these tools so that the missionaries may fulfill the work to which the Lord has called them. Examples of ministry tools that HeartCry has provided in the past include boats and motors for travel on the remote rivers of South America and Asia, horses and mules for travel in rural and mountainous regions, bicycles, motorcycles, automobiles, sound systems, projectors, computers, software, etc. Although we always seek to be cautious in designating funds to anything other than the support of missionaries, we recognize that this aspect of ministry is indispensable to the work of God, especially in some of the more remote regions of the world.

Literature

Many Christians in remote parts of the world do not own a Bible. Many indigenous missionaries and pastors on the field do not have an adequate library to aid them in the study of the Scriptures. In view of such needs, HeartCry will always labor to assist our partners with Bibles and sound literature through the following three avenues:

• Bible Distribution. God’s infallible Word is absolutely essential. However, it is not uncommon to find congregations in many parts of the world with only one Bible that is shared among the members—in some cases, even the pastor must ask permission from the church to carry the Bible with him during missionary journeys to other villages! This famine of the Word of God is unnecessary and unacceptable. Therefore, HeartCry allocates funds to always be ready to distribute Bibles where they are most needed.
• Pastoral Libraries and Theological Works. Sound theological literature is greatly needed in the missionary endeavor. We have encountered countless indigenous ministers on the field who have served for years and have planted several congregations but have never owned a concordance or a Bible dictionary. In response, we provide pastoral libraries for ministers as well as literature for wider distribution in the church. Our goal is always to provide those works which are essential for the study of Scripture: study Bibles, concordances, dictionaries, commentaries, systematic theologies, biblical workbooks, and all manner of literature on the Christian life. The benefit of such resources cannot be measured.
• Translation. Often, the books or training materials that are most needed among a certain people group have yet to be translated into their language. This is mostly due to the fact that translation is typically a lengthy and costly process. The work requires translators with sufficient theological knowledge and bilingual language skills. In addition, the editing process can often be as difficult and time-consuming as the translation itself. Despite these obstacles, we have discovered that the fruit of such efforts is far beyond the labor and cost required!

Theological Education

The greatest need of the church both at home and abroad is the training of laborers in sound doctrine, godliness, and the ability to communicate God’s truth to God’s people. Therefore, we believe that we can best advance the cause of Christ in the world through the training of His ministers in biblical doctrine and practice (II Timothy 2:2).

At HeartCry, we consider the training of missionaries, pastors, and evangelists to be one of the greatest privileges that God has entrusted to us. Every year, we are blessed to have an influence on the theology and praxis of hundreds of worthy laborers, many of whom have not had the privilege of studying in a formal Bible institute or seminary. In addition to regular personal interactions between our mission coordinators and the missionaries on the field, there are a number of other channels through which we provide training such as:

• Bible conferences on the field and online. These are led by the indigenous leaders in a given region, by HeartCry mission coordinators, or by a network of pastor/theologians that are trusted by HeartCry.

• Bible institutes that are under the supervision of the indigenous church and funded fully or partially by HeartCry.
• Study scholarships that enable missionaries to attend Bible colleges or seminaries in their own country or abroad.