Churches in mission areas around the world are facing a “brain-drain” as their best and brightest church leaders often are lured to the U.S. for more prestigious positions, according to a missions specialist. Pastors, seminary professors and others in independent organizations are being lured to U.S. ministries because they can offer better pay and more comfortable surroundings, says Jim Reapsome in the missions newsletter World Pulse.
Reapsome, whose article is cited in Charisma News Service (March 14), says that world missions are being gradually depleted by the flow of evangelical talent to the U.S., often because of Americans’ “predatory practices” of recruiment.
Reapsome cites the case of Sri Lankan evangelical leader Ajith Fernando as he is continually faced with enticing offers to leave his local ministry and join international agencies or to teach in the U.S. Despite personal risks and much lower pay and standard of living, Fernendo has declined such offers and has stayed in his war-torn country.
