I've just spent a week in a country I doubt you'd want to live in; I don't think I would. It's a country wracked by multi-level poverty, which makes it a difficult place to visit and an even more difficult place to live. (NB: for the security of the people involved, I've deliberately omitted the name of the country.) The economic poverty is apparent on every street corner: buildings and infrastructure are run-down, food is scarce and expensive, and essential services are hard to access. But perhaps more pressing is the overwhelming social poverty—expressed in a lack of relationships, constant mistrust and suspicion, and the reality that you are being ‘watched’.

Ultimately, this country is suffering from great spiritual poverty. Churches are few and far between (although growing), there is not even a hint of spiritual matters in the general tone of society, and Christians are institutionally and systematically discriminated against. It's a very difficult place to live and to minister in, and most residents harbour dreams of one day leaving. Many already have. It has one of the lowest annual population growth rates in the world—mainly because of the numbers of people leaving.

In the midst of this multi-level poverty, I met a most generous and active ministry family. Over lunch after church, they shared with me the difficulty of life and ministry in their country—particularly the ‘brain drain’ that the country is suffering, as the best and brightest move offshore. This phenomena is not only affecting the professions, but ordained and lay ministry as well. All too often, as soon as someone has some ministry experience and some sort of qualification, their eyes begin to look overseas. The week I was there, another youth group leader had been farewelled as he went overseas to seek a better life—and to be honest, not many people blame him.

Over and over, we in well-resourced, educated and economically secure churches are urged to consider the costly decision of leaving home for missionary service—and rightly so. There are people groups all around the world locked in darkness because the light of the gospel has not yet reached them. We need to be sending and supporting an army of missionaries to go beyond our shores, to cross cultures and to share the gospel.

But sometimes the costly decision is to stay. My friends are both highly qualified and could easily follow others to a ‘better life’. I asked them why they are still here, and with tears, they asked me, “If we were to leave, what would happen to the gospel in our country?” And they are right. This family are loved and admired by the Christian community, and they are key leaders. If they left, many more would follow. But they have decided to make a costly ministry decision—not to leave and cross a culture, but to stay in their own culture and minister. And they have decided to stay. Their decision is and will continue to be costly for themselves, costly for their family and costly for their future.

The week raised all sorts of questions for me. But perhaps at the top of the list is Jesus' command in Luke 9:23—particularly in the context of ‘climbing the life ladder’. It raised again for me the question of what we are prepared to give up for the gospel. I expect that, for most of us, the question of where we are prepared to serve is probably best asked in the context of “Where are we prepared to go?”. But in this week, I met people who need out prayers for strength, for steadfastness and for a willingness not to go, but to stay for the sake of the gospel.

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