The Great Commission Is Changing Hands
For much of modern missionary history, the movement of the Gospel followed a familiar pattern: Europe sent missionaries abroad, then North America became the dominant sending force of the global Church.
But according to veteran missions recruiter Scott Gillespie — speaking from decades of experience with Action International Ministries — that era is rapidly evolving.
“God is raising up the church in other parts of the world to take the place of what North Americans used to do,” he explains. “Africa, Asia, Latin America… they’re saying now it’s our turn.”
What Scott describes is not merely organizational growth. It is part of a broader transformation recognized across global Christianity. In recent decades, the demographic center of Christianity has shifted dramatically toward the Global South. Researchers at The Center for the Study of Global Christianity estimate that the majority of the world’s Christians now live in Africa, Latin America, and parts of Asia — a profound reversal from a century ago.
That change is increasingly visible on the mission field itself.
Scott describes Brazilians serving in South Africa, Filipinos ministering in Mexico, and local believers within developing nations carrying the Gospel to unreached people groups inside their own borders. Many are coming from countries that once primarily received missionaries from the West.
Now they are becoming missionaries themselves.
For Action International, this shift is reshaping the organization’s future. More long-term workers are emerging directly from the regions where the ministry already operates, creating partnerships that are culturally informed, locally rooted, and globally minded.
Yet, Scott is equally passionate about the role short-term missions continue to play in awakening people to God’s purposes.
Having participated in nearly 25 short-term trips over three decades, he reflects on a paradox many missionaries understand well: often the visitor feels more transformed than the people they intended to serve.
“I got more out of it than they did,” he admits with a laugh — before acknowledging that local believers often say exactly the opposite.
One story especially stayed with him: a young Canadian actuary who joined a brief mission trip to the Philippines simply to observe what God was doing overseas before beginning his professional career. He had no intention of becoming a missionary.
Today, that same young man serves long-term overseas, using his professional skills in ministry and building a life far beyond anything he originally imagined.
For Scott, stories like these reinforce a simple but urgent challenge to believers everywhere: stop waiting for perfect qualifications.
“Look at the gifts and abilities God has given you,” he says. “God has a reason and a plan in mind for you.”
The center of gravity in global missions may be shifting. But the invitation remains the same: take what God has placed in your hands — and go.
