One-Way Missionaries: No Turning Back
By JoAnne Meckstroth
Can you imagine what it would be like to buy a one-way ticket to a remote part of the world, pack all your belongings in a wooden coffin, and wave goodbye to your past? There was a breed of missionaries around the turn of the 20th century who did just that. Determined to finish their lives in the calling that lead them forward, they were described as “one-way missionaries.”
Peter Milne was one of them. He headed off to Nguna, New Hebrides to minister to a tribe of headhunters. Though other missionaries had been martyred in the effort, Milne didn’t shrink back into safe Christianity. He looked at them through God’s eyes and lived among them without faulting their pagan culture. Had he done so, the locals would have cut off his head.
Martyrdom, however, was not his goal. Instead, he focused on introducing the dynamic faith of Jesus Christ with such tremendous power and reality, that when the people of the community experienced it, their old ways fell away. The tribe wrote the following words on his tombstone, “When he came there was no light. When he left there was no darkness.”1
What an incredible inscription of someone’s life. Milne introduced them to a holy existence that changed the way they thought, talked, and lived. What might our communities look like if we faced our calling with the same “no turning back” attitude?
The Spirit of Caleb
When did we start thinking God wants to send us to safe places to do easy things? Jesus didn’t die to keep us safe—he died to make us dangerous. To be a prophetic gateway that reveals God’s thoughts, His unwavering authority, and His heart of unconditional love. To be so completely fearless in our faith that when Satan sees us coming, he hides in fear.
History is filled with dangerous Christians who have packed up courage and taken heaven’s story to familiar and not so familiar places. Bill Johnson said, “Build history with God and he will build history through you.
Caleb, the less celebrated friend of Joshua, led a godly, consecrated life. He had the heart of a one-way missionary—a no-turning-back attitude and a mindset to win. Because of his tenacity, Moses chose him as one of the twelve spies sent on the famous reconnaissance mission to check out the Promise Land.
All the spies saw the giants living in the land God wanted to give Israel, but neither Caleb nor Joshua allowed the sight to rattle them. They compared the giants to the Almighty God and brought back a positive report. “The land is full of milk and honey. Yes, there are giants, but we can do this, Moses. God is with us.”
The other ten spies compared the giants to themselves. “We are like grasshoppers next to them. We’ll never win. They’ll kill us all.” They surrendered to fear and begged Moses to turn back to Egypt—preferring the safety of what was familiar (slavery) to the unknown dangers they’d face by seeking freedom.
No matter how loudly they wailed, however, Moses was not about to take them backward. Instead, the Israelites wandered in circles for forty years, as the harsh, unforgiving desert, tested their beliefs, values, and dreams.
Caleb in a Skirt
My friend Dr. Janet Mangum invited me to minister on the island of Fiji. Each day the team members were sent on ministry assignments to different villages and churches in the area. On one such occasion, I preached my heart out in a church filled with young people.
As I was saying goodbye to the congregation, the pastor slipped a piece of paper into my hand. On it was scrawled this note. “Pastor JoAnne, I see the spirit of Caleb upon you— just as he carried a different spirit, so do you. You are a dangerous woman—a giant slayer. Just as Caleb conquered mountains in his old age, so shall you.” This prophetic word confirmed what I already knew—I was different from my religious friends. My family thought I was crazy. And I was—crazy in love with Jesus. That day I reaffirmed my commitment and trusted Him to bring this personal prophecy to pass. (Psalms 37:1–11)
Still, I had many questions. What was different about Caleb’s spirit? What part of his character did I need to carve into mine?
Give Me This Mountain
Even though they didn’t enter Canaan until he was advanced in years, the land of promise still burned in Caleb’s heart. He was as passionate in his eighties about slaying giants and taking their land as he had been in his forties.
When Joshua began to parcel out the land, there was old Caleb, waiting in line. He must have looked out of place amongst the buff, muscular young men in his tribe—his leathered face etched with deep wrinkles and sun-parched, sagging skin. None of that intimidated him. Pounding his staff into the ground, he declared, “I’m as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me to spy out the land. Just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war. Now give me this mountain” (Joshua 14:11).
Numbers 14:24 says Caleb had another spirit—meaning he was divinely connected to the Holy Spirit. When Caleb heard from God, he set his face like flint and never looked back. This gave the Lord complete freedom to accomplish His work through him.
Caleb exemplified his name—wholehearted, brave, and faithful. He understood Kingdom authority and knew what to do with it. His mind didn’t yield to the world’s way of thinking. He didn’t doubt God’s greatness, nor did he fear the giants. This “one-way missionary” was kingdom-minded and kingdom-motivated to the core.
He was excited about establishing the Kingdom of God in Hebron. When he defeated the three Anakim clans and took over the town, he replaced their wicked ways with an alternative (and superior) way. God’s Kingdom created a culture that honored God as “Lord of all the earth.” It caused His voice to be heard and followed among the affairs of men.
Once Caleb plundered hell’s property and slew its giants, God deployed him as a Kingdom-infused leader. He looked beyond Caleb’s external circumstances and awakened the powerful leader inside of him. He was no longer Caleb the warrior slaying giants and conquering a mountain—but a strong and compassionate man leading the people living on the mountain. By faith, Caleb introduced them to a new way of thinking, behaving, and living. By faith, the people followed these new standards, and a new culture was born in the land.
All this, because Caleb refused to turn back.
No Turning Back
You and I can have “another spirit” just like Caleb. God has given us authority to establish the eternal, unshakable Kingdom right here, right now, by exposing and undoing the works of the devil. It’s not an easy mission and it may not look safe. We can turn back to what seems familiar and strive for an easier life, or we can be wholehearted, brave, and faithful like Caleb. Pressing forward will take a divine connection with God. (Jesus wasn’t kidding when he told the disciples “Don’t leave home without the Holy Spirit.”)2
If we ask, the Lord will cover us with His power-filled presence.
Like Caleb and Milne, we were all made for more. Will you get in the one-way-missionary line with me and boldly ask for the land God has placed on your heart? Yes, the giants holding it are huge and dangerous. But they will be like insects when looking through Kingdom eyes.
This is what you and I are born again to do. To establish God’s Kingdom culture once again in this messy world.
Insightful and encouraging
Thanks, Janet. I think JoAnne did a great job with this.