Mission Pastors and Mobilizers as Border Stalkers

In his book Culture Care, Mako Fujimura develops the idea of the “mearcstapa”, an old English word that means “border stalker,” which he uses to describe a particular kind of Christian vocation—someone who lives attentively and creatively at the boundaries between worlds and cultures. With the idea of the border stalker, Fujimura captures a vision for Christian artists and thinkers who live and move between faith and culture, church and society and different traditions. As they occupy this space, border stalkers are able to listen to and learn from both sides, serving as cultural translators between groups that don’t normally talk to one another.

If you are familiar with J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings then you are familiar with Aragorn, the border stalking king who wanders in and out of the worlds of elves and dwarves and hobbits and man, inviting them to fight for the King and the kingdom rather than staying stubbornly at home.

The Apostle Paul was a border stalker who said, “Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings” (1 Corinthians 9:19-23).

And of course Jesus was the ultimate border stalker. He is the one

Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death--
        even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:6-8)

While Fujimura uses this idea mainly to cast vision for artists, I think we can also find application of the term helpful in thinking about the vocation of the mission pastor and mission mobilizer.

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As I think about the great commission and the role of the mission pastor and mission mobilizer, the image of the border stalker resonates with the work that they do. Many have lived cross-culturally and have a deep desire to help the church in North America grow in her ability to see the nations among us through the eyes of Jesus and see with new urgency the nations of the world and the countless billions who remain unreached with the gospel.

Characteristics of an Effective Border Stalker
Fujimura describes the border stalker as someone who lives in the liminal spaces between worlds. But simply occupying those spaces does not make someone an effective guide. To faithfully serve as bridge-builders between the church and the nations, mission pastors and mobilizers need certain qualities. Without them, border stalkers will be ineffective at best—and antagonistic at worst.

Patience
Mission pastors, mobilizers, and missions champions have often been shaped by experiences that deeply formed their heart for the nations. We have seen the need. We feel the urgency. Many of us have been, as one mobilizer put it, “wrecked for the ordinary.”

But the people in our churches have not all had those same experiences. And even when they have, they may not respond as we did. That is why patience is essential.

A Turkish proverb says, damlaya damlaya göl olur—“Drop by drop, a lake is formed.” Building a missions culture requires steady, faithful, repeated investment over time. We must commit to small, consistent steps in the same direction, trusting that God will gradually deepen the vision and passion of a congregation.

Keep dripping the vision. Invest in those who respond.

Humility
Humility positions us to understand what God is already doing in a church and to join Him there. And humility begins with listening.

Rather than leading with our agenda, we should begin by hearing the stories of pastors, leaders, and church members. Ask thoughtful questions—not only about missions, but about their lives, ministries, burdens, and passions.

When we assume God is already at work in the people before us, we become better equipped to discern where their God-given passions intersect with the Great Commission. It is at that intersection that mobilization begins.

Hospitality
Hospitality means creating space for people to come as they are and meeting them there.

Yes, it includes hosting well. But more deeply, hospitality is an attitude of invitation—a willingness to meet people where they are, to create safe spaces for honest questions, and to patiently walk with them through their uncertainties.

Hospitality gives grace when others do not immediately share our urgency. It extends generosity to those still learning to see the nations through God’s eyes. Border stalkers must be hospitable people.

Beauty
Vision for the nations is often caught before it is taught.
One missions leader said, “The heart can rarely feel what the eyes have not seen.”

Scripture must remain foundational in helping people discover the Father’s heart for the nations. But beauty—through stories, testimony, art, poetry, and imagery—often awakens the imagination and stirs the affections in ways raw information cannot.

Stories of God’s work among the nations help people not merely understand the Great Commission, but feel its weight and wonder. A shared an example of this recently in my article Beauty and Beyond.

Beauty helps vision move from the mind to the heart.

A Final Word
As border stalkers, mission pastors are working to see their churches grow in their heart for the nations and the ability to partner with God in His kingdom expanding work. Mission mobilizers are focused on the church more broadly and their work, often for a particular mission agency, is focused on marshalling prayer, resources and people across the ocean and into service among people who do not yet know the hope of Christ.

Missions mobilizers and mission pastors—the church in North America needs you to guide them into the Father’s heart for the nations, into a growing desire to be a part of the great commission, and into the harvest among the unreached locally and globally.

Be border stalkers for the Lord. The church needs you.

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Culture Care by Mako Fujimura

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