You may know that there are some challenges in transporting Christian missionaries to evangelize developing countries and providing aid globally, but what you may not know is that Christians are discovering new ways to work around government restriction on international religious involvement.

What are these methods?

Mercy Ships: an interdenominational, international Christian charity group providing medical care to over seventy developing countries world-wide, currently with a primary focus on the Western coastal regions of Africa where the slaves of colonial America were taken from. A handful of these countries won’t accept missionaries without medical aid.

Increase of Government Restrictions on Religion

In many other countries, whether they are developing or fully industrialized, government has a large say in how the people will go about their lives, especially as far as the religions allowed in a particular region. It may come as a surprise to some people to hear that. "Wait, I thought America had a freedom of religion clause in their constitution? Does the author not know this?" Which is why it is also important to note that not every country is like the United States. Freedom of religion, in the way that Americans think of it, is a concept almost as foreign as calling futbol "soccer".

In fact, a large majority of them do not accept missionaries who may be seen as trying to interpose themselves upon the people. It can be seen in the image below, that "[t]he median level of government restrictions on religion increased in two of the five regions (Middle East-North Africa and Europe) and decreased in two regions (Asia-Pacific and sub-Saharan Africa). It stayed the same in the Americas." Those regions where restrictions have increased are where the Christian missionaries are most intent to access.


 Several Middle Eastern and African countries have set stringent prerequisites on the religious dispositions of any individual seeking to become a Head of State. It is noted by "[a] new Pew Research analysis finds that 30 of the world’s countries (15%) belong to a unique group of nations that call for their heads of state to have a particular religious affiliation. From monarchies to republics, candidates (including descendants of royal monarchies) in these countries must belong to a specific religious group", and is represented in the map following:
This practice sets a standard for the whole country, for when the leader maintains, or is constrained to uphold, certain religious obligations, often group mentality has the general public doing the same.

 While this is not a critique on the government structure of the other countries of the world, it does touch upon the reason for this hopefully informative dissertation. Christians as a whole believe in evangelism as part of their creed, so to just sit by and let bygones be bygones as far as religious limitations is just not what they are about. Instead of stopping them, the restrictions have increased the need for creative, outside-of-the-box thinking on the part of Christian leaders.
Sources:

"Research Hostilities Reach Six-Year High." Pew Research Center. Pew Research Center, 14 Jan. 2014. Web. 24 Oct. 2014.

 Theodorou, Angelina. "In 30 Countries, Heads of State Must Belong To A Certain Religion." Fact Tank: Pew Research Center. 22 July 2014. Web. 24 Oct. 2014.



http://www.pewforum.org/2014/01/14/religious-hostilities-reach-six-year-high/
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/07/22/in-30-countries-heads-of-state-must-belong-to-a-certain-religion/

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