Introduction

As the global body of Christ takes the gospel into security-challenged environments, its members face significant risks. In response, some elevate risk as a spiritual value, flirting with recklessness; others shun risk, drifting towards a fear-driven paralysis. This article attempts to promote a balanced stewardship, which neither shuns risk nor embraces it blindly, but manages it carefully to maximize faithfulness to Jesus and the Great Commission.

First, I want to define my terms. Risk is the potential for loss and gain. In this article, risk refers to witness risk, which is the “potential for loss and gain when following Christ. It is what any Christ-follower faces while working in adverse, dangerous circumstances, especially when the gospel is proclaimed” (Anna Hampton, Facing Fear, p. xxi).

Witness risk carries the potential for a wide variety of losses, from family separation to persecution to burnout and complex trauma. But despite these losses, it holds the potential for even greater gain—for demonstrating the love of God to a broken world, for guiding the traumatized towards hope, and for seeing unreached people groups enter the kingdom of God.

Most Christ-followers agree that sharing the gospel brings unavoidable risks. But this acknowledgment by itself does not help someone determine how much risk is appropriate for their situation. To address this problem, I have outlined a theology of risk, which is a theological framework of risk management—helping us decide when to enter, avoid, remain in, or leave risk.

It is important to remember that a theology of risk is different from a theology of suffering, which attempts to answer why God allows suffering and how we should respond to it. While Jesus calls every believer to suffer, to pick up their cross and follow him, he does not call everyone to work in the same degree of risk. When someone is asking a risk question, it is unhelpful to tell them that they need to embrace suffering. This is answering a question that they are not asking and missing the distinction between suffering and risk.

A Biblical Foundation

Stewardship

Stewardship is a Biblical principle that can help us think through risk. We are God’s stewards, responsible for his reputation, the Great Commission, current ministry efforts, our lives, the safety of local partners and contacts, the emotional health of ourselves and our families, new opportunities, and physical resources. When facing risk, our primary question should not be, “Is it safe?” Rather, we should ask, “Is it wise? Will my actions steward these resources in a way that God wants me to?” Sometimes, the answers to these questions will push us forward into risk; other times, they will pull us back. Now, as we think about stewardship, let’s dive into several Biblical texts, looking at them from a risk management perspective.

The Example of Jesus

Jesus is the ultimate example of sacrificial obedience, leaving his heavenly security and coming to an earth cursed with evil and death. His eternal love compelled him to brave betrayal, torture, death, and all the other physical losses that risk entails to help people that did not want help. While he had perfect knowledge of the outcome, he was providing us, who had no knowledge, an example.

Near the end of this most dramatic rescue mission ever, while talking to his Father, Jesus said, “As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world” (John 17:18). This means that Jesus is calling us also to leave our positions of security and enter a broken, sinful world, mined with risks. This call might take us to places that seem foolish to human reasoning, where our work is costly and the outcome uncertain, but we go out of love and obedience.

Sheep Among Wolves

When Jesus sent out the twelve disciples to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons, and proclaim the kingdom of God, he said that they would be “like sheep among wolves” (Matt 10:16). Sheep are highly vulnerable among wolves. While they can sometimes find protection in a large, tight-knit pack, Jesus split his disciples into groups of two to send them out (Mark 6:7, Luke 10:1). And He went on to talk about arrest, flogging, betrayal, hatred, and death (Matt 10:17–22). As not all these things happened immediately, Jesus’ words were clearly prophetic of the many disciples who would follow.

The apostle Paul later wrote that “all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim 3:12). Risk often leads to suffering, and when it does, we should embrace the suffering with joy (Luke 6:22, 23).

Shrewd as Serpents

Embracing suffering does not mean that we should always enter risk. There is a time to embrace risk that leads to suffering and a time to mitigate risk. I believe Jesus himself authorized risk management when he said, “Be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves” (Matt 10:16).

While Jesus did not define specific aspects of serpent-like shrewdness, the image clearly communicates prudence in hostile environments. For the Christ follower, this may mean applying situational awareness, blending into the environment, planning for contingencies, and utilizing a wide variety of creative risk management strategies and tactics. Studying and training how to work shrewdly in a hostile environment is not humanistic or unspiritual; rather, it is an obedient act of responsibility.

Following the Spirit

As Jesus sent out the twelve, He gave them a special instruction for when they would be arrested, saying, “Don’t worry about how or what you are to speak. For you will be given what to say at that hour, because it isn’t you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father is speaking through you” (Matthew 10:19, 20 CSB).

I do not believe this text means that we should avoid planning and preparation, as it only seems to apply to arrest situations. It does, however, illustrate the foundational principle of relying on the Spirit of God to meet the needs of the moment.

A person that relies on the Spirit will learn from the Spirit how to respond to situations (1 John 2:27), but will not always be predictable (John 3:8). Often, the Spirit gives freedom to make informed, risk savvy choices. Other times, He gives us specific guidance that must be obeyed, even if it is like a wind blowing to an uncertain, risk-filled destination. No amount of study, preparation, or experience can replace the leading of the Holy Spirit. While planning and preparation are important, we need to be ready to lay them aside and give our lives if the Holy Spirit calls us to.

Biblical Case Studies

Contrary to what some people think, trust in God and preparation are not opposed to each other. Noah trusted in God so much that he spent years building the ark (Heb 11:7). Joseph trusted God enough to spend seven years storing food for a famine. Hezekiah trusted God when the Assyrian king Sennacherib threatened him (Isaiah 37:14–20), yet that did not prevent him from rebuilding the city wall, increasing the height of the towers, and outfitting the armory (2 Chron 32:5).

In the New Testament, there are numerous examples of those engaged in witness risk (Acts 15:25, 26; Rom 16:3, 4; Phil 2:29, 30). While we see people who boldly embraced martyrdom (e.g., John the Baptist, Saint Stephen, the Apostle James), we also see people who took practical steps to manage risk. In John 7:1, Jesus himself avoided traveling to a place because there were Jews trying to kill him. Then, he decided to go but went secretly (John 7:10). Later, due to more plots to kill him, Jesus stopped walking openly among the Jews. Instead, he went to the countryside and stayed there with his disciples (John 11:53, 54).

After Saul became the converted apostle Paul, he began openly preaching Jesus in the synagogues of Damascus. Then, after he learned of a Jewish plot to kill him, he escaped by night over the city wall, with the help of the disciples (Acts 9:20–25). 2 Corinthians 11:32 indicates that, at the same time, there was also an order from the king to arrest Paul. For the early church to extract Paul from under the noses of both government forces and dedicated assassins, they likely needed to both trust the Holy Spirit and prepare tactically sound plans.

From these examples, we can see that risk should not always be embraced. There is a time to enter risk, and there is a time to leave it. There is a time to simply trust God, such as when talking to authorities after arrest. But there is also a time to invest deeply in risk management, such as when implementing an evacuation in a hostile environment.

Now, as we think about managing risk and stewarding resources to further the mission God has given us, I want to provide perspective on three myths that have sometimes circulated among Christ-followers.

Three Risk Myths

1. Risk management decreases our trust in God…

While it is true that risk management sometimes arises out of a low trust in God, it is also true that good risk management can lead to increased trust in God. When risk management is borne, not out of fear for what could happen, but out of a desire to steward God’s gifts, it can equip Christ-followers to enter situations of risk that require greater trust in God than ever before.

2. We are safest in the center of God’s will…

Some people say that we are safest in the center of God’s will. I challenge them on what safe means, as God did not promise that his children would be safe. He never promised protection from arrest, interrogation, imprisonment, beating, torture, rape, and martyrdom. Rather, his promise is that no one can snatch his children out of his hand (John 10:28). So, while God provides spiritual safety, he gives no promise of physical safety. I believe that those in high-risk areas run a greater chance of physical harm than those who live in safer areas. This does not mean that we should avoid risk; rather, we should count the cost before entering it.

3. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church…

Another common risk myth is that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. While there is truth in this statement, it is wise to remember that it originates from Tertullian, not Scripture. Martyrdom often includes shame, grief, and excruciating pain, and we do not want to shallowly glorify it or quickly call it a positive development. While martyrdom has often benefited the church, it does not automatically do so.

A more Scriptural approach is to say that the blood of Christ is the seed of the church. The blood of martyrs derives its power from pointing people to the blood of Christ. It is possible for Christ-followers to be killed and not point people to Christ, especially if they die for carelessness or cultural insensitivity. Because of this, we should steward risk responsibly and do our best to make sure, that if we lay down our lives, we are living and dying in a way that points people to Jesus.

Conclusion

The goal of a theology of risk is to help Christ-followers faithfully steward the opportunities and resources God has given them while advancing his mission in a risk-filled world. In conclusion, I will provide my personal one-sentence theology of risk statement: “As a sheep among wolves, I will both embrace risk for the sake of the gospel and manage it shrewdly, while following the Holy Spirit in every step of this process.”