It's easy to imagine: A Western missionary, sitting on the floor with natives of a far-off country, holding up pictures of David and lions to an enthralled audience of children and adults. Maybe there's a cross on the wall, Bibles scattered about. Images like this are easy to classify as "Christian Mission." Teaching English, as a foreign missionary, can both elevate the poor out of poverty and teach them about Christ.
What about other images, like a group of Chinese business men, wearing suits and taking notes in a conference room? School children in India lined up at their desks, reciting secular exercises?
If the teacher is Christian but cannot mention Christ, is this teaching still mission work?
In countries like China and India, a missionary cannot work outright. Teaching English can provide employment and perhaps covert opportunities to share the gospel, but only at the risk of trouble with the authorities and possible imprisonment or deportation.
But even for Christian teachers who are allowed to share their faith, there are other issues. Teaching a foreign language involves a huge amount of work and planning. Can I be an effective English teacher if I am "fighting on two fronts" by splitting my time between instruction and evangelism? Is being an underprepared teacher an effective witness?
For many countries, English is the way to financial security. Adults especially increasingly need the language to get good jobs. If I neglect teaching to focus on witnessing, I am denying people a necessary service that they could not otherwise afford. I do not think Christ is in such behavior.
I am not sure how to integrate teaching with witnessing. But I know that I must have integrity and competence in my teaching first and foremost, if I am to have any ability at all to witness my faith.
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