Since When Are We the Only Ones?

Here is an excerpt from an article that appeared in today's local newspaper:

Despite fierce criticism from some Christian activists, N.C.-based evangelist Franklin Graham said Sunday he's sticking by his opposition to any "illegal" missionary work during this summer's Beijing Olympics.
Graham, who recently met with state-sanctioned church leaders and government officials in China, told the Observer that as head of the Charlotte-based Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, he obviously supports evangelism. But he said he worries that the planned influx of American and other foreign missionaries into China for the Olympics could jeopardize freedoms Chinese Christians have won in recent years from the Communist government.
"I would be against any groups that would be coming in and encouraging people to break Chinese law," said Graham, who has no plans to attend the Olympics or send any missionaries. "As foreigners, we can come in and make some mistakes that would hurt the (Chinese) church. Then, long after we're gone, they suffer for it."
Christian mission groups from around the world -- including Southern Baptists, "Youth With a Mission" and "Awaken Generation" -- plan to quietly defy the Chinese ban on foreign missionaries and send thousands of volunteer evangelists to Beijing.


As I consider this ongoing debate I'm left wondering: Since when are American Christians the only ones qualified or otherwise able to do the work of evangelism at this Summer's Olympics? I know the article mentions other foreign missions organizations as well, but I believe this touches on a very real problem that has grown up in the American church.
Have we really become so egotistical that we somehow believe that unless we send American "missionaries" to evangelize, the job won't get done?

Franklin Graham makes a very sobering observation when he points out, "As foreigners, we can come in and make some mistakes that would hurt the (Chinese) Church. Then, long after we're gone, they suffer for it."
I think that's well worth consideration. Wouldn't it be tragic if, because we bull-headedly refuse to trust God and our Chinese brothers and sisters in Christ to witness, we caused irreparable harm to the ongoing work of the Lord in that nation?
Maybe, instead of arguing the merits of sending our missionaries to China to evangelize, we ought to be asking the Chinese churches how we can assist them. What can we do to help? How can we provide for them in this effort?

One more question comes to mind: How much time, effort and money have these "Christian mission groups" (Southern Baptist, Youth With a Mission, and Awaken Generation along with many others) committed to assisting the Chinese in the crisis aftermath of the devastating earthquake last week? What are these missions organizations - who are so gung-ho on being at the Olympics to evangelize - doing to relieve the suffering going on today?

I'm not trying to be cynical about what I'm sure are very real passions about evangelism. I'm just thinking that maybe we've come to believe God needs us to get the job done much more that He really does.