How to Tell Your Church You Want to be a Missionary
A few months ago, a couple in our church came to us and expressed their desire to be missionaries. The husband serves as an elder, and his wife has also served the church faithfully for years. In the spring, one of our missionaries spoke at the church and shared their desire to receive another couple to serve in their church plant in the Middle East.
When the couple from our church left to drive home, they looked at each other and knew that God was giving them a heart for this work. They had a clear desire to serve cross-culturally. They also had gifts that matched well with the needs in the Middle Eastern church. And the missionary’s invitation to receive another missionary couple seemed to be a clear opportunity.
But the couple’s next step wasn’t applying to an agency or raising money to move overseas. Instead, they called one of their pastors and shared their desire to become missionaries. Their first instinct was to seek their church’s guidance, help, and blessing long before they took any steps to serve overseas.
START WITH THE RIGHT FIRST STEP
In Acts 13:1–3, the local church is the one sending missionaries. And in Acts 14:26, Paul and Barnabus return to the church who sent them.
The right first step toward becoming a missionary is inviting the church into the conversation.
If you find yourself in this drawn toward the mission field, here’s a place to start: “Pastor, can I share something I’ve been praying about? I think the Lord is giving me a desire to serve cross-culturally as a missionary. I don’t want to discern this alone. I want to invite the church to help me discern what I should do. Would you be willing to walk alongside me and speak into my next steps?”
ASK YOUR CHURCH TO ASSESS YOU
The next step is asking for your church’s feedback on whether you might be a good fit for service. The pastor from our church encouraged the couple to enter our sending process.
They filled out a self-assessment evaluating their character, competency, and convictions for the missionary task. They went through a psychological assessment, and they came before a group of elders and other church leaders to be evaluated for the task at hand. Though the process was intensive, they submitted themselves to the local church.
Remember, this man is an elder in our local church. We know him and his family well, and we love them dearly. But their willingness to not only ask for guidance, but to actually allow the church to direct the process was a clear indication of their commitment to the primacy of the church in missions.
If you’re an aspiring missionary who wants to move overseas, don’t start by researching missions agencies or raising support on your own. Start by meeting with a pastor from your local church. Ask your church to assess your character. Invite them to evaluate your convictions about theology, the church, and missions. Allow them to speak into your competency for the missionary task.
MOVE OVERSEAS WITH A CHURCH BEHIND YOU
After being evaluated by the local church, they couple was ready to move toward overseas work with a church behind them. A few weeks ago, they had dinner at our senior pastor’s home. Everyone is on board. We’re thrilled that God has led them to move overseas, and the church is ready to move forward with affirming and sending them to the nations. In the coming months, we’ll have an opportunity to invite the whole church into the affirmation process.
Lord willing, God will use this family’s refusal to be lone rangers in the missionary task to awaken hundreds in our church to God’s heart for the nations. By inviting the church into their missions journey, they will not only be ready to serve overseas and have ongoing care, but they will play a vital role in mobilizing our church to care deeply about the nations.
If you’re reading this and you’re not a member of a local church, I’d encourage you to find one that you can join. Invite the pastors of the church into your life and allow them permission to speak to your suitability for the missionary task.
