In late 2017, my husband and I returned to the United States with a mix of emotions. We loved the years we spent on the mission field. We weren’t coming home because of any specific tragedy, sin issue, or team problem. Our family was doing well, we were healthy, and, honestly, quite content. After months of praying and fasting, the Lord had made it abundantly clear that what obedience looked like next for our family was a move back to our home country.
Being a missionary can often become a primary identity. You are typically known in your family, friend circles, or church as just that––a missionary. It’s a weighty task to be called to and one not to take lightly. However, when obedience looks like a move homeward, there can be at times an identity crisis that occurs. It can often overshadow and blur the beautiful truth that you are still called to be a part of the Great Commission, working through your local church and in the community the Lord places you in.
In this brief article, I hope former missionaries will consider two questions: How can the experiences you have had help serve the local church that God has placed you in? And how can you take those experiences and apply them to the community that God has now relocated you to?
Living on Mission in the Local Church
Returning to your home church or possibly joining a new church after time on the field can, at times, produce more culture shock than expected. It is far too easy to judge, to develop cynical attitudes, to want to retreat into the crowd because it is so different from the context that you were in overseas. I want to remind you that God loves the local congregation you are in. It is his church, and it is where he has placed you to use your gifts. It is the place where he has called you to serve and be served.
Your investment in the local church with the gifts, skills, and experiences you gained overseas is an investment in the means of God’s mission.
As you integrate in, where can you serve your church’s missionaries or aspiring missionaries? Is there a sending or mission committee you can join? How can you mentor those in your church who aspire to be missionaries? How can you serve in children’s ministry in a way that would open children’s eyes to God’s work in the world through missions? The local church is God’s primary plan for advancing his kingdom. Your investment in the local church with the gifts, skills, and experiences you have received overseas is an investment in the means of God’s mission, even if you are no longer serving as a missionary.
Living on Mission in Your Community
Returning to your home community or joining a new community in your home context can also be a jarring experience. The temptation to idolize old rhythms of life while on the field can be an ever-present reality. Let me encourage you to look at areas in which you live with the same mindset you did while overseas. Has God given you a new job that allows you to rub shoulders throughout the day with people who do not know the Lord? Pray for those people! Share with them as God gives gospel conversation opportunities.
This sounds simplistic, however, before people go overseas, I always tell them that they are not going to have a dramatic shift where all of a sudden they become an incredible evangelist once they hit the field; they are most likely going to continue the patterns they set for themselves in their home context. When returning home, the same thing can be true in the best ways. Just keep doing what you did while you were overseas, but in your home context.
Living on Mission Isn’t Dependent on the Season You’re Living In
Pray for the lost you know, and use every opportunity given to you to share. God is not finished with the spread of the gospel through your life just because you no longer identify yourself as an overseas missionary. You are still a disciple of Christ. Living a life before God includes the proclamation of the gospel wherever God places you.
Living a life before God includes the proclamation of the gospel wherever God places you.
Coming home can be as hard as leaving. You would have never believed that before you left, but you feel it deeply as you return. One of the beautiful parts of living every part of life before the Lord is that nothing surprises him. His work in and through you is not done because of a location nor a career change.
Let your love for God continue to fuel your love for the local church and for your new community. Let that love drive you to serve the church and see the community you are in with a heart of prayer and a readiness to explain the hope that is in you (1 Peter 3:15).
Emily Bennett and her husband, Matt, served in North Africa for seven years with their three children. Emily completed a Master of Divinity and a Master of Arts in intercultural studies from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and edited the book Before You Go: Wisdom from Ten Women Who Served Internationally. She is currently living in Ohio working with an organization that helps internationals learn English and transition to life in the U.S.
