Why Most Christians Shouldn’t Move Overseas as Missionaries

Growing up, I always wanted to be a missionary. First to India, then to Latin America. God used the Dallas suburb I grew up in to give me a heart for the Spanish-speaking world. But for whatever reason, he kept the door closed to overseas missions.

Despite my efforts, the Lord has kept me here. Today, I lead global missions in a local church in Alabama, and I help mobilize every member in our church to play a role in the Great Commission.

Like many Christians, I assumed that radical obedience meant moving overseas. I read David Platt’s book Radical years ago, and it deeply impacted my walk with the Lord. Since then, I’ve been trying to leverage my life to make Jesus known everywhere. 

But that doesn’t mean every Christian needs to move overseas as a missionary. In fact,  most Christians shouldn’t move overseas as missionaries. But every Christian has a role to play in making Christ known.

SOME CHRISTIANS SHOULD GO

Sometimes in the missions mobilization world, I hear sweeping statements about how our first impulse should be to go, and to only stay where we are if God makes it clear we should. 

If we understand these statements to mean every Christian should be willing to follow Jesus wherever he calls, then I absolutely agree. But, usually, these kinds of broad generalizations miss the mark.

Most Christians should stay and reach the lost where they are. Only some Christians should be sent by their churches to establish and strengthen churches among the nations. 

In my local church, we want to send spiritually mature members who have proven themselves to be faithful in our church before going overseas. We aim to send missionaries with godly character, ministry competency, biblical convictions, and theological charity. These men and women are set aside by the church and sent to be part of Great Commission work. But they’re not the only ones playing a role.

I love how Acts 13:1–3 shows the Spirit calling missionaries through the church. While the believers worshiped and fasted, the Holy Spirit told them to set apart Barnabas and Saul for the work that he had called them. The church responds by continuing to fast and pray before laying hands on them and sending them out. 

Barnabas and Saul leave for Cyprus. The rest of the church stayed in Antioch. But those who stayed weren’t sitting on the sidelines. They worshiped, prayed, discerned, and sent.

MOST CHRISTIANS SHOULD STAY AND STRENGTHEN CHURCHES

Healthy churches send healthy missionaries. For every missionary we send, we need dozens to stay behind and hold the rope. We need men and women serving faithfully in the church here. We need Christians proclaiming Jesus clearly and compellingly in their workplaces and neighborhoods. We need people giving generously toward gospel work among the unreached. 

Staying is not a lesser calling. Christ has given his Great Commission to his church, and we all have a part to play. 

I recently learned our pastor’s preaching was one of the main reasons our church’s missionaries to Japan decided to move their family of six to southern Japan. Years ago, our senior pastor thought about moving overseas. And it’s incredible to think about what God might have done through that. But think about how much gospel impact he’s been able to have by staying. 

I also think about the children’s ministry leaders in my childhood church who faithfully taught me about God in a way that gave my young heart a love for the nations. I thank God for the ways they led me to pray faithfully for the unreached. If I close my eyes, I can still see the map with the missionaries in India from my 4th grade Sunday school classroom, and remember the times we prayed for them.

EVERY MEMBER SUPPORTS GLOBAL MISSIONS

If you’re sitting on the sidelines in the Great Commission, then you’re missing out on the joy that comes from being part of God’s plan to reach people of every tribe, tongue, and nation. 

I think about my friends who are stay-at-home moms who faithfully welcome international students into their lives. Or those who commit themselves fervently to pray for the unreached. Or those who have sacrificially and generously given to fund church planting among those who have never heard the gospel. I think about those who disciple our missionary candidates, who take care of the family that they leave behind, and those who build up the church in numerous other ways. 

HOW WILL YOU MAKE JESUS KNOWN?

God may not have opened the door for me to move overseas as a missionary. But he has given me a role to play in encouraging and strengthening churches in my city and around the world.

Sometimes the nations are farther away than we imagined. And sometimes, they’re right in front of us. The Great Commission is for every Christian.

The question is not whether you’ll be a missionary, but how you’ll spend your life making Jesus known.