Who Makes a Good Prospective Missionary?

Dec 23

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STATEMENT

A good prospective missionary is someone who firmly believes, lives out and can articulate sound doctrine, including a biblical understanding of the church. They should demonstrate faithful and fruitful ministry in their church, teachability, and the ability to persevere in change and hardship with sober-mindedness. They should be persons their church would trust and endorse to do the role they plan to do on the field.

I remember meeting Ashley. She was a young missionary who came to work a two-year term with a team close to us in Central Asia. She loved Jesus and earnestly desired to share the gospel and serve others. As she talked to people about the gospel, several made professions of faith. Because her team didn't trust the churches in the area, they expected Ashley to gather those new believers as a church and then equip them to plant churches. But there was one problem (among many): Ashley didn't know the difference between a church and a few Christians meeting for dinner.

She was an eager evangelist but struggled to answer the most basic theological questions from the new converts. As time passed, the people she led to Christ lost eagerness as the excitement of changing religions wore off. Ashley, frustrated at their slow growth, soon moved on to do more evangelism. The "church" she started quickly dwindled to nothing. Many of those she baptized had learned from her that other area churches were inadequate. So, instead of going to another church, they returned to their previous religion.

This story is true and, sadly, one that occurs often and in many forms on the mission field. In telling you this story, I want to stress how important it is for churches to assess people before sending them to the mission field. That’s because sending good-hearted but underqualified missionaries often hurt, rather than help, the Great Commission. To display the glory of Christ's Name in the world, churches must know who would make a good prospective missionary.

The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few, so it's tempting to uncritically accept anyone willing to go without thinking through that person's biblical qualifications or the role they will fulfill. In Ashley's case, the mission pastor at her church in the US was impressed by her eagerness to share the gospel on her college campus. So, when Ashley told her mission’s pastor she felt God calling her to go overseas after attending the church's missions focus week, he thought, "This is what I've been praying for. Who wouldn't be blessed to have Ashley on their team? Who am I to stop God's call on her life?" She was willing, and the need was great, so without much further evaluation, Ashley's pastor connected her with a sending agency. She was fast-tracked to the mission field.

The task of missions is not only urgent but also challenging. Unreached people groups are unreached for a reason. Somebody would have reached them long ago if it was easy. The task's difficulty should lead us to consider who we will send carefully. When we commission anyone willing without examining their life and doctrine more deeply, we downplay the significance of the work. Missionaries don't need to be "super-Christians," but they must be assessed and equipped before going. Consider that in Acts 13:1-3 when the church of Antioch was worshiping the Lord, it was the Holy Spirit Himself who appointed mature, qualified people (Paul and Barnabas) for the work of missions. Likewise, churches today should seek the Spirit's guidance and send mature, competent people.

A Basic Litmus Test

At this point, you might ask, "If you're telling me to assess people before sending them, what am I supposed to look for?"

Here's a straightforward answer: Would your church trust and hire that person for the same role they will play on the mission field? For example, if you're sending someone to be a church planter, this means you're sending them to be a pastor. So, assessing their readiness is if your church would hire them as a pastor. Do they meet the biblical qualifications of a pastor? If not, why not? Answering this question will help you know how that person needs to grow and how you can help equip them for the mission field. I'm not saying that person must already have been a pastor in your church before becoming a church planter. However, your church should be willing to affirm their readiness for pastoral ministry.

Not every missionary is a lead church planter. You may be sending someone to fill a servant, counselor, or evangelist role. Ask yourself, would your church elect this person as a deacon? Would your church endorse them to counsel your members? If not, why would you send them to another church, especially when the work in that place is likely more complicated?

Raising support and getting on a plane doesn't automatically qualify someone to serve as a missionary. So, ask yourself, is this person giving their life in your location to serve their church and call the lost to faith and repentance? In 1 Thessalonians 2:7-8, Paul describes his ministry among the Thessalonians. He says, "But we were gentle among you like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves because you had become very dear to us." Missionaries must live in this way, sharing not only the gospel but their lives as well. They must care for the people they minister among, like a mother caring for her children. Caring means spending late nights with frustrated church members, explaining our call to serve rather than be served, or being willing to open your home to a fellow believer who is in hard times and needs a place to stay. A prospective missionary should demonstrate this kind of concern and compassion.

But someone may say, "Our church is bigger and more mature than a small church overseas, so while a person may not be ready to lead or serve in our church, surely they could help a less mature church or believer, right?" It actually takes more maturity to lead and serve in an immature context.

Those involved in church planting or other missionary contexts will more often set the tone and trajectory of a work. Baby churches are much more susceptible to harm than mature churches established over decades. Biblical qualifications are essential in such settings. People in mission contexts will need to defend the primary truths of the gospel, such as the Trinity, and guard the church from syncretism. Doing all this in a cross-cultural setting means they must be more teachable, humble, and adaptable than those who serve in their home countries. If unqualified missionaries do plant a church, the church is often weak and susceptible to false teaching because members were not adequately instructed in the word or warned against false teaching.

We must view mission work with the importance and significance that Jesus has given to it. Therefore, we must not lower our standards for those we send to do that work.

What Happens When Missionary Candidates Are Well-Assessed?

If a church thoroughly identifies and vets good missionary candidates, people on the field and the indigenous churches will be much better off. Here are three ways I've seen this to be true:

1. Longevity of missionary service

If proper vetting and equipping occur, those sent typically last longer on the field. Some churches often announce how many missionaries they have sent or how many missionaries they support worldwide. However, they rarely discuss how long their missionaries have stayed on the field. Longevity doesn't directly equal success, but it sure helps. Consider the healthy churches you know; chances are they've had a godly pastor serve there for over a decade. I've lived in Central Asia for ten years, and I feel that the work here is just starting. When I initially came, I was a university professor who didn't intend to stay long-term. However, as I lived and worked here year after year, I was surprised by how many missionary families came and went in only a few short years. Sadly, many local believers develop a disdain for missionaries and expect to be abandoned by them. If we assess who will be good missionaries before sending, those sent will be more likely to endure hardships rather than return home quickly.

2. Bear burdens rather than be burdens for other missionaries

The affirmed and trained person will be a help rather than a burden to the missionary team or local church. Missionaries typically juggle multiple responsibilities and don't need another burden added to their plate. Sending someone who creates more problems than they solve takes away from good work happening on the ground. Qualified people are more likely to find helpful ways and carry the burden of a mission team, yielding more effective work for the whole team.

3. Lay good foundations for the indigenous church

In many mission contexts, the indigenous church either doesn't exist or is very young. Therefore, good missionaries must be skilled and wise to lay solid biblical foundations that will set the indigenous church in a good direction for years. For example, when Paul went to Thessalonica to spread the gospel, Acts 17:2-3 tells us that "he reasoned with them from the scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead." Missionaries must be able to do this work like Paul by using the scriptures to reason, explain, and prove that Jesus is the Messiah. Good missionaries will help local believers be grounded in sound Bible teaching to protect them against false doctrine and led astray. Missionaries who love the church will set a good model for local believers to love their church well.

A Good Example

Here’s one example of a friend whose church in the US did a great job of assessing and equipping him before he went overseas.

Clyde had served on staff at a church in the US for a few years. He decided to go to seminary to pursue a career in ministry further. After moving to seminary, Clyde joined a local church and started serving as much as possible. He joined a small group and developed a desire for missions. He spoke to the elders at his new church about his desire to move overseas as a missionary, but to his surprise, they said they needed to watch his life, leadership of family, and doctrine more closely. They encouraged him with the good things they saw in his life, but they told him that watching his life and helping him mature would likely be a multi-year process. Clyde had difficulty wrapping his head around their response, but he submitted to their advice. Eventually, he became an elder, and a year or so later, the church sent him overseas as a church planter. Today, Clyde is serving as a missionary and is pastoring a small church in the local language as he seeks to raise up local leaders.

Would you rather hear stories like Clyde's or Ashley's? As someone who has lived overseas for years, I encourage churches to be thoughtful and intentional about assessing and equipping prospective missionaries before sending them overseas. It's valuable for their longevity and the good of the work, but most importantly, it's for the honor of the Name of Christ.

Helpful Questions to Assess Missionary Readiness

As previously noted, assessing a missionary candidate starts with the question, would you place them on your church staff? That is, are they Biblically qualified to be ministering the gospel in a local church context? However, there are other concerns specific to missionary work.

A lack in these areas does not necessarily disqualify a candidate, but they do point to places where a church can ask a missionary candidate to develop and grow before they go.

Here are some questions that should be on the mind of a church or agency assessing a missionary candidate:

Do they demonstrate a strong aptitude for cross-cultural relationships, a vital skill for effective missionary work?
Have they developed friendships with people from different backgrounds than the one they come from? Have they reached out to internationals? How did they do on a short-term mission trip?
Are they experienced in evangelism?
Do they have a track record of attempting to share the gospel with friends, co-workers, neighbors, and fellow students?
Do they require a lot of care?
Missionaries often face limited support and need to be able to give of themselves in taxing ways, often to the extreme. Needy missionaries detract from a team or church on the field.
Are they flexible, adaptable people, or do they need structure?
Finding structured areas on the mission field is possible, but their placement is more likely to be wildly unstructured, at least initially. Flexibility is a must.
Do they struggle with fears and anxiety?
Often, given the very nature of hard places, misplaced missionaries can be frozen by fear.
Do they have an aptitude for languages?
Are they willing to look stupid when speaking in other people’s language? Do they demonstrate a dogged determination to learn a language over time?
Do they have a reputation for getting along with others?
Given that the most significant reason for unnecessary missionary returns is conflict with teammates, a lack of team spirit is a red flag for those being assessed.