For All the Missionary Wannabe’s

Well, I am writing this for all the wannabe missionaries out there. So first, let’s be honest, I can’t say I know everything or too much of anything about being a missionary because I am just at the beginning of the journey myself, but I will share what I can (since I know sooo much) and also what I have learned from other missionaries out there.

Let me start out by saying that as being a part of an organization that does short term missions, I love short term missions, but I think they give us an unrealistic view of what it’s like being a missionary. Being a missionary isn’t about travelling the world, or painting houses, or giving out hugs in the name of Jesus. Yes, hugs for Jesus. We have this warped thinking that missions is a series of projects in random places helping only certain kinds of people. You know, the ones with problems…

But in reality, missions looks different in different places. Sometimes it is helping people with drug addictions, sometimes it’s working with the poor and helping them build a house, but sometimes, it’s living at home and having a ‘real job’ because that’s also a mission field. If I have been learning anything in the last few months, it would be my grandmothers favourite phrase “bloom where you are planted”. We need to realize that missions are not simultaneous with programs. Missions is a lifestyle. Choosing to live intentionally for Jesus every second of everyday wherever you are at–that’s missions. Building a relationship with people you work with and showing them the love of Jesus is just as important as feeding the homeless in a soup kitchen. The difference is that if you only help out in that soup kitchen once, that homeless woman really only sees you taking pity on her, not having an interest in caring about her day or situation or helping her grow spiritually. Your friend on the other hand gets to know you, and can see that you are different — that you are kind, that you care about that homeless woman, that you don’t sleep around with your girlfriend or boyfriend, etc. I think we miss out on a lot of our opportunities to share Jesus because we are too focused on mission programs and are blind to the mission field we are already in.

If you are considering missions, I want you to ask yourself if you truly ‘do missions’ where you already are because if not, you probably won’t do missions any other place either.

Do we understand the difference between wanderlust and wanting to be a missionary?

Don’t get me wrong, I love to travel and I have a *couple* of boards on Pinterest that are just places I want to go, but becoming a missionary isn’t the same as becoming a world traveler.

Missionaries *usually* stay in one place for a while…years or decades even…to invest in the people they have contact with and to build on new relationships and live life with the people they minister to. They struggle, they mess up, and they sometimes fail, but they continue to grow with people as all of them grow in The Lord and their faith. (It’s kinda like blooming where you are planted but overseas.)

I completely understand wanting to go see the world and experience different cultures, but don’t use the Church to pay your way and/or to collect stamps in your passport. Instead, get a job, and save your money to take a trip to somewhere incredible.

I’m not against short term missions, I think it’s a great way to test out whether you’re possibly cut out for the mission field, it’s also a great way to grow, but so is getting a ‘real job’.

If you still have an interest in missions and becoming a missionary, talk to your pastor, look into training, ask questions–lots of questions–and use discernment and prayer to figure out which path God is leading you down.