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Samantha14
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Post by Samantha14 »

I've been thinking and praying a lot lately, and I honestly believe that God may be calling me to the mission field when I'm older. :)

So I ask you, what do you know about missionaries and how to become one? Do you know any good websites, or books, or the like that may help? Do you have any tips, suggestions, or advice that would help me reach towards this goal? Are you a missionary, or have you been on a missions trip? If so I would love to hear about it. Anything and everything, I'd love to know all I can. :)
merp.
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Dasi
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Post by Dasi »

that's awesome, Sammy! but sorry I can't help you...lol
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Anna><>
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Post by Anna><> »

My grandparents were missionaries for 40 years in south america, and my aunt (their daughter) and her family are now working as missionaries.
One tip that I would have is to have an idea of where you would like to go and learn the language now when you are young. My grandparents had to go to language school for a while before they went to the country where they were going to do missions. My auntie learned german while she was just in high school, and then moved to Germany for Bible College where she married my uncle and then they went to south america again for missions. It's a lot easier to learn a language when you're young and smart and have a good memory.
Also, it would probably be good for you to get involved in short term missions when you're a little older. You can go for trips in the summer and work with missionaries and learn a lot.
If you go to a church they probably support some missionaries, and you could ask if you'd be able to contact them and e-mail or talk to them sometime. I know that my church supports several missionaries. You can ask what they're doing, and then support them in prayer (or financially if you are able to. I know that a lot of missionaries are struggling to get by).
I think a book I read a long time ago was about a missionary David Livingstone and it was good.

You're still young. Just keep on praying that God will give you direction with what to do for your future. And just remember to be a missionary at home and wherever you are. God can use you anywhere, and it's always good to practise witnessing to the people you are close to first, before you go somewhere else.
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Amethystic
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Post by Amethystic »

For someone who went to a school whose purpose was basically to train kids to become missionaries, I actually don't know if I have any useful advice on this front. Well, I suppose I can start with the more cynical, pragmatic advice: do your research before packing up and moving your entire life overseas. My parents knew this one family who had a fellow from Nigeria visit their church asking for people who were willing to serve overseas, and so they decided to sign on and become missionaries. Unfortunately, when they finally arrived there they realized that the man had completely misrepresented the situation to them and they got swindled (kind of like a Nigerian email scam without the email, I guess). Be extra careful and pray extensively before taking anything on in the mission field. If something doesn't seem right, listen to the Holy Spirit and to your gut.

Also, and while this may sound somewhat in conflict with my first advice because it's a bit of a wild card, fancy Bible college degrees and official denominational backing do not always a good missionary make. I've always thought that it's a stupid idea to deem spiritual leaders worthy of their calling (pastors, missionaries, etc.) based on the amount of college education they receive. Literally any bum who fancies themselves a spiritual leader can sign up for four years of college and get themselves a degree for the denomination of their choice, and let me tell you, there are a lot of bums who do just that. That's not to disparage all "official" missionary organizations, but just remember that there is more than one way to becoming a missionary. Something great my Religious Studies teacher had us do for our last semester, and it's something I recommend you do too, is that he had us read a bunch of biographies and autobiographies about various missionaries and martyrs, both past and present--I loved God's Smuggler by Brother Andrew, by the way. Be careful as you read different testimonies, because like I said, any quack can become a spiritual leader (and then write a book about their freaky theology), but start investigating--what's the difference between a missionary who feeds a village by getting their denomination to foot the bill, and a missionary who feeds a village by praying for food every single day and receiving it by faith? (An example of the latter, I do believe, would be Heidi Baker. She also heals deaf/blind/dead people.) Also, some people start their own missionary organisations, like http://www.aslanintl.org/, which publishes Bibles in Turkey and reaches out to Turkey's vast Muslim population.

Oh! I just remembered something else: be careful of mission/aid organizations that foster a dependency on foreign aid and assistance to maintain people's well-being. While it's important to help people with aid when they're in immediate peril, long-term it's harmful to ship free hand-outs to these people because they soon become reliant on gifts on donations rather than their own means, and that can serve to further disempower them and cripple their local/national economy. That's why I really enjoyed my school's short-term mission with http://www.impactministries.ca/ in Guatemala; they've set up private schools around the Tactic area (families pay to attend, though there is also a sponsorship program available) that not only offer children a quality education but also regular meals and access to healthcare for the students and their families. The majority of the staff is Guatemalan, many of them either former students or parents of students, and the goal of the schools is to educate and empower Guatemalan children to impact their country and the entire world for Christ--a lot of former students have gone on to receive university educations, and the ministry's hope is to also train up Guatemalans to become missionaries in places where white, high-maintenance North Americans stick out like a sore thumb, such as in the Middle East. While the the ministry was founded and is run administratively by Canadians, ultimately the organization is about empowering Guatemalans (through the power and love of Christ) to help themselves, and I think that's a lot more powerful than being an endless source of free handouts.

...Okay, so maybe I did have some advice. :anxious: Hope this helps!
Last edited by Amethystic on Sun Aug 18, 2013 9:48 am, edited 2 times in total.
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31899
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Post by 31899 »

I recommend the following:
Ask God to confirm your calling. Spend time in introspection/prayer/devotion. Question whether this is calling or personal desire.
Continue to talk with people in the industry and your personal spiritual leaders.
Take some courses in anthropology, human geography, and language.
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Blitz
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Post by Blitz »

Go to a Bible School and pick a good mission board. Two very important things. Learn as much as you can.
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John Chrysostom
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Post by John Chrysostom »

Something that my brother, who wants to be a missionary, was told by missionaries was don't go to a Bible school. First you will need to support yourself before, or even if, you get enough support to be a missionary full time. So you should have a degree that will allow you to get work. Also there are some countries where if you want to be a missionary you have to have a secular job and a Bible degree will be a red flag that will keep you from getting into the country. Also you should go to a secular college because if you can't live in a secular college and witness to people there then you won't be able to be effective in the mission field.

Don't stay in the bubble of a Bible school.
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Amethystic
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Post by Amethystic »

31899 wrote:Question whether this is calling or personal desire.
Just a thought: while I agree one must be sure they're not going into the missions field out of a sense of pride or selfishness, possessing a personal desire to be a missionary is important. Psalm 37:4 says, Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." God gives us passions, talents, and desires for Him, and so if somebody feels a strong desire for missions they should pursue that desire. Yes, there are times that God calls us to do things we don't want to do, but He's not going to give someone a desire for one thing and then force them into something completely contrary. Even with difficult callings and convictions, we should feel God's peace in the midst of it.
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Post by Humby »

My Aunt and Uncle are missionaries. They don't live in a different country than America, but they go different places. Just recently they went on a trip with a organization called Mercy Ships. My sister Ashley went on a mission trip with them to Mexico to build a church.
I went to Mexico one time to help build a church. It was really gratifying to help people who lived in what we would call trash. They made what 'houses' they could out of it. And yet they were so friendly. One lady even made the team goodbye gifts. It was touching. I also encountered my first iguana outside a zoo tank. That startled me. But it just stood there on the path. Intriguing after the initial shock. Haha :dumb:
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