“If the Lord Calls, the Funds Follow”: New Report Reveals the Real Obstacles Facing Modern Missionaries
Financial costs and caring for children and older parents are key obstacles to becoming a modern missionary, according to a new global mission report. Missionary organization Crosslinks surveyed its 87 mission partners for its “Pathways to Mission” report, which identifies the key factors behind key issues in modern global mission. Theological training and church apprenticeships were key, giving individuals the confidence to spread the gospel and explore their journey into missionary work. Mission director John McLernon said that while financial fears are commonplace, he believed that churches and those close to aspiring missionaries help enable them to follow their conviction to serve Christ.
“It has always been our experience that when the Lord calls someone to ministry, the funds inevitably follow on from that,” McLernon told Premier Christian News. “Part of the work we do is to help people exercise faith and go out and have confidence to ask their friends, family and churches if they will support them financially—to do that unashamedly, not as if they’re begging but people want to give generously.” Financial costs were in the top three obstacles for three-in-five mission partners. Half of the survey’s sample cited caring for children in their top three, with 43% naming impact on wider family including older parents. With 19% of respondents bi-vocational, often happening when married to a missionary, the report outlines that the global mission sees people juggling life around serving Christ. McLernon explained what missionaries are thinking about as they care for children during ministry. “If the education system isn’t satisfactory—and in a lot of the world there’s a really good education system—but there are some placements where you might feel like you’re hours away from civilization. Either the option is that you homeschool your children or you have to return to the UK.” Nearly four-in-ten respondents to Crosslinks waited between seven to ten years to join the global mission, and just shy of half of Crosslink’s mission partners made one to three trips abroad before committing to a global mission. Three-quarters of their surveyed missionaries had gone on some short-term trips before entering the mission. McLernon continued, saying that short-term trips were a great way to become comfortable in a new environment as a Christian. “I think that a great opportunity to engage in an exploration and discernment process is the area of short-term missions. I was really surprised by the figures,” McLernon added. “I know that some churches have an active programme every year of sending teams to volunteer at a camp, so the Church is catching up people to give an experience of another country, of another Christian context.”
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