The Christian community is full of words that people frequently use but rarely stop to define. One of these words is the term “missionary.” If you want to learn what a missionary is and what they do, keep reading! We explore formal definitions from the Bible and dictionary, as well as real-life examples of missionary duties.
Missionaries According to the Bible
Technically, the word missionary doesn’t appear in the Bible. However, the root word of missionary is mission, which comes from the Latin missio and has a Greek equivalent you’ll probably recognize: apostelló.
Apostelló, or apostle in English, appears throughout the Bible and frequently in the four Gospels. Based on the definition and usage of the word, we learn that an apostle, or a missionary, is someone who is sent to share the saving knowledge of Jesus with unbelievers.
Jesus Himself commissioned the original apostles (Matthew 28:16–20). To honor that distinction, many churches use the term “missionary” now instead of “apostle,” but the principle of sending someone out to share the saving knowledge of Jesus is still the same.
What is a Missionary?
A typical, modern definition of a missionary set out by most dictionaries looks like this:
A person sent on a religious mission, especially someone promoting Christianity in a foreign country.
Other definitions describe missionaries as cross-cultural Christians who leave their native area to serve in a new one, or someone dedicated to fulfilling the Great Commission.
Our name, Advancing Native Missions, could sound confusing when we compare it to these modern definitions. If a missionary is supposed to go to a foreign country or new area, how can there be native missions?
Native missions exists because there are Christians with the same or similar cultural identities sharing the Gospel with others in their area. Some of the people they reach may be like them, while others may come from nearby unreached people groups. Regardless of who they’re reaching, these native Christians are still missionaries because they are on a religious mission promoting Christianity in accordance with the Great Commission. Like the original apostles, they are sent to tell others about the saving knowledge of Jesus.
You may think this sounds more like an evangelist than a missionary. However, evangelists are focused on preaching, while many of the native missionaries we partner with share the Gospel through church planting, discipleship, and community aid.
Missionary Duties
The primary duty of a missionary is to share the Gospel of Jesus, especially with those who’ve never heard it. They can go about this project in various ways based on the skills, talents, and passions that God gave them.
For example, sometimes medical professionals become medical missionaries. They attend school to become a nurse, dentist, doctor, or other medical professional, and then they serve in a place that has little access to medical care. When people come to them for medical care, they provide that care and share the Gospel with them.
While their primary duty is to share the Gospel, they use medical care as a bridge to create relationships with people, so it’s easier to share the Gospel with them. We partner with a medical missionary in the Philippines named Linda, and you can learn more about her in our 7 Days of Prayer for Native Missionaries guide.
Missionary Work Around the World
Just as missionary duties vary depending on the gifts of the missionary, missionary work is different around the world. It looks different in each region since they have their own unique history and culture.
Missionary Work in Asia
- Missions in North Korea have a complicated history with unique opportunities to share the Gospel.
- Past and current missionary work in Japan has gone through many changes and they are still one of the largest unreached people groups in the world.
- Focused missions to migrants in the slums of India helped raise up a native pastor.
- Christian missionaries serve Vietnam’s Hmong people, turning an outcast into a church planter.
Missionary Work in Europe
- Missionary work in Ukraine faces much persecution, but there are still many opportunities to share the hope of the Gospel.
- Vehicles spread the Gospel faster for Bulgarian missionaries, allowing them better access to remote areas that need Jesus’s love.
Missionary Work in the Middle East
Missionary Work in North and Central America
How You Can Help Missionaries
Now that you understand what a missionary — particularly a native missionary — is and what they do, you can learn how to help them. Missionaries around the world need our spiritual and financial support to continue to perform the duties God has called them to do. They need prayer, generous financial donors, and a wide variety of supplies ranging from children’s Bibles to boats and more.
When you use our 7 Days of Prayer for Native Missionaries guide, you can learn how to pray for the specific needs of native missionaries. You can also get a better understanding of their financial and practical needs and how you can potentially help through donations. Other ways to help missionaries are through explaining their needs to other people who want to help and visiting them on a short-term trip with your church.
While we are all called to share Jesus’s love with others, God calls missionaries to dedicate their lives to sharing the Good News in specific ways. Let us pray regularly for those with this special calling, especially native Christians seeking to transform their communities with God’s love.
Use the 7 Days of Prayer for Native Missionaries guide to know how to pray.
Photo by Eric Vess (Nepal 2022)
