Famous missionaries have inspired Christian believers for a long time. From biblical missionary journeys like Paul’s to missionaries with their own holiday like St. Patrick and those who’ve only recently passed on like Elisabeth Elliot, these heroes of the faith remind us of the importance of sharing the Good News of Jesus.
It’s no surprise that people like you want to continue this legacy and get involved with mission work!
However, mission work is changing. The global Church is growing and now includes many native believers who want to reach their own people. Since they don’t need a passport and already speak the same language, it’s easier for these believers to act as native missionaries than for a foreign missionary to step in.
Don’t worry, there’s still a place for you in missions. Instead of moving abroad, you can live as a missionary where you are. If you’re not sure how to start, we can help. After all, native missions is our passion!
Keep reading to learn how to become a missionary anywhere in the world, right where you are.
Follow the 2 Greatest Commandments
In Matthew 22:36–40, Jesus explains that the two greatest commandments are to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” All Christians are called to live out their faith in this way, but people who want to live as missionaries for God should examine themselves more.
How are you using your heart, soul, and mind to love God? How are you loving your neighbor? If your answer to these questions are “I don’t know,” then consider what you need to change to give an affirmative answer.
Missionaries aren’t perfect; no Christian is. However, if we want to live on mission for God anywhere, including right where we are, then we need to focus on intentionally following the greatest commandments.
Start Praying and Serving
As you seek to follow the two greatest commandments, or to do more as you live on mission, start praying. Prayer is the biggest request we receive from native missionaries around the world. If other missionaries spend time in prayer and ask fellow believers to pray for them, then we should too.
- Add extra moments of prayer throughout your day or spending more time in prayer during your quiet time.
- Talk honestly with God about anything and everything that’s on your mind.
- Give yourself moments of quiet too, where you reflect and open yourself up to hearing from God.
During these quiet moments, God may reveal a particular area where you should start serving Him and loving your neighbor. He may also put people or signals in your path to inspire you into service, such as words from a friend or a perfectly timed social media post.
Learn how to pray for native missionaries here
God calls everyone to serve differently. While He may inspire you to go back to school so you can serve Him in a new job field, He may also offer smaller service areas. For example, your church may advertise a need for prison ministry volunteers or a local non-profit may post online that they need help with yard work.
Pray over service opportunities and follow as God leads.
Improve Your Intercultural Communication Skills
You’ll probably interact with people who are different from you as you serve. Roughly 70 million people have immigrated to the U.S., 10 million to Canada, 80 million to Europe, and 7 million to Australia in the last 50 years. You have a high chance of meeting someone from a different culture as you serve in your community.
Effectively working together or serving across cultural barriers requires intercultural communication skills. Learning about different cultures can help improve these necessary skills.
Traveling to new places, visiting museums, and consuming media such as books and music can all help you learn more about the cultures of people you’re working with and serving. Asking questions when the other person feels comfortable and actively listening can also improve your communication and help you serve more effectively.
Connect with a Missions Organization
Living as a missionary and serving where we are is great, but sometimes we still have a heart for other countries. Connecting with an international missions organization such as Advancing Native Missions or Compassion International empowers you to help local Christians thrive.
Through ANM, you can help local Christians thrive with financial support, prayer, and short-term trips with your church. Your gifts will improve the lives of impoverished and persecuted believers, as well as active missionaries who are planting churches and reaching unreached people groups. People will hear about Jesus for the very first time and grow in their walk with Christ because of your support!
Downloading our prayer resources teaches you how to pray for people and situations that are already on God’s heart. Missionaries’ most frequent request is for prayer. Even though you’re far away from these missionaries and their situations, your prayers are a direct response to their need and a great help on the mission field.
Traveling with your church to visit local ministries encourages native missionaries. You’ll get to live and work alongside them while contributing to sustainable long-term relationships that build the global Church.
Through Compassion International, you can sponsor a child in another country who will thrive under the care of a Compassion Center. Your sponsorship will help the child get tutoring, food assistance, spiritual guidance, medical care, and whatever else they need. Compassion Centers are built around local churches and function under local leadership. Some of our native missionaries even partner with Compassion International!
Stay Consistent
Following the two greatest commandments, praying, serving, improving communication skills, and connecting internationally all depend on consistency. While we’re all flawed humans who may struggle to keep up with things at times, missionaries should strive for consistency.
Check in with God and yourself frequently, reflecting and evaluating how you’re following His lead.
Now that you know how to become a missionary anywhere in the world, we pray that you’ll follow where God leads and start consistently serving.
If you live in Virginia and you’re passionate about helping a non-profit while impacting the world, you can serve with us at Advancing Native Missions. Your consistent, prayerful volunteer work with buildings and grounds, finance, donor relations, or another department will bless our office staff and help us better serve native missionaries around the globe.
