What qualifications do I need to become a missionary?
First & foremost, be a disciple of Jesus. Acknowledge that we are participants in God’s mission. You should care about the welfare of people and have the desire for them to know & trust God. It’s important that you have at least a foundational understanding of the bible, and you must have a healthy respect for other cultures. There are many other skills that will benefit you as a missionary, but this is a good start. It’s also helpful to keep in mind that specific mission organizations may have certain qualifications that they believe are important. Often these requirements are due to decades of mission work across the agency. Mission agencies may offer internships, utilize missionary training partnerships, or have other requirements to proceed. Of course, it is essential to be rooted in Christ above all else.
How do I choose a mission field?
There are a few different factors to consider. First, is there a people group or nation that you are passionate about helping? Do you have an affinity towards a city, region, or a particular cultural group? Also, do you feel a particular calling to serve an unreached people? Sometimes your mission organization has a specific focus area. For example, a mission agency might exclusively send missionaries to serve among unreached people groups, or another organization may work exclusively in South America.
In Global City Mission, we are focused on mobilizing missionaries to serve in global metro areas. That is, we understand that global cities are strategic for world mission. The world has become a network of cities, so we believe this is an important focus for mission strategy. Making disciples in global cities, includes cross-cultural church planting, evangelism among unreached people groups, and reaching the non-religious in post-Christendom contexts.
What kind of training do I need to be a missionary?
Each mission organization has different requirements for missionary candidates. Some may want candidates to have a seminary degree while others provide an internship as a way to gain experience. For a cross-cultural missionary, it is at least responsible to gain an understanding of culture and to study the bible in context. A missionary should be prepared to work with people and to develop discipleship in people who are culturally different within their cultural context.
Missionaries with Global City Mission aren’t required to have a theological degree, but can be helpful. We do want each candidate to pursue the preparation that will help them be fruitful and faithful. Each missionary with Global City Mission will work through a set of modules as a base minimum. That is, these are the absolute minimum elements we want every missionary to grasp. Depending on prior experience or training, we may also design a customized internship or training residency for a missionary candidate. Global City Mission also utilizes training residencies through partnerships in New York City and in Atlanta.
Should I learn a foreign language?
If you are going to serve as a missionary in a foreign country where people speak a different language, then yes, you should definitely learn the language. If you are serving in a country that speaks the same language as you, then you need to learn the different idioms of that region or country. Understand that there will still be cultural differences, and those are sometimes reflected in the language. If you are serving cross-culturally but within your own country, you may not have to learn another language because most migrants to the country are hoping to learn the language, but it is still a really good idea to begin learning the language of the community you are reaching. Learning the language of the community will help you develop deeper relationships, communicate love & respect for their culture, and open more relational access among non-English speakers. Language learning frequently contributes to meaningful ministry relationships.
How do I if a mission organization is a good fit for me?
It is a good practice to determine your own philosophy of ministry. What are the important things you’re looking for? What kind of mission strategy do you feel drawn to? There may be an organizational culture you fit with better than others. There could be a particular mission focus or fields that an organization emphasizes. Are there theological issues that you see as a boundary, or what degree of denominational diversity are you are able to function with? It is helpful to outline your own philosophy of ministry and ask questions to learn about the philosophy of the organization you are interested in joining.
Global City Mission utilizes a philosophy of ministry document in the discovery & interview process to help candidates understand the mission organization and determine if they share sufficient alignment to serve with Global City Mission.
How do I get funded as a missionary?
To serve as a full-time missionary, most people raise their funding from churches & individuals to partner with their ministry. The missionary raises financial support for their ministry, and a mission organization receives the funds and designates them as the salary for the missionary.
Some missionaries choose to be “bivocational.” That is, they work in a job or career while serving as a missionary. To serve as a bivocational missionary, your job should not be all-consuming, so you do have time & capacity for outreach in the community, starting house churches, mentoring emerging leaders, etc. Some bivocational missionaries work in the “gig economy” to allow themselves flexibility of schedule. Others are retired and already have a base income.
In Global City Mission, we are inviting a variety of missionary candidates to join the team. Our team includes workers that raise funds as full-time missionaries, bivocational missionaries, retired or part-time missionary workers, and other backgrounds. If you are raising funds, Global City Mission receives those funds as a non-profit organization and distributes the funds as missionary salary and/or workfund.
What do mission agencies require?
Most mission organizations require missionaries to include a percentage of the funds you raised to go to the mission organization. Some agencies require a modest percentage while others require a larger amount. Oftentimes, larger percentages include a requirement for missionaries to include insurance, counseling, or other services through the agency. The percentage taken from missionary fundraising helps to support the administrative functions of the organization that is facilitating the funding with the missionary.
Global City Mission does not require a percentage from missionary fundraising. Instead, missionaries make a modest, flat team contribution. It is much less than a percentage requirement which lowers the financial burden on the individual missionary, and it creates a more flexible environment for Global City Mission to mobilize missionaries through multiple mobilization & funding strategies.
How do I balance life, relationships, and mission work?
Ministry can be very challenging, and serving in a different culture brings additional challenges. Therefore, working out healthy boundaries and finding the right work-life balance is important. In cross-cultural mission, finding the right set of boundaries will involve the missionary’s own personality, the specific family concerns, the cultural context (the concept of personal boundaries may be different according to culture). It is important to take each of those factors into account to find the right match between a missionary and their field of service.
Contact Global City Mission to set up a discovery call to explore if this might be a good fit for you:
