April 2016 - TEAM Christian Missions Blog

When Becoming a Missionary Means Keeping Your Job

From marketers to accountants to engineers, kingdom professionals are leveraging the skills and talents in the workplace to make disciples of all nations. Photo by TEAM

Apr 28 2016

Everyone knows what becoming a missionary means: Quit the job you enjoy, attend a fancy seminary, get fitted for one of those safari hats and start looking for random strangers to proselytize. OK, maybe not the hat, but the rest tend to be considered non-negotiable. Unless you’re a doctor, a teacher or capable of starting a whole business (as mission), giving up your career and learning cold evangelism are seen as part of the “dying to self” all missionaries go through. But what if, in a growing global economy, building your career was one of the most effective ways to…

Cultural preparation is critical to a short-mission trip. Jumpstart your cultural learning with these 20 questions. Photo by TEAM

Apr 21 2016

Preparing for a short-term mission trip doesn’t stop when your funds are raised and your flight is booked. Before jetting off on your short-term mission trip, it’s critical to have an understanding of the culture in which you will be living and serving. Having knowledge of your host country’s unique customs will engender the respect you need from locals to be successful in ministry. It also might save you from a cultural blunder or two! To build a foundation of cultural competency, spend time answering the following diagnostic questions. You can download a printable version with space to record your findings here. Questions to Help…

Creating a place to call home in a new environment can be challenging without access to favorite stores. But making your house a home is a critical step to thriving overseas.

Apr 07 2016

A week after we landed in Manila, we moved into our condo. Our first morning in our new home, I sat on the floor amidst the half-unpacked suitcases and boxes and cried. We had a table. We had no chairs. We slept on an air mattress we bought the night before. The task before us of settling in, of creating this to be a space of our own, felt daunting and distant. But trying to create a home overseas is more than the actual furniture. What I have written here is 80 percent personal narrative and 20 percent how-to. I…

The best part of being a missionary is following God on a journey to bring him glory among the nations, an endeavor that cannot fail. Photo by TEAM in Mozambique.

Apr 04 2016

Today we welcome Stephen Langley, an appointed TEAM missionary to South Africa, to share his thoughts on what motivated him to choose missions as his career. It may seem presumptuous for a missionary who has not yet left for his assignment to claim to know “the best thing about being a missionary.” But bear with me. I think I’m onto something here, and I invite any of my veteran missionary friends to tell me if I’m wrong. Last week, I was vacuuming one of the hallways in my church and pondering my family’s future. I had just finished listening to a John…

It's not just a matter of passion. Having a true call to missions is a vital to ministry and doesn't have to be difficult to discover.

Apr 01 2016

I don’t know if you’re anything like me, but when I see a tiny airplane on the cover of a journal, or a canvas that reads “Adventure is Waiting”, my heart starts to swell with longing. I immediately want to be on a plane or adding a stamp to my passport or in the middle of a busy European café, soaking in the sights and sounds. When you pair a longing for adventure with a desire to share the hope of Jesus Christ with the world, missions seems like the natural next step. I agree, you may be on to…

Archive - April 2016

When Becoming a Missionary Means Keeping Your Job

20 Questions to Help You Prepare for a Mission Trip

How to Create a Home Overseas

The Best Thing About Being a Missionary

Why Your Call to Missions Matters + How to Find It