6 Reasons Why You Should Not Go Overseas

Wesley Mills • May 29, 2018

Working for a missions agency , we get to assess, equip and deploy missionaries all over the world. When we assess them, we’re looking at more than skills and gifts; we look at motivations and reasons why someone wants to go overseas.

There are plenty of reasons why people go overseas , but not all of them are great reasons. Maybe the intention is pure, and we want to affirm genuine and holy desires. But we also want to steer those desires in ways that truly honor the Lord rather than fulfilling one’s own mission.

Some of the most popular reasons people give for wanting to serve internationally are also some of the most lacking. Below are six motivations that seem solid on the surface, but lack what it takes to thrive cross-culturally.

“I want to go overseas…

1. because I want to help people.”

Far and away, this is still the most popular answer people give for wanting to serve overseas. Mostly viewed through a material-laden lens, this motivation is more about being a savior than worshipping the Savior. The emphasis is on you “helping,” rather than going and serving and learning. It presumes “help” is needed, typically lacks a gospel-centered posture and usually is interested in being the teacher, not the one who’s taught.

2. because I think living overseas will be fulfilling.”

Maybe it will be. But this should not be the reason someone goes. If this is a motivation, it’s most likely that this person hasn’t met a cross-cultural worker before. There could be an aspect of fulfillment that comes. However, living overseas means learning a new language , adjusting to a new culture, feeling like an outsider, being misunderstood and possibly never seeing someone come to know Jesus. If you told someone that would be their experience, it would seem much less appealing and certainly less fulfilling. This motivation is more concerned with self-fulfillment than it is the fulfillment of their neighbor.

3. because God told me to.”

This one is tricky. It is masked in spiritual language and puts the ultimate fence around anyone who thinks to question it. Who would dare question God? And who would question someone if they said they heard from God? And yet, as an agency, we ask who has affirmed this call of God to go: the church, one’s community , other mentors? One may sense God’s leading to move internationally, but the blanket defense of “God told me to” is not enough. Typically, this motivation is rooted in a very individualistic call to go overseas. It’s unconcerned about the counsel, pushback and wisdom of the body of Christ.

4. because I want an adventure.”

Living overseas will be an adventure, but maybe not the one you want. It may require sickness and heartache and trouble. One may encounter doubt and tragedy and dark nights of the soul that you would never have elsewhere. The adventure most people want is filled with fun and new experiences and Instagrammable moments. But that vision is too small and motivation too weak for the weightiness of cross-cultural life. We dilute the Christian life when we talk about it as an “adventure,” rather than wrestling with the realities that lost people will be in hell, the effects of the fall, and ministry of reconciliation.

5. because I want to start a new life.”

This reason is also common. One of the last reasons to go overseas is out of dissatisfaction with one’s current situation. If life is challenging now with a familiar people, language and culture, who’s to say it will be easier living the opposite of that? Paul tells Timothy, “But godliness with contentment is great gain” ( 1 Timothy 6:6 ). To flee discontentment will only heighten the frustrations and hardships of life. There is a “holy discontentment” that is rooted in the effects of the fall and realizing we are living in the already, but not yet ( 1 John 3:2 ). But holy discontentment is different than earthly discontentment — mere dissatisfaction with the path of your life. If circumstances are constantly dictating your contentment, the added complexity of living cross-culturally will only amplify that.

6. because going overseas is more spiritual.”

There’s an old line of thinking that says immature Christians stay home and mature Christians go to the mission field. Crossing international borders does not make one any more spiritual than walking across the street does. This thought process is rooted in the work of missionaries being more spiritual than “secular” workers. But if we look at Jesus’ life, He held a pretty secular vocation in carpentry. Going overseas will expose your spirituality, but going overseas has nothing to do with one being closer to God or “more spiritual” than someone who sends missionaries from home.

So how does one discern pure motives for going? We all are broken , including our motivations. We all have ulterior motives and do things out of selfish gain. But, some practical questions to ask ourselves when thinking of serving cross-culturally are:

  • Is going overseas about fulfilling a calling or about loving my neighbor?
  • What missionaries have I talked with who have lived overseas, and what counsel have they given?
  • Who has investigated my interest in serving internationally with me?
  • Am I engaged in cross-cultural relationships now , and what am I learning from them?

Ultimately, the motivations listed above aren’t enough. None are deep enough or draw from the well of Christ enough. Some of them may be clouded in spiritual language, but they are not rooted in the love of God, obedience to God or love of neighbor. They are rooted in a mission that says God’s mission is about me.

But we know the mission of God is never about us. It’s about God. It’s about Jesus laying down the riches of heaven out of obedience to the Father and love for His image-bearers. It’s about His coming and becoming like us — fully human — and redeeming us so we could become like Him. This is the motivation that has carried missionaries for 2,000 years. And it will carry the rest until He returns.

Bridging Dissonance: Finding Connection in Music and the Gospel

By Emily Sheddan • 18 Jul, 2024
TEAM worker Luke Standridge and his fellow musicians use music to build connections to faith in Japan. In music terms, dissonance creates movement or even suspense in a song. It invites tension. That tension is what helps grab our ear’s attention and the interchanging of these notes with pleasant melodious parts is what makes music such a delight. In a similar way, God is using music to grab people’s attention and catalyze Gospel impact in the largely unreached nation of Japan. TEAM Global Worker, Luke Standridge moved to Japan in 2019 with no clear direction on how he was going to use his passion for composing music while doing ministry. However, after Luke got involved with a local church and began developing deep friendships, the Lord opened unimaginable doors for Luke that in time, coordinating his creative skills with sharing the Word. “People Need to Come to Japan!” Growing up as one of ten kids in a family that was heavily involved in ministry and missions, Luke never considered that it would one day be a part of his own journey. In 2016, via a Japanese language learning class in Indiana, Luke and his brother had the opportunity to travel to Japan. Hearing, learning, and using the language in the context of Japanese culture was the goal. While it was Luke’s first international trip – even his first trip on a plane - it was also his first time hearing about the spiritual condition of the Japanese people. “And just through that, God did a huge 180 change on my heart,” says Luke. “More people should come here as global workers. People need to come to Japan!” The call God was laying on Luke’s heart is echoed when looking at the spiritual landscape of Japan. The nation is home to the second largest unreached people group in the world. It is one of the most difficult places for the Gospel to take hold and grow. Japan is also home to a deep and rich culture that prizes creative arts from pottery to ink to music to anime – a fact that would help Luke find his niche in life and ministry. God’s Guiding Hand In the short three-month timespan of that first trip, Luke found that opportunities came naturally to share about life, and people’s curiosity for Christianity grew. “I left Japan knowing I just had to come back,” Luke shares. “Even if I didn’t get back to the same area, I knew Japan was where God wanted me to be.” The Lord is good all the time and all the time the Lord is good. His plans do not fail. Luke returned to Japan in 2019, and less than a week after arriving, he was put in touch with a renowned composer in Japan. The composer saw some of Luke’s music and invited him to help write the music for a beloved in-country animated show. But God wasn’t finished yet! Fast forward a year, and more connections and opportunities allowed Luke to help with music for Pokémon - a franchise that has brand recognition around the world and was being developed into a TV series in Japan. Luke recalls how the Lord began using these connections in the production world to open doors for Gospel conversations. One night while having dinner in downtown Tokyo with famous artists and composers from all around the country, Luke was asked about his ministry-focused visa. This was a rare opportunity in a setting with people otherwise uninterested in Christianity. Luke shares, “The whole time I could see God’s hand in guiding the entire thing.”

Connecting in a New Kind of “Neighborhood”

By Lorena de la Rosa and Suzanne Pearson • 13 Jun, 2024
Through creative arts and other forms of innovative outreach, “The Neighborhood” is creating connections to the Gospel and the love of Jesus. CONNECTION. It’s a common word with powerful implications. Dictionary.com defines connection as a joining or linking together; a relationship between people or objects that unites or binds them together. God has created each of us with a deep need for connection with Him as well as connection with others. Hebrews 10:24-25 speaks to this, as the writer exhorts, “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” This God-given need for connection lies at the heart of a creative and innovative ministry in Japan known as “The Neighborhood.” TEAM Japan global worker, Kelly and her family created The Neighborhood as a place where connections are formed through creative arts, educational opportunities, and simply just providing a space for people to be together. A Family Calling The journey to the creation of The Neighborhood began over 5,000 miles away from Tokyo, in California where Kelly, her husband Jeff, and their five children were living. The kids were the first to sense God’s calling to missions, and asked why their family wasn’t serving in this way. How Kelly and her family came to TEAM is a God-story in and of itself. “God placed a TEAM Japan worker at our lunch table the same week that the kids posed that question to us,” Kelly recalls. “We had never heard of TEAM and so we thought, ‘let’s check this out.’ After that, God just kept confirming that we were supposed to be here.” After a period of fundraising and with much excitement, the family of seven moved to Japan in 2014. For the first five years, Kelly and Jeff served as a part of other TEAM ministry initiatives, but they began to sense a stirring for something new. Creating The Neighborhood Kelly and her family truly have a deep gift for hospitality, and regularly opened up their home to others they met in Tokyo. They saw a great need for people to have a place to gather and connect, and they wondered what doors the Lord might be opening for them to meet that need. “About a year before we were to return the States on home assignment, we were just really thinking about our future in Japan,” Kelly says. “We saw a need for people to have a ‘third place’ – a place that’s not home and it’s not work. They didn’t have a church community or any other place where they could meet people and just connect.” Kelly goes on to explain that in Japan, the culture is such that people don’t generally invite each other into their homes, but as her family did so, people embraced that opportunity. “This idea formed in all of our hearts of a student ministry center – a place where we can create community and learning,” says Kelly. “It was born out of what we were already doing in our home, but seeing how we could expand it and have better space.” God’s Provision What happened next is a true testament to God’s provision. Kelly, Jeff, and the kids returned to the States and began sharing their vision for The Neighborhood with their supporters and churches who responded generously. Upon returning to Japan, the search was on for the right space. “We had a Christian realtor that we told our dream to, and he just went looking for it,” Kelly recalls. When the realtor found a 5-story apartment building, he said, “It’s kind of out of your budget but it has what you need and want.” The Lord provided the funds and the family moved into the space in November 2019. They now occupy all but the ground floor, with living space for their family as well as classrooms, areas to study or hang out, and guest rooms for exchange students or others who need a place to stay overnight. The first floor is occupied by a pizza shop – a welcome amenity for the many groups and students who visit The Neighborhood. “It’s very convenient!” Kelly says with a laugh. The Neighborhood began to see lots of activity right away until the pandemic hit in early 2020. During the height of the quarantine, Kelly and Jeff used the time to redecorate the space and plant gardens outside the building. Then as the restrictions eased, they invited individual students or families over for meals and fellowship. It wasn’t until March 2023 that The Neighborhood was able to fully open again as intended. Kelly shares that despite the setbacks of COVID, the Lord continued to provide the funds to pay the rent.
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