How to Be a Missionary with Student Debt

Bethany DuVal • Sep 23, 2020

Let’s start with the good news: The world is full of missionaries who are happily serving in ministry while paying off their student debt. They aren’t all stellar financial planners, and they aren’t living in poverty to make it happen.

In other words, you can be one of them.

The tips I’m about to give you are simple and practical. I’m not going to tell you what to do, because every situation is different, and I am not a financial advisor. But I will share what’s worked for missionaries before you and share resources created for nonprofit workers. I’ll also share tips for paying off your student debt before you hit the mission field.

Student debt can feel overwhelming no matter what life choices you make. But it does not have to stop you from pursuing God’s call. Here are my best tips for how to be a missionary with student debt.

1. Find Out What Your Mission Agency’s Debt Limit Is.

Most mission agencies realize that if they want well-trained, qualified people, they need to accept missionaries with student debt. After all, roughly 18 percent of American adults are paying off student loans.

But responsible mission agencies also want to lead prospective missionaries to make responsible choices with their finances. That’s why many agencies set a student debt limit (usually around $20,000, according to the Go Fund ). Agencies look at the average missionary’s support levels and what kind of monthly payments a missionary could reasonably make.

TEAM ’s general student debt limit is $30,000. We also look at each situation individually to make sure other factors won’t make that number unmanageable. Being a missionary with student debt should never mean that you struggle to get by financially .

So, ask for your agency’s debt limit and figure out your standard payment plan (more on that later!). This will prepare you for step 2.

2. Build Two Strong Budgets.

Your mission agency will likely work with you to create a budget for the time you are serving abroad. But before that happens, you should build a budget to live on while you’re still at home.

This is a step you may be tempted to skip, but I urge you to resist! Managing your finances abroad is complex. The taxes are different, you’ll have added expenses and nothing is going to be in your currency. If you don’t have a good understanding of your financial situation at home, you’ll struggle to plan for your needs abroad .

If you’ve never created a personal budget, Crown Financial Ministries has a whole library of financial courses (including one on eliminating debt and another on debt-free living). You might also want to look into downloading a budget app to help you sort out your numbers.

Once you have your at-home budget set, you’ll be better equipped to create a budget for your life abroad.

Your mission agency will factor in the average cost of missionary living in your future host country, as well as ministry expenses . You’ll also add in any unique expenses (e.g. medical expenses not covered by insurance). From there, you can decide how to deal with your student debt.

Some missionaries pay for their student loans out of their standard budget, choosing to sacrifice leisure money to make it possible. Other missionaries choose to raise extra funds to cover the payments. There’s no right choice here. Deciding what to do is all about whether you’d rather live on a little less or find more supporters.

3. Pay Extra Whenever You Can.

Christina stands with 2 women she might while being a missionary with student debt

Christina Mayer (middle) has never had a large budget, but her commitment to her finances has helped her pay off student loans — and pay her way through seminary.

“Whenever you can” is the key phrase here. It means you don’t guilt yourself over making the standard payment when things are tight — but you commit to paying more when it’s possible.

TEAM missionary Christina Mayer started Bible college seven years after she graduated high school. She lived alone, and she didn’t have a lot of savings. When she graduated, she ended up working minimum wage.

If anyone could make excuses for not paying extra on her student loans, it was Christina. Still, she says, “I wanted to make a dent in the actual loan, so I always tried to pay at least $20 to $30 more.”

When Christina applied with TEAM, she could easily prove that she knew how to live on less — and certainly could handle being a missionary with student debt. When TEAM sent her to the Czech Republic, she kept making extra payments on her loans, just like she always had.

Gradually, those little extra payments added up . And today, Christina’s taking the next step in her education, paying her way through seminary on a missionary’s salary.

Your debt may feel overwhelming right now, but with dedication, you will see your number drop.

4. Check Out Ministries that Pay Off Your Student Debt.

It may sound too good to be true, but, yes, there are ministries that raise funds just so they can pay off missionaries’ student loans.

The Go Fund pays off student debt for cross-cultural, long-term missionaries who are serving among unreached people groups . Candidates apply online and go through a rigorous interview process. Once you’re selected, you continue paying on your student debts as you go to the mission field. After 10 years of missionary service, the Go Fund pays off your remaining student debt.

MedSend provides student loan repayment grants for professionals serving in healthcare missions service . Their goal is to get healthcare workers to the field as soon as possible, so they make missionaries’ monthly student loan payments while the missionary serves on the field.

Some Christian colleges and universities also have missionary student loan forgiveness programs — especially for recent graduates. If you went to a Christian school, make sure to talk to your alma mater’s financial aid office to see what options may be available.

5. Explore Government Student Loan Repayment Plans

If you don’t qualify for one of the forgiveness programs above, you may qualify for a government program. However, these programs merit a word of warning.

Government student loan forgiveness programs generally require annual paperwork and adherence to strict rules on how you pay back your loans. Many people have thought they were on their way to being debt-free only to find out that they were never qualified. Make sure you know all the guidelines for your forgiveness program and fill out paperwork in a precise and timely manner .

With that warning aside, here are some of the possibilities for Americans with student debt:

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program is an option for people employed by the government or not-for-profit organizations — including mission agencies . Similar to the Go Fund, this program requires you to make 120 qualifying monthly payments while you work for a nonprofit. At the end of 10 years, it pays off the remainder of your loans. This program is known for being a bit confusing, so make sure you do thorough research and call their helpline with any questions.

An income-driven repayment (IDR) plan lets you make payments based on your income . Then, after a set amount of time and number of payments, your loans are forgiven. There are several to choose from, and the benefit is generally lower payments. However, each program has pros and cons, depending on your situation.

Finally, student loan consolidation programs can combine your loans in to one easy (and often lower) payment . This often means a longer repayment term, so be mindful of the tradeoff.

What If I Pay Off My Student Loans Before the Mission Field?

Counting money

Instead of becoming a missionary with student debt, you might consider paying off your loans first. But make sure you have a solid, targeted plan to do it.

Some people just don’t like the stress of having student loans hanging over them. Others have so many that they exceed most mission agencies’ student debt limits. Sometimes becoming a missionary with student debt just isn’t the best option. If you’re going to pay off your student loans before you go abroad, though, make sure you have a solid plan.

1. Build Your Budget

Go back to step 2 of the previous section and make yourself a personal budget. Get a handle on what assets and income you have. Look at what you can sacrifice in the coming years. Then create a plan for how much you’ll pay off each year and when you’ll be able to make your final payment.

As you build this financial plan, set dates for when you’ll begin applying with mission agencies . At TEAM, it takes one to two years for a long-term missionary to apply, be accepted, raise support and get to the mission field. So, if your goal is to get the field as soon as possible, you’ll likely want to apply to the agency a year before you make your final loan payment.

Setting these deadlines early will help you maintain your focus over the years.

2. Find Accountability

If you haven’t already talked with your church about your desire to be a missionary, do that now. Your church leaders should have a voice in your calling , and they can help keep you accountable to your vision.

While you’re paying off your loans, look for opportunities to prepare yourself for the mission field. Get involved in cross-cultural ministry and seek out opportunities to build the skills you’ll need on the field. Consider taking a short-term mission trip to help refine your ministry plan.

TEAM Stewardship Coach Jennifer Nickels warns that once you start paying off debt, it’s easy to get caught up in the other things you could start saving for: a house, a baby, a car .

“Sometimes you might … forget that that was something that you originally dreamed or felt called to because now it’s a matter of, ‘Oooh, I could do all of these other things,’” Nickels says.

Plan for this temptation before it comes so you can stay on track and accomplish the ultimate goal.

Don’t Let Student Loans Keep You from Ministry

When we take out student loans, most of us have no idea how they’ll shape our lives. But with the right tools and determination, you can handle them responsibly and live a life of service for God.

“Don’t let the student loans … hold you back,” TEAM missionary Christina Mayer says. “If that’s what God wants you to do, you need to listen and obey and just follow in His footsteps.”

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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