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Does God Care About Your Work?

How do you live out God's missional call as a waiter, salesperson or cubicle-dweller? Is it even possible? Photo by TEAM

Jun 26 2018

For the last couple of hundred years, the western world has viewed life as “sacred vs. secular.” Since the Enlightenment Age, we’ve emphasized God coming to redeem you (personal profession of faith) over God coming to redeem the world (making all things right when He returns). There is a feeling that the work you do from Monday to Saturday is different from what you do on Sunday. This line of thinking subverts the work of individuals in the workplace as “less than” because it’s considered secular work rather than sacred. But the truth is that God created work. In fact,…

Missionaries face so many cultural barriers, have you ever wondered why God even bothers with them? See what one missionary learned during her search for answers. Photo by TEAM

Jun 14 2018

My co-worker and I had everything set to start our mom’s club. The moms were eager, and we’d found a popular American Christian parenting book that’s available in both Chinese and English. But as the weeks went on, I noticed something strange. We enjoyed good fellowship with the moms, but they all seemed to avoid talking about the content of the book — the very thing I’d hoped would lead to deeper spiritual conversation. Finally, I got more pointed with my questions: “In this part, he’s talking about how important it is to cultivate an internal system of self-control…

Why do you really want to go overseas? If you answered with one of these 6 reasons, you might not be ready! Photo by TEAM

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…

Don't journey into missions alone. Check out these 5 questions to ask your sending church and discover ways you can prepare for the mission field! Photo by TEAM

May 08 2018

It’s never too late to include your church in your missions calling — whether you’re just getting started or have been on the field for years. But it can be hard to figure out where to start. That’s the dilemma a reader recently shared on Instagram. So, we decided to share the five questions every missionary (or potential missionary) should ask their sending church. Plus, we have a free resource to help you keep the conversation going. 1. Will you go on this journey with me? William Carey was a British missionary in the 1800s. When he decided to share…

What is it like to grow up among multiple cultures? Read now to learn more about the challenges third culture kids experience on the mission field.

Apr 17 2018

My 6-year-old self and my 4-year-old sister, Bianca stepped out of our front door, along with our mom, and into a dark, gray hallway. It smelled like rusted staircase railings and old wooden elevators. Sometimes the barely-big-enough-for-two-people elevator worked fine and sometimes it’d get jammed for a while. But we didn’t feel like walking down all the apartment stairs today, so we took our chances. The elevator creaked and rumbled, but made it to the bottom floor. “Taxi?” I asked Mom as we stepped out of the old, graffitied building and onto the city sidewalk. “The market is just around…

How old is too old to be a missionary? Is there really an ideal missionary age? Hear from senior TEAM missionaries about their experiences. Photo by TEAM

Mar 27 2018

Deb Prentice should not be a missionary. She should be doting on grandchildren. She should be finishing her career as a nurse practitioner. She’s just running away from the death of her husband. Well, that’s what people told her anyway. Deb originally thought she would go to the mission field in her 20s, as a newlywed. But then she and her husband had to care for her father-in-law. Then they started a family. Then they had grandkids. When God finally gave her the go-ahead in 2007, Deb was more than ready. But to be fair to her naysayers, moving to…

Will creating a long-term missions strategy keep you from hearing God's voice? Check out these 3 tips to stay firm but flexible in your church's plan for missions! Photo by TEAM

Mar 13 2018

We’re firm believers that every church should have a long-term strategy for its global missions work — one that provides focus and clarity on where to invest your resources and people. But having a strategy isn’t without its challenges. For example, what happens if your church decides to focus on missions in Asia… and then someone in your church senses a call to go to Kenya? Do you refuse to support them because they don’t fit with the bigger strategy? Or do you toss aside the strategy every time someone comes with a new idea? How do you know if…

Does your relationship with your church impact your involvement in missions? Keep reading to see how your calling and community are often intertwined. Photo by TEAM

Nov 21 2017

“What does your church say about going to Ghana?” Hmm…. Now that was a question I hadn’t considered before. What did my church have to say about what country I was serving in and what I was doing while there? When someone asked me that question after I returned from a summer mission trip to West Africa, I was a little surprised. It’s not that my church wasn’t involved in sending me. They had financially supported me and told me they were proud of me. But when I stopped and thought about it, I realized I hadn’t taken a moment…

When you think about your involvement in missions, are you motivated by the law — by a sense of duty — or by the grace of the Gospel? Photo by TEAM

Oct 26 2017

In our Sending Church Training events, I often lead a session about “embracing spiritual conviction.” Every time I facilitate this session, I knowingly disappoint the attendees. Here’s why. In a room full of church missions leaders, everyone thinks “embracing spiritual conviction” means they’ll learn ways to motivate their congregations toward missions. In that environment, I let everyone down by refusing to talk about behaviors and focusing instead on affections. When it comes to mission motivators, it doesn’t really work to only think about behaviors — what people do — without also thinking about affections — why they do what they…

Felicity didn't know how to get through to the women in her host country — until she started giving them henna tattoos. Photo by TEAM

Oct 10 2017

When Felicity* heard the call to full-time missions in the Middle East, she thought she knew what to expect. After all, she’d grown up as a missionary kid in a Middle Eastern nation. She grew up with Muslim friends. She knew the Quran almost as well as she knew the Bible, and she could debate apologetics along with the best of them. But when she arrived in her new country, she realized none of it had prepared her for the ministry ahead of her. “In high school, I would sit down with neighbor kids and we’d play, and … our…

Tag - missionary calling

Does God Care About Your Work?

Why Does God Use Missionaries?

6 Reasons Why You Should Not Go Overseas

5 Questions to Ask Your Sending Church

Third Culture Kids, Part 1: Overcoming Challenges On-Field

7 Secrets to Being a Missionary in Your Golden Years

Why Limiting Your Missions Strategy Won’t Limit You

Giving Your Community a Voice in Your Calling

Why Guilting People into Missions Ultimately Fails

Can Tattoos Lead to Salvation?