Missionary Care Archives - TEAM Christian Missions Blog

A Call to Prayer for the Global Church and the Future of Missions

We all have a part to play in the fulfillment of the Great Commission, and it starts with prayer.

Sep 01 2022

For over 130 years, TEAM’s passion and priority have been to partner with the Church as it equips and sends individuals to share the Gospel of Christ with unreached and underserved nations. In today’s globalized context, TEAM’s focus remains the same. Yet, it is pivoting toward more of a supporting role of serving and assisting the global Church as it fulfills God’s call to make disciples among the nations. This shift is something God is doing. TEAM’s future fruitfulness depends on serving and following global leaders with whom we can link arms as we serve Christ together. It also explores…

How do we help our kids find peace in the midst of uncertainty when we’re struggling to find peace ourselves?

Oct 07 2021

We were supposed to fly back to our African home over a month earlier. Instead, we found ourselves settling in another completely unexpected place. My children had laid their heads in dozens of different locations over the past seven months. “Home” had become this fluid word meaning wherever we had currently been staying for the short while, and somehow even my 4-year-old understood. We had been hoping and praying that we would return to South Africa soon, but our future was very unclear. Thankfully, our children were doing well. They had embraced the nomad life like champs and had taught…

My expectations came crashing down when our sacred space was violated and took on an unexpected tone of trauma, grief and shame.

Mar 09 2021

I sat on the frigid, white-tiled bathroom floor, cradled in my husband’s arms as I wept and bled. We had arrived early at this remote hilltop resort to set up a few things up for our annual conference. Moments before we were expected to go out and greet everyone, I lost the baby we were expecting. I walked out of the bathroom into the cold, heatless room and stared at the white sheets on the hotel bed. I wanted to be anywhere but at the hotel, surrounded by people. Having just finished our year and a half language program, we…

No matter how far they go, missionaries are always part of their local church — and their local church should always be part of their lives.

Dec 16 2020

There are a few different ways to approach this question. We often think of the missionary’s role in the global Church, but the missionary also plays a critical role in their local church. We can also turn this question around and ask what the church’s role is in the life of a missionary. What is the missionary’s role in the global Church? Like all believers, missionaries are part of a much bigger story than what they see in their local context. For one, missionaries prevent the Church from getting stagnant. One missionary described it as cross-pollination. When missionaries interact with…

COVID-19 is keeping missionaries from returning to their countries of service. Here's how you can pray for them.

Dec 01 2020

Some missionaries take years to raise their support. Most take many months. Iona and Perry* raised their full support in just 102 days. And they did it in the middle of global pandemic. Any other year, people might have seen such success as God rushing the couple to the mission field. But it’s been six months since the couple finished raising their support, and they’re still waiting to go. “We were planning on leaving for Southeast Asia in September 2020, but that ship has sailed, and we are still in the U.S.,” Iona says. “The borders will not open for…

Moving abroad can reveal a side of yourself you didn’t know. The Enneagram can help you process what’s happening and submit it more fully to Christ.

Oct 26 2020

I don’t even recognize myself anymore, Christine thought to herself. Have I changed this much? Christine knew that she was going through an intensely stressful season of life — starting a new business with her new husband, while navigating a new culture and new language in a new country. She’d been preparing for the external upheaval. But what she didn’t expect was the upheaval she saw in herself. Some of her actions and thoughts surprised and disturbed her: Anger at her circumstances, and her excessive attempts to control them. Difficulty in expressing her feelings and needs. Frustration at her limited…

Annie Wilson talks with teenage girls in Spanish.

Language school can be physically, emotionally and spiritually exhausting. But TEAM missionaries like Annie Wilson (left) say it's all worth it.

Sep 30 2020

If anyone is qualified to tell you how to pray for missionaries in language school, it’s Annie Wilson. After all, the TEAM missionary has gone to three kinds of language school in three countries: France, Chad and Mexico. Stepping into her first ministry assignment, Annie thought learning a new language would be a breeze. After all, if God called her to ministry, He should make it easy, right? “God definitely had to knock me down off my high horse and humble my heart within my first couple months of learning French,” Annie says now. Language school lays a critical foundation…

Why returning missionaries need you more than ever

Feb 26 2020

When Karyn left for the mission field, she thought she’d never return. She gave up her job as a high school English teacher and planned to retire in Japan. But 19 years in, things took a turn. Personal matters brought Karyn back to the U.S. By then, her teacher’s certificate had expired. She didn’t have money for a new certification. And the entire process of finding a job had moved from newspaper ads to online job boards. It was a crushing experience — but a familiar one to many returning missionaries. Ask missionaries about coming home, and they may…

When it comes to missionary care, most of us have good intentions — but how do you make sure those intentions become reality?

Jan 24 2019

Working at TEAM, the number one question I get from local churches is, “How do we take better care of our missionaries?” As a missions agency, TEAM provides proactive care for the ups and downs of missionary life. But most churches understand that they can offer something an agency simply can’t provide. As one missionary shared with me during a training session, “Sometimes you just need someone to make a casserole and eat it at the table with you.” This “casserole care” belongs to the community who has discipled and walked alongside the missionary long before they were sent with…

When raising missionary kids, TEAM missionary Sue Querfeld suggests we not forget one very important detail. Keep reading to find out why!

Oct 30 2018

I am not a huge fan of tattoos, but when my 21-year-old daughter showed me hers, I fell in love. It’s a simple design on her ankle — just the coordinates of Arequipa, Peru, where she grew up as a missionary kid (MK). You might wonder, What’s the big deal about that? But as a missionary parent, the message to me is huge. It means my daughter so identifies with the place where she grew up that she wants to carry it with her forever. Lately, there has been an explosion of articles by or about MKs who rejected the…

Tag - Missionary Care

A Call to Prayer for the Global Church and the Future of Missions

Helping Our Children Through Uncertain Times

Experiencing Miscarriage as an Expat Missionary

What is the Role of a Missionary in the Church?

How to Pray for Missionaries in Limbo During COVID-19

The Enneagram for Missionaries: Tips for Overseas Life

How to Pray for Missionaries in Language School

8 Ways to Serve Missionaries Coming Home

Creating a Missionary Care Plan

When Raising MKs, Remember the ‘K’