Reaching Out
GENERAL SUGGESTIONS
Section VI: Suggestions from Missionaries
Studies have shown that many missionaries go into the field unprepared. The twenty chapters contained in this study are offered as preparatory, in the hope of being helpful to aspiring missionaries preparing to reach out to lost sinners with the Gospel of Christ. Chapters 19 and 20 were developed over a period of several years; three hundred questionnaires were sent out to selected fulltime missionaries around the world, requesting both general and specific suggestions – aimed at “would-be missionaries.” This chapter contains their general suggestions. In an attempt to avoid repetition while listing all effective recommendations, over fifteen hundred suggestions were gleamed from one hundred and fifty of the missionaries contacted. Initials are used at the request of a majority of those responding. Even though this chapter and the next contain opinionated suggestions, it’s important to remember the source – selfless, dedicated and experienced servants of God, the Lord’s missionaries.
Qualifications:
Expect pressure by neighbors, sects and government representatives. Faith can be severely tested. (J.C. / Vietnam)
Be mature at home, in business, socially and in attitudes, motives, morals and ethics. (W.J. / Africa)
Have a sense of organization. (E.S. / Vietnam)
A good basic ability in common sense. (I.U. / Africa)
Be flexible. Use any avenue or method providing you – let God guide you. (D.F.B. / Germany)
Be optimistic. Things may be worse than expected but most difficulties have been exaggerated. (W.R.W. / Windward Islands)
Those virtues which make a person a good Christian also help him be a good missionary. (R.W. / Germany)
Be humble. God can upset your plans. He has been in this business longer than you. Watch for open doors and let God direct. (W.R.W. / Windward Islands)
Don’t go unless you have to. (C.T. / Africa)
Don’t go on foreign mission work if you have a number of children living at home. Do your mission work at home. (W.v.W. / Israel)
Don’t go if household conveniences or the type of house influences your decision. (E.E. / Africa)
Be young enough to adjust and old enough to have common sense. (E.H. / Jordan)
Be readily adaptable and flexible in a different culture. (R.B. / Vietnam)
Don’t go if you are easily discouraged. (L.M. / Rhodesia)
Do your suffering for the Lord at home. True missionaries are happy that God has honored them with His commission. (E.E. / Africa)
Don’t go if you have failed at home. Mission fields only magnify shortcomings and maladjustments. (E.E. / Africa)
Hold your own life lightly. Be prepared to be spent. (W.J. / Africa)
Be bold. Dare to ask for enough financial support. (R.W. / Windward Islands)
Empty yourself of pride, arrogance and over self-confidence. (M.P. / Australia)
Expect and accept a different way of thinking and outlook – not gracious to your homeland. (G.M. / Australia)
Know how to meet people of influence. You may not win them, but they can help you in your work. (L.K.W. / Jamaica)
Visit the field before making the final decision. The cost might save a broken evangelist. (W.F.L. / Belgium)
Be realistic. Don’t forecast results and put yourself under pressure to have good reports to keep brethren satisfied. (W.R.W. / Windward Islands)
A heart that has no greed or selfishness does not care for worldly possessions or the accumulation of such. (Dr. A.A. / South America)
Be normal and natural. Read newspapers and magazines. (I.J. / Germany)
Along with your unswerving faith, add a double portion of reason and good sense. (I.J. / Germany)
Be hospitable. (Dr. A.A. / South America)
Be cheerful, optimistic and positive. (I.J. / Germany)
Be willing to go where the Gospel has not been preached. (C.A.Y. / Thailand)
Discuss your desire to do mission work with trusted friends and accept their judgment of ability. (D.S. / Italy)
Be able to teach, lead singing and meet strangers. (G.D. / Greece)
Be loving, with an understanding heart. (M.M.W. / Windward Islands)
Be humble. Don’t ridicule the country, but condemn everything contrary to the Word of God immediately. (C.v.E. / Netherlands)
Develop a spirit of willingness, concern for your fellow man and zeal to work. (K.E. / Africa)
Be able to get along with people effectively. (E.S. / Vietnam)
You need a heart with no hate, envy, jealousy, slander or any sin. One that is full of forgiveness. (Dr. A.A. / South America)
Be a minister without portfolio. Be a song leader, business meeting chairman, bulletin writer, Bible school teacher and work as an elder. (A.J. / Africa)
Be able and willing to work with your hands. (J.E.W. / Pakistan)
Let churches be as careful ordaining (1 Tim. 2:7) preachers as they are ordaining elders (1 Tim. 3). Too many have gone without proper screening (ministerial tone and holding Bible with overlapping grip as their main qualifications); shame, shame. (C.A.G. / Australia)
A strong body physically, one that hours of labor will not drain. (Dr. A.A. / South America)
Do not act superior. (C.S. / Windward Islands)
Be adaptable and able to improvise. Must loosen the home ties. Start a new chapter without continually making public references to your previous life. (K.E. / Africa)
A couple without children can do more work. (C.R.G. / Philippines)
Those leaving for a field should not romanticize. It draws the unstable, temperamental, too young and ill prepared people. It drives away more stable and qualified men. (J.P. / Vietnam)
Mental Preparation:
Hard Times
The responsibility to start, teach, maintain, and strengthen the congregation is continuous and revolves solely about the missionary. His dedication must be complete and his attitude must be positive. (S.J.T. / Germany)
Count heavily on the Lord’s guidance, strength and over-ruling providence. (S.F.T. / Canada)
Be prepared to preach, teach, and scatter the good seed no matter what the visible results. (I.K. / Germany)
Don’t entertain illusions about difficulties and trials awaiting you. Be prepared for discouragement, frustration, and hardship. (S.F.T. / Canada)
If your work carries you to a primitive country be prepared for the unusual. Initial revulsion must become compassion. (B.K.M. / South America)
Have experience with God in glad times, sad times in prayers and Bible readings. (C.v.E. / Netherlands)
Accept the fact that people are not begging for the Gospel. (H.O.J. / Malaysia)
Prepare to give your all then you will not be disappointed if you receive nothing. (D.M. / Australia)
Develop patience before leaving. (L.M. / Africa)
Accept unchangeable situations. (B.K.M. / South America)
Condition yourself to a feeling of frustration and uselessness for the first months. (H.B. / Italy)
You will suffer in many ways. Those you seek to help will often not appreciate it and those who send you out may forget you. Look to Christ. (J.C.R. / Guatemala)
Motives
Am I seeking to come home in a few years with a missionary badge for display? (K.W. / Philippines)
Does God’s work come before personal comfort and convenience? (L.T. / South America)
There is no place for self-glorification in mission fields. (F.C. / Italy)
Surrender to Christ not to creed written or implied, not to fame or career and forget other ambitions. (J.C.R. / Guatemala)
Know yourself. Don’t burden the church with hospital bills and transoceanic travel funds by a premature trip home. Honestly evaluate your husband, wife, and relations, physical and emotional fitness. A complete physical and psychological examination should be a must. (S.A. / Korea)
If one knows his own weaknesses and strengths and lets these be known by the people he has come to serve, a close interpersonal relationship should result. Check out “Message and Mission” by E. Nida, pp. 168-170. (J.W.P. / Zambia)
Mission work is not just a romantic dream with constant reports of great success, to be sent back home. (D.P. / India)
Know the people in your chosen area before leaving. (J.L.D. / Canada)
Saturate yourself with information about the country of intended work, including conversation, when possible, with natives near your home. Get practical information, not merely statistics. (P.S. / England)
Get help and advice on how to distinguish, between the Gospel itself and the particular application to the culture – new culture, perhaps new application. (R.G. / Australia)
Before leaving, talk to as many missionaries as possible now working in the country you have chosen, or who have worked there in the past. Ask such things as: How many of your converts were religious to begin with? What was your most successful method of making contacts and teaching? How many self-supporting churches have you developed or left behind? Do you have adequate support and work fund? If the missionary has returned home, ask why he returned, instead of staying in the field? What percentage of those converted remained faithful? (H.O.J. / Malaysia)
Preliminary Preparation
Sacrifice yourself before leaving home. (C.T. / Africa)
Spend at least six months doing mission work with your sponsoring congregation and make contacts in the area of the congregation and create a program of work there. Pretend it is a foreign land and analyze the problems that come up. (H.O.J. / Malaysia)
Convert the people next door and solve church problems at home. Qualify yourself and find out if you really want to tell the world about Christ or just want to run away to lands of the imagination, from the real world. (B.G. / Africa)
Get experience in the work of the church. Learn from the experiences of older missionaries. (R.P. / Africa)
Choosing a Field
Choose a field ripe unto harvest. Concentrate on the receptive ones and allow the unreceptive fields to develop. (J.W.P. / Africa)
Select a field which offers an opportunity for a fruitful work. (P.H. / Africa)
Select your field by studying the current mission situation and the existing needs in various parts of the world. (T.S. / Netherlands)
Write missionaries who are already in the field asking advice about where you might locate. (J.L.D. / Canada)
Some traditionally Christian countries are in every sense of the term, mission fields. Renewal of Christian life in such can be a great factor in the spread of the Gospel throughout the world in the future. (A.W.H. / Denmark)
Bible Study
Work hard and long to develop a rich personal prayer life; nothing is more important. (A.W.H. / Denmark)
Believe that the Gospel can completely change a reprobate life. (R.B. / Vietnam)
Keep growing. We ask others to change as they learn new and in honesty we must do the same. Keep an open mind and an open Bible and seek truth. (J.C.R. / Guatemala)
Turn to Scriptures daily for personal study above and beyond preparation for sermons and lessons. (A.W.H. / Denmark)
Study your Bible now. Don't wait to get to the mission field to get religion. (J.B. / Japan)
Apply the 1st commission to your life before going into the 2nd commission. (Mark 6:7-31). Learn in the 1st, perseverance, spiritual values above materialism, social adjustments, go two-by-two, how to preach, how to rest awhile. (C.A.G. / Australia)
Know the message of the whole Bible, not just first principles. Many works are made or broken in the long run by the presence or absence of balanced teaching in many areas. (P.S. / England)
Study to let Jesus be a constant companion. Then as a lost soul is contacted he will recognize Christ in a dedicated Christian. (B.D.M. / Retired)
Don’t neglect your own spiritual life. Even missionaries get too busy for themselves. Giving what you don’t have makes dry digging and dryer learning. (O.F.B. / Germany)
Prepare spiritual life by through Bible study and prayer in order to cope with problems and disappointments without loss of faith, or bitterness. (D.G. / Africa)
Read 1 Peter 3:15 and be fully dedicated to the Lord’s work. (C.J. / India)
Study evidence to convert those who do not believe in God, Christ and the Bible. (G.C.L. / Sweden)
Christians not reading their Bible and not seeking God’s face in prayer are not as strict as they should be. (C.v.E. / Netherlands)
Spend time in a concentrated study of the Bible text. If English is not spoken in your chosen area memorize the location of verses dealing with certain subjects rather than the verses. (E.D. / Finland)
Through Bible study we learn that we are not working for some man or church, but for God. (B.v.d.S. / Africa)
Through meditation we learn to depend on God, not the monthly check. (B.v.d.S. / Africa)
The prospective missionary will soon meet problems that can be overcome only by prayer and fasting, which is generally true for all Christians. (J.W.P. / Africa)
Education
Formal education is helpful in freeing the prospective worker of preconceived ideas about mission work. (R.W. / Germany)
Become as articulate as possible in expressing your ideas. You must not only know what to say, but also how to say it in the most effective way. (A.W.H. / Denmark)
Know how to write stories for children’s papers. Know journalism. (I.J. / Germany)
Equip yourself with books on fun and recreation. (I.J. / Germany)
Train in writing news stories and accurate reporting. (D.G. / Philippines)
Have short stories for children available with good morals. (I.J. / Germany)
Review the book of Acts as your handbook on mission work. (G.C.L. / Sweden)
Be acquainted with mature writings on missionary methods, but not convinced that you have all the answers. (P.H. / Africa)
Be sure you know what teaching and learning is – read your notes on Education often. (I.J. / Germany)
Read the book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” Prepare to accept people who have entirely different personalities. Do not complain about things that are strange. (G.B. / Germany)
Read as many books as possible about customs and traditions of the desired location, such as “Ugly American.” (G.B. / Germany)
Read all the books you can, concerning mission work. These can help you eliminate many of the problems missionaries face. (W.M. / Germany)
Read books on culture shock and problems concerning the changing of cultures. (A.G. / Scotland)
Take some courses in creative art, handcrafts and doing with your hands. (I.J. / Germany)
Take time to prepare. If God wanted you there sooner He would have given you an earlier birth date. (L.T. / Brazil)
An essential ingredient to effective missions is to understand people. Study anthropology, psychology and sociology. (J.W.P. / Zambia)
Take a sociological study of the people and their cultures. It may convince the prospective worker that he will not fit into the pattern effectively and thus avoid his making costly mistakes, or it will aid in quicker adjustments and avoid the social loneliness that comes when one is left out by the natives. (J.E.P. / Canada)
Study the anthropology of the specific country. (E.D. / Finland)
Avail yourself of the best training for missionary work available before going to the field. (Dr. G.B. / Retired)
Attend a good mission workshop. (G.B. / Germany)
Take special training from those who have been on the field. (O.G. / Retired)
Profit by the experiences of others. (J.W.P. / Zambia)
Forget titles, degrees, sensational reports in the religious papers and go with prayer and humility. You must give yourself to reading the Bible, prayer and a renewed commitment. (C.A.G. / Australia)
A liberal arts education with a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree should be a prerequisite for anyone coming from a highly educated society; preacher training schools, although to be commended in their own right, probably limit one's field of vision and understanding. This suggestion is primarily for the missionary who has been chosen for a special task and thus requires special training. (J.W.P. / Zambia)
At few years of mission training in a qualified school will save years of experience on the field. (J.W.P. / Zambia)
Get at least a B.A. degree or its equivalent in Bible training. Some graduate work preferred. (G.G. / Retired)
Miscellaneous
Plan your procedure before entering the field. (G.D.W. / South America)
Become acquainted with the art of play production, puppet shows. (I.J. / Germany)
Develop a deep sense of humility and compassion, but not pity. Pity is easily sensed by those you work with and very few people want to be an object of pity. (B.K.M. / South America)
The concept of missionary work as something separate from preaching the Gospel must go. (J.C.B. / India)
Remember that you are the foreigner. (L.T. / South America)
Unless you are to work with a team (which is advisable), don’t go as a specialist. You need to be competent at many things rather than excellent at one. If you are a specialist, go where your talent is usable to the full and your lack made up by others. (R.G. / Australia)
Determine ahead of time the type of work for which you are best suited, whether you like to work in an office with the Bible Correspondence Courses, personal work among the natives, preaching and teaching in classes, etc. (E.J.L. / Guatemala)
Rid your heart of prejudice. Leave all ideas of color and race at home. A prejudiced person should not go to the mission field. (W.D.S. / Canal Zone)
Keep simple, accurate records on money and other items. (D.G. / Philippines)
Hasty, off the cuff decisions are not usually good. Know how and where to get the facts necessary to make intelligent decisions, especially anything that has legal implication. Easy shortcut solutions to problems are usually temporary solutions. (S.A. / Korea)
Do not consider yourself inferior to any other missionary. We are not in competition with one another. Use the ability God has given you. Accept advice, but at the same time use your own intelligence. (W.v.W. / Israel)
It is impossible to prepare for every situation, but we can be spiritually and mentally prepared to adjust to what we are unable to prepare for. (S.A. / Korea)
Be sure that you love and understand the people you go to teach. Do their ways rub you wrong? Do their habits of dress, eating, religious observances make you rebel to the point of hating them? (G.D. / Greece)
If you cannot have a well-balanced outlook for a mission field while in your homeland, you will have trouble in a foreign land. You must learn to be mentally alert, able to adapt to a new environment, and maintain enthusiasm amid discouragements. Practical interests and hobbies, kept in their right perspective, can be helpful. (W.F.L. / Belgium)
Know how to sell yourself to people. (C.E. / Vietnam)
Will it work here? This should be the first, middle and last consideration of ideas (both new and old), suggestions and emphasis. (J.E. / Ireland)
If you have not tried it, don’t knock it. Ideas untried are really unknown. Choose what seems to be best and try it, regardless of criticism, etc. (J.E. / Ireland)
Look on judgment as so relative that only in the passing of years will it be proved right or wrong, consider frontiers and act with boldness. (J.E. / Ireland)
When choosing partners for work, be sure you agree in philosophy, attitudes, in general, and all areas that may be especially sensitive to either one. (J.E. / Ireland)
Keep the individual squarely in mind. One at a time, please – the key to multitudes. Otherwise you will have complete frustration. Remember, there are too many for one to teach them all. (J.E. / Ireland)
Take part in every campaign, youth rally, and door-to-door teaching activity possible. (M.C.H. / Vietnam)
Recognize the “all of life” for the Christian is being a Christian. To rock a sick child, transport a brother, these are as much Christ's work as preaching. (M.C.H. / Vietnam)
To be completely sure of God’s call, being able to say as the man of God of old: “I heard the voice of the Lord” (Is. 6:8). (J.A.M. / Spain)
Show a true missionary spirit at home, before going to a mission field. Be able to say as Paul: “Having no more place in these parts …” (Rom. 15:23). (J.A.M. / Spain)
When you convert people, do not repeat to them continually: “In my country we do things in this way. In my country we would do this one this other way.” In Acts 28:17, while in Rome, Paul said: “… I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers …” (J.A.M. / Spain)
Physical Preparation:
Use a travel agency. Make your first trip on the ship. A cabin near the middle of the ship and with an outside porthole is best. (K.R. / Italy)
If it still exists, take membership in the Airline Clergy Bureau, Municipal Airport, Sacramento, California. (N.E.S. / South America)
Each member of the family should have a complete physical examination before leaving. Mission work is trying and taxing. (B.H. / Austria)
Secure equipment. Have a public evangelistic campaign on arrival. (M.M.W. / Windward Islands)
There are certain necessary things which can be bought on the field; this would cut down on luggage. (C.S. / Windward Islands)
Take your entire religious library with you. (L.M. / Africa)
Check on what to bring in the way of furniture, dishes, household goods, etc. Know what the living facilities will be. (B.B. / Netherlands)
Do not give away your possessions. Take with you only what is necessary, and store the rest. You may return home. (J.H. / Australia)
Be prepared to give your evenings to personal work. (H.B. / Italy)
Talk to your doctor before making up your mind to become a missionary. Spiritual desire is no substitute for physical health. The sick missionary is impractical. (E.P. / Japan)
Learn to type. (G.C.L. / Sweden)
Investigate climatic conditions. This will prevent years of complaining about the weather. (C.S.J. / Ireland)
Be sure that the area is suitable to you. Take into consideration the language and culture of the people. Will you be able to adapt. (W.J. / Africa)
Before leaving, get up to date information on your needs from workers already on the field. (R.M. / Formosa)
Have someone to legally handle your stateside affairs and make arrangements with the bank and the church in case of being overdrawn, etc. (J.B. / Japan)
Start looking for good, strong, used trunks well in advance of leaving. Look in used furniture stores, Salvation Army or Goodwill industries. New trunks are expensive. Inquire at a large hardware store for details about binding the trunks for shipping. (K.R. / Italy)
Proper food and exercise are essential to physical and emotional soundness. Learn to eat properly and avoid unhealthy foods. A planned physical fitness program can increase the efficiency of a worker many-fold, and likely add years to his usefulness. (W.L. / Belgium)
Apply for passports six to eight months in advance. It is advisable for the husband to have his own passport. Occasionally, he will be required to travel without his family. Applications for passports can be made through the post office or court clerk in a federal building. First go to the local post office for information. It takes a while to obtain a passport – about fifteen days or more. There are two main areas of cost: a passport picture and the government fee. (K.R. / Italy)
Copies of birth certificates may be obtained by writing to the Department of Public Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, in the state of your birth. Start this early. Difficulties often are encountered getting birth certificates, yet, they are necessary to obtaining a passport and visa. There is a fee. (K.R. / Italy)
Shots can be obtained free at your local county health department. Have all shots registered on the International Certificate of Vaccination. You must have a valid vaccination certificate for smallpox to return. (K.R. / Italy)
Have some practical knowledge in first aid. (C.A. / India)
Visit your doctor and dentist prior to departure. (H.L.S. / Japan
Check all your insurance policies. Are they good overseas? (K.R. / Italy)
Have a dozen pictures made of your family for articles in religious papers and once in the foreign country, check in with the American Embassy and give them one as a reference. (K.R. / Italy)
Language:
When possible go where you can work with those who know the language and the country for a couple of years. Avoid accepting the sole responsibility for a work until you know the language well. (R.D. / Belgium)
Because it takes so long to learn a language and to adapt to a country, it is not practical to stay for only a year or two. (R.D. / Belgium)
Speak the native language fluently prior to starting missionary work. (S.J.T. / Germany)
Learning a language is a great physical strain. It may be necessary to have nine or ten hours of sleep daily during the first six months in the country. (R.D. / Belgium)
Allow three years to learn a foreign language fluently. (R.L.B. / Denmark)
It is silly and futile to go to another country claiming to have the message of God speaking only English. (J.P. / Vietnam)
See that your wife has the opportunity to study the language, too. Sometimes household help is needed. (G.C.L. / Sweden)
Reading from the New Testament in the native language is helpful. Because you are familiar with the stories and content, you can learn many new words from the text. Reading children’s books in the language you are learning is also helpful. Trying to read adult books in the beginning is tiring. With children's books, however, you know enough of the words to study the reading and can easily read for hours without getting tired. (R.D. / Belgium)
Learn the language from a local national. Learn the local customs and don’t be guilty of putting your own interpretation to them. Be quick to change your attitude. (K.E. / Africa)
Have a head start on the language. It will help you over what it is commonly called culture shock. (G.D. / Greece)
Some say that adjustment to a new and different culture is the biggest problem, but this only comes from not understanding and not being able to communicate and talk about them with the people. When you can't understand why people do a certain thing and can't ask them why, the natural thing is to say, “It's just a dumb custom they have.” The custom may have a very natural and interesting origin which could be used in teaching. (J.P. / Vietnam)
Keep an accurate record of the amounts of time you spend on various things each week. This will keep you from feeling that you are not doing anything. Spend up to half your time studying the language during the first year. Don’t try building walls before you have laid the foundation. (R.D. / Belgium)
Study the language and culture on the field for at least a year before becoming involved in any heavy responsibility. (Dr. G.G. / Retired)
Study linguistics if possible before leaving home. Enroll in language school upon arrival in mission field if possible. (D.G. / Africa)
Make certain you begin early on language problems, even if the language is English. In Australia, for instance, it is a compliment to tell a woman she is homely, but not in other countries. (A.M. / Australia)
Begin weekly language lessons upon arrival in the country. Don’t just pick up the language. You will pickup a lot of incorrect things. These lessons cost money but are essential. Don’t economize here. The sooner you know the language the sooner you will be happy and feel at home in the new country. (R.D. / Belgium)
On The Field:
Respect the order of services which differs in many areas. (S.B. / Australia)
Realize that regardless of all your effort, you will never become one of them, 100%. Yet, one must never stop trying. (M.P. / Korea)
The missionary should choose capable ones from the converts and train them to be leaders so he can leave it to them when he returns to his homeland. (Y.J.K. / Korea)
Be able to love the native people of your mission land enough to make yourself humble. Live with them and become as the native people to win them to Christ. (Y.J.L. / Korea)
Never cease to evaluate your attitude toward the people you have come to convert. Do I treat them on an equal as I would treat my homeland brethren in Christ? (M.P. / Korea)
Remember that ground work is usually slow. Often the pillars supporting the great structures are not even seen. (W.R. / Hong Kong)
Do not seek to bind custom. Do not permit custom to be bound on you as the law of God. Meet the problem and teach the truth on this as you would on anything else. It is the duty of the evangelist to point out the distinction between man’s tradition and God’s Word. A true church can be built only when every vestige of man-made creeds have been stripped away. (J.H. / Australia)
Do more than prepare a monthly newsletter. Take time to give interesting experiences as they happen. (O.G. / Retired)
Ask the question, “What would Christ do?” (M.P. / Korea)
Resolve to lay a practical, good foundation. We cannot build anything on a poor foundation. (W.R. / Hong Kong)
Select and go to an important center in the area to which you plan to work. (Dr. G.B. / Retired)
Learn to leave business to men who know business. Missionaries are not always good business men. (W.R. / Hong Kong)
Begin very early to create a local sense of responsibility through a definite and practical leadership development program. Steadfastness requires more than indoctrination. (A.J. / Africa)
Do not brag on how large or how important your sponsoring church is. (J.W. / Africa)
Try to keep the new converts you have helped win to Christ faithful. (D.M. / Australia)
Choose the type of work that fits you best, such as preaching, teaching, writing, personal work, etc., in the city or in the country, across the room or across the ocean. (J.C.R. / Guatemala)
Know the difference between people depending upon God and depending on the missionary. To depend on God is healthy – to depend on the missionary is flattering to him, bit destructive to the work. (R.B. / Australia)
Have a good supply of Biblical tracts of different variety. (M.M.W. / Windward Islands)
From the beginning plan for a self-supporting and indigenous church. (Y.J.L. / Korea)
A group dynamics class, ideal for solving personal and group problems and for improving methods and developing plans, especially where there are many missionaries working together, is a good idea. (J.W.P. / Africa)
Be very careful of your personal finances. (J.Y. / Canada)
Do not overlook areas where a work started by military personnel could provide support to a local native mission. (E.L.R. / Germany)
Use religious publications to distribute to new Christians so they may have a broader outlook of worldwide Christianity. (E.L.R. / Germany)
When first entering the field spend several weeks visiting local religious groups, observing. Much can be learned this way and many mistakes avoided. Meanwhile, meet privately without public appeal at home. The longer this initial stage of the work can be prolonged, the better oriented and efficient will be one's own approach. (J.M. / Switzerland)
You will find that about anywhere you might go outside the USA, you will find a culture much older and more deeply rooted. (T.K. / Canal Zone)
The success of your work depends on winning the people’s confidence, and upon their willing, active co-operation. (K.E. / Africa)
It is your responsibility as a foreigner to adjust and fit into the local culture rather than expect everything to fit you. (T.K. / Canal Zone)
Be a part of the community in which you live. Know the local projects and put your shoulder to the work-wheel. You are the salt – you are the light (Matt. 5:13, 14). (K.E. / Africa)
Establish congregations in strategic centers then let them spread to rural areas. (L.K.W. / Jamaica)
Plan to use advertising cards for enrolling students in Bible Correspondence courses. (K.H. / Guatemala)
Above all be yourself and never patronize even the lowliest of your acquaintances. (J.Y. / Canada)
Do not be critical of the natives, the way they live, what they eat or how they dress. (J.P. / Philippines)
Learn to sit where they sit, i.e., try to see things their way; try to understand their problems, customs, hindrances, etc. (J.W. / Africa)
Be willing to come down to the level of the natives, to think in their culture and be sympathetic toward them at all times. Be flexible. (E.J.L. / Guatemala)
Do not send natives out of their country. (K.H. / Guatemala)
Stick with evangelizing and teaching. If you can’t establish the church this way and make it grow, you can’t and won’t. (B.G. / Africa)
Christian Colleges in America are wonderful for that culture but have not succeeded in training many foreign citizens as good workers for Christ. You are better prepared to serve on the field when trained on the field. (E.H. / Jordan)
Consider yourself a student during the first two years. Don’t criticize things you don't understand. Don’t judge by appearances. Be sparing with advice. Ask questions. (R.D. / Belgium)
Do not build any church buildings or land for them. (K.H. / Guatemala)
Depend on the Gospel to convert people and not charity. Charity should result from the Gospel being preached and not obedience because of charity bestowed. (J.C.B. / India)
Don't compromise the truth with those who would unite with you, but don’t stress unimportant differences. Create an atmosphere of accord by agreeing whenever possible. (N.A.M. / South America)
Listen to the advice of trusted and proven nationals, especially in matters pertaining to the foreign scene. (D.A. / Germany)
We should simply start congregations in our field of labor and not missions. (J.C.B. / India)
Fit into the worship as much of their customs as is Scriptural. Do not Americanize. (P.D. / Africa)
Restudy every phase of church worship and distinguish between Biblical truths and experiences, traditional and Biblical orders. (G.B. / Germany)
Study the geography of your mission land before preaching (Y.J.L. / Korea)
Have knowledge of the law in dealing with real estate in mission areas. (J.C. / Vietnam)
Mingle with people by inviting them into your home. (J.P. / Philippines)
The missionary should be prepared to lead a frugal life while in the foreign country. Live on the same standard of living as would be expected of any middle class native. (S.J.T. / Germany)
Distinguish sharply between faith and opinion and in the latter realm be willing to adjust freely to local customs when such seems wise. Do not over-adjust and end up artificially local. (P.S. / England)
Develop churches rather than activities. (W.B. / Vietnam)
Christianity is universal. Do not encourage the idea that it is a Western man’s religion. (J.C.B. / India)
The power for conversion is in the message, not the messenger. Faithfully plant the seed at every opportunity, using every media at your disposal. The harvest will come to the faithful planter. (M.P. / Australia)
Think before you put a national on the payroll of the church, especially when he volunteers for the job. (D.A. / Germany)
Take adequate time to be sure that your first converts are people of honor and integrity. (Dr. G.B. / Retired)
Prepare a balanced schedule, one that is flexible and will ease frustrations, leave time for home life, proper recreation, etc. One with such a schedule will find himself doing more and maintaining physical, emotional, spiritual balance, all other things being equal. (W.F.L. / Belgium)
Buy no real estate with the title held in your name or the name of brethren in America. Put no local Christians on monthly salaries from America, Paul didn’t. You can avoid much heartache later. (Dr. G.B. / Retired)
Have faith in the Bible as God’s Word and in its power to transform men through a new birth. Urge national Christians to undertake big things but avoid Americanizing by clothing, by customs and manners, by buildings and by American dollars. (Dr. G.B. / Retired)
Support:
Keep Christians back home informed concerning your work and needs. This has been neglected in most cases and has hurt mission work. (B.H. / Austria)
The frustration of being stuck in a situation far from home, where you can’t use your potential for lack of money, is a dreadful experience. (R.G. / Australia)
Do not leave your home without a guaranteed salary and work fund. Have the conditions of the work fund spelled out in writing. (H.O.J. / Malaysia)
Before leaving, have an understanding with your supporting church that there will be regular and frequent communication – two way contact monthly. (J.H. / Australia)
Obtain a working fund but do not feel a burden to begin spending it right away. It is sometimes bad to have more funds available than can be used wisely. The need to spend money is the cause of many problems. (J.C. / Vietnam)
Be sure to have some good church sponsoring you and your work, a church, wise and sympathizing and ready to understand all your problems and one that sticks with you for good or ill at all times. (L.K. / Germany)
Impress the importance of a long range program of support from the sponsoring congregations – avoid support that is optional. (E.L.R. / Germany)
Establish contacts at home to keep you supplied with an adequate working fund and if possible arrange to have a replacement work with you one year before your own departure. (C.J. / India)
Have your salary paid into a bank account at home – not in the mission field – then write personal checks on that account. (L.M. / Africa)
You should have the co-operation of church leaders who understand missionary work, who will support you spiritually, financially and with visits on the field. (L.K.W. / Jamaica)
Earn your own bread by the labor of your hands if possible. This removes every taint of professionalism both as a suspicion in the minds of all those with whom you work and within yourself. (B.G. / Africa)
Be sure that the support you receive will be adequate to provide the necessities of food, clothing, shelter and education for your family. For all the good you may do otherwise, if you fail to provide for your own family, you have, according to 1 Timothy 5:8, disowned the faith and are worse than an unbeliever. (L.T. / Brazil)
Leaders of the Lord’s church should send out only capable ones for mission work; those who have already established one or two congregations before becoming a missionary. (Y.J.L. / Korea)
If you are supported, choose the church leaders under whom you will work with great care. Investigate their qualifications (1 Tim. and Tit.) and their record of performance as shepherds. (B.G. / Africa)
The church leaders supporting you should have a first-hand knowledge of the mission field you are entering. (G.D.W. / Venezuela)
Establish a good relationship with the supporting or sponsoring church. Get intimately acquainted with them and see that they – in particular the leadership – obtain a good basic knowledge of mission philosophy; methods and culture. (E.D. / Finland)
Church leaders from your supporting church should visit the mission effort regularly. (D.A. / German)
Enter the field with substantial working funds including contacts back home for religious tracts, Biblical literature and supplies. A faithful missionary can never be over stocked. (A.J. / Africa)
Be sure that the congregation supporting you considers the work its own, not just yours. (P.H. / Africa)
Get well acquainted with your supporting church before leaving. Give the church a chance to know you, to grow in confidence toward you. Later when you get on the field, the church will stand behind you because you are a personal friend of confidence. (J.P. / Brazil)
Use cassette tape recordings in addition to letters to communicate with the home church so that actual situations can be more accurately expressed. (W.B. / Vietnam)
Have all your personal support from one congregation. This is not as important with working funds. (R.L.B. / Denmark)
It is practical to ask for enough money to feed and house yourself on the field. The shivering missionary may impress himself with his self-sacrifice but his sniffles will drive seekers away. (E.P. / Japan)
Plan beforehand all your needs, and plan your working fund. Advertising is a top priority; it’s expensive, but you cover more people. You will do more in a year with a good working fund than you will in ten without one. (S.C. / Ireland)
Keep your home congregation well informed, photos, tape, and items of interest in your country. Keep the lines of communications open. They close rather easily and before you know it. (J.R. / Vietnam)
Family Discipline:
Have a godly wife. (W.J. / Africa)
Go while your children are young. The younger they are the easier they will learn the language and adjust. (B.B. / Netherlands)
Too often a missionary has left the field a failure because he was the only one in the family prepared. (J.M. / Sweden)
Learn to be a good cook with cheap recipes. (I.J. / Germany)
Put home out of mind, forget about seeing relatives once or twice a year. One cannot work well if the heart is somewhere else. (W.R.W. / Windward Islands)
Know how to sew in order to make costumes for Bible plays. (I.J. / Germany)
Discipline yourself and family. Be sympathizing with your fellow missionaries and remember they are weak and depend on God's grace as much as you. (L.K. / Germany)
Missionary wives should always be charming and friendly. (J.P. / Philippines)
Learn something about the educational system. Do not let this be a major problem later. (G.O. / Germany)
The younger your children, the easier it will be for them to adapt to a different school system. (R.D. / Belgium)
Settle completely all family problems before leaving. (G.A. / Canada)
Be absolutely sure that your wife desires with her whole heart to spend her life as a missionary’s wife. (B.v.d.S. / Africa)
Come before your children are 12 years old if you are to work in another language. (W.M. / Germany)
The wife will find it more difficult than the husband. (D.S. / Italy)
Consider your family. What do I really want for them? Can they be lost through this move? Embittered emotionally or physically damaged? (K.W. / Philippines)
Homesickness is intense and incurable in some people. If you can, go away from home for a few months or longer, to somewhere as different as possible from your home town, and see if you can bear to be out of contact. (R.G. / Australia)
Have a sound agreement on what each member of the family is expected to do. Study this area in depth. (T.C. / Hawaii)
Be prepared to do without modern conveniences. (J.C. / Vietnam)
Have a mother and father that can send you off with their blessing and a wife who really wants to go. This will solve much heartache. (Dr. A.A. / South America)
Both man and wife need a strong constitution; must possess an understanding of human ignorance. (J.C. / Vietnam)
Tenure:
Plan for the long haul. Some missionaries go as an experiment, decide later whether this is what they want. (R.P. / Africa)
Too many missionaries leave the field before even giving mission work a good try. (J.P. / Brazil)
Two and three year periods accomplish little good of a lasting nature. (B.v.d.S. / Africa)
The most discouraging impression missionaries give the nationals could be the short tour of service which may average less than five years. (B.D.M. / Retired)
Anything less than 10 years risks failure and decay. (A.M. / Australia)
Enter the field with the idea of staying. Two or three year tours are a waste of travel money. Some of your competitors stay on the field from long periods of time, up to a lifetime. (N.E.S. / South America)
Make no rash promises as to the tenure of your stay. If you do not adjust go home. (G.O. / Germany)
If possible arrange for the first tour to be three years with at least a three month return home at the end. After the first tour then five years tours would be all right. If you are a college student, do take one quarter or term to go to the field and see for yourself exactly the conditions. (H.O.J. / Malaysia)
By more intensive training and screening prior to going to the field, the tour of service will be much extended. (B.D.M. / Retired)
Don’t go to a mission field for two years or five. Just go. Leave the field when you are a hindrance or when you can do better elsewhere, but not for personal reasons. (E.E. / Africa)
How can a missionary believe in the providence of God and then take the job out of His hands by putting a time limit on it? Be prepared to stay. (S.C. / Ireland)
Co-Worker:
Be prepared to do as much if not more than those with whom you work. (D.M. / Australia)
If you plan to go with a group, work out your problems at home. If you can’t get along at home, don’t go. (J.R. / Vietnam)
Make sure not to defeat that for which you are giving your life, by failing to co-operate with co-laborers. (M.A. / New Zealand)
Regarding your co-worker’s family: love, unity, respect and sympathy are vital. What strengths do they have? Where best to draw the line of familiarity, so as to hopefully avoid problems? (J.C.J. / Canal Zone)
A group which prepares over a long period is ideal. (R.P. / Africa)
If possible go with others of proven maturity in Christ. Do not handicap the Lord’s work by yoking up with those whom you cannot pull. Take note of Paul’s decision with respect to Mark. (B.G. / Africa)
Do not plan to enter the mission field without a co-worker, both from the study of the Scriptures as well as personal experience. This is an absolute must. (T.H. / Ireland)
When an inexperienced missionary is working with an experienced missionary, the former should refrain from voicing opinions contrary to the experienced missionary until he has had at least a year of experience. (J.W.P. / Africa)
Younger men should go into fields where there will be experienced missionaries nearby. (N.E.S. / South America)
Be humble and submit yourself to others with whom you work. Do not enter the field alone. (O.G. / Retired)
