As a missions training organization, the issues of long-term resilience and effectiveness are of keen interest to us. We at Global Frontier Missions are constantly looking to publications like Resilient Global Worker and The Missions Experience to glean insights on how to best prepare prospective missionaries for the field.

GFM currently has among our staff two couples who have spent around 30 or 40 years on the field. These individuals, who wish to remain anonymous, served in West and East Africa and represent a combined 133 years of experience in missions. Their roles over the years included personnel, administration, organizational leadership, logistics, teaching bachelor’s level Bible courses, leadership training, leading Bible studies, student ministry, and health education.

We recently interviewed these staff members in order to understand what are the most- and least-promising attributes of new missionaries and how to cultivate the former. While informal, we hope this article will give some insight into key areas of personal development in preparation for the mission field. The following is a series of questions with summarized answers compiled from their responses.

In your experience, what were some top make-or-break issues for long-term resilience in missions?

All four unanimously agreed that cultural adaptation was one of the top factors in missions resilience. Specific implementations mentioned included language learning, flexibility, and spending time bonding with the host culture. 

Other factors included roles in ministry and relationships with teammates.

These were contrasted with inflexibility and critical attitudes toward either the host culture or the established missionaries.

One key negative factor was spending too much time engaging with their passport culture through imbalanced preference toward fellowship with other expats, spending excessive time engaging with home networks, daydreaming and comparison, and setting expectations according to prior lifestyles.

Notable statements:

“Westerners, especially, do not realize the emotional, physical or spiritual crutches that hold them up. When their close church fellowship, access to social media is limited, social diversions of known entertainment is reduced, there is not a decent supermarket just around the corner, they can enter culture shock. It is easier to enter cultural stress when there is difficulty in accepting the new culture or society around them. If their spiritual maturity was propped up by their church friends, Bible studies, seminar, and conferences, they will default to hanging out with other Westerners and will develop few close relationships with nationals.”

One respondent included “staying a full term without going home, which solidified bonding vs. returning home during the first term, which, in almost every case, led to a premature departure from the field.”

What were some of the most promising attributes of new missionaries? 

Along with cultural adaptability and engaging in genuine friendships with people from the host culture, also mentioned unanimously was humility in various forms. These included teachability, observation, a servant heart, being a team player, asking questions, and the ability to laugh at oneself. One mentioned an attitude that seeks to empower others.

Three out of four also mentioned personal spiritual disciplines and the ability to grow in the Lord independently and consistently.

Perseverance, a strong work ethic, and prayer in the midst of difficulty were briefly mentioned as well. One wrote as follows: “Able to persevere when the initial difficulties come so there is some strength to pass through much harder times later on.”

The least promising?

A strong commonality between their responses was tightly holding on to one’s home culture and way of doing things. Implementations included maintaining the mindset of one’s passport culture, not embracing the host culture, and discounting the host culture’s perspective. 

Also mentioned were inflexibility, criticism, judgmentalism, and becoming a lone ranger.

In contrast, one mentioned leaning too heavily into the host culture while ignoring advice of established missionaries.

One notable comment included an “overinflated view of setting boundaries over their work involvement that reflects more a lazy attitude and unwillingness to learn new work tasks; boundaries may simply be personal preferences that refuse to do so called menial tasks that must be accomplished by someone.”

Were you surprised by any of these realizations?

None expressed surprise.

One commented: “I wished many times that our new missionaries had been more carefully, adequately trained and vetted for the challenges of the field.”

In what practical ways can a prospective missionary develop those most promising attributes?

This question resulted in the most striking commonality with a singular answer that was almost exclusive. 

The unanimous suggestion was to serve in ministry in one’s passport country.  

To add breadth to ministry experience, diversity was mentioned in various forms including culture, generation, religion, socio-economics, and others as well as varying ministry types.

One respondent mentioned personal growth and building health in the following areas: spiritual, physical, emotional, psychological, relational, and in time- and self-management.

Looking back, what has been the most fulfilling part of your long-term experience?

All unanimously listed long-term relationships as the most fulfilling part of their experience. Half specified friendships with nationals from the host culture.

Most also mentioned spiritual legacy and seeing others come to Christ or carry on their roles in the Great Commission.

Conclusion

Based on this informal interview, it is the author’s understanding that humility, adaptability, and a readiness to build diverse friendships are the primary attributes to cultivate in preparation for the mission field. And the best way to cultivate them is faithful involvement in local, cross-cultural ministry.

One way to gain cross-cultural ministry experience and learn from long-term ministers is to come join us in the Atlanta area for five months in Missionary Training School. Global Frontier Missions has specifically designed this program to blend classroom learning, hands-on practice engaging with the local foreign-born community, and practical and spiritual personal growth through community and mentorship.

Written by: a GFM staff member