Questions to Ask a Missions Organization

Suzanne Pearson • May 26, 2022

If you’re considering becoming a missionary, one of the first steps you’ll take is choosing what sending organization to partner with. “ Why do I need a missions organization ?” you may ask. This is a big question that a missions coach can answer best. But the short version is that missions organizations like TEAM will train and equip you to serve, support you each step of the way and provide an infrastructure that will maximize your effectiveness in missions.

So then, the next question is obvious. Which organization do I choose? This is another complex question that we can talk through with you, but the fact is that there are lots of great organizations out there. The key is finding the one that is the right fit for YOU. The best way to get that answer is to have a conversation with the missions coach of each organization and ask the right questions. With that in mind, here are 5 Key Questions to Ask a Missions Organization.

1. What are the beliefs and values of the organization?

Finding out what doctrinal beliefs and values drive the organization is essential before you go any further in the process. This starts with reading their Statement of Faith and Mission/Vision statements but it doesn’t end there. Ask the coach to elaborate on those important written pieces and how they are applied to the mission process. Ask what the organization’s core values are when it comes to preparing and deploying missionaries as well as caring for them once they are in the field. Make sure that your beliefs and values align theologically and doctrinally with the organization and that you have the same or at least similar goals and expectations.

Anna Price, TEAM’s Director of Mobilization, says it’s important to write down your expectations about what the organization would need to do to help you thrive in the mission field. “What do you need to be successful?” asks Anna. “And if ‘expectations’ are too hard to answer at this point, write down your fears…what are the things that would make you not thrive in missions and how will you need help to overcome them?” Then discuss those thoughts with the organization to see how they can meet those needs.

2. What types of opportunities do they offer?

Most likely at this point you’ve got some ideas in mind as to the region(s) you’re interested in and the length of time you’re looking for (long-term vs. short-term). You’ve also probably thought about the types of ministry such as teaching, church planting or medical missions. Another preference you may have is a vocational model where you have a paying job overseas that also offers missional opportunities. All these choices and preferences are important when you are considering an organization because some may not specialize or even offer what you are looking for. So if your heart is set on a particular region, ministry or vocational model, you’ll want to ask what’s offered by that organization and what their level of experience is within those parameters.

On the other hand, maybe you’re still undecided and open to different opportunities that the Lord puts in front of you. If that’s the case, you’ll want to ask what’s offered so you can see how much bandwidth there is for you to change course as you home in on your interests and passions.

Tracy Culley, Mobilization Coordinator at South America Mission offers great advice – start with where God has you, and see what organization offers the next natural step in that progression. “What are your gifts and passions? What is God currently teaching you?” asks Tracy. Sharing those thoughts with an organization helps you determine if it’s a good fit.

Rachel Pauwels, Regional Missions Coach for SEND encourages prospective missionaries to think about what they want their work to look like and then talk with the organization about that vision. “Look for an organization that aligns with those desires that you have for your time in the field,” says Rachel.

3. What type of training and equipping do they provide before you go?

The goal of any healthy organization is to send global workers that are as prepared as possible for the field. Ask the organization what the training process looks like. What are the steps and how does each one accomplish the goal? What does the timeline usually look like from start to finish? How does their fundraising system work and how does the organization equip you to raise support?

Kyler Keith, Director of Recruitment and Mobilization at Crossworld adds that it’s also important to ask about training related to the specific type of ministry work you plan to undertake. “It’s good to know if [the organization] has similar field workers with those skills.” Says Kyler. “Are there people that you can mentor you with certain things or are you going to be a pioneer?”

Church group praying around a new missionary.

When it comes to missions, connections to both a sending and a receiving church are key.

4. What is the role of the local church (at both ends of the equation)?

The local church plays a vital role in the life of a missionary. This is true on the front end with your “sending church” which supports you and prays for you from “home.” But plugging into and partnering with the local church in the area where you are serving is important as well. One of the staples of TEAM’s philosophy is that cross-cultural missions thrive best when local churches and local ministry leaders are mobilized to reach their own ministry goals; missionaries then go as partners to come alongside them in that work.

As you are talking with organizations, it’s critical to ask how they interact with and find synergy with local churches on the sending side as well as the receiving side (in the field).

“An agency that’s able to work with you and your church’s processes and expertise is really important,” says Anna. “I think it’s key to work with an agency and ask, ‘Hey, what would this process look like with you? How can you accept our expertise…and how can we also submit to your expertise?’”

5. How do they care for and support their missionaries and missionary families for the long haul?

Do you remember the scene in The Martian when Matt Damon wakes up and realizes he’s been left behind on Mars? Well, mission work shouldn’t feel like help is 140 million miles away! Your missions organization should help you and your family get settled and then keep tabs on how you’re doing. If you have children, the organization can not only help you find schools but also provide you with a myriad of great resources and support for missionary kids , also known as third-culture kids. Ask what those processes and programs look like.

It’s also important to ask what the organization does to care for your ongoing spiritual and emotional health. What do they do to help you avoid burnout and compassion fatigue? What opportunities for ongoing learning and development do they provide?

Lastly, ask what’s available to you and your family as far as medical and other types of benefits.

Anna mentions an important distinction to make among sending agencies. “There are two big buckets [when it comes to sending organizations],” she explains. “There are umbrella agencies that really are kind of just a place for you to do your [fundraising]. And then there are full-service agencies.”

TEAM, along with SEND, South America Mission and Crossworld are all full-service agencies. Each has robust member care as well as learning and development. These organizations understand that we are not competitors but partners, collaborating to fulfill the Great Commission. For this reason, Therefore Alliance was formed by the four agencies to pool our resources and maximize effectiveness for the Gospel. If you’d like to hear more from all four of these agencies, check out this recent conversation, How to Choose a Missions Agency .

Next Steps

Maybe you’re not sure if the mission field is right for you – or you can’t even go anytime soon. Kyler says it’s still a great idea to talk to a missions coach. “You may be years away from wanting to go or not even sure that you want to go and that’s totally fine,” he says. “The conversation can just be like, ‘here are some resources on why you should consider going overseas.’ Or ‘Let’s meet again in a year after you’re graduated from college and then we can talk about what opportunities we have.’ All [of these four organizations] would love to have that initial conversation with you so they can better understand how to come alongside you and to pray for you.”

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Loving Like Jesus Cross-Culturally (Part 1)

By Megan Lunsford • 23 Apr, 2024

When seeking to serve cross-culturally with an authentic love for others, there’s no better example for us than Jesus. If we sat around a table and threw out the question, “How do we love like Jesus?” I think we would have several commonalities as we respond. For example, Jesus loved all people right where they were. He loved those who were deemed the least, those hardest to love, or those who were His enemies. These are all beautiful realities of the heart of Jesus. When we step into relationships, it can be easier to take on the warmer, more gracious gestures of Jesus’ love, especially in cross-cultural relationships. Think about it––when doing life with those who look and act differently than us, we are already out of our comfort zones and would rather keep things as simple and familiar as possible. But there are other facets of Jesus’ heart we often overlook that can transform us and others even more into His likeness. Jesus is love because God is love. Everything Jesus did was out of love; it’s the mere definition of who He is. As followers of Jesus, He calls us to the same: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.” (1 John:7-12) Every display of love we offer to others is an opportunity for them to encounter the ultimate love of the Father. That’s a pretty big deal! In this article, we’ll look at three expressions of Jesus’ love that we tend to overlook when engaging others cross-culturally. (Next month, we’ll look at three more.) 1. Jesus loved sacrificially. Everywhere Jesus went, crowds followed Him. We even see times in Scripture where Jesus had plans to step away for time alone but those who were hurting found Him and He had compassion on them and stayed with them. Can you imagine rarely having any time to yourself but, instead, constantly being surrounded by crowds of people wanting help from you? Jesus loved sacrificially. He welcomed all who came to Him with love and compassion, never turning anyone away. “When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36) In the same way, we can make room in our lives for Jesus to bring sacrificial interruptions which, in His eyes, are orchestrated encounters to transfer His love to others. It can be tempting to be so “on mission” that we are full steam ahead and find ourselves frustrated when the Holy Spirit sends an interruption into our path that we feel we don’t have time for. Or, perhaps, we have scheduled a meet-up but it’s the norm in another culture to be 30 minutes or an hour late. We anxiously think through how it will affect whatever we have planned next. While it’s normal to feel a little stressed, what if the very "interruption” standing in front of you was really a divine appointment sent by God? Or what if that person running late experiences how peaceful and gracious you are in adapting to their culture and therefore, they can encounter a beautiful display of Jesus’ love? To truly represent Christ, we should remain ready and willing for each assignment the Lord sends into our path, no matter the cost or how much we will have to re-route our day. He is always a hundred steps ahead and will work all things for His glory and our good. 2. Jesus loved by discerning each situation well. Think about how many situations Jesus had to respond to on a daily basis. We read in Scripture that there were lines of people waiting to be healed by Him, talk to Him, hear His teachings, or simply touch the hem of His robe. Jesus was fully dependent on His Father to discern each situation before addressing it. “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.” (John 5:19) Another temptation we can have when in a relationship with those God has sent us to is to think we already know the solution or what God wants to do before we’ve even asked Him. We believe we are full of knowledge, so we just pull from the bank we have stored within and go with it. However, when we access what is familiar to us as our default, we risk missing out on a God-given solution that might truly be the key to unlocking whatever challenge is in front of us. What does this look like when interacting with others? We can simply ask, “God, what is on Your heart for the person standing in front of me?” Then we listen and respond as He speaks. When we make it a daily habit to pause and hear God’s heart for each situation before responding, we are guaranteed to be effective in loving those around us. He knows the heart of every person that will cross our paths. Imagine how impactful we can be if we first lean on His wisdom and discernment before moving forward. 3. Jesus loved by speaking truth. Most of us are familiar with the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. If we are honest, this conversation makes us a bit nervous as none of us would be comfortable with Jesus calling out intimate details of our lives that we would prefer to hide. But Jesus went further than just airing her dirty laundry. He offered her the hope of the Gospel and a relationship with Him - a divine fulfillment that could never be found in an earthly relationship. Jesus modeled a powerful example of loving others well cross-culturally. He took the low place and spoke truth, truly out of love––speaking to her heart from His. Like Jesus, our goal in sharing the truths about Him and His Word is to bring hope and satisfaction through Him alone. When we speak truth from Scripture, we are calling others higher into all God has for them. The tricky part here is we should avoid speaking truth if it isn’t first fueled by compassion. If it merely comes from a place of judgment, condemnation, or self-righteousness, it will fall flat 100% of the time. But if it truly comes from love, you are likely to not only win a heart back to the Father but, like the story of the Samaritan woman, even an entire village! If you see someone living outside of God’s best for their lives, ask God to show you your heart before engaging theirs. Once your heart is properly postured, you can speak truth out of an overflow of God’s love and trust Him for a transformation in their lives.

Hospitality, Help, and the Hope of the Gospel

By Suzanne Pearson • 16 Apr, 2024

TEAM Canada provides warm welcome and trusted friendships for diaspora populations living far from their native countries. As TEAM Canada workers Peter and Ruth (names changed) drive from their home to a nearby community center, they pass numerous apartment buildings and townhouses. Most of the families who live there are immigrants. They’ve left their countries of origin due to political unrest, trauma, and other difficulties. They’ve left family, friends, homes, jobs, and personal wealth behind. They search for peace, justice for the oppressed, and rest from fear and weariness. And as they adjust to a new country and a new language, they are often very isolated from others around them. “The sad reality is most immigrants are never even invited inside a Canadian home,” says Ruth. Peter and Ruth and their team try to change that reality. For the last nine years, the team, which includes workers from partner organizations as well as volunteers, has held English classes at the community center. Three days a week, over 60 students from more than 20 countries come together to learn English as well as to fellowship together and receive practical help in assimilating to a new normal. Meeting Needs and Building Trust That practical help may come in the form of procuring furniture, clothes, or dishes for newcomers, assistance with creating a resume and finding a job, or teaching people how to navigate Canadian laws and the medical system. As these tangible needs are met, relationships are built. “We invite them into our homes for meals and games,” Ruth shares. “We take them on hiking trips, picnics, outings, and out for coffee.” This is particularly important in this type of ministry because most immigrants come to Canada from cultures that value hospitality. Conversely, Canadians do not typically prioritize hospitality and consequently many newcomers feel lonely and isolated. Inviting folks to various gatherings and outings allows the team to spend extended time hearing people’s stories, struggles, hopes, and dreams. When she speaks about building friendships, Ruth’s heart for the people she serves is evident. “Hearing their stories, it’s easy to love them, and many have become close friends,” Ruth says. “We recognize the value of steady one-on-one relationships.”