How to Be an Encouragement to Missionaries

Consider with me that Barnabas’ name was not Barnabas as most of us know him. His name was Joseph. The Apostles called him Barnabas, son of encouragement. Wouldn’t that be a great nickname to have, while we work out our part of the Great commission?

God’s heart is for the nations. As we grow closer to him our hearts for the nations will grow. The taking of the Gospel to the ends of the earth, was commissioned by Christ, to the church. While not all of us are called to be on the front lines spearheading church plants and hacking away at the proverbial brush to advance God’s Kingdom, we are certainly called to war.

[pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”#87bff0″ class=”” size=”16″]God’s heart is for the nations. As we grow closer to him our hearts for the nations will grow. Share on X[/pullquote]
As soldiers we must take arms and be ready for the fight. The spiritual battle is real and the challenges missionaries face daily can cause many to loose heart or retreat. In a war, what do operations back at headquarters look like? Are they busy with affairs completely unrelated to events on the front lines, or are they proactively strategizing, positioning, sending supplies and recruits, etc etc?

Many of us support our missionaries in prayer and give them financial backing. These things are crucial, but are they enough to win the war? How else might we be proactively strengthening our soldiers on the field?

How to Be an Encouragement to Missionaries

Following are a few things we realized would have been a big encouragement to us on the mission field:

 1.  An Occasional Quick Hello

Given our busy and hectic lives compounded with the piles of emails in our inboxes, we can’t possibly stay current on every single email missionaries send. However, if we read 1 in 3 updates or even 1 and 4 and write a quick note to let them know, it can be very uplifting. Even if it’s just one sentence to say, “hi,” and let them know you are praying for them. Frequently I would work for hours on an update only to receive one note back saying “please remove from list”. Every now and then I would hear something encouraging but the “please remove from list” outnumbered them two to one. People didn’t want another missionary email cluttering up their inbox. Is there any way that instead of asking missionaries to remove you from their list that you could just say a short prayer for them every time you see their email come through? Just delete the email and say a prayer, you don’t have to read it, although it’s a great encouragement if you do.

2.   Stay in Touch, Send a Care Package

Why not randomly or occasionally send them a message and let them know they are in your thoughts and prayers? Ask how they are doing and if there is anything they might need, maybe a certain thing they cannot find overseas.
We had one church ask us about this, and after we answered did not wind up sending us anything. We were never explained why.

3.  Pray for Them

Get your small group to pray for them regularly and let the missionaries know about it. You can also pray regularly for them in secret. It has been said, “those praying for missions in their prayer closet do as much for the work of missions as those on the field.”

4.  Take the Initiative to Catch Up with Them

Don’t wait for them to contact you or send you an email. Take the initiative to call them first or write them a quick email update on how things are back home.

When they return home, seek them out and ask sincere questions about their experience abroad. One former missionary kid put together a good list of questions to ask missionaries here.

5.  Send a Card on Their Birthday or for Christmas, or No Reason Whatsoever

Send them some real mail. We would love to get some Christmas cards!

6. Be a faithful friend.

Sometimes being away for a while, friends can forget about you. How goes the old Hoodini proverb, “out of sight out of mind”? Don’t let time or distance keep you from picking up your friendship where it left off when they return Stateside.

[pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”#87bff0″ class=”” size=”16″]Those praying for missions do as much for the work of missions as those on the field. Share on X[/pullquote]Too often I have seen friends turn out to be less then true friends because of things like money or having different theological convictions. When the missionary is on the field you are not going to agree with what they do or believe 100%, and that goes with any missionary. Don’t withdraw your funding or your friendship simply because they aren’t a spittin’ image of how you’d do things or because they are in a different denomination.

7.  Ask Questions if You Don’t Understand Something

If the missionary is doing something you don’t understand give them the benefit of the doubt. Usually missionaries are trained for the work they are doing and judging by the hundreds of pulpits I have sat under in my lifetime, the Church by and large is not being well educated in missions. If there is something they are doing or some decision you don’t understand, consider not writing them off, and asking them questions about it. By asking questions you show them you care about the work they are doing.

If you don’t understand things about furlough or fundraising ask other missionaries or a pastor. I’m sure you will find that most missionaries, from an insider’s perspective, agree on things that many people in the church do not understand.

8. Pay Them a Visit

If you only knew how encouraging it would be to see a familiar face on the mission field, for a week or two. Can you get away to encourage them? Set aside some money and sacrifice some vacation time and make it happen!

9.  Communicate About Financial Support and Try to be Faithful

Sometimes we have had people discontinue financial support without notice or a word. This is like having a paycheck suddenly decrease without any rhyme, reason, or explanation – when you’re on the other side of the world. Other times people have had to stop for a while but we were very encouraged by the questions they asked us. If for whatever reason you cannot continue financially supporting them any longer, consider these words of advice:

Ask how they are doing financially. Ask how tight of a position they are in. If things are really tight maybe you can carry it on a bit longer.
Instead of dropping your support entirely consider decreasing it a bit.
Consider letting them know in advance and stick with them through the rest of the year if you can.

Upon our return to the States a few people just stopped giving. I guess they assume because you are Stateside that you no longer need their support. The work Stateside is just as important as the work overseas and many of the travel expenses, etc can add up. When missionaries travel Stateside they need their support levels to go up, not down, especially if they are heading back to the field. Even if they plan to settle down in the States consider sticking with them for six months or so. People need time to make necessary adjustments. Remember, they have been overseas giving their lives away for the Gospel. Each person’s situation is unique but they may not be able to transition from living overseas that quickly.

I would encourage people to find missionaries whom they’d like to support and be lifers with them. If you can, stick with them for life, and rather then decreasing the amount, or giving to someone else, be creatively and proactively involved in increasing your support or helping them gain more support from others.

Contrary to popular belief, our missionaries are not supposed to be poor. They don’t have to be well off, but they need to be taken care of.

10. Help Them Out When They are Stateside

We have experienced a remarkable amount of hospitality from our friends. I have also stayed with people who demanded I do the dishes when I was a guest for a few days at their home, as if I was their roommate or something.
Go out of your way to ask if they need anything while they are in the States. Don’t expect someone else to take care of it, they may not. Remember, it’s likely the missionaries have been extremely hospitable to those they serve overseas. We can afford to go out of our comfort zones a little and extend them the same courtesy.

As an overseas missionary of four years, preparing to go back for a longer period, I think these are the things that would encourage me the most. I’m pretty sure any other missionary out there would agree.

Here are a few other blogs others have written on the same topic:

10 Ways to Encourage a Missionary

How to Care for Our Missionaries

12 Ways to Encourage Missionaries

10 Ways to Be a Blessing to Your Missionaries

What other ways could the Church be more intentional and proactive in support of her missionaries?