Christian Missionary Work: Why Should You Become a Missionary?

Christian missionary work often begins with a simple question: What is God asking me to do?

Maybe you’re wondering about the difference between short term missionary volunteer work and a calling to full time missionary service.

If you have a heart for missions, exploring missions opportunities can help you clarify your calling.

Discover the meaning of missionary work and find life changing ministry opportunities that fit God’s call on your life.

This blog will give you:

A straightforward missionary work definition
Foundational Scriptures about missionary work
Practical takeaways for how to get involved in missionary work
Missionary work near you and training opportunities

Move from “How can I do missionary work?” to “Here’s my next step in missions!”

Let’s start with the basics of Christian missionary work and what do missionaries do on the mission field.

What Is Missionary Work?

Christian missionaries are followers of Jesus whom God calls to share the Gospel of Jesus across cultures.

The most well known Bible verse about missionary work is the Great Commission—Jesus’ command to His followers in Matthew 28:18-20 to “go and make disciples of all nations.”

Although missionary work varies depending on location and needs, most missionaries aim to accomplish at least 1 of 3 primary outreach tasks:

Evangelism– Engaging in spiritual conversations and sharing the Gospel message with non believers
Discipleship– Teaching how to do Bible study and obey the commands of Jesus Christ
Church planting – Working with indigenous Christians to establish reproducible local churches for worship

You can do cross cultural missionary work in a foreign country, or even in your home country among diaspora peoples (those living outside their homelands).

To better understand the meaning of missionary work, let’s take a look at Scripture.

Bible Verses About Christian Missionary Work

Why do Christians stress missionary work? Because the Word of God does!

Here are a few things Scripture says about salvation and sharing the Gospel. These Bible verses about sharing the Gospel and missionary work help to inspire Christian missionaries.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16, NIV).

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

“[Jesus] desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:4-5).

These verses show that God offers salvation through Jesus Christ to the whole world, not just a few people groups.

Revelation 7:9 even describes “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language” gathered to worship God.

Examples of Missionary Work in the Bible

The first Christian missionaries in the early Church were mostly Jesus’ original group of disciples. This was the group to whom He gave the Great Commission.

The Book of Acts recounts the stories of the Apostles and their missionary work in the Mediterranean region.

It tells the story of Saul’s dramatic conversion to Christianity, call to missions, and God changing his name to Paul.

The Apostle Paul engaged in evangelism, discipleship of believers, and local church planting alongside his fellow Christian missionaries.

Sometimes Paul relied on financial support from local communities of believers. Other times, he engaged in tentmaking (working an additional paid job at least part time) to sustain his missionary activity.

Missionary Work Where Christ Is Not Known

In Romans 15:20, Paul said, “It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation.”

Paul’s words still guide Christian missionaries and evangelical missions organizations today. His ambition is the inspiration behind strategically ministering to Unreached People Groups (UPGs).

We define unreached people as ethnolinguistic groups where less than 2% of the population actively follows Jesus. UPGs represent the greatest need in world missions because most have yet to hear about the Good News of salvation through Jesus.

Fortunately, global migration brings many diaspora UPGs to the United States. While some countries with many UPGs prohibit or restrict Christianity, here in America, UPGs have the freedom to hear about and accept Christ.

Check out some of the missionary work you can do among UPGs.

Types of Missionary Work

In the past, missionary jobs were primarily available to adults willing to serve long term in a foreign country. But today, there are more opportunities for both old and young people to do missions than ever.

In the mid 20th century, churches and missions organizations began offering short term missions opportunities. Christian missionary work extended to mission trips for college students, and eventually high school mission trips.

God is still calling not only young men and women to the mission field, but also middle aged and senior workers. Options for missionary work are much more diverse.

Missionary Work Examples

Think you need to be a pastor to be a missionary? Think again!

Your calling to missionary work is unique to you. God can use your unique talents and skills to minister on the mission field.

Check out these options for professionals who want to do missionary work abroad or close to home:

Business As Mission– Establishing (or working with) businesses to spread the Gospel in the marketplace
Community Development – Building infrastructure to improve quality of life in developing countries
Medical Missionary Work – Providing medical care in low income or remote areas to share Jesus

Related: Medical Mission Trips

You could also do bivocational ministry—serving as a missionary while working another job like teaching English.

Missionary Work Opportunities

Maybe you’re looking for volunteer opportunities ministering to UPGs on short term mission trips. Or maybe you’re looking for a career as a long term missionary.

Whatever your interest, life stage, or ideal length of commitment, we can help you find missionary fit work for you.

Missionary Work Overseas

Interested in doing missionary work abroad? We have options for you in Central Asia and Europe.

Choose from these short term or long term overseas mission opportunities:

Europe mission trips– 2 week trips engaging in cross cultural evangelism with migrants in Rome
Internship in Rome – 2 month opportunities for college students or recent graduates to gain hands on experience in cross cultural evangelism and discipleship
Missionary Jobs – Long term missions assignments on a church planting team reaching diaspora communities in Rome and Central Asia

Missionary Work in the USA

Considering missions in America? We have long term opportunities doing diaspora missions in both New York City and Dallas.

As part of 1 of these teams, you could do missionary work with us like:

English Conversation Groups – Providing language help with natural open doors to share Scripture
Discovery Bible Studies – Facilitating groups to introduce the basics of the Bible and obedience to non Christians that set the foundation for church plants
International Student Ministry – Connecting with diaspora UPG students in the US so we can get the Gospel back to their homelands

Missionary Work in Your City!

Have you ever wondered about missionary work near me?

If you sense God is calling you to start a missional project in your own city, you may choose to partner with a existing non profit organizations. We’d love to explore to see if we can work with you to pioneer something new!

Check out this last section to see how to sign up for missionary work with us!

Work as a Missionary

Ready to discover your next step to do missionary work?

Our 10 month Equip Missionary Training Program is the perfect opportunity to explore your role in missions. When you join Equip, you’ll live and serve in New York City ministering among dozens of diaspora UPG communities.

You’ll develop valuable cross cultural evangelism and discipleship skills, all while receiving personalized mentoring from experienced missionaries.

Fill out the form below to start the conversation about how to become a missionary in America or overseas!

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