Long Term Missions: What You Need to Prepare

Long term missions work is invaluable when it comes to living out the Great Commission. 

In order to share the Good News of Jesus Christ in a way that develops cultural insiders, we must have workers discipling indigenous leaders. 

In this blog, you’ll not only learn what long term missions is, but more importantly, what preparing for long term missions actually entails from veteran workers. 

Plus, you’ll get to hear from recent Equip Missionary Training graduate, Kelsey*, on her experience. 

Learning how to survive in missions long term is quintessential for stewardship of resources and getting the love of Christ to the ends of the earth. 

What Is Long Term Missions?

Long term missions is answering God’s call to a full time missionary job as a cross cultural worker who shares the Gospel. 

Looking for a short term missions opportunity? See here.

Initiatives may focus their outreach, evangelism, and discipleship on community development, disaster relief, or community health. 

Here at International Project, we focus on preparing long term workers in our Equip Missionary Training Program for: 

1. Abundant Gospel Sowing – through evangelistic centered outreach
2. Discovery Bible Studies – discipleship methods for non believers and Christians
3. Church Planting – leadership development through cultural insiders who go on to plant churches in closed places

But this sustainable long term ministry begins with holistic missions preparation. 

Whether God is calling you to long term medical missions, sports ministry, or church planting, you need comprehensive training that not only educates you, but also gives you hands on experience. 

Preparing for Long Term Missions

Did you know that the leading, preventable reason for long term missions workers leaving the field is because of team conflict? 

Preparing for long term missions must include navigating team dynamics from differing personalities, ministry philosophies, and other interpersonal skills. 

How do you teach missionaries to work well together? 

Balancing Team and Outreach

Kelsey shares her experience,  

“One of the greatest learning curves in the preparation is balancing team relationships with ministry relationships. Long term missions teams tend to go one of 2 extremes. They may focus too much on team dynamics and relationships with believers — to the exclusion of outreach. Or they become so absorbed with building relationships with non believers that team relationships suffer. Neither of these is healthy or what Jesus intended for His Church.

“At Equip Missionary Training, we take an up close look at how we view the Body of Christ. We also examine the community on our teams and relationships with those we seek to reach with the Gospel. Our personal paradigms in each of these areas affect one another as well as the way that we seek to minister. The same things we learn and experience now will still apply during our long term missions. This year at Equip gives us a head start on learning the balance of team and outreach.

“It is amazing what you learn about yourself when placed in a situation where strangers quickly become your community for 10 months. As a team, we get the honor of sharpening each other as iron sharpens iron. It is an honor, but in the moment it often does not feel like a joy. Yet through the painful lessons of humility, we grow together — which is reason for great joy.

“Our growth is not only in or for ourselves. No, it is a growth that causes us to grow into the Head — Christ himself.  And the growth we experience in Equip is one that we hope will only continue once we move into long term work.”

Evangelism Skills 

In order to do long term missions effectively, you’ll need to bolster your evangelism skills. 

You can learn more about how we do intercultural evangelism on a mission trip in NYC here. We even have mission trips for teens and high school students. 

Cultural Immersion

Kelsey saw firsthand how, 

“Missionaries who want to pursue long term missions get valuable training with our Equip missionary training program [on] the mission field. New York City is home to more than 50 Unreached People Groups. This makes it a prime place to learn about the daily rhythms of missionary life.” 

We also offer 2 month Summer Missions Internships for young adults and college students for those wanting a taste of the mission field. 

What is it like to be immersed in a new culture? 

Live in a neighborhood with Middle Eastern Muslims and South Asian Sikhs at your doorstep. 

How to Raise Funds

Support raising can feel daunting. But we have seen repeatedly that God provides for those He calls. 

Navigating financial support partnerships with both individuals and local churches is essential for your ministry. More than mere prayer, you want a support team who will be praying for you and your ministry opportunities. 

Related: Why a long term missions support letter isn’t enough: Don’t Write a Missionary Fundraising Letter… Do This First. 

But above all of the hands on training and education, missions workers must remember their identity in Christ. 

Embracing Identity

Ultimately, the core of missions work overflows from a deep relationship with Jesus. 

Kelsey shares, 

“In New York City we are stretched in ministry, both internally – how we view ministry – and externally – how we act based on our viewpoint. The internal stretching most often happens through group training and team conversations. The external stretching happens through going out on the streets or campuses of New York City to put into [practice] what we learn.”

For Kelsey, some of her biggest epiphanies during her preparation for long term missions were about her identity as a daughter of God. She explains, 

“Both internal growth and external growth are essential in preparing for missions. Yet in the midst of much ministry focus, we can see that our Father has a huge concern for our identities. 

“I say ‘can be’ because the choice to embrace identity is usually much more difficult than learning new ways of ministry. Identity turns up the soil of our hearts like nothing else. This is what Jesus intends: He wants to go to the depths of our souls. In rooting out lies, in learning to see ourselves through his eyes, in embracing our identity as the beloved of God — we are best prepared to be long term missionaries.”

Related: Long Term Opportunities

How to Survive in Missions Long Term

To survive in long term missions, we believe on the ground training is the best way to prepare. 

Throughout our 10 month Equip Missionary Training Program, you’ll receive: 

• Life changing mentoring from experienced missions workers 
• Cross cultural intelligence focused on the least reached 
• Strategic ministry preparation for longevity and sustainability

Kelsey shares one of her biggest takeaways,

“More than tools and training, our Equip Missionary Training Program can be a year of learning to see ourselves not just as missionaries, but as sons and daughters of the King.

“More than a gap year, Equip is preparing many men and women for long term missions among the unreached peoples of the world. There are many, many ways this preparation plays out in New York City. For me, learning my identity as a daughter of our Heavenly Father is my very favorite part of the preparation process. Balancing team and outreach, which leads to individual and group growth, is a close second. Praise God for his work of preparation to go into all the world as sons and daughters!

Don’t skip hands on experience in your training. As Kelsey says,

“Through Equip, the Holy Spirit is preparing workers for long term work as missionaries.” 

Don’t be a missionary who leaves the mission field for preventable reasons like lack of training and preparation. 

See our long term missions opportunities here.

Whether God is calling you to do missions in Europe, North America, or Central Asia, fill out the form below to begin your application process for our Equip Missionary Training Program. Someone from our mobilization team will be in touch with you shortly. 

Sign Up for More Info

*Name changed for security 

Source 

1  Taylor, W. D. (Ed.). (1997). Too valuable to lose: Exploring the causes and cures of missionary attrition. William Carey Library.