MENU
Unsplash: Meg Aghamyan

Who Cares for Me? Understanding the Role of Care as You Choose a Missions Agency

By Chelsea Rollman, Apr 9, 2024

“Who is going to care for me on the mission field?”

This is an important question that we encourage every new missionary to ask—and answer—before serving in missions. A lack of care on the mission field can have far-reaching consequences, affecting the spiritual, emotional, and sometimes physical health of the individual missionary and the effectiveness of their work.

So as a missionary, who cares for you?

Mission to the World’s Director of Member Care David Thomae says that at MTW we want our missionaries to answer this question in a particular way.

1. God cares for you.

"We want our missionaries to say first of all that ‘God cares for me,’” says David. God cares for you through the Holy Spirit’s direct and immediate work in your heart and through His providential provision as the Creator and sustainer of this world.

God has ordained specific means for His people to experience His loving care and grace. Therefore, we encourage all missionaries to take advantage of the means of grace which include reading Scripture, praying, going to church, siting under the preached word, and participating in the sacraments.

2. You care for you.

The Bible instructs us to take care of ourselves by living wisely. Structuring our lives according to the way in which God has ordered His creation is another way to experience God’s care. This means eating a balanced diet, getting enough sleep, exercising, taking a Sabbath rest, going to the doctor, and managing your finances responsibly.

3. God’s people care for you.

“God’s people caring for one another is both an expression of what it means to be in Christ and is a powerful witness to the wider world,” says David.

This can take place in the context of a team and MTW has structured our missionary teams with a hierarchy of care. Though this does not happen in every location, ideally each missions team has a team leader responsible for shepherding and overseeing the immediate members of the team. Our teams are grouped into regions and overseen by a regional director and all similar regions are grouped together and overseen by an international director.

Care from God’s people also takes place in the context of the local church—both in your country of service and your home country. Live in Christian community and stay connected to your church partners back home. Allow your brothers and sisters in Christ to regularly lift you up in prayer and to carry your burdens.

4. MTW cares for you.

Mission to the World provides many resources for our missionaries to support them in their work. Every MTW missionary is assigned a resource representative that serves as their primary contact to our organization.

MTW’s Member Care Department also works hard to care for our missionaries through a variety of avenues. They host events like Refresh (our twice-yearly debriefing conference) and help with regional area retreats, which provide missionaries an opportunity to connect with one another, to be spiritually encouraged, and to step away from ministry to relax and rejuvenate. Our Member Care team also offers counseling services, helps with conflict resolution, supports missionary kids through our Next ministry, and partners with other organizations like Parakaleo, which equips church leaders’ wives.

MTW does everything in its power to create a safe environment for our missionaries and employees. Unfortunately, we also know that things like abuse and discrimination can and do happen in Christian circles. Therefore, MTW has set up a confidential safeguarding process to protect our missionaries from any harmful behavior such as physical misconduct, sexual harassment, child abuse, or misconduct from superiors.

“We want our missionaries to be in a network of care. We want them to understand what it means to experience God’s love in their lives … how to take care of themselves, how to care for one another, and how to receive care from the organization,” concludes David.
At MTW, we recognize the importance of missionary care. We have resources, training, and people in place to ensure you will be cared for on the field both because we love you as an individual member of the kingdom and also because we want to set you up for fruitful and productive ministry.

Looking for a place to serve? Visit mtw.org/serve to browse opportunities or fill out a Get Started form.

Please login to continue
Forgot your password?
Recover it here.
Don't have an account?
Create an Account
Sign Up for Free
Name
Email
Choose Password
Confirm Password

GET INVOLVED

Academic Program Administrator
Longer
On Mission Leadership Summit | October 31–Nov 1
Youth Ministry Leaders
Longer

The 18.26 Network: Serving the Church Through Vocation, With Karina Legradi

MTW’s 18.26 Network is a new paradigm for missions. Vocational missionary Karina Legradi shares her path to ministry in Budapest, Hungary.

SEE MORE

The 18.26 Network: Serving the Church Through Vocation, With Sarah Harris

MTW’s 18.26 Network offers a new paradigm for missions. Vocational missionary Sarah Harris shares her path to ministry in Santiago, Chile.

SEE MORE

Japanese Student Finds Christ through School

The missionaries involved at her high school invited her to youth group. The ripple effect that had on her family proved to be powerful.

SEE MORE

As we celebrate 50 years, give thanks for our faithful inaugural missionaries and the impact their legacy has had on global missions.

Pray that God would remind the Western Church of the critical importance of sending missionaries to serve internationally.

Pray for emotional and spiritual health of missionaries and teams.

Pray for God's provision for missionaries raising support, and that they would remember that developing ministry partners is a ministry.

Pray for God to raise up missionaries to plant churches and teach theology in places where the gospel has been distorted.

Pray for the Wolof people in Senegal, identified as an unreached people group, as the gospel spreads through a new church plant.

Give thanks to God for the hundreds of thousands of Iranians who have come to faith over the last two decades. Pray for God to protect believers and draw more to Himself. 

Pray that the global church, including the PCA in the U.S., would make evangelism a priority, and share the truth with those around them. 

Pray that God would draw many PCA church members, pastors, students, and those passionate about global missions to the GMC conference in November.

Give thanks and pray for a couple in Japan who recently came to faith as they faced the last days of the husband's life.

SUBSCRIBE TO STORIES & MORE

Good news in your inbox, once per week.