Missionary Care: Ministering to Those Who Go

By Dan Crum

Let’s just say it was a long time ago, before cell phones and when email was still a child. Life was hard in rural Kenya, and about the only convenience foods were locally grown tomatoes, fresh milk, and fresh bread baked 30 minutes away. But life was exhilarating, meaningful, and certainly glamorous with all the wildlife and abundant nature. The local people were our friends, and we were shown rich hospitality from the poor. New believers resulted in new churches. It was worthwhile being there. 

But then we were robbed. It turned our world upside down and everything dramatically changed. It took us several months before we could re-establish a new way of ministry to the same people from a different place. It was a very hard time, and honestly, I still don’t like to talk about it much.  

Member care in those days consisted of counseling, tremendous sympathy, a few weeks to recover, and then the unspoken expectation to keep going as before. Our mission sent a postcard to inform our supporters of the incident and ask for prayer on our behalf.  

While I don’t remember what the postcard said, it did specify the amount of money that had been taken in the robbery. Quickly, an amazing piece of member care materialized. Churches took up offerings to replace the money we had lost, and the total came to 4 times the amount. Still makes me cry. Wow, did we feel loved and seen! And I won’t forget the phone call from our largest supporting church when they heard it would take a lot more support for us to stay because of a new living situation. On a very expensive phone call, where I reversed the charges and they accepted the call, we were told, “We will cover the rest of your monthly needs, whatever it takes. We believe in you.”  

In those days, when the churches were presented with an opportunity to show us care in a way they understood, they did very well. They provided for an immediate need and stated their belief in us. The same is true today, and churches are getting better and better as best practices are shared.  

Recently I spoke with several missions pastors, missions leaders, and missionaries to hear what churches are doing well in ministering to those who go. There are others out there who would present a fuller picture than I can, so I hope this will whet your appetite to learn more from them. My life experience in missions has been not only as a missionary, but also as a member care provider on the field, a missions pastor (thank you Connection Pointe Christian Church!), and missions organization staff. I’ve sat on many sides of the table.  

A Few Words from the Missionaries 

During a national conference this summer I asked a couple working in Central Asia what kind of care they most desired from the churches that support them. They mentioned the usual needs of funding, of being welcomed back, and of being given opportunities to share their work. After a short pause, the husband leaned in and said, “We would like our prayer needs to be disseminated to the entire church. To have everyone praying for us would be the number one way to demonstrate care for us.” This was not a canned answer. It’s a lifeline, especially for their area of Central Asia. As one missions pastor told me, “We are intentional about prayer because many people work in hard places, and nothing will happen unless God moves.” 

My wife and I arranged a virtual call earlier this year with a young couple we personally support. They had just visited one of their supporting churches, where people came by and said hello in a room on Sunday morning. The largest group of people who stopped that day were parents of missionaries. They get it! This surprised the young family in all the right ways.  

This parents-of-missionaries group was formed years ago by parents of missionaries, and they meet regularly to hear how each other’s kids are doing and to pray for them. They don’t all attend the same church, and some live far away, but they meet regularly. Missionary care provided by a group of parents whose kids are missionaries is a unique form of member care. They feel the ache of family separation, too, and are likely the most eager and sympathetic set of listeners a missionary could have. Given the chance, they will fill a room to be with one of their missionary children and grandchildren. 

Churches that Care Creatively 

Here are some great missionary care ideas practiced by churches. 

• Connect missionaries to one another so they can help each other. One church hosts a virtual weekly huddle with all their missionaries to read Scripture, pray, and build relationships. 

• Set up a Care Team for each mission partner, made up of church members. This group becomes a critical link for missionaries to the church as a primary point of communication, prayer, and as an advocate within the congregation. 

• Directing missionaries to resources such as mental health, kids’ educational needs, health insurance, vehicles, and housing when visiting supporters. 

More and more churches are stepping up their missionary care involvement. They think in terms of walking with their missionaries, not simply sending them. They function more as co-laborers and less as bosses who demand productivity. I love what I heard from everyone I talked to in this regard. No one mentioned necessary field results. Instead, they all seemed to delight in their missionaries and were so pleased to do what they could for them.  

For instance, take hospitality. One missions pastor said, “The hospitality of others in the world is much fuller than ours in the West. If we are hosting non-Western missionaries, we want to give them the same level of hospitality they would show us.” It’s a way to honor not only the missionaries, but also God. This pastor referred me to 3 John 6: “They have told the church about your love. Please send them on their way in a manner that honors God” (New International Version). 

Here are a few more ideas that came up in my conversations: 

• Include funds in the annual budget to send elders or staff to the field to minister to the missionaries and understand their setting. 

• Take mission trips to visit missionaries and see them in their context. Trip members can make good Care Team members! 

• Engage in local fundraising outside of the missions budget. The example given was of a church’s members that home-canned jams and jellies that were sold locally for thousands of dollars. My wife has a relative who involved all the bakers in her church in making homemade pie shells and selling them at the annual fair. Be creative! Involve the church body and sell something the community would enjoy. 

• Be intentional with the small things. Treat your missionaries to fun events, meals out, playing games, or ask them what their children might like to do and follow through on it.  

Sending Organizations 

The role of sending agencies in missionary care came up in several of my conversations. Some churches seem to be doing well with agencies and view their missionary care as collaboration. Others see it as cooperation, where each aligns differing areas of missionary care. Yet others see it as communication, and they simply inform each other of their efforts. Some work independently with very different views on how to address care for the missionaries. When considering the responses of churches and agencies to missionary care, at least two statements should be considered:  

• There must be more intentional communication between churches and agencies to improve missionary care. 

• Questions should be asked regarding who has the right resources to provide for a missionary’s needs at the most appropriate time. 

It would be a service to missionaries for churches and agencies to work together in providing missionary care. This can be in collaboration, cooperation, or coordination. They all have their place. My advice is to research churches and organizations that are already working together well and see what can be learned from them.  

A Final Word 

If our robbery had occurred today, we would receive a much more robust response from our churches and organization. We would engage in virtual calls, people would come to help us, we would receive more counseling, We would experience deeper prayer involvement as we figured out next steps, other resources from organizations that major in missionary care would be provided, and more money would be raised both to replace the money we lost and to anticipate upcoming needs. Missionary care has greatly improved since the late 90s. 

I was reading in 1 Samuel earlier this year. King David had a lesson for his warrior after defeating the Amalekites, when some did not want to share the fruits of victory: 

“No, my brothers! Don’t be selfish with what the Lord has given us. He has kept us safe and helped us defeat the band of raiders that attacked us. Who will listen when you talk like this? We share and share alike—those who go to battle and those who guard the equipment” (1 Samuel 30:23-24, New Living Translation). 

Share and share alike. Be generous toward others. We all have a part to play. Those in the field who go to battle need workers to guard the equipment. Missionary care is a guardianship of one of our most precious kingdom resources: our sent ones. 

Dan Crum is Director of Development with Asian Partners, International, Lubbock, Texas.