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Adopt A Missionary?

Well, missionaries aren't really orphans, but neither were we when we were adopted into the family of God (Gal 4:5). However, adoption is a beautiful word that helps describe the strong relationship that should be between missionaries and the churches, family, and friends that pray and support them. The church at Antioch, in a sense, adopted Paul and Barnabas as special messengers of the Gospel to Asia and Europe (Acts 13:1-3).

Most churches have sent or are supporting missionaries serving “at the ends of the earth.” As nice as that is, our commitment to these people we have sent to save the lost should go well beyond just placing them on an airplane. We as the body of Christ need to be vitally involved in their lives and work. How can we as a Church ever effectively reach the ~50,000 people die each day without EVER hearing about Jesus (that’s ~18 million per year!), if we are all not doing our part? Supporting our missionaries is not a task for the mission’s pastor, church staff or mission’s team alone—it is something that everyone believer should be involved in.

Therefore, every believer should prayerfully consider personally adopting at least one missionary who has been sent from or is supported by their home church. Most churches have many missionaries, and in some instances have missionaries that are waiting to leave that need your support. (Interesting Fact: There are about 40,000 people in the U.S. alone not able to go to the field due to lack of financial support…I always say, “The Laborers are Many but the Senders are Few.) To do your part, you can reach out to your pastoral staff, mission’s director/pastor, or missions committee; they are great resources for information on adopting a missionary that would fit well with you and your family and your desire to reach a particular part of the world.

You will discover that adopting a missionary can be a very rewarding experience. It will open your life and the life of your family to a world that is completely unseen in your present context. Your daily life will be enriched while you become more directly involved in reaching the world for Jesus Christ.

How and Why Adopt a Missionary
Much of the effectiveness of adopting a missionary truly depends on you taking the time to get to know the family or individual you are adopting. If you adopt a small child, you don't assume you know all you need to know and then head down some predetermined path. You spend time getting to know this precious child, discovering who they are and how you can be a good parent given the child's unique identity—it must also be so with our adopted missionaries.

Consequently, taking the time to understand the missionaries that we adopt and are partnering with is paramount. First, we need to remember that missionaries are human beings just like each of us; they aren't "super" Christians. Missionaries struggle as we do with weak faith, limitations of the body, loneliness, and other longings of the heart. Often their family is far away and communication with friends and family is infrequent. The missionary life is often difficult. Our missionaries need to vitally experience God's nearness and His grace. This is not something that happens automatically when someone becomes a missionary any more than it happens automatically in your life. We need to expect that our missionaries will have struggles in their lives and regularly respond with understanding and encouragement.

Pray
Prayer is truly the greatest importance to the missionary's work. Missions is more than missionaries serving God. Missions is God at work! If God isn't at the heart of the work, then nothing eternal is accomplished. Prayer is therefore the life blood of missions. By praying for our missionaries, their work, and the people they are serving, as well as their personal needs and struggles, we recognize that God is at the center of the work. Missionaries covet your prayers more than anything else you can do for them.

Encourage and Communicate
We wouldn’t speak to our children every year or two, or wait to hear an update from the pulpit on how they were doing in Sunday school. For the same reason we need to personally communicate and encourage our adopted missionaries. 1 Thes 5:11 exhorts us to “Encourage one another and build each other up.” Our missionaries often feel completely disconnected from the life, churches, people, and the community they left. A lot can change at home while missionaries are on the field so communicating with them reduces the feeling of being homesick or being left out. Personal communication helps the missionary feel supported, connected, and cared for. Communication can be done by e-mail, letters, or even the telephone. We encourage you to maintain regular contact with your adopted missionary.

Material Support
Did you know that the average support cost for a missionary from North America is a little over $6,000/month? However, support needs range from as low as $2,000/mo to as high as $12,000/mo. Factors which influence this variation include: the cost of living in country of service, family size, choice/method of schooling for children, the existence of retirement funds, organization overhead, ministry expenses, travel, vehicle expenses, and start up costs.

Furthermore, it seems to be a little known fact, but most missionaries get the vast majority of their financial support from individuals and and NOT from churches or other organizations.Therefore, it is incumbent on individuals to come behind missionaries for regular financial support on a monthly basis in order for them to go, or stay on the field. The amount individuals give missionaries is usually between $25 and $50 per month.

Having a regular steady income, even in small amounts helps them budget and gives a missionary a sense of financial security. This helps them focus on the work God has called them to and not on finances. We encourage everyone who has adopted a missionary to prayerfully consider committing to give a regular monthly amount to their adopted missionary on top of their regular tithes and offerings to their local church.

Join a Support Team
Adopting a missionary shouldn’t be a solitary activity. In fact, we strongly recommend that you join a group of fellow believers that have adopted your missionary. Joining together can leverage the resources of those on your team to more effectively support your adopted missionary. Activities could include: sharing information, praying together, coordinate care packages, logistics and re-entry support, and being an advocate for your missionary.

Be an Advocate
Remember missionaries are often half way around the world and therefore often forgotten. One of the most significant things we can do for our missionaries is to be their advocate. As you learn new information about your adopted missionary's life and work, share it with others you naturally relate with. Most of us, when we finish a really great book, hear a new song, or see a good movie tell our friends about it. In the same way, as prayers are being answered or important events occur in our missionary's life, share it with your friends. If something is important to you, it will often be important to your friends. "Introduce" your adopted missionary to your friends and share with them their prayer letters, updates, pictures, and e-mails—encourage others to adopt them.

Conclusion
Like adopting a child, sending a missionary to the field isn’t something that is “done” and then over with. As it is with any adoption, the adoptive parents invest in the life, growth, and development of the child. In the same way, the adopted missionaries should have the same care and investment. Missionaries need to be encouraged and built up regularly. We encourage everyone to prayerfully consider personally adopting a missionary from their home church and invest in them through support, prayer, finances and though a personal relationship of encouragement through communication. Though all are not called to leave their homeland and go to another, we are all called to be co-laborers and to be involved in the Great Commission to reach souls for Christ (Matt 28:19-20, Acts 1:8).

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