Home ● Introduction ● Individuals ● Teams ● Churches ● Missionaries ● Resources ● Other Missions Resources ● Contact Information

Providing Essential Re-entry Support

"Re-entry" what is that? And why do you have a whole page dedicated to just this one subject?

Re-entry is the word used to describe the stress and affects of that a missionary experiences when he or she returns to the culture, surroundings, and people that they originally left behind. Returning “home” is usually has a more devastating effect on a missionary that the initial culture shock of going in the first place. More Christians end up backsliding as a result of re-entry than any other aspect of being a missionary.  That is why this subject cannot be ignored.

There are many things that contribute to this “reverse culture shock.” Infrastructure has changed, family has changed, businesses have changed, churches have changed, and oddly enough the missionary has probably changed the most but it is the least recognized.  Everyone (the missionary, their family, and their church) all just think they will slip right into their old life…just fit in—they didn’t have a problem before…this is “home.”   The missionary now has a totally different perspective on what is important than those around them; they just don’t relate anymore.  And in most cases, people are much too busy to take the time to really understand them.

Needless to say, the longer they were missionaries, the greater the difficulty they will have returning home. However, even short-term missionaries can experience re-entry issues.

Pray
Often when our missionaries are “home” it can be natural to not pray for them as much as you would while they are in the field. However, as mentioned, this is a very critical and stressful time for your missionaries.  When you are pray for them at home, please keep these thoughts in mind.

  • They left all to obey the call—they really lived the reality of being a pilgrim.
  • They have become bi-cultural. In most cases they are returning from a very relational culture where people always had time for them to a more non-relational, task orientated, individualistic, and utilitarian lifestyle.
  • They lived among people who probably didn’t have the things they have at “home.” There the people around them didn’t have regular running water or electricity (if at all) and were struggling just to put a meal on the table, and at “home” these luxuries are taken for granted and people are worried about what color the carpet should be.
  • They have learned to be a good listener, which is great for success there but here they end up never sharing about what God while they were missionaries has done because they always let others share first.

Resources

Printable version of this page (pdf)

Home ● Introduction ● Individuals ● Teams ● Churches ● Missionaries ● Resources ● Other Missions Resources ● Contact Information

Feedback Wanted!! If you have any ideas or suggestions please feel free to contact us.