Month: August 2025

What Do Missionaries Major In?

Posted on by Emily Belvery

Quick Quiz: Which of these is NOT a job an MCN Mission Partner had before going overseas? A) Public health B) Cotton forecasting C) Cattle ranching D) Aerospace engineering e) Homeschool teaching

(Answer? Cattle Ranching.)

Yes, that means all the rest are former jobs of MCN missionaries. (And yes, that means cotton forecasting is a real job!)

You might wonder if you’re the missionary type. Do you have the right major? The right experiences? The right career? The right personality? Does MCN have positions that would fit for you?

The reality is missionaries come from many different backgrounds and majors, and God uses many different interests and skill sets in relationship building and Gospel proclamation. 

For example…

  • Zach (who majored in math and global multi-cultural studies) has used his math major through tutoring students in math at a local high school in Costa Rica.
  • Brandon (who studied music education) teaches band at Faith Academy in Manila as ministry to missionary families and local students.
  • Diane (who is a nurse by trade) uses her nursing skills to care for hurt students and do family training on health topics in Cambodia. 
  • Hayley (who majored in business administration and marketing) uses her degree as Program Impact Coordinator for Concordia Welfare and Education Foundation in Cambodia.

Additionally, many different skills and interests can be used outside of the “work day” to connect with people and build relationships.

  • Ruth uses a love of crafts to connect with kids through summer camps in their community in Costa Rica.
  • Sam used a love of board games to facilitate weekly gatherings of students and deeper conversations in Hungary.
  • Jon uses an enjoyment of hiking to connect with young Christians and unbelievers in East Asia.
  • Sarah uses a love for baking to connect with students and coworkers in Taiwan.

Mission of Christ Network’s focus is building relationships to share the Gospel, and just like in the US, many different jobs, interests, and hobbies provide open doors for meeting people and sharing Jesus with them.

And also – the reality is that God will also use you in ways you think you are not prepared for, not interested in, or not gifted in. That’s how you know missions is God’s work, not ours. 

When you wonder how mission work could fit for your major or your career path, remember these 5 truths.

  1. Chances are your career trajectory will change throughout your life. What you choose for the next year or two will not determine the rest of your life. It’s one step.
  2. God can use you in ways you don’t expect or feel qualified for. Don’t limit Him!
  3. MCN provides best-practice training and support to help people thrive on the mission field. Our field leads, member care team, and education team are all invested in helping mission partners learn and grow personally and professionally.
  4. You will leave the mission field with new skills and abilities that you can bring back to a job in the US.
  5. Even if you take the most straightforward path in education and work, even if you think you have a detailed and foolproof plan – your life is still out of your control but fully in the gracious hands of our God. (And that’s the best place to be.)

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21

Could You Commit to a Week of Prayer?

Posted on by Emily Belvery

If you ask any MCN mission partner what they need most or ask MCN’s leadership what our biggest need is, the response will be prayer. Not funds or personnel or training or church support. Although all of those things are important, nothing is greater than the need for prayer.

When Jesus looked at the ripe harvest fields around him (see Mt. 9:37-38), his response was to tell the disciples to… Go? Mobilize? Raise support? … Nope. Pray.

But where to begin? 

We know prayer for missions, missionaries, and the ripe harvest fields of the world is important but with so many people who don’t yet know the Savior, where do we start?

I want to suggest that you start with one country and one week. Commit a week of prayer for one location where MCN mission partners serve and see how God will work in your heart to develop a love for these people and how He will work in that place through your prayers on their behalf. 

MCN’s 5-day prayer guides contain five specific prayer requests provided by mission partners as relevant to the region and context in which they serve. Could you lift up these needs one by one throughout the coming week?

Could you pray for relationships and against spiritual warfare in Costa Rica?

Could you pray against economic and family struggles and for a growing church in East Asia?

Could you pray for young people and Lutheran schools in Hungary?

Choose one prayer guide here (search “prayer guide” in the search bar to see them all) to get started – and next week pick another! And think about who you could invite to pray along with you…

  1. Parents, pray with your children over dinner, using a world map to show them where this country is.
  2. Teachers, pray with your school class day by day or pray with a Sunday school class and invite them to take a guide home for the week ahead.
  3. Pray with a friend or spouse on an evening walk.
  4. Invite a long distance friend to pray with you and text each other about the day’s request.