Dear Fellow Parent,
Maybe your son or daughter has been talking with you about a desire to serve with Mission of Christ Network in some overseas position. Right now, you may be thinking, “I’m not sure about that.” Your mind might be swirling with thoughts such as –
“They spent all that money on college for this?”
“If they decide to come back after a few years, what kind of job will they be able to get?”
“Is this really safe?”
“It seems wrong to have to fundraise for your living!”
These are legitimate questions, and you are not wrong for asking them! As parents we feel God has given us the opportunity and the responsibility to guide our children. We have prayed for them and supported them, and for the most part we know them really well. We see their strengths and weaknesses, and we know their temperament and their heart. Given all this, it makes sense that we want to talk with our children about their decisions, especially one that is as big as moving to another country.
My husband and I have three children and two of them have served, and are serving, with Mission of Christ Network. Our daughter was in Asia for five and a half years, and our son is in his sixth year in Costa Rica. We have always been a family that supported missions and taught our children to pray for missionaries. We read stories about missionaries and we also talked about how we are ALL missionaries as God calls each Christian to tell others about Him. (See Greg Finke’s book Joining Jesus on His Mission.) Yet when each of our children made it clear that they felt called to another country to do mission work, we had some of the same questions I listed above. Additionally, we wondered things such as “how will you meet someone to marry someday?” and if you do “how will you support a family on funds you have to raise?”
We have said goodbye (for nine or ten months at a time) to our children heading overseas a total of twelve times now. And as hard as it is – for many reasons – to have your child(ren) living in another country, there are SO many more positive reasons to rejoice in it. I would like to humbly share what my husband and I have experienced and invite you to pray about how God would have you respond to your children’s desire and call on their heart.
As parents we have learned many things from having our children in missions, and we have been privy to the many ways mission service has changed, grown, and benefited our children. Initially, I do want to say that none of this is really about us or our children. It is about our amazing God who calls, equips, and strengthens His servants. I think we can all agree that as Christian parents, our deepest desire is that our children would remain in their faith in Christ Jesus for their lifetime. Since we know that the Holy Spirit worked faith in their hearts and Jesus has their names engraved upon His palm (Isaiah 49:16), we can trust that Christ will watch over our children and never leave them no matter where they live and serve (Psalm 139:9-10). No matter the safety issues of the country God calls them to, He has our children in the palm of His hand.
A great blessing of having missionary children is that God opens their eyes and our eyes, as their parents, to what He is doing around the world. My husband and I knew next to nothing about the Church in Asia (I will use church with a capital C meaning not one particular denomination but God’s whole church in all of its global diversity). Suddenly your heart and mind are opened to a much broader view of what God is doing. You learn about other cultures and other parts of the world, and you get to hear about how God is already at work in these places. You have a front row seat to those “God stories” of provision, protection, and faith worked in the hearts of people who were not believers. As parents you also get the opportunity to travel and visit these places and meet the people your children have been serving. I can attest to this being a life-changing experience.
Your children learn how to depend completely on the Lord as they navigate living in a new culture, depending on God’s provision for their needs, and trusting Him to work faith in the people they serve and live with. This place of dependence on Christ is what God wants for all of us, and it will be a wonderful gift for your child’s whole life (Proverbs 3:5-6; Psalm 121:1-2; John 15:5; Matthew 6:34). Serving as a missionary prepares your child to be a lifelong servant in Christ’s church. Even when they feel called to live in the United States again, they will always see how God is working to call all to salvation (1 Timothy 2:4). They will be able to share their love of missions with their local congregation, which will influence others to be aware of each Christian’s call to live for Christ.
Skills such as traveling globally, becoming fluent in another language, and being able to explain Scripture and God’s plan of salvation to people who do not yet believe will serve your children for the rest of their lives. What job will they get when they come back? Or who will they marry? These answers are not written down anywhere, but God knows and He DOES provide, often in ways we never expected.
God may be calling your child to serve with Him in a faraway place, but He may also be calling you to step out in faith and trust Him with your child. Please pray that God will help you to respond in faith. Romans 10:14-15 tells us that people need to hear about Christ, and that the feet of those who share the Gospel are beautiful! You can be a part of this sharing by giving your child your blessing to go forth and share. Your support and your PRAYERS will help God’s Word to go forth, and we know this never returns void (Isaiah 55:11).
In Jesus,
Ruth Barz