Valuing Missions as a Family

I was crying at lunch again. My children continued crunching on their carrots, the hollow sound cutting the silence as I tried to gather myself. They were unfazed by my tears; months of the same had worn down their initial concern.

The tears were Adoniram Judson’s fault this time. Last month, they’d been because of Lottie Moon. Never mind that both Adoniram and Lottie had died well over a hundred years ago; never mind that I had no personal connection to their families. I was crying because their faith was so beautiful and so challenging that my only response was tears of gratitude and conviction.

Adoniram Judson, Lottie Moon, Hudson Taylor, Lillian Trasher—these and a dozen other missionaries were only names I’d vaguely heard about a few years ago. But since reading missionary biographies aloud over lunch for the last several years, these men and women have become some of my most cherished heroes—models of faith who spur me on in my own walk with Christ.

A Value for Missions

I didn’t grow up knowing much about missionaries. My father was a doctor who participated in an overseas medical mission trip, and our youth group went on occasional short-term mission trips, both stateside and overseas. But no one I personally knew was a missionary, and our church didn’t highlight missionaries in Sunday services. My ideas of missionaries were vague at best.

It wasn’t until college, when I joined a church that was part of an international network, that I began to think more intentionally about the connectedness of the body of Christ across continents—as well as the need for the gospel to be preached to “every nation, [and to] all tribes and peoples and languages” (Revelation 7:9). I wrestled with the sorrow of realizing that many people have never heard the good news of Christ—and they will not hear until someone spends their life to go and share it with them.[1]

As young adults, my husband and I were part of a church-planting network with many missionaries overseas, and we experienced the joy and heartache of helping to send some of our friends to the mission field. They were fulfilling their part in the Great Commission,[2] and from their emails and updates, I learned about the highs and lows of missionary work in some of the spiritually driest places in the world. As I read about their love for Christ and the furthering of the gospel through their work, their sacrificial choices challenged me. They counted Christ worthy of leaving all of their friends and family to move overseas and labor for him; was I willing to lay down my own desires for the sake of Christ in the middle of my very suburban life? These friends—these missionaries—spurred me to make different choices about how I spent money, intentionally shared the gospel, and lived my life, day in and day out.

Shaping Family Culture

While our family has never felt the call to full-time missions, through our friendships, our study of the Word, and the active missions department of our local church, my husband and I have come to highly value the role and work of missionaries in the body of Christ. 

But our children were born after our friends left for the mission field, and we live in a very churched area. We realized that we needed to look for ways to introduce our kids to the need for missionaries—both near and far—and to be intentional about incorporating the value of missions into our family culture. We aim to do that in multiple ways:

1. We read about missionaries. 

Those countless lunchtime read-alouds have added up in our family—and continue to! We spend consistent time learning about missionary men and women from the last 300 years who counted Christ worthy of everything they had to give. Their choices—to leave prestigious jobs or families, to forsake marriage, or even to ultimately die in the pursuit of sharing the gospel—have become fertile ground for family conversation. We talk about the bravery of these missionaries who followed God into unknown circumstances. We also talk about the confusion, frustration, and anger they felt when God didn’t answer their prayers the way they wanted or when missionary life was hard and discouraging. We talk about how God used the weak places in their lives to show himself strong,[3] and that helps us to trust God when we are feeling weak and confused in our own lives. 

2. We support missionaries. 

Our family supports other missionary families financially and through prayer, asking the Lord to help and encourage them in their work. We also utilize resources that help us to pray for people groups around the world—and for those ministering the gospel in those nations.[4] 

3. We honor missionaries who come to church.

Fairly regularly, our church has missionaries come and share about their work in our Sunday services. Sometimes, we have the chance to personally meet these men and women, ask them questions, and learn about the work they are doing. It’s exciting and challenging to connect with them face-to-face and to see our church community extend practical care and refreshment while they’re raising support or home on furlough.

Missions Near and Far

These small actions, repeated over time, point our own hearts—and the hearts of our children—to the value of God’s kingdom-building around the globe. No, not all of us are called to be missionaries overseas. Some of us are called to stay put right where we are, faithfully proclaiming the gospel in our neighborhoods, schools, offices, and friendships. We are to be “ambassadors for Christ,” imploring those we live and work with to “be reconciled to God” (see 2 Cor. 5:18-21).

But some believers are called to go to the “ends of the earth” as witnesses of the gospel (Acts 1:8), supported by those of us who stay behind. Being a missionary will never be financially lucrative, culturally praised, or emotionally easy. The call to a lifetime of mission work is one that is challenging—but it is also one that is highly valued in the kingdom of God.[5]  

We tell our kids that, while the world won’t acknowledge their value, missionaries are worthy of great honor in God’s kingdom. We model that it is our joy and delight to support, encourage, learn about, and bless them as they further the gospel. And then we seek to live similarly in our own spheres, putting Christ first in all that we do and proclaiming his gospel in our daily lives through words, actions, and service.

[1] Romans 10:12-15

[2] Matthew 28:18-20

[3] 2 Corinthians 12:9

[4] One of our favorites is the book Window on the World.  

[5] See Mark 16:15, Romans 10:12-15