4 bad reasons why people drop out of the pursuit of missions

Many investigate missions but few actually go. Here are some bad reasons why people drop out of the process:


(1) THEY NEVER TRANSFORM THEIR THOUGHTS ABOUT GOING INTO MISSIONS INTO CONCRETE, PRACTICAL ACTION-STEPS:

Many think about becoming missionaries but never do any more. If you want to be a missionary, begin with action...NOW. Talk to your elders, talk to sending agencies, begin to pray for people-groups throughout the world, and begin to cultivate a lifestyle that is consistent with missions.

(2) DEBT:

Many people are saddled with debt and the thought of paying off that debt to go to the field becomes too burdensome for them. Many young people, with good intentions, go to a bible school to equip themselves for missions and then, ironically, the fees for this equipping process becomes a major hindrance to them actually getting on the field.

(3) SPOUSES:

The prospect of serving as a single missionary is too much for some people. Many people think that once they land a spouse then they will go into missions, and then they discover that their spouse doesn't hold an intense desire to go to the field, thus disqualifying them from service.


Often a cute female will express missionary intent to a suitor and then .... ZAP! ... the man will suddenly become interested in missions...until love has blossomed and plans of marriage are solidified. This suitor may even believe themselves to desire missions, but what they truly desire is the love of this cute girl and the desire for missions wanes once the girl is landed.

Or a man will desire missions but may worry about his sexual purity or loneliness. Since it is better to marry than burn, he will find a spouse, hoping that this will enable him to live purer and fight lonelines so that he can then concentrate on the mission field. Yet, this wife comes with many family obligations, hesitations, or health issues, thus keeping him from the field. As the man pushes toward the field, he begins to resent her and she him.


(4) I AM NOT SURE THAT GOD IS CALLING ME


I had one friend vigorously repeat his missionary desires, but wasn't sure that God was calling him into missions. In fact, this friend regularly prayed that God would call him into missions because he so much desired to go...and yet he never went.

Why?

Because he had an overly mystical false view of the call. He never imagined that his intense desire was an evidence of that call and he never took practical action steps once he felt that desire. He never talked to his church leaders, he never investigated missionary organizations, he just harbored his private desires and prayed without doing any legwork - all in the name of "waiting on the Lord."



SOLUTIONS:

If you want to go into missions, take practical action steps. Know that a big part of the missionary call is your desire. Contact your church leaders and let them know and ask for advice and mentoring. Stay out of debt. Stay single or marry someone who is already preparing to go into missions (beginning your missions training now and attending missionary preparation courses is an excellent way of meeting other potential spouses who are already in the process of training for missions and of a like mind).