Fourth, build a network of faithful friends who will help you minister to people. A very strong bond can be formed when we pray and serve with people. Friends who know God and serve God can be a great encouragement to you as you prepare for missions, but it is not a one-way street. People who are involved in missions tend to encourage those around them, and you might be that person in your friends’ lives who takes their faith walk in a direction that positively challenges them. Although you might be called to global mission work, your friends might find that they have a place in “glocal” mission work — that is, ministering to people who are from other parts of the globe, but who now live in our local settings.
The calling to missions is something special that cannot be manufactured, regardless of how we break it down. Obedience, church involvement, training and developing meaningful friendships are not steps to be taken in a strict sequence. They are crucial pieces, however, of being a person who is missional and on a path to love God as well as their neighbor. There is a real temptation to see a need and go fill that need. Scripture often demonstrates that the calling to go is first a calling to prepare. It is natural to want to be a Moses and lead people to freedom, but Moses first served in Pharaoh’s court and then spent years in the desert before he was prepared for what would be his finest ministry. The disciples spent three years with Jesus; Paul had his Damascus Road experience but still needed three years with Jesus before launching into ministry (Galatians 1:11-24). Whether God is calling you to be a long-term missionary, living day in and day out with the people you serve to develop deep and lasting relationships, or a short-term missionary, who joins in or develops a strategy to reach and teach people in condensed time frames, preparation is part of that calling.
Learn how to become a missionary by exploring theology and ministry programs at GCU’s College of Theology today. View our Christian Identity and Mission page to learn how you can be a part of GCU's local and global outreach ministries.
About Chip Lamca, DMin
Chip Lamca is a full-time faculty member at Grand Canyon University and is the co-lead of the minor in Short-term Missions, a program that helps students to engage in global mission and human flourishing for lifelong ministry, regardless of their major. Lamca has been a long-term missionary in Peru and Ecuador and has led short-term ministry in various countries since 2009.
Approved by the Dean for the College of Theology on Nov. 22, 2022.
