What do I have to do to be a missionary? Do I need to go to a school/college to be a missionary?
I am a God loving Christian, and I want to travel and spread the word and help (3rd world) countries. #travel #international-development
4 answers
Daniela Silva
Daniela’s Answer
Hi Haevyn,
Choose the missionary organizations that interest you and perform the research to determine whether you would be well suited to work as a missionary for that group. For every missionary organization, there is a particular faith-based methodology required for its missionaries. Catholic, Jewish, or Protestant missions groups will follow certain methods of missionary work, while Buddhist or Hindu organizations will follow different methods. Select the one that is right for your belief system.
Check the training requirements and duration of time it takes to complete such training. For some training programs, you will need to go to a specific training center to live and train. For other programs, you can conduct the training online with the assistance of a mentor.
Your training will focus on multiple aspects of mission work and will depend on the nature of your mission group's goals. If the aim is to spread the Christian gospel, for instance, then you may undergo some theological training. The types of training vary, so check websites and order materials to clarify what your host group expects.
You may need language instruction based on the country in which you will work.
Source: http://www.wikihow.com/Become-a-Missionary
Have a blessed career!!
Melissa’s Answer
Mazdak’s Answer
That's wonderful that you want to be a missionary! I have been on several mission trips and I have to say that I would suggest to put into practice what you plan on doing while your on mission right here at home first. Learn your bible so that you can share the Gospel cleary when you are evangelizing. Give yourself to the orphans and widows in your own back yard while you study to prepare to travel to do the same. Once this becomes how you live life daily you can go to your church to let them know your ready to go out and make disciples. Here is some good info on missionary work https://www.desiringgod.org/search/results?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=missionary#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=missionary&gsc.page=1
Christine’s Answer
Hi Haevyn - I spoke with one of my coworkers who spent over a decade doing missionary work around the world and this is the advice he told me to give you.
The first step is to go to your local church and find opportunities to do local missionary work. I noticed you're in Texas, and there are a lot of opportunities close to home. From there, you can reach out to contacts you make and start asking for international opportunities and see what's out there. There are also several different organizations you can look into, depending on your faith. He recommended both Christ for the Nation and Youth With A Mission. He repeatedly stressed the importance of getting involved locally before looking to go international.
As a side note, it's not 100% necessary to go to college to be a missionary, but getting a college degree will always be a value add for your future. You could get a degree in Theology, which can further strengthen your missionary efforts. Again, not necessary, but something to think about.