Pastors 2 Missionaries
Our mission and goal is to Nourish Missionaries So They Can Flourish on the Field. We desire to walk alongside missionaries who are serving and living overseas by being a safe place where they may share successes, failures, fears, and hopes. We strive to work with them from before the time they get on the field, then when they get on the field and until they feel called to come back from the field.
We believe we can assist missionaries to develop life-long fruitfulness in their mission’s work, personal lives, and respective ministries by helping build the relationship between missionaries and their churches. We offer a unique, growing ministry of caring for missionaries, building unconditional relationships based off the word of God, and listening and encouraging missionaries to their fullest in Christ Jesus. As full-time vocational missionaries with Global Outreach International in Tupelo, Mississippi, we believe investing in missionaries living overseas brings about transformed ministries and further disciple-making among the nations.
Why Missionary Care?
Kelly O’Donnell defines says, “Member care is the ongoing investment of resources by mission agencies, churches, and other mission organizations for the nurture and development of missionary personnel. It focusses on everyone in missions (missionaries, support staff, children and families) and does so over the course of the missionary life cycle, from recruitment through retirement.”
O’donnell, Kelly, Ed., Doing Member Care Well: Perspectives and Practices From Around the World (Pasadena, William Carey Library, 2002), 4.
8,000 missionaries leave the field every year
70% (or 5,600) of these are for preventable reasons.
47% of missionaries leave the field with in the first 5 years.
It costs about $350,000 – $500,000 to launch a missionary family of four.
We Desire To Serve Through
PRAYER
It is vital that missionaries know they have a support network of mighty prayer warriors behind them, praying for them, and taking their needs to throne of God.
ENCOURAGEMENT
Many missionaries do not get the joy of experiencing visitors from the U.S. We would like to change this. We believe visiting missionaries in their country of service is one great way to encourage, love, and place value in them. As we build relationships with missionaries, we would like to spend time with them by visiting them in-country for 10-21 days. This is not a vacation for us nor is a time of “getting the dirt” on them, but this allows us the privilege and joy of serving alongside the missionaries, living with them in their homes when possible, and to do life with them.
ENCOURAGEMENT
We believe the local church is ultimately responsible for spiritual, mental, physical, and emotional health of the missionaries they send out to serve. We desire to partner with the local church to help develop a process for ensuring their missionaries do not fall through the gap. Training may be tailored, from developing an entire mission’s policy from scratch, to simply looking at they may improve in missionary care. We recommend a minimum of a Friday night or Saturday morning seminar / training, up to a full weekend. We work free of charge with each individual church to evaluate their needs and goals and then we develop a seminar, also free, to ensure we help them do the greatest work in caring for missionaries.
COMMUNICATION
We desire to communicate with missionaries on a regular basis, such as a weekly, or monthly, Skype session. This might be considered “coaching” or “mentoring”; regardless of the term, we call it “building relationships” and we want to do this on a regular basis each month.
HOSPITALITY
We desire to have missionaries and their families in our home when they return on furlough. This allows us to pour into them during their very busy time of life and ministry. We strive to make our home a safe haven, full of joy and fun, while maintaining our goal of being available for spiritual, physical, emotional and mental refreshment for missionaries.
MINISTRY COACHING
We like to build long-term relationships with missionaries. It does not matter if you are single or married; we are willing to build relationships with you, listen to where you are in life, and encourage you in your walk with the Lord.
Cost of What We Do
We do not charge the missionaries to coach them or make visits to them. We cover all our own costs, including lodging and/or food.
Additionally, there is no charge to the local church for any sort of seminar. We are a faith-based organization, so we raise our own support to do these ministries. If the local church is willing and able to cover the cost of travel and lodging, we will gladly accept this; however, we do not require it.