Why Missionaries Need Practical Skills
The Bible IS the most important thing. But practical skills are sometimes the means by which you can earn the respect of a community, partner with them in meeting a need, and support your ministry.
When people think about the word “missionary” they often get images of an individual or family situated in a remote location, armed with a leatherbound bible, and tasked with the mission of converting people to Christianity. The male characters in such images often are wearing ties, ready to share the gospel with whomever they encounter. Often it is the dream of sharing the gospel that draws the interest of young people who feel called to get involved in such mission work. At the Institute we believe that anyone feeling called to get involved in such work should learn the Bible, but we also believe that it is necessary that future missionaries gain practical skills in order to be the most effective missionaries they can be.
Here’s three big reasons you’ll need to go on the field with practical skills on your side.
Clark Miller is an Institute for GOD grad serving as a full-time missionary in The Philippines. Clark and his wife utilize practical skills like copywriting, design, editing, grant-writing, and counseling, to support their work.
Practical Skills Provide Financial Support
The reason for this belief is one that we find in the scriptures. In Acts 18:3 we learn that Paul was a tradesman, specifically working in the trade of tent-making. From a business standpoint, this is a wise trade for Paul, as many of the places he visited were home to Greek temples that attracted tourism and provided a venue for him to sell his product. Doing so was an observable benefit to his ministry as it comes up in 1 Thessalonians 2, beginning with verse 9. Paul urges the Thessalonians to recall the labor he and his companions engaged in while staying with them so they wouldn’t be a burden on those they ministered to. These texts together lead us to one of the benefits of practical skills - they provide financial support. This can be true for both you as the missionary and, as in the case of Paul ministering to the Thessalonians, for the people you’re ministering to. Being able to offset costs so that people can attend teachings or service opportunities at minimal or no cost to themselves can help a missionary develop relationships with people who could later be essential to ministry operations in the region you serve in.
Being able to use practical skills to support yourself also can free you from the expectations of supporters who might not have the eyes to see the needs as you see them on the ground, and this leads to our second point.
This team helped the G.O.D. Latin American campus access a better internet signal than had ever been achieved before. The American team included many individuals whom are involved in IT on the daily basis who were able to troubleshoot this very practical concern, allowing for increased communications and educational opportunities.
2. Practical Skills are Needed to Holistically Minister
The kind of mission that Jesus calls us to is a holistic one. This is something that we see modeled in his own life. For example, in Matthew chapter 8, beginning with verse 14, we see Jesus heal Peter’s mother-in-law from a fever, then stay at Peter’s house until evening casting out demons and curing “all who were sick.” These two activities go beyond the usual understanding of missionary responsibilities (concerned with conversion and salvation) and encompass two facets of mission work that are incredibly important - education (casting out demons) and healthcare (healing the sick). If we stop for a moment to consider both of these, we can understand that the type of mission demonstrated by Jesus is one that affects the whole person, their body, mind, and spirit. The practical skills missionaries need are not limited to education and healthcare, however, which leads to our third consideration.
The materials and tools don’t always translate from one culture to another, but the skill and decision-making can, particularly when you’re motivated by love you have for the people you are serving.
3. Practical Skills Help Navigate Hostile Environments
The environment you go into as a missionary is a hostile one. That doesn’t necessarily mean people are out to cause you harm, but the foreignness of another place provides challenges you will have to overcome. The transportation systems are different, the places to get the things you need and depend on are different, the language is different, the weather is different, and the food is different. These things may be obvious but the reality is that mitigating these differences often requires practical skills. I remember the first time I realized drywall wasn’t in use anywhere in the Philippines. Where one would find drywall in a home in the US you might instead find concrete board or water-treated plywood, materials we use in bathrooms and boats here. The distinction in this example contains the explanation. The amount of rain we receive where I live pales in comparison to the amount that falls in the Philippines, which creates humid conditions and can cause flooding that can get into houses. Drywall would absorb water, mold, and fall apart in those conditions so it is not a sensible building material. Practical skills include having the ability to assess these kinds of situations, learn, and adapt skills related to them, like building a house.
Practical skills aren’t usually something a person is born with, they’re something that develops over time. The Institute experience helps students think through their gifts and talents and how it can be used by God in service to others.
How The Institute Equips Students with Practical Skills
At the Institute, we realize the need missionaries need to be able to work for support, the holistic nature of Jesus’ mission, and the challenges of the hostile environments missionaries can find themselves in. We help prepare future missionaries for all of these challenges in our undergraduate program. Students in either of our majors learn about the importance of developing capacity that gives them the skills needed to effectively engage in mission work. In classes like Intro to Community Development students are exposed to seven different occupational fields that we’ve identified are necessary for effective missionary work: Theology, Organizational Management, Economics, Sociology, Public Health, Education, and Ecology.
Because we believe that missionaries shouldn’t go alone students each connect with the Lord and determine which of those broad categories to develop capacity in. In addition to this direction, students are also given practicum opportunities to work with competent managers in various fields so that they can develop skills that can be used both here and on the mission field. Our program also puts undergraduate students on the ground from 20 to 40 weeks through intentional trips that help them acclimate to an environment, so they aren’t blindsided by difficulties they didn’t anticipate. We’re happy to partner with the Lord in equipping students to serve as missionaries by helping them develop practical skills that allow them to navigate hostile environments while gaining support to sustain themselves as they work side by side with their friends to fulfill the mission paradigm of Jesus, saving the whole person.