Anyone who has read the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ has at some time considered the possibility of going to another land to be involved with Gospel work. Trustworthy information is difficult to obtain. While I have only had about 6 years of missions experience in Latin America I feel led to write this article to provide help to those who have had less than that. Beside my personal experience in missions I have had the privilege of working with other more seasoned missionaries plus I was a part of a missions group which was led by 25 and 30-year veterans. These "fathers" in the ministry have an inheritance to give us that is INVALUABLE! We Christians keep re-inventing the wheel every generation. We keep making the same mistakes over and over while there are brothers who could easily show us how to do it the right way. It's time to stop this "freestyle Christianity". I want to share some of what I have learned in hopes of helping you understand God's will for your life.
Motivation
Many modern missions agencies now employ a tool for screening applicants to the foreign mission field. This test reveals the real motivation for wanting to go serve in another land. The number one reason people apply to a missions agency is GUILT. "If I go and eat grub worms with the pygmies in Africa then God will certainly have to forgive me for that terrible thing I did 25 years ago". This sin mentality will carry over into your ministry with the people you are working among and actually destroy the message of Jesus Christ. This is not how you deal with guilt. How can a minister share life with others while he (or she) himself is not certain of his standing with God? Guilt is dealt with by faith in the blood of Jesus and true repentance. Only then can you minister in freedom and set the captives free.
The second most common motivation for seeking to go to the mission field is FRUSTRATION. I feel this issue is a little more difficult to understand than the first. God certainly wants us to be fulfilled in ministry, as a general rule. If we are simply dissatisfied with God, however, we will again be spreading this soul-cancer all over the world. The minister of Christ must be FILLED with joy and the Holy Ghost as well as having a broken heart for the masses without Jesus. I believe God Himself will resist you and prevent your going to the mission field because He does not want to export this sinful attitude toward God to the rest of the world. So, examine your heart and see if He would have you settle some basic issues first.