7 keys to effective missionary presentations
By Amy Walters —
Missionaries have earned the reputation of being boring! I’m sorry but it’s true. For decades, we have taken what could be the most amazing reports of God’s redemptive work and buried them under bad photos and rambling. So how do we make the most of the time we have to share our ministries with our churches? These seven keys can help!
1. Tell a story.
The best way to engage an audience is to tell a story. Talk about how God has changed someone’s life or how he is working through a ministry or event you were involved in. Or talk about how you see evidence of people’s need for the gospel and what gives you urgency to reach them.
Whatever story you pick, make sure that it is relevant and that it touches your heart. Stories that are unconnected to missions or your role in it will just confuse your audience. Stories that move you emotionally will have a good chance of moving your audience as well.
2. Use quality visuals.
If a picture is bad, don’t use it! That means nothing blurry, too dark, poorly framed, or awkward. And please, don’t just dump your entire camera roll into a Power Point! Select a few, quality photos, maps, or graphs to supplement what you are saying. When you tell your story, pick one photo of the person, location, or event to go with the story.
Also, do not put large blocks of text into your visual presentation. You should not be reading anything from the screen.
3. Start strong and finish strong.
It only takes seven seconds to lose an audience’s attention! A slow start to your presentation can be the end of someone listening to it. So start your presentation well. Use something interesting, strange, or unexpected to pique their interest. Use humor (but make sure you know what your audience will find funny). Or relate something you and your audience may have in common.
Do not begin with an apology for nerves or bad preparation. This can set your audience on edge.
Similarly, it’s important to finish the presentation well. Without a plan for how the presentation will end, the tendency can be to ramble and repeat. Land the plane! Memorize what your last line will be and once you say it, sit down!
Some simple ways to finish a missionary presentation are to tell the audience where they can find you after the service if they have questions, or to give them a few prayer requests.
4. Follow a clear path.
There is probably a lot you want to say and it can be hard to discern what the most important elements are. At SEND, we use a presentation outline called the W5HY (why-5):
Who –
Who are you? What is your background or call to missions? What are you passionate about? Think about your audience—what do they know or not know about you? Again, only include the information that is relevant to the ministry you will present.
What –
What ministry are you going to do or are currently doing? What do you hope to accomplish through your ministry? If you are serving in a support role, how will your work help reach lost people? If you don’t know many of the details of your own ministry yet, you could talk about what the missionaries on that team or in that location are currently doing.
Why –
Why are you going? And why this ministry in this location? Why do the people you are going to live and serve among need the gospel? This section, and the section about who you are, are the most important parts of your presentation. They offer you the best opportunity to share your heart. If your presentation is well-polished but lacks passion, you will have missed the mark.
Where –
Where are you going? Don’t just talk about geography but talk about the people who live there. If you are going to a place where Christians are unwelcome, you can speak about the region or talk about the people without specifying where exactly they live.
When –
When do you hope to get there or return there? What things must be in place in order for you to leave—training, support-raising, visas? This section is particularly important if you have a deadline for when to arrive, like when language school starts. This can give your audience a sense of urgency to help you get there.
How –
How will you get there? And I’m not talking about whether you’re taking a plane or a boat. This is about building your support team. Who do you need on that team—people to pray for you, people to give to your ministry? Maybe you even want to invite other people to join you on the mission field.
You –
“You can be part of this ministry.” This is where you take a deep breath, look your audience straight in the eye and invite them to participate. This can have a very strong impact if done well. So don’t apologize for asking for money or needing people’s help. It is the privilege of God’s people to be involved in God’s work. This does require sensitivity, however, to the person who invited you to speak. So it’s a good idea to ask the pastor or missions committee chair if it’s okay for you to invite your audience to support your ministry.
5. Pay attention to time.
Most American churches are time oriented. They have clocks everywhere reminding them that the time is coming to dismiss everyone to lunch. You will generate goodwill with the pastor if you keep to the time allotted for your presentation.
6. Practice!
Hopefully you will have many opportunities to present your ministry and will become very familiar with your material. But don’t use that as an excuse to wing it! Take each speaking opportunity seriously and be well-prepared for it. Rehearse, out loud. Know your technology and what the church uses. Be prepared to give your presentation without the technology, if necessary.
7. Show gratitude.
Your audience has given you their time and attention. Make sure to thank them for it.
I understand that many people fear public speaking more than death. But I hope these tips can help you present your ministry clearly. God has called you to something exciting—let’s help your audience get excited about God’s work too.
Additional Posts
Choosing a Missions Organization: Why SEND International Stands Out “Why should I be a missionary through SEND International?” Jenna, a new missionary in Eastern Europe, shared with us what she appreciates about working with SEND. The highlights for her are: - Devotion to prayer - Diligence in communication - Commitment to development - Intentionality in accountability Prayer “Back in September of 2022, the Lord reconnected me with SEND after I had met them a year prior at the Moody Bible Institute. However, before he would sign me up for anything, my Missions Coach encouraged me to pray. He said something to the effect of, "I know that you've been praying on your own for a long time. But as the Church, we are not called to walk alone. So, you and I won't talk for about a month unless you have questions. I want you to go pray with 5 or 6 others from your church about where God is calling you." That October, more than 10 friends prayed with me and we saw God answer as He directed me to Romania. From February 2024 to November 2025, I had the pleasure of being a part of team meetings in Romania with my SEND colleagues. Our meetings were four hours long, two for prayer and two for business. This has been the minimum for our team. There are also prayer meetings with the local churches we partner with, among smaller groups within our team, of course prayer with many of you across the pond, including those at our US office. The organization was built, has been sustained, and continues to run on prayer. This is my favorite thing about SEND. Communication As I mentioned above, we have a two hour block for business / ministry details in each of our meetings. This provides consistency across our team which works alongside three different churches and in a variety of ministries. It also helps us to communicate about the need for change or growth, alongside what is working well. In addition, my team director also meets with each of us, allowing us to communicate needs, considerations, and prayer requests. I've also enjoyed getting to work with SEND workers outside of my immediate region . We receive emails with the minutes from the Europe leadership team, Friday communications from our international director, and information regarding projects that affect our work among the unreached. In December of 2024, our international director at the time wrote a note to my parents for the first Christmas that I was gone. If nothing else had convinced my mom yet, this did. He took the time to care for me, but also to care well for the parents that were sending me (What it meant to my dad and mom for him to do this well has been one of the greatest ways I've been supported.). I also have some pretty wonderful regional directors. These people have prayed alongside us (while also serving in their own countries of service), they have taken time to come visit and encourage our team, and they have also taken the time to encourage the people in our churches. Development SEND has provided much in the area of development and care (spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally). At our regional conference (every three years), there have been medical check ups available, counseling options, and time for connecting with others on the field with similar experience. At our conference last October, I connected with a missionary who served overseas for many years, and is now serving on the administrative side of SEND. She has met with me since then for mentorship and has also invested much of her time recently in preparing a retreat for the singles across Europe. Accountability Over the years I have read and heard amazing stories of how God has worked through missionaries. God has done great things and great things He is still doing! However, people who have committed their lives to the Lord in this way are not “super Christians”. We are still humans with the same struggle against flesh that others have . A major challenge is in being isolated -- living in areas with little to no presence of other believers to sharpen them can cause many difficulties. SEND has been a great resource in this area too. Through my team, I have an accountability partner that I meet with monthly. When my regional director came to visit, he and his wife spent a day with me and asked intentional questions about how I lead, handle conflict, and how I am growing in general as a Christian. In addition, my teammates share their wisdom with me on a regular basis. These things and more have assured me that SEND International is a highly valuable organization and I'm excited to partner with them in service to, for, and with our great God! Interested in being sent by SEND?
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