How to grow missionaries from your congregation(s)
By Lois Thorpe Cox —
I’m an idealist. And often a perfectionist. I have found this is a bad combination for effective ministry.
I had long wanted to have a missions group at my church in Southern California. It would be for people who were preparing for full-time, cross-cultural ministry. It would be for prayer and accountability. It would be a group that encouraged those on the journey of raising funds to go to the field. It would be a group where people could find a common vernacular because missions-speak can sometimes sound like a foreign language (partner development, furlough, TCK, UPG, etc.).
But I ran into obstacles every time I tried to plan such a group.
My church didn’t seem big enough to support a group that would have built-in turnover as people left for the field. There didn’t seem to be enough people committed to long-term, cross-cultural ministry. People had different ideas of how often to meet or what to focus on. I didn’t feel qualified enough to do this alone. My list of excuses, fueled by my idealism, was not short.
Fast-forward several years. I kept my finger on the pulse of who in our church was interested in missions. I tried to get to know these people and encourage them in their journeys. But it still wasn’t a group; it was one-on-one fellowship.
I started to have conversations with people outside of our congregation about my group idea, and I began to realize it was possible if I started looking at it differently. I partnered with another missions-minded person in our network of churches and we decided to pool not just our two churches, but all the local churches within our network. It was like the light bulb finally turned on. This might work.
We began meeting and making lists of people in our churches who had expressed serious interest in cross-cultural ministry abroad. We began thinking about a central place to meet. We invited church leaders to participate in the conversation. After a few months of planning, we finally invited people to our first meeting.
Our Missions Story Group has been gathering for almost two years now.
And to my amazement, it’s still going strong. It’s a group with connections and informal accountability. We pray for one another. We talk about things we have in common and can learn from one another. We walk with people as they figure out how to raise money and how to partner with their senders. We discuss topics that will hopefully prepare them for future cross-cultural ministry.
We have focused on five principles to make our Missions Story Group successful:
We create space for safe discussion.
It’s not a missiology lecture. It’s not a teaching time. It’s a time to talk together around a planned theme. Often we invite missionaries to discuss a topic they have experience in, but we ask them to lead a discussion rather than lecture about their knowledge.
We value shared experience.
We cook dinner together and clean up together. We don’t invite participants into a polished program. We get to know one another through the time we spend in the kitchen and through conversations as we clean up. Our relationships make our discussions even better.
We let the group guide the group.
We’ve asked our participants where they feel they need to grow. We may plan the meetings, but we do it based on feedback from the group and observations we have made. We don’t have an “expert” make all the decisions or do any “teaching.”
We invite guests to share.
We realize that our missions experience is not the end all. We want to hear from people in different parts of the globe, in different spheres of ministry, in different stages of life. Some of our discussions with missionaries have been about team relationships, working with/under nationals, and third-culture kids. We’ve watched films with cross-cultural applications.
We keep our eyes open for new people to invite.
So far we’ve sent three people off to the field. Each time this has felt like a loss in the group, but it’s the nature of what we’re trying to do. At the same time, we’ve been able to invite a few other people in as they have come to our attention.
These principles may be outside of your comfort zone, and they definitely take more time than planning a lecture or buying pizza for the group. This group doesn’t look like my idealist, perfectionist concept, but it has been even better in reality. We continue to be encouraged by the 10 or so participants who regularly come and the seven churches they represent.
I challenge you to think about starting a group within your local church(es) for people who are considering missions.
Yours might look completely different than ours. If you can’t make this work now, pray that someday this will happen. In the meantime, get to know the people who have expressed interest in cross-cultural ministry. Take them to lunch or meet them for coffee. Even if your missions experience is limited, take the opportunity to walk with them and grow together. Encourage them that they are not alone in their missions journey.
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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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