5 more missionary myths
By Josie Oldenburg —
One of send.org’s
most popular articles, “5 myths of the missionary call,”
tackles one of the most misunderstood terms surrounding the Great Commission. But even when misconceptions surrounding calling are cleared up, other myths can keep people from taking the (admittedly big) step of becoming missionaries themselves. For example:
I’m bad at learning languages
Barely passed high school French? Forgotten how to count to 10 in Spanish? Don’t label yourself a linguistic failure based on these experiences! Many people who struggle to learn a language in an academic setting find success when they are immersed in a foreign culture. Never underestimate the power of needing to buy vegetables, visit the doctor and make friends to fuel language learning.
SEND highly values connecting with people in their heart language and in a culturally appropriate way. Missionaries who arrive to the field without knowing the local language generally are given up to two years to study the language and culture. Of course, language study is an ongoing process. You don’t learn vocabulary for how to fix a car or birth a baby until you have a car that needs fixing or a baby who needs birthing. But our missionaries leave their initial language study with a strong linguistic foundation upon which to build.
I can’t take my kids overseas
Carting children across the globe seems complicated. Just the idea of flying internationally with munchkins strikes fear in the hearts of many people. (Insider secret: Over-ocean flights on huge planes are pretty easy if you’re willing to throw screen-time rules out the window, walk endless laps around the plane, and ply your littles with a steady supply of airline-supplied juice and snacks. Domestic flights, on the other hand, are the worst.)
But either way, the travel is over in a day (or two or three). The true challenges arise with educational decisions and transition issues. SEND gets it. We care for the whole family, offering child-focused pre-field training, programs at conferences and debriefing.
Thanks to the internet, educational options for cross-cultural families have blossomed. Our trained educational consultants help parents make the best decisions for each of their individual children. Many SEND families combine various approaches — some online school, some home school, some national school, some international school — in order to give their children extremely well-rounded, globally focused educations. SEND also offers families time to attend education seminars specific to third-culture kids and to keep up with their children’s academic testing.
I’m not healthy enough
Cross-cultural service does not require perfect health. In fact, God can use these perceived limitations to direct your path. For instance, one of our missionaries developed a life-threatening allergy to a ubiquitous local ingredient, which helped her family decide to minister in the capital city where she could buy imported foods and quickly get to a hospital.
If you feel like God might be calling you to become a missionary, talk with your doctor about any health concerns you might have. Our missionaries have found that many doctors are very understanding, willing to work with the missionary to manage health concerns, and even able to keep in contact via email or Skype.
I can’t preach or translate the Bible
Though preaching and translating the Bible are amazing gifts that effect powerful change in people’s lives, they aren’t the only options! SEND offers more than 200 opportunities
to reach the unreached. Though love for and a growing understanding of the Word are crucial to each role, only a handful of SEND’s current opportunities are directly dependent on being ordained or having a degree in theological education.
I see needs in my own neighborhood
You likely do have neighbors who haven’t yet accepted Jesus as their Savior. But if you live in a majority-Christian nation, chances are good that your neighbor will have opportunities to hear the Good News from someone other than you. Your neighbors may be unsaved, but nearly 3 billion people in the world remain unreached. These billions have no local church capable of spreading the gospel and lack access to the Word. So, by all means, reach out to your current neighbor. But also consider whether God might be calling you to become a neighbor to the unreached in another land.
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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?
Learn about the spiritual harmony in Vietnam & how missionaries engage with college students. Join us in sharing the gospel!
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