Become A Missionary
Long-Term Missionary
Has the Lord given you a heart to serve Him through cross-cultural ministry? Serving with SAMS could be God’s answer to that prayer. Do you have questions about becoming a long-term missionary?
Missionary Bridger
A SAMS Bridgers serves from one month to one year and is partnered with a long-term SAMS missionary who serves as a mentor. The Bridger applicant must be age 18 or older (up to age 88!) and must have completed high school or the equivalent at least one year before starting the program.
Short-Term Teams
SAMS’ short-term teams work with our long-term missionaries in assignments that last from one to two weeks, depending on the project requirements. SAMS offers team leader training to equip people who feel the call to led teams into the mission field.
Become A Missionary
Long-Term Missionary
Has the Lord given you a heart to serve Him through cross-cultural ministry? Serving with SAMS could be God’s answer to that prayer. Do you have questions about becoming a long-term missionary?
Missionary Bridger
A SAMS Bridgers serves from one month to one year and is partnered with a long-term SAMS missionary who serves as a mentor. The Bridger applicant must be age 18 or older (up to age 88!) and must have completed high school or the equivalent at least one year before starting the program.
Short-Term Teams
SAMS’ short-term teams work with our long-term missionaries in assignments that last from one to two weeks, depending on the project requirements. SAMS offers team leader training to equip people who feel the call to led teams into the mission field.
All of us are called to Christ’s mission; some are called to be cross-cultural missionaries.
Before He ascended to heaven, Jesus told His disciples, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). This calling, which is often referred to as the Great Commission, is still given to Christians today. While every believer is called to mission and to make disciples, some feel led to fulfill the Great Commission by becoming a cross-cultural missionary.
When a Christian feels called, it’s important for them to get their church involved in the process. Most of the time, it’s the church that sends out believers onto the mission field. When your church is involved, you’ll have a body of believers praying, supporting and helping you every step of the way.
All of us are called to Christ’s mission; some are called to be cross-cultural missionaries.
Before He ascended to heaven, Jesus told His disciples, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). This calling, which is often referred to as the Great Commission, is still given to Christians today. While every believer is called to mission and to make disciples, some feel led to fulfill the Great Commission by becoming a cross-cultural missionary.
When a Christian feels called, it’s important for them to get their church involved in the process. Most of the time, it’s the church that sends out believers onto the mission field. When your church is involved, you’ll have a body of believers praying, supporting and helping you every step of the way.
God has a plan which involves all humanity. There is a role in it for all of His people, as a body and as individuals. All of us are called to mission; some are called to be cross-cultural missionaries.
The Bible makes it clear that God is interested in our being, our doing, and our telling. If we are who he wants us to be, people whose lives are centered on Him, then it is inevitable that we will want to do what He wants us to do and that we will want to tell what He wants us to tell. As people enter into this relationship with God, they develop a thirst for knowledge and a desire to tell of the Good News they hear, and they look for things to do in His service. “Lord, what would you have me do?”
God directs us in many ways…
The Bible makes it clear that God is interested in our being, our doing, and our telling. If we are who he wants us to be, people whose lives are centered on Him, then it is inevitable that we will want to do what He wants us to do and that we will want to tell what He wants us to tell. As people enter into this relationship with God, they develop a thirst for knowledge and a desire to tell of the Good News they hear, and they look for things to do in His service. “Lord, what would you have me do?”
God directs us in many ways…
Through His Words, The Bible
Psalm 119: “Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light for my path” (verse 105);…and because I consider all your precepts right, I hate every wrong path” (verse 128); “The entrance of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.” (verse 130)
The Bible keeps us on track. God wants us to know His will and guides us through His word. “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’” Isaiah 30:21
Through Prayers of The Body
Acts 13:1-3, Acts 15:22: They Holy Spirit speaks, not just to individuals, but to the whole church. We should take our seeking to the Body. The church at Antioch was the first out- reach committee! It gave up to foreign missionary service its strongest members.
Through Dreams and Visions
Examples are found in Acts 16:9-10, Matthew 1:18-24, and Matthew 2:23- 15. It is easy to misread dreams and visions. They should be taken to the church and measured against the Scriptures.
Through Circumstances
Acts 27 and 28 describe a shipwreck and an incident with a snake. Paul did not plan either event; God used them. The circumstances are not always bad; however, sometimes God opens a door no man can close. Rev. 3:7-8
Through Personal Prayer
Psalm 37:5-7a: If we commit our way to God, commit our free will to Him, and trust Him, He will act.
Psalm 31:3: God wants to lead us and guide us, but will not force it on us. He waits until we ask. When we do ask, He has promised that He will, in fact, lead us and guide us.
Psalm 27:11: God will teach us if we ask Him. (Enemies or oppressors are not necessarily other people, but our own thoughts, etc.)
Psalm 25:4-5: God, our Savior, in Whom is our hope, will respond to our prayers for teaching, guidance, and for being shown His ways.
Through Specific Direction
In Acts 13:2 the Holy Spirit gives positive direction: “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” He also gives negative direction, as in Acts 16:6-7: “…having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia…they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.”
Through the Rightness of a Decision
The decision of the apostles and the elders, in Acts 15:22, clearly had the ring of rightness to it. In Acts 15:28, “it seemed good” to them and the Holy Spirit not to burden the church in Antioch with more than just a few requirements. We should pay attention when something “looks right” or “feels right,” or when it “fits,” or when we have “a peace” about it. As we present everything to God, His peace is with us, regardless of circumstances, and His peace surpasses our logic and understanding. Phil. 4:6-7
Our call from God is an intensely personal thing. We need to share with the body and to listen to what other Christians say, but no one, save God alone, can tell us with final authority that we are called to do a specific work. When a friend says “God told me that you are to start up a church in Cuzco,” that may be a faithful relaying of a word from God, but it is not a call. We should
neither accept nor reject such a statement, but take it to prayer and consultation.
The best consultant is the Holy Spirit, who teaches us all things. The Holy Spirit talks to our spirit. Romans 8:16 As we converse with the Holy Spirit in openness and surrender, about what we have seen and heard, we will come to know our call. For we remember God’s promise in Psalm 32:8: He will instruct us and teach us in the way we should go, and He will counsel us and watch over us. “I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry.” Psalm 40:1
Need some guidance as you discern God’s calling for you? Three ways:
Have a conversation with your church leaders about how God may be calling you to global mission.
Fill out this form to receive our digital/printable Missionary Discernment Journaling Resource!
Start a conversation with us here.
Become A Missionary
Long-Term Missionary
Has the Lord given you a heart to serve Him through cross-cultural ministry? Serving with SAMS could be God’s answer to that prayer. Do you have questions about becoming a long-term missionary?
Missionary Bridger
A SAMS Bridgers serves from one month to one year and is partnered with a long-term SAMS missionary who serves as a mentor. The Bridger applicant must be age 18 or older (up to age 88!) and must have completed high school or the equivalent at least one year before starting the program.
Short-Term Teams
SAMS’ short-term teams work with our long-term missionaries in assignments that last from one to two weeks, depending on the project requirements. SAMS offers team leader training to equip people who feel the call to led teams into the mission field.
Long-Term Missionary
Has the Lord given you a heart to serve Him through cross-cultural ministry? Serving with SAMS could be God’s answer to that prayer. Do you have questions about becoming a long-term missionary?
Missionary Bridger
A SAMS Bridgers serves from one month to one year and is partnered with a long-term SAMS missionary who serves as a mentor. The Bridger applicant must be age 18 or older (up to age 88!) and must have completed high school or the equivalent at least one year before starting the program.
Short-Term Teams
SAMS’ short-term teams work with our long-term missionaries in assignments that last from one to two weeks, depending on the project requirements. SAMS offers team leader training to equip people who feel the call to led teams into the mission field.