So You Want to Be a Missionary?

Jim Egli
February 1st 2025

Do you sense a call to cross-cultural ministry?

If you think you might be called to overseas missions, I want to encourage you and help you live out your calling.

I’m a former pastor and a current missionary. In my last role as a missions pastor, I helped train and send out new missionaries and church planters. If you were in my church and told me you thought you might be called to missions, I’d ask you a few questions.

Have you ever been on a short-term mission trip?

These trips can really help you figure out if this is the right path for you. In fact, my current full-time call to missions in West Africa became clear on a short-term trip I took there.

But, short-term trips can also show you where you’re not called. A young woman in our church admired the ministry of Heidi Baker, a well-known missionary who serves in rural Mozambique, Africa. So, she signed up to serve with Heidi’s team for a month one summer. It was a tough few weeks for her. Her iPhone was stolen, and she had to go without Starbucks for weeks! When she came back, she told me she definitely wasn’t called to serve in such primitive conditions.

Have you led a small group?

Serving in leadership roles right where you live is the best way to prepare for ministry overseas. Small group leadership is a great place to grow as a leader. If you can help people grow spiritually in a home group, then learn to raise up new leaders to start new groups. To be an effective missionary, you should not only be a leader but a leader of leaders.

Lastly, Are you doing cross-cultural ministry now?

The United States has a large number of immigrants. Right now, fourteen percent of our nation’s population was born in another nation. There are many opportunities for cross-cultural ministry in almost every community in America.

Doing cross-cultural ministry now will clarify your call and equip you for future ministry. One couple in our church told me that they were called to China. They were planning to sell their belongings, quit their current jobs, and move to the other side of the world. Our community has a large number of Chinese students in it, so I asked the couple if they were involved with the Chinese ministry in our church. They said, “no.” I told them that that was their next step. So, they got involved and helped lead ALPHA for Chinese students that year. At the end of the year, they told me that they did not like working with Chinese and no longer felt called to China.

Meanwhile, another young couple felt called to South America. I told them there were many Latinos living in a trailer park near our church building, so they started English as a Second Language classes there. Most of the people who came to the class were Vietnamese! But it was a great experience and prepared this couple for a fruitful ministry in Chile.

If you’re feeling a tug at your heart to serve in a different culture, here are some tips to help you get started.


  1. Go on a short-term mission trip. Get a taste of cross-cultural ministry by going on a short-term mission trip. You’ll learn so much about yourself and this big world.
  2. Lead and multiply healthy small groups. Start a small group in your community and invite people from different backgrounds. This is a great way to learn about cross-cultural communication and build relationships.
  3. Get involved in cross-cultural ministry in your community. Serve with a ministry that helps immigrants or foreign students or start your own initiative.
  4. Learn all you can about kingdom leadership and the part of the world where you are feeling called to serve. The more you know, the better equipped you’ll be to serve effectively. Read books, attend workshops, and connect with others who have experience in cross-cultural ministry.

Cross-cultural ministry is one of the most challenging and rewarding types of service you can get involved in. It’s a chance to learn about different cultures, build relationships, and make a real difference in the world. So, if you’re feeling called to serve in a different culture, don’t be afraid to take the plunge!