What do You Have in Common with a Missionary

Every year my church holds a missions festival where we hear how God is working through these amazing ambassadors of God who serve in foreign lands. These men and women are bold and courageous. They are obedient to a call that many can’t comprehend. Through their willingness to go, God has brought hope and salvation to people in some of the most spiritually dark places in the world. It has been wonderful to hear about the great successes missionaries have experienced. However, recently, what really grabbed my attention was listening to them share about their challenges.

As Christian educators we are called to be ambassadors for Jesus in the public schools. Like foreign missionaries, we face challenges too. At times it feels like we are serving in a foreign land. A number of years ago it was brought to my attention that the public school system is a mission field. When looking at the obstacles faced by missionaries around the world, I was shocked by the similarity to those experienced by many of us who serve in schools. 

Six Common Challenges Faced by Foreign Missionaries and Christ’s Ambassadors in the Public Schools

1. Discouragement with results

It is often difficult to identify success in our work with students. So many struggle with behavior and academics. We question if we are actually making a difference. 

2. Balancing the priorities of  commitment, time, opportunities, and time alone with God

As educators, work/life balance is a real challenge. As we navigate our day to day tasks, every minute fills up. It is easy for time with God to be put on the back burner. 

3. Adjustments in working with people of another culture, thought pattern, and viewpoint

It truly feels like we are “living in another world.” I hear many colleagues state that they feel shaken by the cultural shifts that we are experiencing. As Christians we are beginning to understand what it feels like to be a foreigner.  

4. Being tagged with the identity of a foreigner which represents a special political system, and a world view

Our identity as a Christ follower was once respected and now is looked at as a negative. Our views have been labeled as hateful and immoral. 

5. Sense of restriction on individual initiative, expression of talents, professional excellence, and implementation of new ideas

Since we are feeling restricted and unsure of how to navigate the reality we are in, many educators feel like they cannot be their true selves, especially when it comes to their viewpoints and beliefs. 

6. Spiritual and physical exhaustion 

The work of an educator is exhausting. We not only have physical demands, but emotional ones too. Satan is able to use these realities to cause us to doubt our call and question our relevance through feelings of being overwhelmed by it all.  

When I realized how much I had in common with a missionary it really changed how I saw my circumstances. If missionaries succumbed to challenges, darkness would endure in many places. Without Christian educators in the public schools, darkness would endure in our schools as well. There would be students who were never prayed for. There would be gospel seeds that would never be planted. There would be encouragement and inspiration that would never be offered. 

Global missionaries and educators have perhaps some of the most difficult, yet important work on the planet. There are myriad challenges and hardships related to carrying out their tasks, but those hardships can be met with an enduring hope. In the face of all of the difficulties and hardships mentioned above, we are reminded that the only hope we have is found in Christ and in his providential and sovereign work in the world. The responsibilities, for all the reasons mentioned above, are impossible from a human perspective. We do this work with God. 

The good news is that our God doesn’t operate and work within human limitations. He’s all-powerful, all-knowing, and everywhere present. He has the power and ability to change hearts, change minds, and transform lives. Challenges are not limitations to God. So, take heart. As missionaries introduce the Kingdom of Jesus to foreign lands, you represent the culture of the Kingdom  in your schools. Don’t let the challenges we face rob us of the opportunity to be used by God in a place that is near and dear to his heart. Understand you carry the light of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit into a foreign land. You make a difference!