There’s a widely accepted myth in the world of missions that needs to be cleared up. It's this: all missionaries are preachers. In reality, missionaries do many very different jobs.
The truth is that pioneers use anything and everything that allows them to share the Good News. After all, Paul was a tentmaker, which is a little surprising if you think about it. And if you think that was outside the box, you should see what today’s missionaries do to introduce people to Jesus. Here are seven jobs you might find surprising:
1. Farming
Yes, you read that right! Combine a business background with a passion for good produce, and you get a perfect platform for mission. Coffee, fruit, chickens… you name it.
2. Performing arts
Scattered across the world is a creative community of God’s people who make Jesus known through life and worship, music and art. “I see unlimited potential,” writes one worker. “Music, film-making, poetry, dance, storytelling, drama, painting, crafts, etc. can be used to live in relationship, communicate truth, and express worship.”
3. Tourism adventures
Snorkelling, rock climbing, diving, trekking, surfing and visits to waterfalls. Running a tourism adventure company lets people in these jobs build and develop relationships with their local employees.
4. Trades
People who use their hands to build and fix things are in high demand! These workers use their skills to teach sustainable and affordable building techniques and help implement culturally appropriate technologies on a community level. As they do their jobs, they are able to share the love of God in practical ways.
5. Being a family
This might sound strange, but in many places around the world—particularly countries where families are torn apart, kids are orphaned, fathers are killed by war—a Christian family that honours God can demonstrate in word and deed what it means to follow Jesus.
6. Business
Can you imagine the opportunities to bring glory to God through running an internet café, a bakery, a restaurant or a consulting company? On a business level, meaningful engagement with local customers could bring new life. Ingenious!
7. Media
You only need to spend a few minutes on CommnetMedia.com before you see the way film, photos, graphic design and stories can bring glory to God. This team of Pioneers creatives uses their skills to capture and share stories of God at work across the globe—advocating for the unreached.
One Pioneer living overseas writes, “I get to do what I enjoy doing every day. Sometimes I feel like a fraud because I don’t fit the missionary mould.”
But God created us to have talents and desires in order to reflect the different parts of His image. And His message never changes: Jesus loves the whole world. The means by which that message is delivered is up for grabs.
The beauty of it is, no matter your background, your skills or your talents, God can use you to bring the Good News of Jesus to people who have never heard. So what are you waiting for? Get in touch with one of our mission mentors and find out where you might fit.