A Life in Exile

What role does the Body of Christ play in ministering to those serving either on the overseas mission field or in isolated and new-work areas of the United States? The church is often taught to Pray, Give, and Go, but speakers forget to break that down into specific needs for their teams. I wrote about how we can love on our single missionaries, but how can we minister to the wives and mothers on our teams or being sent out from our churches?

Their roles are primarily focused on the home, raising children, and in making disciples among women and children in their areas of service. The husband often carries the role in the ministry of evangelism, church planting, or teaching, and that’s as it should be, but are teams and churches overlooking the needs of missionary wives in the process?

Love her by recognizing her as part of the team.

Men don’t just take their wives and kids along for the ride when they answer the call to missions. They make the decision together, and thus, the women are as called and invested in the task of reaching the nations as the men are. Having Christian couples and families on the mission field is an avenue the Lord uses to open doors to the gospel. When men love their wives well and include them in their decisions and work, nationals see that. It sets them apart as Christ-followers.

A Christian mother who loves and serves her children, raising them in light of the Word of God, makes an impact for the Kingdom. Her presence in a community opens doors to questions and homes. National women marvel at how she has such obedient and loving children, and how she keeps her home clean and orderly. All this leads to conversations about the difference Jesus makes in our homes.

Teams and churches must recognize and pray for the wives and mothers on the field, asking the Lord to use them, even in the smallest of ways, as they serve their husbands and children, to open wide the floodgates of questions in those who are watching and trying to figure out what makes them so unique.

Love her by recognizing her gifts and talents.

Missionary wives and mothers are not confined to their roles in the home because the Lord has also gifted them in unique ways to serve the larger cause of missions. While a woman’s primary call is to her home and family, there are many other ways the Lord will use her. Children do not stay young forever, and there are seasons in life and ministry. However, if we don’t see her as an individual and ask about her specific gifts, we may miss out on what the Lord has in store for her and how she can build on the team’s work.

Make sure, as a team or church, that you ask women about their spiritual gifts and talents, and also ask questions as to how they might sense the Lord’s leading to be used on the field. Some women have a strong calling to serve children. Others, like me, were all about discipling other women. Women make some of the best prayer coordinators for teams. Whatever it may be, don’t assume that just because a woman is a wife and mother, she is not feeling the Lord’s guidance to serve in other ways as well.

Love her by honoring her.

Men are often recognized for their contributions to the team’s strategy, while women are often forgotten or simply not considered for having made a difference. They’re focused on the kids, after all, so how is that benefiting our overall vision?

Have you thought about honoring the woman who’s cooked the most for guests in the past month? What about the woman who has educated her children and kept her home a peaceful place for her husband and others? Who wins the recognition for surviving the longest while her husband travels? These may seem like trivial matters, but when you’re the one carrying the load, they are anything but.

Also, women need recognition or even a simple thank you for all they are doing outside the home—whether it’s in the mission office, in the local church, or through outreach and discipleship. How can the team honor the women who are often forgotten?

As churches, are we asking the women we support about their ministry, whether it’s in the home or among the nationals, or do we just ask about what the men are doing? What kind of care packages can we send or give that tell our missionary women we see them? Do we ask them about their needs? Do we remember their birthdays?

Life on the mission field is not easy, and missionary wives and mothers lose much of their natural support systems when in a new location. I pray that we will remember and honor the women who quietly and faithfully serve to the glory of God and the spreading of His Kingdom.

Grace and Peace

If you missed the last Mission Monday post, click HERE, or check out these other posts missionary wives: Children Change Things,  Cooking in Ministry,  Frustrated Mothers,  and Holding Down the Fort.