When sensing a call to missions, it is really important to seek confirmation rather than relying on subjective feeling alone. You should seek that through scripture, advice from others you trust, circumstances and a growing inner conviction, which all should align. God has many ways of confirming His will to us, but it is usually a process and often takes time. It is vital to make time and space for exploring what a missions lifestyle is like and to honestly evaluate one’s own suitability for it. Make use of a wide range of resources and reading material. Depending on how young you are (in years or in faith) you might think of this as a period of discipleship, of discovery and of personal growth. You may indeed be called for cross-cultural service, but you may not be ready yet. It is important to learn patience and the value of waiting for the right time!

If the candidate’s next step is discipleship, the church’s end of that is to provide good mentoring. Everyone needs a period of growing in faith, in gifting and in experience. Usually, that doesn’t happen effectively without input from others, who are older and more mature in Christ. Timothy became an effective leader after years of input from the apostle Paul, who saw the potential in him as a very young believer. Maybe the church has an intern programme that young folk can attend to test out their readiness for service, whether at home or abroad. See the links below to explore how to offer these opportunities to gain exposure to another culture.

A wonderful resource is to tap into the experience of returning missionaries to be mentors for those just starting out to explore how God is leading them. Be sure to give the candidate opportunities to share their story, expose them to other cultures, either locally or on short-term teams, assess their skills and gifts and how well or otherwise they work with others. All these elements are important in gauging a potential candidate’s readiness to move on to the next milestone.

When sensing a call to missions, it is really important to seek confirmation rather than relying on subjective feeling alone. You should seek that through scripture, advice from others you trust, circumstances and a growing inner conviction, which all should align. God has many ways of confirming His will to us, but it is usually a process and often takes time. It is vital to make time and space for exploring what a missions lifestyle is like and to honestly evaluate one’s own suitability for it. Make use of a wide range of resources and reading material. Depending on how young you are (in years or in faith) you might think of this as a period of discipleship, of discovery and of personal growth. You may indeed be called for cross-cultural service, but you may not be ready yet. It is important to learn patience and the value of waiting for the right time!

If the candidate’s next step is discipleship, the church’s end of that is to provide good mentoring. Everyone needs a period of growing in faith, in gifting and in experience. Usually, that doesn’t happen effectively without input from others, who are older and more mature in Christ. Timothy became an effective leader after years of input from the apostle Paul, who saw the potential in him as a very young believer. Maybe the church has an intern programme that young folk can attend to test out their readiness for service, whether at home or abroad. See the links below to explore how to offer these opportunities to gain exposure to another culture.

A wonderful resource is to tap into the experience of returning missionaries to be mentors for those just starting out to explore how God is leading them. Be sure to give the candidate opportunities to share their story, expose them to other cultures, either locally or on short-term teams, assess their skills and gifts and how well or otherwise they work with others. All these elements are important in gauging a potential candidate’s readiness to move on to the next milestone.