At our Called to Go launch day in January 2024, Alex Hawk shared wisdom gained from years of experience serving in ministry abroad on how to prepare well. Many of those present were looking to go and serve abroad in the future and found his practical guidance very helpful. If you are exploring a call to go, this article will be a great starting point.

Before my family goes on a road trip, I’m responsible for reviewing several car-related items. I check oil and water levels, consider the route we’ll take, and fill the tank if it's a long trip. I load the car, making sure there’s a jack and a tow rope, while my wife Ellie ensures there's a selection of snacks on board.

In the same way, before someone heads overseas to serve God in another culture, they must prepare. Some preparation is practical, some is emotional, and some is spiritual. Speaking from experience, what preparation cannot be is absent.

I hope the following six points will help aspiring pioneers prepare for and navigate the challenging terrain of an overseas mission. May the Lord be with you as you venture to take the gospel to the ends of the earth.

1. Your Relationship With God

Above all else, pay close attention to cultivating your relationship with God. During the Hebridean Revival (‘49-53), the preacher Duncan Campbell said the following:

These are days of much activity in the field of church and mission work, but no amount of activity in the King’s service will make up for neglect of the King himself. The devil is not greatly concerned about getting between us and work; his great concern is getting between us and God. Many a Christian worker has buried his spirituality in the grave of his activity.

Other skills or equipment are relevant and useful, but your relationship with God is crucial to success. Guard it, invest in it, and develop it.

Foster Good Habits

Do this, NOW. Commit to spiritual disciplines and develop rhythms—they anchor you.

Consider Jesus: ‘Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed’ (Mark 1:35 (NIV)).
And Daniel: ‘…He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously’ (Daniel 6:10 (NIV)).
And Paul: ‘About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God…’ (Acts 16:25 (NIV)). His letters are further evidence of a life of consistent prayer and devotion.

It’s really not complicated. Reading the Bible daily, worshipping, and praying will help you connect with God and learn His will for any and every situation.

Uphold Your Zeal

Romans 12:11 commands us: ‘Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord’ (NIV). ‘Keep’ means to ‘maintain, guard, invest in’—what does that look like, spiritually?

Satisfaction in God. Recognising His love is better than life. Earnestly seeking him. (Psalm 63:1-8 (NIV))
Abiding in His presence. ‘…Apart from me you can do nothing’ (John 15:1-8 (NIV)).
Loving Him with all your heart. ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind’ (Matthew 22:37-38 (NIV)).

Q. How do you want to see your relationship with God grow? What rhythms do you have in place already, and how are they helping you connect with God?

2. Remember Who You Are

In our home contexts, we become used to having roles, gaining respect, growing in expertise, and knowing our way around our various environments. However, when we arrive in a foreign context, we regularly experience situations that leave us frustrated, ignorant, misunderstood, overlooked, and undervalued.

When you go overseas, you must live out of a place of acceptance. You are a child of God. You are unconditionally loved. (1 John 3:1 (NIV), John 1:12 (NIV), Romans 8:15-16 (NIV)). Live, breathe, and feast on these promises. You must be convinced that your value doesn’t come from what you do or how much you do and that your identity does not lie in your achievements or others’ opinions. Learning to rest in God’s love and not strive for others’ approval is mandatory if you’re going to minister well in a foreign context.

Q. What comes to mind when you think of your identity? Are there any areas that are more affected by others’ opinions than God’s?

3. Know Your ‘Whys’

Our ‘whys’—our motivations—are our foundations. They lend us confidence and help us remain secure. In difficulty, the ‘whys’ are what we come back to.

Why 1: God’s Glory

‘Let the people’s praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy!’ (Psalm 67:3-4 (NIV)).

Simply put, Jesus is worthy, but people are not worshipping Him.

In his excellent book, Let the Nations Be Glad, John Piper famously expresses this problem: ‘Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn't. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man.’

We go because the fullness of God’s kingdom has yet to come. We go because Christ has yet to return. We go to play our part in ensuring that God receives maximal glory!

Why 2: People’s Need and Joy

People are lost without Christ. We can’t leave them without a witness! They need their eyes opened to see that Jesus made a way for them to turn from darkness to marvellous light, from Satan to God.

God commissioned Paul, saying: ‘“I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me”’ (Acts 26:17-18 (NIV)).

We go because, in Christ, we are all bearers of light and joy!

Why 3: God’s Calling

Our mission to share is closely related to people’s need for the gospel.

God has called us—we are His ambassadors, His fellow workers. Let us be obedient!

‘And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God’ (2 Corinthians 5:19-20 (NIV)).

We go because we are commissioned ‘ambassadors’ of Truth Himself!

Why 4: God’s Love

According to 2 Corinthians 5:14, ‘Christ’s love compels us’ (NIV).

Evangelism should be an overflow of God’s love flowing into us. As we are loved, we love—receiving leads to sharing.

We go because ‘God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life’ (John 3:16 (NIV)). This abundant love fills us to overflowing, and the cascade translates into ‘mission’.

Q. What are your ultimate ‘whys’? Are they similar to the ones above, and how deeply do you believe them?

4. Serve Where You Are

“When I get there, I’ll be really passionate...” I’ve got news for you: there’s nothing magic about an airplane seat belt.

Oswald Chambers said, “We have to take the initiative where we are, not where we are not.” If we’re not dedicated to serving others and sharing the gospel where we are now, going overseas isn’t going to miraculously change that.

Many people head overseas to do things they haven’t been doing in their neighbourhood. Jean Johnson points out, many “go to the ends of the earth as experts and doers in those things that they neglect in their own neighbourhoods and networks of relationships at home.” We must be careful not to fall into this trap! The mission starts at home!

Q. Where are you serving now? How are you involved in discipleship, evangelism, and service?

5. Don’t Go It Alone

Form or join a team. Any mission will be most effective when the right balance is struck between giving your time and resources and receiving the support, rest, and spiritual nourishment to sustain and refresh you for the work ahead. Whether you are single, a couple, or a family, join others when attempting to reach people with the gospel.

Find existing workers. Their experience navigating the culture and cross-culturally serving will be invaluable in helping you adjust to your new surroundings and guiding you toward greater effectiveness.

Join a missional organisation. From my experience, those sent with an organisation or a church network are better prepared, supported, and last longer than those who go it alone. Trusted organisations can partner with your local church and help prepare you for overseas missions. They provide orientation and ‘member care’. They will help you in an emergency. They provide accountability. They will fight your corner.

Build a Support Network

Invest in home church relationships. While it’s tempting to start cutting ties with others in your home nation as you prepare to leave, it’s integral that you continue to invest in those relationships. Develop a strong connection with your home church and be active there. Seek wisdom and invite input from others. Speak to the leaders about your interest in serving overseas. Do they affirm that God is leading you in this way? Their encouragement will be vital for the next season.

Build prayer support. James O. Fraser, a missionary amongst the Lisu people in China in the early 1900s, was convinced of the power of prayer. He wrote the following in a letter to his mother, who regularly gathered others to pray for his ministry:

Paul may plant and Apollos water, but it is God who gives the increase; and this increase can be brought down from heaven by believing prayer, whether offered in China or in England… If this is so, then Christians at home can do as much for foreign missions as those actually on the field… What I covet more than anything else is earnest, believing prayer.

In his letters, Paul asks the churches to pray for his ministry to be effective (Colossians 4:2-4 (NIV), Ephesians 6:19-20 (NIV)). He even tells the Corinthian church that their prayers will help him and his team navigate a dire circumstance (2 Corinthians 1:8-11 (NIV)). The bottom line is simple: prayer is non-negotiable!

Begin praying for the country and people group you are going to, for the work of the local church, and for existing mission workers. Form a prayer team and ask trusted friends and supporters to join you. Prepare them to continue after you’ve gone by committing to regularly sharing prayer requests with them. In our experience, having an inner circle for urgent and personal prayer needs and a larger group to send monthly prayer points is incredibly helpful.

6. Marriage and Family

Since I’m a married man, I want to offer some insight and advice from the perspective of someone who went on a missional journey with their family. That being said, if you’re single, these principles can still apply to building healthy, intentional relationships with teammates or even your family back home.

The Challenges of Family on Mission

Going overseas with your family is a God-glorifying venture, but it comes with its own set of challenges. Transitioning to a new culture, navigating the pressures of ministry, and simply figuring out life in a new place can put stress on your relationships, especially your marriage. If you aren’t prepared, the squeeze of cross-cultural life can expose cracks that might have gone unnoticed in the comfort of your home country.

So, investing in your marriage is critical. Healthy relationships at home will only support your ministry. If these start to crumble, it won’t take long for everything else to follow.

Build Habits Before You Go

Before you leave, take stock of your rhythms and routines. Are you regularly praying together? Do you make time to connect with your spouse outside of the daily grind? How intentional are you about building traditions and spending quality time as a family?

While this stuff is super important, know that even the best routines will likely be thrown into chaos when you transition overseas. You’ll go into ‘survival mode’ for a while as you just try to get through the day. That’s normal. But don’t stay there. Forge new habits as soon as you can.

For us, the first year was tough. We focused on everything that ‘needed’ to get done, and our marriage started to take a backseat. Once we realised what was happening, we made a deliberate effort to refocus.

We established regular times to pray and worship as a family. Wednesday and Sunday evenings became sacred times.
We realised our regular date night wasn’t working in our new context, so we switched to Wednesday mornings.
We read marriage books and articles that encouraged and challenged us.
We even ran the ‘Marriage Course’ in our community, which helped us and others strengthen our relationships.
We created new traditions. Saturday morning pancakes became a thing! We also kept a few familiar items from home to make the new house feel like our space.

Don’t Neglect Your Family in the Name of Ministry

History is littered with examples of missionaries neglecting their families and calling it ‘radical Christianity’. But radical doesn’t mean reckless!

I once heard this story about a well-known pastor and author who passed away. I’ll never forget it. After his death, his wife said, ‘He loved Jesus, but I’m not sure he loved me.’ No! Tragic! That should stop us in our tracks.

In 1 Timothy 5:8, Paul writes, ‘Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever’ (NIV). Providing for all your family's needs is serious and should not be neglected.

Remember, your family is your first ministry—they are not just accompanying you on mission; they are your mission!

Q: What could you do in the coming months to invest in relationships? Marriage course? Books?

Conclusion

Preparation is a posture to embrace. It’s foundational to success on the mission field and nurtures your faithfulness in living out God’s unique call on your life. With that in mind, GO with humility. GO with intentionality. GO with a heart ready to be shaped as it seeks to serve.

May you prepare well and trust deeply in the One who goes with you!

6 Ways To Prepare to Go