How to Tell Your Job You're Being Called to Missionary Work

What Do You Say to an Employer About God’s Calling?

Is God calling you to the mission field and are you nervous about telling your boss? It can be intimidating to have to communicate a message that your employer just might not understand. After all, they may not even understand what God’s call even means to a Christ follower. I have been there and trust me, it is not easy. Altogether, a career shift out of something you’ve been vested into for many years only makes it that much more difficult. Wait, were you waiting for me to tell you it was going to be easy? I am truly sorry if I misled you!

What is God’s Calling?

The God-to-honest truth is that we should not worry about how our employer will react. God called us to be bold in our faith. I DIDN’T SAY FOOLISH! Bold in the sense to know when and what to say. Personally, I believe every call from God has certain steps of preparation. Proverbs talks about it – A LOT.

Proverbs 24:27

Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house.

Proverbs 6:6-11

Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.

Think About It!

And we could keep going! However, I think you get the point. If we sit idle, nothing happens. If we act too quickly, we rush God and God has no time to prepare our hearts and finances. God’s call can be general and sometimes it can be specific. Those in Christ have already experienced a call of grace. This is the general and most important call any person can ever experience. After salvation, God will call us for good works. Please don’t let these good works get confused for a means to salvation. These good works comply with certain spiritual gifts God will give you to edify His kingdom. If you’re curious about what those gifts may be, here is a good starting point.

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

All That to Say This

God may burden your heart or lead you to use those spiritual gifts in some type of minsitry. Most times, it will be in your local church. Sometimes, it may be more specific. For instance, you may feel a burden for a specific group of people in another country. God might even focus your gifts on a niche group like sports ministry. God will give you the desires of His own heart if you just seek Him.

Psalm 37:4

Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Link to spiritual gifts.

Seek Godly Counsel

I cannot say this enough, but seek godly counsel. Now, I won’t promise you everyone will be as optimistic as you might be feeling. When I answered God’s call, it probably seemed like I just threw it on some of my godly friends. It came at them all of a sudden, even though the process for me had been stirring for awhile longer than they may have imagined. Nonetheless, I greatly appreciated all of their sound advice, whether encouraging or cautious. Afterall, this is God’s word and call on my life. It was a pretty BIG one at that for me and my family (a wife and three young kids). So, I totally get the concern from some of the counsel I received. Just be prepared to settle your heart, listen to God, and let Him lead. God will put both encouragers and cautioners in your path. This is to make sure you stay close to Him and don’t waiver from His calling. Caution is a GOOD thing.

First, seek God. He is the ultimate counselor.

James 1:5

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

Then God will place other people in your life to help encourage, test, and stregthen your faith. The Bible talks a lot about godly counsel. If you’re having issues deciding what godly counsel looks like, here are a few examples directly from the Bible.

Proverbs 11:14

Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.

Proverbs 12:15

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.

1 Corinthians 15:33

Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

2 Timothy 3:16

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

1 Thessalonians 5:11

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

Proverbs 27:17

Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

Godly counsel will sharpen you. If someone says you may need education, don’t take that lightly. If someone says you need to prepare financially, dig deep and find ways to let God work financially. It’s easy to confuse advice as criticism sometimes, but a lot of times, the people you seek advice from know a little about you that you might not see or hear yourself. God’s call is not to be taken lightly, and usually it requires preparation. This is why godly counsel is vital for your success in His calling.

WHAT ABOUT MY JOB?! WHY THE RABBIT TRAIL?

Good, you are paying attention! The rabbit trail was intentional. If the call exists and you’ve made it this far, just be honest with your employer. I have found that being honest is always the best policy. Be honest with yourself in His calling, be honest with the godly counsel you seek, and be honest about your work intentions. However, do not quit your job without God’s guidance and preparation. The job you have now may be the means to how God gets you on the mission field. It may be the vehicle to reduce current debt. It may be your current mission field. Don’t hop away from what God already gave you.

Effectively praying will help enlighten those next steps in God’s plan. Praise God for the calling, praise Him for all you currently have. Repent and keep a clean heart. Ask God for all that you need for His calling. I promise you, in due time He will give you what you need in His timing. Lastly, yield to that calling. Notice the acronym there? PRAY. Go back and read it again.

Your employer will either understand or not. Just don’t rush things. God will give you clarification of when to tell your employer. For instance, my timing was pretty early in telling my employer, but I made it very clear I didn’t know God’s timing. My goal is still to do my very best for my employer in the job I have currently. After all, we should do all things to the glory of God and not for man. Our rewards are much bigger in Heaven this way. Earthly praise stops here, there is no vertical transportation of earthly praise.

In Conclusion – Pray, Seek Godly Counsel, and Then Act.

I may have not said it first and you’ll hear it so much that it will start to sound cliche, but pray! Remember the acronym –

P – Praise God for all that He has given you.

R – Repent of any intentional or unitentional sin. This hinders clear communication when we hold on to sin in our life.

A- Ask God for wisdom and instruction. He will provide in His timing.

Y- Yield to His call, be slow to speak and quick to listen.

Along with prayer, seek godly counsel. This can look like disciplers in your life, a pastor, another missionary, your parents, your friends. But, just make sure you seek advice from someone who will be honest, upfront, and not afraid to hurt your ego. Also, make sure they have an active and consistent relationship with God. Then, when you’re certain of God’s timing, GO. I haven’t made it that far yet, but I have taken action in God’s plan. Going back to the ants, we can see the time to sleep on God’s calling is not existent.

Proverbs 6:6-8

Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.