QUESTION: I am a young Christian and am praying about becoming a missionary. What are some things that I can do now to be prepared if the Lord leads me to this?

ANSWER: It is always good to hear of someone who is praying about becoming a missionary! Some of the things that you can do now to prepare yourself for missionary work are things that every Christian should be doing. Let's look at some of them.

1. Ask the Lord to give you a love for lost souls. I remember a short song which is a prayer for this kind of love.

"Lead me to some soul today,
Oh, teach me, Lord, just what to say.
Friends of mine are lost in sin
And cannot find their way.
Few there are who seem to care,
And few there are who pray.
Melt my heart and fill my life,
Give me one soul today."

In the gospel of Mark we read of a man who had just come to know Jesus after being marvelously delivered from a demonic spirit. He then wanted to be with Jesus, but Jesus told him to go home to his friends and tell them what great things the Lord had done for him. He did this and we read that all men did marvel. (See Mark 5.) A natural response to Christ's love for us is to tell others what He has done for us.

2. Develop an earnest prayer life. "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (James 5:16). A wholehearted missionary must realize the need of the Lord's help and guidance in the work that the Lord has called him to do. As a result, much time will be spent in prayer. It is interesting to notice that the first missionary journey began with much prayer and fasting. See Acts 13:1-4.

3. "Search the Scriptures daily." "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth" (Acts 17:11, 2 Timothy 2:15). If one is to be a faithful missionary he must be able to direct another person to the verses that deal with the way of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ, and Christian discipleship. An example of this is found when Philip joined the Ethiopian eunuch who was returning home. When the eunuch asked a question regarding the passage in Isaiah 53, Philip was able to answer the question correctly and lead the eunuch to a saving knowledge of Christ.

4. Begin to do missionary work right where you are—at home, school and in the neighborhood. In the example given in #1 above, the Lord Jesus told the man to go home to his friends and tell them what the Lord had done for him. Home is sometimes the hardest place to do missionary work. Our words alone will not bring those we know to the Lord. Our lives must show that we belong to Him.

These are some of the things that you can be doing now in preparation to becoming a missionary. Actually what has been mentioned in points 14 above should be true of every Christian. A missionary is one who has a mission to accomplish. Each Christian's mission is to tell others the good news of the gospel. In Ephesians 4 we read that the ascended Lord gave gifts unto men. One of those gifts is evangelists. If the lord has indeed called you into full-time service for Him as an evangelist or a missionary it will be usually evident to others and to yourself also that you have a special gift of leading others to Christ—either individually or in a more public way. You need to be sure that it is a calling from the Lord and not your own individual choice. I remember someone saying, "Some were sent, others went."

May the Lord guide you in your desire to serve Him.

—John D. McNeil