Missionaries have recently been chastised for the consequences of their contact with remote tribes. Their contact has been linked to the deterioration of those tribes’ health as well as the spread of foreign diseases. There is also the issue of Missionaries often having little or no respect for the cultures and religions of remote tribes, while also being responsible for the potential destruction of their social structure.
However, these cases are not common and should not be used to obscure the positive effects of Missionaries all over the world. They are responsible for the development of education, literacy, social justice, healthcare, and sometimes economics wherever they go to.
A Missionary can be of any religion but the term is usually associated with Christian Missionaries. Do not be surprised when you find out about Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, and Sikh Missionaries. Although a lot of these Missionaries from other religions go by some other names, ultimately, they are Missionaries.
So, let’s talk about what a Missionary’s job entails and how important they are.
Missionary Work
Missionary work involves a set of religious individuals that have been sent to specific locations to provide services and sometimes spread the message of their religion. The services in question include helping with food, clothing, education, and providing extra service that the community requires. These locations are usually locations that are victims of major disasters or are generally underdeveloped.
For instance, if a country just comes out of a period of war with its citizens suffering from the effects of the war leading to starvation and death. In this scenario, it is common to have Missionaries come to that country to help the citizens by providing food and other services that they might need.
Responsibilities of Full-Time Missionaries
Not all missionaries are full-time, some volunteer on specific occasions. Full-time Missionaries on the other hand are constantly providing help wherever they can. Remember they first come around to help with basic needs and services, but after that, the full-time Missionaries don’t leave. They usually stay around to:
- Help the community create a source of food and water and make it cheap for the members of the community
- They help build schools
- They help build hospitals or a location where the locals can get adequate medical help.
- For religious Missionaries, they introduce the locals to their religion with the hopes of getting converts
How to Qualify to Work as a Missionary Abroad
For almost any profession these days, formal education to a certain level is required. Usually, university-level education is the standard but for Missionaries that isn’t always the case. Having this level of formal education is an added advantage, but without it, you can still be a Missionary.
Here are the most important things you’d need to be a Missionary:
- Develop a Skill: It’s not enough to just want to help, a lot of time you would be required to provide more than just good intentions. Culinary skills, farming or Agriculture related, Medicine or caregiving, or even learning the local language of your destination. Anything that will be useful in your missionary job is always helpful.
- Missionary Training: For religious Missionaries, this helps in the process of spreading the news of your religion while on missions. For non-religious Missionaries, this is an avenue to polish their skills in caregiving.
- Research: It always helps to know where you are headed. Knowing their culture, the problems they are faced with, what they lack the most, and other relevant information.
- Raise Support: Missionaries often provide most of the financial needs for their work. This can be a difficult task unless you are working in tandem with a Missionary Agency or a religious organization willing to fund the journey and its other expenses. Sometimes, other individuals also provide their support in whatever form it comes in, crowdfunding is not uncommon in this case.
There are other things you will need to be a Missionary. However, you will need them when working for a missionary agency or religious organization. You will also need them when showing you are qualified. Now, how do you find full-time Missionary opportunities?
How to Find Full-Time Missionary Opportunities
- Research on where exactly you want to offer your Missionary service.
- Contact Missionary agencies or religious organizations that are prominent or are helping out in that area.
- If you are a member of a religious body that already does Missionary work, you can also study what services they render and where they usually sponsor missionaries to. That way, you can apply to be sponsored to offer your services as well.
- Some websites give you access to full-time Missionary job opportunities.
Top Sites for Full-Time Missionary Opportunities
Average Missionary Jobs Salary
The average salary of Missionary jobs all over the world varies. It would be difficult to put a specific number on what Missionaries earn on an average due to the location, quality, and experience of the missionary and the missionary agency you are working with.
Regardless, according to the job website Indeed, Missionaries earn up to $78,744 per year on an average in the United States. Worldwide though, you can put the average within the range of $28,000 to $58,320 per year.
A lot of this money comes from donations from individuals and compensations from the missionary agency they work with or the religious body that sponsors them.
Top Missionary Organizations in the World
- China Inland Mission
- London Missionary Society
- Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge
- Church Mission Society
- BMS World Mission
- Rhenish Missionary Society
- American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions
- United Society Partners in the Gospel
- Student Volunteer Movement
- Finnish Missionary Society
- Liebenzell Mission’
- American Missionary Association
- Christian Woman’s Board of Missions
- South American Mission Society
- American Home Missionary Society
Conclusions
Regardless of their religion or association, Missionaries are helpful to struggling societies. Religious bodies and missionary organizations should be aided to increase their reach as they try to help the less privileged around the world.
