How to Proactively Identify Potential Missionaries

This resource is a guide for church leaders on how to proactively identify, develop, and send missionaries, following the biblical example of the church at Antioch. It outlines a structured approach using Michael Fletcher’s four stages of leadership development—Selection, Connection, Vision, and The Ask—to create a sending culture within the church. By using this framework, church leaders can establish a clear pipeline, engage in intentional conversations, and mobilize different affinity groups to send well-prepared and long-lasting missionaries.

As pastors and leaders in churches, we must fight to remember that God is working among our church members at all times. Weekly gatherings are a great time for our people to be reminded of their “sentness.” In Acts 13 the church at Antioch was gathered for worship and fasting when the Spirit called Barnabas and Saul on mission:

As they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then after they had fasted, prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them off.” Acts 13:2–3 CSB

Isn’t it remarkable that after such an experience the church went right back to worshiping and fasting? We do not know if this was a season of prayer and fasting or if it was confined to one gathering. Regardless, what is important here is that the church was central in the discernment of the call. It was not that Saul and Barnabas heard independently from the Lord—their calling was affirmed in the context of the church.

The Church’s Role in Sending Missionaries

The church at Antioch gives us the model for proactive—not reactive—sending. This church sent out two of their five best leaders in Barnabas and Saul for the work of spreading the gospel among the Gentiles. They did this through investment in the lives of Barnabas and Saul, through prayer and fasting, and by proactively seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit. 

Many missionaries in the world were not sent by their church. They may have asked the church for money, they may have been commissioned by their church, but they weren’t really sent by their church. They weren’t inspired, assessed, or developed by the church towards global missions. Instead, they likely went to a conference or read something online that got them excited about global missions. The church, in this instance, is a funding source, but not a sender.

God has used this model to send many long-term missionaries overseas—but is it the best? According to statistics, many of these missionaries come back after only two to three years. They may return due to issues of team dynamics, the difficulties of living overseas, or unforeseen circumstances of life. Whatever the particular reason, a huge factor in so many missionaries returning is that their church was not active in helping them walk through their calling, assessing their readiness, developing them to be ready, and caring for them once they are sent cross-culturally.

Missions organizations are a wonderful tool that God has used for the sake of getting the gospel to the nations. However, a missions organization can never know who a missionary is day in and day out through only reading an application or having a few phone calls. This is where the church is absolutely vital. The church is the place where members should be challenged in their primary calling of being a Christ-follower and guided in their secondary calling of vocation. 

The triune God made us for community, just as he exists in community . Yet, when it comes to one of the most important decisions in life—determining one’s vocation—we in the church generally leave it up to the individual to figure it out.

While we should be helping our people with their life’s call as churches regardless of their vocation, the stakes become higher in working with potential missionaries. The opportunity before them to take the gospel to the nations is incredible. We must send our best into the work. 

The High Stakes of Missionary Sending

The stakes are high for the mission. The stakes are also high for the individual wanting to participate in this mission. The stakes are high for the team working on the ground to carry out the mission. The stakes are high for the lost ones in the targeted country. In other words, the stakes are too high for individuals to make this decision alone, and they are too high to entrust the preparation, development, and care of our missionaries entirely to organizations. The church must be involved in this process if we want to send thriving and long-lasting missionaries.

In his book Empowering Leadership, Michael Fletcher says there are four stages in the development and identification of leaders:

1. Selection - Who are you looking for?

2. Connection - How are you inviting them?

3. Vision - Where are you raising the bar? 

4. The Ask - Is this God’s next step for you?

This is a great book for a church to consult as they consider how to develop leaders in their church. Having a healthy system in place for this is crucial for becoming a great sending church. And as your church develops leaders, you will have a growing pool from which to identify potential missionary candidates. We can use Fletcher’s four stages as a framework for proactively identifying missionaries in your church.

Selection: Identifying Missionary Characteristics

The first step to identifying potential missionaries is to understand what you are looking for in a candidate. While it is true that every believer has the capacity to make disciples of all nations, there are characteristics and personality traits that will do better cross-culturally than others. Flexibility, grit, ability to suffer, faithfulness, financial freedom, strong emotional health, and much more are necessary to effectively ministering cross-culturally. We want all our members to have the opportunity to be developed in their leadership, but where a particular person finds leadership opportunity should be carefully considered based on their overall health and capacity. Check out the resource “12 Essential Traits in Developing Healthy Missionaries” for more on the characteristics you should look for in missionary candidates.

Connection: Building a Sending Pipeline

As your church develops leaders, it’s important to create a pathway for identifying and developing those who you have “selected” or “observed” could have the potential to go overseas. One of the most effective ways to do this is to create a pipeline that cultivates awareness in the church as a whole and provides opportunities for members to move from one level of global awareness and involvement to the next. A sending pipeline will provide opportunities to mobilize a broader group of people, observe church members who would do well cross-culturally, and have direct, proactive conversation about being sent. A great sending pipeline is the foundation to proactively identifying missionaries.

Here are a some elements you might include in your sending pipeline:

• During weekly gatherings, remind members that they are all sent ones by identity and challenge them to respond to the Great Commission.

• Provide a regular meeting in which members can come and hear about global missions and how they can be involved. Some churches have “Missions Chats,” which are monthly opportunities to hear about God’s heart for the world and missions opportunities through your church.

• Provide classes on global missions. I could be something as simple as a four-week global missions class or something more intense, like a Perspectives course. Make the ask throughout the class and provide clear opportunities for those showing interest to talk with a mobilizer at your church. 

• Provide short-term trip opportunities. Ask the team during debrief who they think should consider a deeper commitment to global missions. 

• Provide international and refugee ministry opportunities in your city. There is probably no better way to observe the qualities needed to be able to go long-term than through regular involvement in this kind of cross-cultural ministry. See our resource “How to Develop a Local Cross-Cultural Ministry” for more on how to do this.

• Create book studies or missional communities through which people interested in missions can explore their calling in the context of community, and where you as the missions leader can observe them.

• Keep a list of people who are interested in going. Categorize their interest, determine their timeline, and keep notes on their interest, including what you have talked about with them and their next steps. Return regularly to this list to help them along the pipeline.

Vision: Raising the Bar through “ICNU Conversations”

None of these aspects of the pipeline matter if we never have a conversation about missions with our potential missionaries. Some have called these “ICNU conversations” in which a missions leader or church staff member says to a church member, “I see in you...” and speaks rich affirmation. This is a proactive approach to mobilization. As pastors and leaders in the church, we have the opportunity for ICNU conversations with our people all the time. Affirming the fruit we see in their lives leads beautifully into suggesting a deeper commitment to God’s mission. Involve your staff and leadership team in these conversations to proactively identify missionaries. Equip your staff to competently share the “12 Essential Traits in Developing Healthy Missionaries” and your sending process.

The Ask: Mobilization Pools for Missionary Sending

Another way to identify potential missionaries is through what I call “mobilization pools” composed of different affinity groups in the church. These pools may include:

• Marketplace workers

• University students interesting in studying abroad

• Theological educators

• Vocational missionaries

• Second-language teachers

• Non-profit workers

• Missionary care servants 

• Short-term trip participants

Gather these groups every so often for collaboration and observe how God may use these times to encourage some towards global missions.

As you think about your church and increasing its sending potential, what easy onramps are you providing for people considering missions? How are you being proactive in identifying potential missionaries? Are you having “ICNU conversations” with members who are already doing well in disciple-making? What mobilization pools already exist in your church? Be proactive in your sending by developing a process and identifying people to be sent to the nations.

Next Steps

The journey toward sending well happens one step at a time. Here are three ways you can continue moving upstream:

1. Take a moment to reflect on “ICNU conversations” that people have had in your life. Consider how and why their initiative and words of affirmation were meaningful to you. Now prayerfully make a list of members in your church with whom you can speak words of missional encouragement. 

2. Download the complementary “Worksheet for Proactively Identifying Potential Missionaries.” This activity will help you move from reactivity to proactivity in identifying missionaries. 

3. Watch the Upstream training, “The Next Wave of Missionaries: How to Mobilize Gen Z into Missions” for more on proactive mobilization in this day and age.