Questions for Evaluating Missions Organizations

This resource is a guide for church missions leaders to evaluate and select missions organizations that align with their church’s vision and strategy. It provides a structured approach to assessing potential partners by asking questions related to categories such as theological alignment, church involvement, strategy, values, and logistical support. It may be utilized alongside the complementary “Spreadsheet for Evaluating Missions Organizations” to organize insights and compare organizations.

An important aspect of sending missionaries is connecting with the right missions organizations that will best facilitate their employment, overseas supervision, and the vision and strategy your church has for global missions. The vision of a missions organization will have a significant impact on the day-to-day work of your church’s missionaries. 

As a missions leader, you might reactively need to work with multiple missions organizations based on the ones your missionaries have partnered with in the past. As you work towards proactivity in sending, it can be more valuable and efficient to work towards partnering with a select number of organizations. This selection creates clearer pathways for potential missionaries, allows you to develop reciprocal relationships with organizational leaders, and facilitates greater synergy both pre-field and on-field.

To begin, make a list of the five to eight organizations you would consider partnering with. Narrow the list down to a few by asking some questions surrounding your natural and existing relationships:

• Does your denomination or network have a missions organization they partner with? Do you want to work with this organization?

• If you have sent or partnered with missionaries already, whom do you work with most meaningfully? What organizations do they work with? 

• What organizations have you heard of that you hold in high regard?

• What missions organizations are going to highly involve the sending church in the assessment and development of missionaries pre-field and in their care on the field?

Follow this up by revisiting your church’s vision and strategy:

• What is our vision, and how does a missions organization need to support this?

• What are some key values that you would like to see in a missions organization that you partner with? They might include:

  • Aligning theologically with your church

  • Involving the local church in the sending process

  • Possessing organizational and cultural values that you believe are important to a partnership

• Are there particular on-field strategies that they need to be able to support? For example, church planting, mercy and justice, protecting indigeneity, Bible translation, etc.

• Are they in the parts of the world where you want to work? Places like:

  • Reached, unreached, or unengaged areas of the world

  • Developed, under-developed, or under-resourced parts of the world

  • Countries or people groups you would like to target as a church

Begin cultivating a list of questions that you would like to ask missions organizations. We encourage you to utilize our “Spreadsheet for Evaluating Missions Organizations” to start ordering and categorizing these questions for evaluative purposes. Use the first tab to create a running list of questions that you would like to ask missions organizations. We will suggest some questions and categories below.

Categories of Questions

As you start to come up with questions for missions organizations, you’ll begin to see certain categories come through. It is unlikely that you will ask every question you have to a missions organization, but you will want to make sure you can evaluate them on some of your key categories. The following are some of those categories along with questions that we would encourage you to consider.

1) Church Empowerment

As a sending church, you are looking for a culture in the missions organization that involves the sending church in all aspects of assessment, development, and care. Ask questions like:

When someone applies with your organization, when do you connect with the sending church?

You want a missions organization that will quickly connect with you from the beginning stages of the application.

Will we be able to view any aspects of the missionary’s application? 

While there may be confidentiality issues you will need to navigate with the missions organization, it is right and reasonable to expect to be involved in the process. You should expect to hear what the missions organization’s assessment team has learned about your potential missionary and what improvements they would recommend. 

How will we be involved in the decision-making process of whether our potential missionary is fit or unfit to partner with your organization? 

As a sending church, it is right for you to expect communication on how your missionaries are doing in the process and to speak into their readiness with your first-hand experience. While missions organizations have great tools for assessment, they lack the in-person experience and history that you have with your applicant. Find an organization that leans into your ability to assess your candidate. Organizations that are dismissive of the church’s perspective may not ultimately serve as healthy partners.

Will we be able to get to know our missionary’s supervisor and build a partnership? 

Proactive missionary care is much easier and less painful than reactive missionary care. The best way to do proactive missionary care is to put your missionaries on healthy teams and build a relationship with their team leader on the front end. 

If an issue arises with our missionary, will we be informed and able to work through the issues together with their supervisor? 

If the missions organization is not willing to involve you in that process, that may be a caution flag for working with that organization.

2) Theological Alignment

When looking for a missions organization to partner with, you need to be in good standing theologically with them. Ask questions like:

What are the core tenets of your statement of faith and how are they applied?

It may be that you initially agree with the statement of faith of the missions organizations on your list. Many evangelical missions organizations will be pretty similar in their key doctrines. However, we encourage you to dig deeper. How does the doctrine work itself out, especially in a cross-cultural context?

How would you differentiate yourself theologically from other missions organizations?

Beyond the statement of faith, gain an understanding of what drives their organization theologically. What faith traditions are they from or currently are a part of? Their view on ecclesiology (the church) is of particular importance. This question becomes a little more important at the on-field partnership level, but you will need to come to a general understanding of this as you initially vet organizations.

3) Vision

The vision of the organization needs to closely align with that of your church in order to partner well. If your church’s goals in missions do not fit under one of the visionary aspirations of the organization, then you should not partner with that organization. Ask questions like:

What is the overall vision and mission of your organization? 

Your church’s global missions vision will need to fall under the purview of the organization in order to partner well. 

How is your organization different from other organizations? What makes you unique?

Having a clear vision, mission, or purpose statement is a great indicator of a mature missions organization. Conversely, not having an articulate vision can be a sign of disorganization or immaturity.

What missions endeavors does your organization decline because they don't align with their vision?  

Sometimes, the best way to understand an organization’s focus is by recognizing what it chooses not to do. Defining these boundaries also can also clarify the limits of what the organization can accomplish.

4) Values 

The values an organization upholds determine the culture by which the vision and strategy are accomplished. While your church may be aligned with the vision and strategy of an organization, you may decide not to partner because of the culture of that organization and the way they go about their work. Ask questions like:

What are some values that define your organization, both in the way you relate to your missionaries and what your missionaries are known for? 

Decide what values are non-negotiable. If one of your values is not specifically mentioned, ask questions about that value to determine if they display it. If an organization can’t explain its values, then it should be a caution flag. 

How do you encourage sanctification in your missionaries? 

Determine how they go about sanctification. Is it a culture known for legalism, license, or being gospel-centered? Do they value the worker as much as the work, or are people functionally expendable? 

How do you address work expectations when a missionary is navigating a personal challenge?

A missions organization should provide some flexibility to their structures in times of crisis, stress, or burnout.

5) Strategy

Whatever strategy your church wants to accomplish—be it church planting, mercy and justice, Bible translation, etc.—make sure the missions organization is equipped to support and empower that strategy. Ask questions like:

What are the strategic initiatives of your organization?

A missions organization should be able to clearly articulate these goals. Even if they are very broad, they should be clearly articulated.

Do you work to empower indigenous believers?

Consider organizations that are proactive in coming alongside indigenous believers to accomplish their work. Be cautious of organizations that promote dependence on missionaries. 

Are you focused on unengaged, unreached, or reached people groups?

Most missions organizations will have some distinctives in regard to the type of people they work with. Whether this is an important distinction to your church or not, it is helpful to understand the value the organization places on it.

How is church planting talked about in your organization? Is it a high priority? What church planting models do you utilize?

Similar to people groups, understanding the missions organization's viewpoint on church planting is important for gaining a clear understanding of the organization.

6) Team and Supervisory Structure

The team and supervisory structure of the organization will have a direct impact on the day-to-day life of the missionary. Ask questions like:

What is the authority structure for people sent by your organization?

It is important to know the leadership structure of the organization. How do they proactively navigate conflict? You may want to learn if the organization has a whistle-blower policy for unresolved issues and situations of abuse. 

Do your people work in teams? What is your teaming philosophy?

Take the time to understand if your vision for teaming is similar to the organization’s. What structures are in place for teaming? Do they encourage healthy team rhythms? Do the teams do ministry together?

What is the member care structure of your organization? How many member care personnel do they have per missionary? Is there room for the sending church in member care?

It is important to know the role the missions organization and your church will have in regard to member care. Does the missions organization value the church being involved in member care? You can also learn through this question how much they value member care. 

7) Administration and Logistics

While this may not be the most interesting topic, it is very important to understand how the finances will work with a missions organization in relation to the missionary and the donors. Ask questions like:

How are donations processed?

The organization should have a robust online donation-processing platform and a solid accounting system. Consider giving a small gift on their website to understand the donor experience.

What does insurance cover, and how much does it cost?

Quality organizations will hire consulting groups to help them get the lowest insurance prices for their people. Insurance for overseas workers needs to include provisions for things like emergency medical needs and repatriation of remains. Ensure they provide for at least both. Compare insurance rates of multiple organizations.

What percentage of the administration fee do they take?

The industry standard is around 12% to 15%. If it is more or less, ask questions about what they provide to understand if they will be able to meet the needs of your missionaries.

8) Locations

This is fairly obvious, but a missions organization needs to work in the areas of the world you want to work in or have a vision for. Ask questions like:

What locations are you in around the world?

If they have not worked in a region or continent to which you desire to send your missionaries, this could be a non-starter for working with that organization.

Why are you not in ____ location? 

This question can give you a clearer understanding of the current purview of the organization and what it might take to get to new locations.

How do you decide to start work in a new location around the world? What needs to be in place to start that work?

If you’re asking them to take on a new location, you will need to gain an understanding of the process to move towards it. 

9) Assessment Process

You will want to work in partnership with the missions organization during the assessment process. Aim to sync up key processes and look out for areas where the candidates are doing double the work. You also want to gain an understanding of their readiness characteristics in order to prepare people for working with that organization. Ask questions like:

What are the readiness qualities and requirements that you are looking for in missionaries?

Missions organizations should be able to clearly articulate these to you.

Where do your people most often get hung up in the assessment process with your organization? Why is this?

This may indicate either a strong value or a broken process in their system.

10) Training and Development

As in assessment, you want to work in partnership with the organization to train and develop committed missionaries. Ask questions like:

What training is provided and required prior to going overseas? 

You will want to consider the timing, frequency, length, and cost of training. You might consider asking them to “count” some of the training you already do with your people. Are they open to this collaboration?

What training is provided on the field? 

Missions organizations should provide not only pre-field training but also on-field training that is relevant for their missionaries.

11) Successes and Failures

Sharing successes and failures is a great opportunity to learn the culture of an organization. An organization should be transparent about where they are doing well and where they have room to improve. Ask questions like:

What are some successful mission endeavors that your organization has been a part of? 

You want to partner with a missions organization that is fruitful and celebrates what they have done well.

What are some failures you’ve seen, and what have you taken away from those failures? 

Transparency, vulnerability, and recalibration are important values of a missions organization. Look for willingness to admit failure quickly without defensiveness.

What other categories and questions would you add? 

Meeting with Organizations and Evaluating Them

With your categories and questions in mind, go to the “Scoring Sheet” tab in the Spreadsheet for Evaluating Missions Organizations. Enter the organizations that you want to evaluate on the horizontal row. Enter the categories that you want to evaluate on the vertical row. After your conversations with the missions organization, give a score of 1 to 5 to each category. You may want to give higher priority to certain categories over others. At the bottom of that spreadsheet, you will see the total score for each organization that will help you discern which potential partnering organization is rising to the top. 

Of course, analytics like these have their limitations. They may be helpful for evaluation, but ultimately their main purpose is to help you get the evaluation started. What should follow this tool is conversation among your missions leadership team and prayer about the partner organizations to whom God may be leading you. 

Connecting with missions organizations that help your church accomplish its vision is an important step in the sending process. Don’t rush this decision! You will save yourself time and energy by partnering with organizations marked by reciprocal relationships, organizations that can help you accomplish your vision as a sending church. 

Next Steps

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

1. Reach out to three to four missions organizations and get a video call scheduled. Space them out enough to have time process your thoughts about each organization and retool the questions you want to ask them.

2. Download our “Spreadsheet for Evaluating Missions Organizations” to finalize your own categories and questions for evaluating missions organizations.

3. Check out chapter 6 of The Sending Church Applied for a great overview of evaluating sending pathways and partners.