If you decide to go overseas as an independent missionary, here are some of the things you need to consider putting into place.
Finances
- How will you be accountable with the money you receive for ministry, track it for tax purposes, and ensure you obey all financial laws in your home country and host country?
- How will you set an appropriate budget to cover your costs?
- What will you do about superannuation?
- With whom will you obtain medical and evacuation insurance?
- How will you go about raising prayer and financial support? Who can help you with this?
Governance
- Who will register your ministry/ charity with the government?
- Will you join a peak missions body? (In Australia we have Missions Interlink or ACNC)
- Who will be on your board – a group of people you report to who hold you accountable?
- What are the legal and financial requirements in your sending country and particular area, that will enable you to participate in ministry?
- What systems do you have in place for child protection, protecting vulnerable people, OH&S, and information protection (IT)?
- What will help you to stay on top of employment regulations in both your sending country and country of ministry?
Church
- How will you establish expectations with your sending church and lines of accountability? How they can practically serve and support you?
- Who will be involved in communicating your prayer needs and promoting your ministry?
- How often will you return to your sending country and for how long? How will you use that time for rest, promoting ministry and preparing for future ministry?
Ongoing training
- What opportunities do you have for training in ministry, and how will they be financed?
- How much time will you set aside for language learning and who will hold you accountable?
- What strategies do you have in place to stay on top of developments in good ministry practice?
Family
- What do you hope to do for your children’s education?
- Where will you obtain resources to help with transitions for your kids as you move between countries (emotional/ psychological/cultural)?
- Where do you hope your children will ultimately settle, attend university or other further studies and training, or enter the workforce?
- What plans do you have in place in the event your children do not thrive on the field?
- Have you set a budget to meet all of your children’s needs?
Sustaining the ministry
- Who will care for you in the course of your ministry? Are there trusted people who can provide you with debriefing, counselling, and other resources to help you with physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health?
- How will you be encouraged and sustained through fellowship with other believers?
- Who will help you think through and make decisions about ministry direction on the field?
- Where will you obtain resources for good self-care?
If all of this sounds too hard, then maybe it is better to find an agency that already has some of these things in place and is doing the sort of work you feel God is leading you to do!
