Missions isn’t just the responsibility of individuals who go—it’s the calling of the whole Church. Every missionary on the field should be a reflection of a sending church behind them: praying, supporting, encouraging, and walking with them every step of the way.

Sending missionaries is more than commissioning a person or writing a check. It’s a sacred partnership. Just as Paul had the church at Antioch, missionaries today need sending churches that are deeply invested in both their sending and their sustaining.

1. Sending: More Than a One-Time Event

Many churches celebrate a missionary during a commissioning service, but the work of sending starts long before that and continues long after.

How the Church Can Send Well:

• Identify and affirm callings early. Be a place where young people and adults can explore a call to missions with guidance, mentorship, and encouragement.
  
  
• Provide theological and practical training. Partner with training organizations or offer in-house discipleship to prepare future missionaries spiritually and practically.
  
  
• Offer logistical support. Help with fundraising, networking, communication tools, and even visa research.
  
  
• Commission with intentionality. A commissioning service is more than symbolic—it’s a public declaration of responsibility. Be clear about what your church commits to in supporting this missionary.

“While 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.’”

Acts 13:2

2. Sustaining: Long-Term Care for Long-Term Impact

Missionaries often face spiritual warfare, isolation, culture shock, and exhaustion. Without ongoing support from their sending churches, even the most passionate workers can burn out or feel forgotten.

Ways to Care for Missionaries Effectively:

• Prayer Support
  
  
• Organize regular intercessory prayer teams.
  
  
• Share updated prayer needs in small groups, newsletters, or Sunday services.
  
  
• Use messaging apps or email to check in and let missionaries know they’re being covered in prayer.

• Relational Support
  
  
• Assign a care team or point person who checks in regularly.
  
  
• Schedule virtual calls just to chat—not always about ministry.
  
  
• Remember birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays with messages or small gifts.
  
  
• Financial Support
  
  
• Offer consistent monthly support and include missionaries in the church’s annual budget.
  
  
• Be proactive in communicating about changes in giving or upcoming needs.
  
  
• Provide emergency funds or medical support when unexpected issues arise.
  
  
• Reentry and Debriefing
  
  
• Welcome them home well. Culture shock doesn’t just happen overseas—it happens upon return too.
  
  
• Offer a platform to share their experiences, joys, and struggles.
  
  
• Give space for rest, therapy, or debriefing after difficult seasons.
  
  
• Ongoing Partnership
  
  
• Stay updated on what they’re doing and include their ministry in your church’s mission updates.
  
  
• Send short-term teams, interns, or visitors (as appropriate) to strengthen the partnership.
  
  
• Include them in decision-making when it impacts their region or demographic.

3. Shaping a Missions Culture in Your Church

Caring for missionaries well comes from having a healthy missions culture at home. It means creating an atmosphere where global vision is local priority.

Ways to Build a Missions-Sending Culture:

• Teach about missions regularly from the pulpit.
  
  
• Share stories and updates from the field often.
  
  
• Celebrate milestones and victories in missionary work.
  
  
• Raise up the next generation through youth involvement, mission trips, and mentoring.

Final Thoughts

The Great Commission wasn’t given to individuals alone—it was given to the Church. When churches take ownership of their role in missions, missionaries thrive, the Gospel goes further, and the global Church is strengthened.

Missionaries may be the ones who go—but they don’t go alone. They go with the prayers, love, and partnership of their spiritual family.

“And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?” — Romans 10:15

Let’s be churches that send well and care deeply—not just for the mission, but for the missionaries who carry it forward.

Want more resources to help equip your church to not just support missionaries, but to send and sustain? Click the link below!