Get Involved . . .

There is a simple 3 point outline you may have heard many times for how you can get involved in missions: Pray, Give and Go. Let’s look at these three and see how you can personally get involved in each one to help the missionary effort.

Pray

Give

Go

Not everyone is called to go to the mission field. Not everyone is capable of giving to missionary work. But all of us are capable of praying for missionaries and their work on the field.

Your church probably has a missions program you can get involved in to support missionaries. If it is not obvious, ask your pastor how you can designate specific funds to the church mission program. By designating your giving to missions your church will make sure your money is used in that way. If you would like to make an extra gift to a specific missionary, ask your pastor how you should do that.

Visiting a missionary on the field is a great way to get involved in missions. It will help you see how to pray for the missionary and will give you a better understanding of the spiritual and physical needs of the people the missionary serves.
Talk with your pastor if you are interested in a short-term mission trip. He may be interested in organizing a trip from the church and just needs someone who is willing to be the first one to step forward. He may already have a trip planned that you can be a part of. In any case, he can certainly point you the right direction in getting information about a short-term trip. Many mission agencies organize trips each year that your pastor may know about. Your pastor may know that one of your church missionaries welcomes visitors; most missionaries do if the visitor is recommended by a supporting pastor.
Never surprise a missionary on the field. Don’t just show up asking what you can do. Your trip will be more effective for you spiritually and for the missionary physically if you make plans together. The missionary will plan special activities you can be involved in during your time there.
If you have been personal friends with a missionary for some time, ask them about you taking a trip to visit them. Find out how you can be a blessing to them. You can put together an organized group (with specific recommendations from the missionary) or you can go alone and serve as an encouragement for a friend.
Sometimes you will see things on the field you won’t understand. You will wonder why certain things bother a missionary the way they do. Don’t be judgmental or critical of the way a missionary handles a certain situation. Certainly a missionary can be wrong in the way he does things, but this is a time to pray for them, not judge them. You can never fully understand what a missionary is experiencing as long as you are in possession of a return trip ticket.