There are many careers around the world that require a college degree or even a high school diploma, such as working as a nurse who performs in countless surgeries or in the simplest act of serving like placing IV fluids within the patient. Whether you are a businessman who travels to different corporations to sell a product or emphasizing the importance of your industry in general, you have to have a degree in business. But this is where being a Missionary carries a pro in it’s job title. Missionaries all around the world are not required to have a certain degree in order to fulfill this calling. I have met with many Missionaries from Beijing China, multiple places within Arkansas, and even from Central America from Panama. Each Missionary makes the point to say that when deciding to be a missionary it’s not all about “worldly” desires like most people tend to look for in a job. Being a missionary is not a high paying job, but it’s reward at the end of the day is what makes this career worth it.

When deciding to be a Missionary, you first need to think about where, how, when, and for who are you doing this for. When I state the question of “where?” this is when God becomes even more real to those deciding to become a Missionary, because waiting for where God wants you to be can also be challenging in itself. You can be a Missionary in any part of the world which is also an advantage in the process of being a Missionary, because there are an endless number of “job opportunities” all around you. Where there are people who do not know who Christ is, there is work to be done. You can be a Missionary right in your hometown, or if you feel led to go across the world to tell others about Christ, then take that step and go.

The next step is how. How can I be a Missionary? Is a question that many people ask themselves, but it’s what they do with their answer that will define them as a Missionary. A Missionary is best recognized to be “a person sent on a religious mission, especially one sent to promote Christianity in a foreign country.” from a website known as Dictionary.com after reading the definition you may begin to ponder over the thought of “What makes someone want to pick up everything they have worked for, everything they have ever known, everything that is home to them, and just leave it all behind?” which is a common feeling of doubt. Again, this is when God has stepped in and made Himself known to someone and has placed a burden in their heart to go and make disciples as He has said in the Bible. In Matthew chapter twenty-eight, verse nineteen it claims “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” and also in Romans chapter ten, verses fourteen through fifteen it justifies a meaningful passage that is dear to my heart.“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” written by the Apostle, Paul. Within these three verses this is what stirs up the calling to go and be a Missionary, and as His children it is our job to go and tell others about Him along with what He has done for us. Yes, traveling across the world can be pretty overwhelming, dangerous, very expensive, but Missionaries do not worry about their living conditions, their salary, or how they will reach people. It is all through prayer and trusting in God’s will.

The next hint of doubt others may feel is “When do I go?” which I will tell you later on a personal experience of my own as to when the right time for you to go is. But when becoming a Missionary most Mission Teams would rather you wait until you are around eighteen years old due to different vaccinations, passports, and safety precautions involving travel. When you feel the calling to go and serve others there is not a deadline nor is there a certain day of the year that you have to go out and be a Missionary. Going to be a Missionary is all about God’s timing, and allowing patience to be a characteristic you carry as a person and believer.

Who are you doing this for? Missionaries do not do it to say “Hey, I dropped everything in the world to tell others about Christ, what have you done?” they do it for God has called them to do it. You are being a Missionary for those who are unreached, who do not have the opportunity to hear the word of God, who are not privileged enough to even possess a Bible in their own hands to learn and read about Christ in.

I quickly chose this topic of “What it takes to be a Missionary” because I, in fact, have the desire to be one someday. In the month of June of 2011, I began to have this moment of where I could feel God telling me to go and tell others about Him. But I felt as if I was too young, nor did I feel like I had the funds to go on a mission trip. Every day I walked as if I had a cloud hanging over my head and the verse of 1 Timothy chapter four, verse twelve became so real within my life, and I strived every day to live by this verse. “Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” It has now been over five years that my heart has been burdening for God's people. But, within these five years, God has only brought me closer to Him. He has amazed me with the different hearts, and lives I have come to know. He has captured my mindset every day, and has pushed me to go out of my comfort zone for Him. He has only made me realize that waiting was the best thing I could have ever done for myself. I wouldn't have experienced all that I have in the United States, if I would have gone five years ago. God has opened the doors for me. He has made everything clear. Now is my time to put my "Yes!" on the table, and be sold out for Christ, and to expand His kingdom. If you know me, you know that my passion is people; to love God, and love His people. God is making it happen. I have the opportunity to go to Ghana, West Africa during the summer of 2017 through the BMA Volunteer Student Missions and I could not be any more excited.

One of my most favorite quotes by Turkish Proverb is my definition of what it takes to be a Missionary, "Good people are like candles; they burn themselves up to give others light." as simply stated “Good people” which I see as Missionaries, are like candles for they do not worry about themselves and they are willing to go out of their way for others. To give others the light that they have been searching for, to be the person who brings them a slight chance of hope at the end of the depressing tunnel, to be the person who gives them a reason to smile once more.

So what does it take to be a Missionary you may ask? You eat, sleep, spread God’s word, travel, pray, spread God’s word, worship with others, and the most important key to this lifestyle.. Spread God’s word. There is so much more to life than what this world has to offer, why not live everyday through the one person who gave you a purpose to even be here?