I am in engineering. How could I use this in missions?
I am interested in social work and sociology in university. How could I use this in missions?
» more related questionsQ: Can God use writing, photography or journalism in missions?
A: Yes. Consider OMS.
You should contact various credible mission agencies to find out how they can use your talents. At OMS we have several people who travel throughout the world, visiting our various fields and documenting the work there through pictures and words. These appear in our magazines, books, and other printed material as well as in the videos we produce. Other agencies have similar needs.
A: Yes.
Photojournalism can be a strategic way to recruit interest in mission fields. Some organizations regularly send people to remote areas of the world to do just that. They come back, publish an informational brochure and a video, and distribute them far and wide so that Christians all over the world will gain a vision for the unreached people group covered by the team.
A: Yes. Baptist General Conf can match you.
One of the most exciting developments in missions today is the use of new 'tentmaking' opportunities -- opportunities for Christians to use their training, skills, and vocational abilities to help reach others for Christ!
We've paired up professionals with professionals in several parts of the world with great results! Also, we work with several media projects in the Middle East who are always asking us to send them laborers from 2 weeks to 2 years. They publish a magazine, as well as many hours of video per month.
For more info call me at my office - Mike Snyder 800-323-4215 x325 (Baptist General Conference) http://www.bgcworld.org
We've paired up professionals with professionals in several parts of the world with great results! Also, we work with several media projects in the Middle East who are always asking us to send them laborers from 2 weeks to 2 years. They publish a magazine, as well as many hours of video per month.
For more info call me at my office - Mike Snyder 800-323-4215 x325 (Baptist General Conference) http://www.bgcworld.org
A: Yes.
Elizabeth, I am not sure from your question whether you are finishing up a BA and then thinking of going on for a MA in Creative Writing, or whether you are just embarking on 5 or 6 years of study. You are 20, so I am going to assume you are in the middle of your BA studies.
There are lots of places where a writer, musician, or linguist can be used in missions. Other things will help you determine where. What are your spiritual gifts and motivations? Those motivations will help you sort out how your gifts and training can apply to a missionary team. Do you sense a calling to a particular people group or geographical place? I would say your first order of business is to gain an education in missions itself to decide where you want to invest your time. Enroll in a Perspectives Course www.perspectives.org. Some places are more needy and some skill groups more critical than others. Think of it as fifty people carrying a log, but 49 of them are on one end, leaving the guy on the other end staggering under the weight. You only have one life, so it is essential to figure out where it is best invested for the Kingdom and what part the Lord has designed you to play. This is a struggle with eternal consequences for all involved, so do all you can to become educated about it. Become an avid supporter of other missionaries. Read about the issues in the part of the world where the enemy reigns the strongest. Seek the Lord’s purification in every area of your own life and learn to hear and obey His voice. Get counseling and healing where you need it. Don’t hide or excuse any areas of secret sin, especially bad attitudes--let the Lord work with you to remove it so you can remain joyful even when things get rough. You can learn that wherever you are at. Going into missions is like turning a pressure washer on your house--every flaw will show up and every hole will leak. But it’s so worth it!
I am currently a writer working as a missionary teacher and writer for Biblical Education by Extension world. We work bringing Bible school training to the underground church in Asia and the Middle East. Formerly I was working as a missionary writer/editor for the AD2000 and Beyond Movement which helped to get mission agencies working together to figure out which areas were not being reached and then develop projects to reach them. Ten years ago I was a freelance Christian writer, stay at home mom, and mission committee member.
I gather that inherent in your question is one about going ahead with the Masters program you are considering? I have some thoughts on that both pro and con.
My own educational background: I attended Bible school, and studied journalism there, but because of financial reasons, was not able to graduate. Fortunately, part of the Journalism program I was in included submitting articles for publication, which gave me the validation I needed to see my name in print, and helped me develop relationships with editors. So I have had many articles published. Since then, I’ve been primarily self educated and have attended many writing conferences to improve my writing skills. I have ghost written for a Christian leader and even have done the editing on a doctoral dissertation but don’t have the PhD to show for it. I’m currently writing seminary curriculum. But because I don’t have my own degree, my work has to be approved by someone who has a PhD before it can be released.
I had always intended to go back to school and finish my BA at least. But, once I ran out of money and went to work, I became self-supporting and kept working. I never made it back to school. I had been able to go my first two years of college on scholarships and a little savings, and knew I did not want to go into debt. On the one hand, that was a good decision, because the Lord has allowed me to write and be published and I have used what I learned in Bible school in many different ways. I did not have to struggle with debt and when we were called to go into missions, we did not have a lifestyle or debt which held us back. On the other hand, I regret not getting that foundation of at least a BA and the knowledge that hopefully goes with it.
I absolutely love learning and wish I had found a way to pursue it (perhaps I still will). I graduated at the top of my high school class, and with high enough SAT scores that I could have attended just about any college in the country. I didn’t realize that until I had my own daughter look at colleges and went back and looked at my scores and realized that they were the same as the average Harvard freshman. My parents didn’t see the point of college breadth courses, and didn’t want me to go to a University for that reason. But these general ed courses are the ones I now miss not having. So there is now a sense that I wish I had more education in the areas of European and Ancient history, English Literature, perhaps philosophy, and of course more Bible that I could be drawing on right now as a writer. If you want to write, it is important to have something to say and credentials enough that your audience will listen-- and that comes both from life experience and a good education regarding things you will be writing about.
If you already have training in creative writing, I would say it is also important to seek publication. Once you are sure you have been trained to write well enough to have a professional style (which I think published articles in a well known magazine will confirm), it would be better to get an advanced degree in the area you want to write about than the Masters in Creative Writing. Make sure the advanced degree will really help you DO what you want to do. I think the the ones who can change the world are those who have powerful thoughts to communicate and who can then communicate them in outstanding ways. Even if you want to teach creative writing, I would still seek publication, but then the Masters makes sense. IF your goal is to work as a writer for a missionary organization, I suspect they really won’t care about what advanced degrees you have. They just want to know that you write well enough to write what they need written in professional way. They can easily see that from a portfolio of published articles or even a book. Skill is more important than an advanced degree in that case.
I am reminded of a missionary who came to interview at our church missions committee for missionary support. After hearing her presentation, one of the women on the committee said "Before she becomes a missionary, I think she needs to take some classes in public speaking. She is such a poor speaker, this is going to be an ongoing problem for her." We all agreed that it had been painful listening to her. Then we realized from looking at her resume was that she already had a masters degree in Speech Communication from a major university with I think a BA in English! She probably could tell us all about English and public speaking from her studies, she just couldn’t do it well. Since her ministry was going to be making presentations to schools on abstinence, it was essential that she be able to speak well. But just having an advanced degree hadn’t done that for her. She did do her ministry for several years, but it had limited success and she burned out and became bitter. Somewhere along the line, she had gotten the idea that she was gifted as a speaker, when she wasn’t. Someone should have directed her elsewhere before she got to the Masters level.
All that to say that everyone can enjoy creative writing, but not everyone can be a professional writer (although I think it is more perspiration than inspiration, especially compared with music). Everyone can enjoy singing, but not everyone is designed to do it for a living or a ministry. But gifts that are mediocre in America can sometimes be spectacular in the right setting. For instance, I was asked to play the piano on a short term visit to a mission church in Mexico. I play very badly, but they were delighted because they had no one who could play at all! It would have been a waste for someone with a Masters in Piano performance to minister in music at that little church. Too much education would not have been a useful thing there, but a little more education than what I have would have been great. Sometimes what you need to be is available and not too proud just to do what is needed.
The application to you is this: When you refine your goals as to what part you want to play in the great commission, as a writer, musician, a teacher, Bible Translator, or something else, it will help you figure out whether you need the Masters in Creative Writing right now, or whether you need some more practical missions experience or education to help you decide where you fit.
One other caution regarding getting the advanced degree is whether you or your parents can afford it. I know so many people who have taken on a school debt burden so that they cannot enter missions. It is unrealistic to think that you can incur tens of thousands of dollars of debt and then go on the mission field on a salary (or support level) which does not allow you to make those payments. In a situation where you are raising your own support, you can sometimes build that payment into your support goal and try to raise it, but it is a burden when you are supported largely by $25 and $50 donations per month. Perhaps John will correct me, but I would say that taking on a non-essential debt burden would be unwise if your goal is to be a missionary. So, it is essential to figure out how much education is essential! There was a whole edition about whether prospective missionaries should incur debt for education in the July 2004 Mission Frontiers Magazine. http://www.missionfrontiers.org/archive.htm. It is free to read or download. I would definitely read it thoroughly and prayerfully as you decide what to do next.
In summary, I totally agree with Jack’s thoughts below regarding seeking a higher degree based on whether you will be teaching as part of your mission or not. If you’re not needing the advanced degree for doing the types of teaching where it is needed, my thought would be to finish your BA, find your mission post, and save the advanced degree a few years until you know exactly what you need it for. Then you can go for your advanced degree on a furlough or sabbatical while maintaining your missionary support, which will both defray your personal costs and perhaps make you more eligible for scholarships. You may change your mind about what you study, where, and how. After a certain point, more education does not make you a better-equipped missionary.
May the Lord keep drawing you with cords of love towards His heart. His heart is moved by the millions upon millions who cry out in their despair to empty gods without knowing about the One who died for them. He has called us to go and share the gospel with them or to be part of those who equip the ones who do. It’s really that simple. May you find your part in this great orchestra and play it with all your might.
There are lots of places where a writer, musician, or linguist can be used in missions. Other things will help you determine where. What are your spiritual gifts and motivations? Those motivations will help you sort out how your gifts and training can apply to a missionary team. Do you sense a calling to a particular people group or geographical place? I would say your first order of business is to gain an education in missions itself to decide where you want to invest your time. Enroll in a Perspectives Course www.perspectives.org. Some places are more needy and some skill groups more critical than others. Think of it as fifty people carrying a log, but 49 of them are on one end, leaving the guy on the other end staggering under the weight. You only have one life, so it is essential to figure out where it is best invested for the Kingdom and what part the Lord has designed you to play. This is a struggle with eternal consequences for all involved, so do all you can to become educated about it. Become an avid supporter of other missionaries. Read about the issues in the part of the world where the enemy reigns the strongest. Seek the Lord’s purification in every area of your own life and learn to hear and obey His voice. Get counseling and healing where you need it. Don’t hide or excuse any areas of secret sin, especially bad attitudes--let the Lord work with you to remove it so you can remain joyful even when things get rough. You can learn that wherever you are at. Going into missions is like turning a pressure washer on your house--every flaw will show up and every hole will leak. But it’s so worth it!
I am currently a writer working as a missionary teacher and writer for Biblical Education by Extension world. We work bringing Bible school training to the underground church in Asia and the Middle East. Formerly I was working as a missionary writer/editor for the AD2000 and Beyond Movement which helped to get mission agencies working together to figure out which areas were not being reached and then develop projects to reach them. Ten years ago I was a freelance Christian writer, stay at home mom, and mission committee member.
I gather that inherent in your question is one about going ahead with the Masters program you are considering? I have some thoughts on that both pro and con.
My own educational background: I attended Bible school, and studied journalism there, but because of financial reasons, was not able to graduate. Fortunately, part of the Journalism program I was in included submitting articles for publication, which gave me the validation I needed to see my name in print, and helped me develop relationships with editors. So I have had many articles published. Since then, I’ve been primarily self educated and have attended many writing conferences to improve my writing skills. I have ghost written for a Christian leader and even have done the editing on a doctoral dissertation but don’t have the PhD to show for it. I’m currently writing seminary curriculum. But because I don’t have my own degree, my work has to be approved by someone who has a PhD before it can be released.
I had always intended to go back to school and finish my BA at least. But, once I ran out of money and went to work, I became self-supporting and kept working. I never made it back to school. I had been able to go my first two years of college on scholarships and a little savings, and knew I did not want to go into debt. On the one hand, that was a good decision, because the Lord has allowed me to write and be published and I have used what I learned in Bible school in many different ways. I did not have to struggle with debt and when we were called to go into missions, we did not have a lifestyle or debt which held us back. On the other hand, I regret not getting that foundation of at least a BA and the knowledge that hopefully goes with it.
I absolutely love learning and wish I had found a way to pursue it (perhaps I still will). I graduated at the top of my high school class, and with high enough SAT scores that I could have attended just about any college in the country. I didn’t realize that until I had my own daughter look at colleges and went back and looked at my scores and realized that they were the same as the average Harvard freshman. My parents didn’t see the point of college breadth courses, and didn’t want me to go to a University for that reason. But these general ed courses are the ones I now miss not having. So there is now a sense that I wish I had more education in the areas of European and Ancient history, English Literature, perhaps philosophy, and of course more Bible that I could be drawing on right now as a writer. If you want to write, it is important to have something to say and credentials enough that your audience will listen-- and that comes both from life experience and a good education regarding things you will be writing about.
If you already have training in creative writing, I would say it is also important to seek publication. Once you are sure you have been trained to write well enough to have a professional style (which I think published articles in a well known magazine will confirm), it would be better to get an advanced degree in the area you want to write about than the Masters in Creative Writing. Make sure the advanced degree will really help you DO what you want to do. I think the the ones who can change the world are those who have powerful thoughts to communicate and who can then communicate them in outstanding ways. Even if you want to teach creative writing, I would still seek publication, but then the Masters makes sense. IF your goal is to work as a writer for a missionary organization, I suspect they really won’t care about what advanced degrees you have. They just want to know that you write well enough to write what they need written in professional way. They can easily see that from a portfolio of published articles or even a book. Skill is more important than an advanced degree in that case.
I am reminded of a missionary who came to interview at our church missions committee for missionary support. After hearing her presentation, one of the women on the committee said "Before she becomes a missionary, I think she needs to take some classes in public speaking. She is such a poor speaker, this is going to be an ongoing problem for her." We all agreed that it had been painful listening to her. Then we realized from looking at her resume was that she already had a masters degree in Speech Communication from a major university with I think a BA in English! She probably could tell us all about English and public speaking from her studies, she just couldn’t do it well. Since her ministry was going to be making presentations to schools on abstinence, it was essential that she be able to speak well. But just having an advanced degree hadn’t done that for her. She did do her ministry for several years, but it had limited success and she burned out and became bitter. Somewhere along the line, she had gotten the idea that she was gifted as a speaker, when she wasn’t. Someone should have directed her elsewhere before she got to the Masters level.
All that to say that everyone can enjoy creative writing, but not everyone can be a professional writer (although I think it is more perspiration than inspiration, especially compared with music). Everyone can enjoy singing, but not everyone is designed to do it for a living or a ministry. But gifts that are mediocre in America can sometimes be spectacular in the right setting. For instance, I was asked to play the piano on a short term visit to a mission church in Mexico. I play very badly, but they were delighted because they had no one who could play at all! It would have been a waste for someone with a Masters in Piano performance to minister in music at that little church. Too much education would not have been a useful thing there, but a little more education than what I have would have been great. Sometimes what you need to be is available and not too proud just to do what is needed.
The application to you is this: When you refine your goals as to what part you want to play in the great commission, as a writer, musician, a teacher, Bible Translator, or something else, it will help you figure out whether you need the Masters in Creative Writing right now, or whether you need some more practical missions experience or education to help you decide where you fit.
One other caution regarding getting the advanced degree is whether you or your parents can afford it. I know so many people who have taken on a school debt burden so that they cannot enter missions. It is unrealistic to think that you can incur tens of thousands of dollars of debt and then go on the mission field on a salary (or support level) which does not allow you to make those payments. In a situation where you are raising your own support, you can sometimes build that payment into your support goal and try to raise it, but it is a burden when you are supported largely by $25 and $50 donations per month. Perhaps John will correct me, but I would say that taking on a non-essential debt burden would be unwise if your goal is to be a missionary. So, it is essential to figure out how much education is essential! There was a whole edition about whether prospective missionaries should incur debt for education in the July 2004 Mission Frontiers Magazine. http://www.missionfrontiers.org/archive.htm. It is free to read or download. I would definitely read it thoroughly and prayerfully as you decide what to do next.
In summary, I totally agree with Jack’s thoughts below regarding seeking a higher degree based on whether you will be teaching as part of your mission or not. If you’re not needing the advanced degree for doing the types of teaching where it is needed, my thought would be to finish your BA, find your mission post, and save the advanced degree a few years until you know exactly what you need it for. Then you can go for your advanced degree on a furlough or sabbatical while maintaining your missionary support, which will both defray your personal costs and perhaps make you more eligible for scholarships. You may change your mind about what you study, where, and how. After a certain point, more education does not make you a better-equipped missionary.
May the Lord keep drawing you with cords of love towards His heart. His heart is moved by the millions upon millions who cry out in their despair to empty gods without knowing about the One who died for them. He has called us to go and share the gospel with them or to be part of those who equip the ones who do. It’s really that simple. May you find your part in this great orchestra and play it with all your might.
