What perspective should I take towards missions training?
What types of training should I consider?
Can I become a missionary if I don’t want to learn another language?
» more related questionsQ: Can I major in psychology and use that in missions?
A: Yes.
The main need in missions is church planters. A degree in psychology may be helpful if you became part of a church planting team.
In addition, after you have years of experience you can assist other church planters with member care. See more at http://www.membercare.org
In addition, after you have years of experience you can assist other church planters with member care. See more at http://www.membercare.org
A: Use a psychology degree to teach overseas.
I have always found that my degree was helpful in that it has opened a lot of doors for me that might otherwise not been opened. There are many areas of the world where the people are not open to the Gospel, but they are open to teaching of many life skills that psychology can provide. You probably already know that many countries require you to get a visa in order to enter into their country. A visa is basically an invitation from the country for you to enter – so you must have something they want in order to get the invitation.
Many countries do not know that they want/need to hear the Gospel. In fact, many just plain outlaw such behavior. I have been able to minister in several countries as a result of them inviting me in to teach/share Behavioral Medicine. In other words, if I had not completed my education in psychology I would have been hindered in my ministry.
The Bible tells us of Paul having what has been described as a tentmaker ministry – in other words he had a skill he used to financially support some of his ministry. I don’t know that someone with a missions heart and calling ever truly retires, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt for him/her to have an education which could help in a variety of situations, i.e. if you were to become ill, or some other situation developed, where you needed to return ‘home’ for a season. One of the most challenging parts of full-time missions is maintaining an adequate level of funding to support the expenses of living on a foreign mission field – having a valid skill can often help supplement that need.
On another very practical note, any education you can get that helps you understand people better can only help on the mission field also. Thriving in multi-cultural settings is much more challenging than many missionaries anticipate, which leads to many missionaries not being able to sustain long-term missions, so a significant percentage of people who anticipated being long-term missionaries end up returning much sooner than they had planned. A Master’s degree in psychology could be a big help in that regard, especially if you focused the degree on multicultural issues.
I encourage you to get as much education you can in preparing for the mission field. Ultimately, we are responding to a calling God has put in our hearts, so we must listen to and follow His directions – He may have you follow a path that none of us could anticipate – that is part of the excitement of serving an incredibly gracious and creative God!
Many countries do not know that they want/need to hear the Gospel. In fact, many just plain outlaw such behavior. I have been able to minister in several countries as a result of them inviting me in to teach/share Behavioral Medicine. In other words, if I had not completed my education in psychology I would have been hindered in my ministry.
The Bible tells us of Paul having what has been described as a tentmaker ministry – in other words he had a skill he used to financially support some of his ministry. I don’t know that someone with a missions heart and calling ever truly retires, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt for him/her to have an education which could help in a variety of situations, i.e. if you were to become ill, or some other situation developed, where you needed to return ‘home’ for a season. One of the most challenging parts of full-time missions is maintaining an adequate level of funding to support the expenses of living on a foreign mission field – having a valid skill can often help supplement that need.
On another very practical note, any education you can get that helps you understand people better can only help on the mission field also. Thriving in multi-cultural settings is much more challenging than many missionaries anticipate, which leads to many missionaries not being able to sustain long-term missions, so a significant percentage of people who anticipated being long-term missionaries end up returning much sooner than they had planned. A Master’s degree in psychology could be a big help in that regard, especially if you focused the degree on multicultural issues.
I encourage you to get as much education you can in preparing for the mission field. Ultimately, we are responding to a calling God has put in our hearts, so we must listen to and follow His directions – He may have you follow a path that none of us could anticipate – that is part of the excitement of serving an incredibly gracious and creative God!
