Ask a Missionary - Catch The Fire

for its missionaries’ safety, health, and supervision in ministry. It’s a
big task for which few churches are prepared. We are a church of
eight thousand. We are well staffed and financed for missions, yet
we found that we weren’t equipped for the job of mission agency. 1
Answer from Porter Speakman, missions pastor at Central Church of God in
Charlotte, North Carolina.
A: For prayer support.
To not have a mission agency is asking for disaster. An agency
is responsible not only to pray and organize prayer support but also
to make sure that prayer is directed to specific needs. The agency
can provide a large part of the prayer covering that a missionary
must have in order to do kingdom work. To select a mission agency
takes time and prayer. It must be a good fit for both the agency
and for you. Sometimes things work for a while, but then you have
to change agencies. Every agency will have some things that may
not perfectly suit your situation, but then no pair of shoes ever fits
exactly. Shoes do not fit perfectly because of the imperfect feet in
them.
Answer from Jim, who served as an English teacher in China for five years.
A: For preparation and teamwork.
Some independent missionaries have very good ministries.
However, some independents seem to be content to reinvent the
wheel and make mistakes that others could have warned them
about. Here are some benefits of going with a mission agency:
• Pre-field preparation. Most agencies require their
missionaries to train from a few intense weeks to several
months, studying different issues such as cross-cultural
AGENCIES: Researching the Options | 49