I think it’s normal for parents going into ministry to consider how their ministry will affect their children—especially when it causes their children to experience change and loss. But in counting the cost, parents shouldn’t forget the benefits that cross-cultural ministry can have on their children. As someone whose parents were missionaries, I want to give you five benefits that missionary kids can experience through their parent’s obedience. What if becoming a missionary was one of the greatest gifts you could give to your children?
1.) Seeing Jesus Affect Every Part of Their Life
Being a missionary kid affects every part of your life: where you live, what you eat, what languages you speak, and who your friends are. This is a truth that every missionary kid knows by experience, often before they ever think about it intellectually. Missionary kids have the gift of seeing Jesus—not just as a concept to believe in—but as a person to follow. Because of Jesus, because of the Great Commission, they have lived in multiple different countries. Because of Jesus, they have friendships in other countries that they’ve had to grieve when they left. Because of Jesus, they speak another language. Jesus has affected every part of their life. There is not a corner of their life that He has not touched. And though this is true for every believer, the missionary kid knows this on a deep heart level through experience. This indeed is a gift of grace.
2.) Thinking Outside of the Box; Seeing Life Through Multiple Perspectives
Missionary kids have the opportunity to see the world through multiple lenses, rather than through one culture. Living outside of their own country, allows them to separate themselves from their own cultural bias and look at things with an outside perspective. This thinking can follow them into adulthood. For example, they may not see tardiness as a big deal, because overseas it was normal for people to show up 30 minutes to an hour late. Therefore, they can grow the trait of not being easily offended at cultural differences.
Missionary kids can also learn that it is right and good to conform to the culture you’re living in (when it isn’t sin), for the sake of love. It would be wrong for your children to show up late in the U.S. and offend their American friends. Therefore, your children can grow to be extremely flexible for the sake of loving those around them and glorifying Christ.
Missionary kids can also become great problem solvers because they can think about people and problems outside of the box. What’s wrong with sitting in plastic chairs at church instead of comfortable chairs? What’s wrong with clapping and swaying to every song in worship? What’s wrong with serving real wine for communion? Don’t have a truck to haul your furniture? No biggie, just find six Mexicans in the parking lot who you’ve never met to help you load it in your car and then follow you to your house to unload it. Oh, and pay them with a microwave.
Sometimes missionary kids go against the “norm,” not because they’re trying to be different, but because they know that cultural norms are often relative to where you’re living and who you’re around. Nothing is out of the cards, because they’ve seen some crazy things in their lifetime. This too, is a gift.
3.) Believing in God’s Provision
This one is huge. Those phone calls you’re having and emails you’re sending desperately trying to find a place for your family to stay when you return to the U.S… Your kid might remember those moments. Your children might remember the time you booked tickets before you even had a place to stay. And your kids will likely remember the hospitality of those who opened their home to you. They’ll likely mimic the same open-handedness in their own home one day. Your child might grow up to have a strong faith in God’s provision because they’ve seen every time God provided places to stay and cars to drive at the very last minute.
4.) A Love for the Outsider
The new person that walks into the church and speaks a different language. The cashier wearing a hijab. The mailman that speaks Spanish. If raised right, your kids will flock to these people like bees to a honeycomb. They will have empathy towards the outsider because they know what it’s like to feel different and out of place when moving to a new place or changing schools for the third time. Even after growing up, they will always hold a special place in their hearts for the foreigner. They will go out of their way to make the new kid feel welcome because they’ve always been the new kid themselves. They will make themselves uncomfortable to make someone else comfortable, because that’s been the story of their lives. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, they will become all things to all people that they might win them to Christ.
5.) The Gospel isn’t Just For Over There: It’s For Here
Most of all, if your child repents from their sins and trusts in Christ, they will discover that the same gospel that caused their parents to move across the world to preach to others, is also a message for themselves. They will Lord willing see that the gospel is the answer to their own struggles, their own sin, and their own pride. They will see that the gospel isn’t just for Arabs, Europeans, or Hispanics, but for Americans. They will discover that the gospel isn’t just for foreigners, but for friends. Not just for Africa, but for America. And they will Lord willing carry out the missionary task in the United States as if they were still overseas.