What’s a Missionary?
By Aaron M. Kauffman
“Aaron, I don’t think you’re called to be anything but a missionary.”
I had felt a growing sense of call to missionary service since my teenage years. These words from a local Ethiopian church leader reinforced that call while I was serving in a year-long mission internship. The outer call confirmed the inner call.
Confident of God’s direction, I finished college, majoring in missions. I pursued a master’s degree in language teaching in order to have a skill to offer in a mission assignment. My future spouse, Laura, assured me she was open to such a vocation. We got married and finished our schooling. After two years of work – I as a teacher, Laura as a nurse – we were ready to serve overseas.
Our family’s three years of missionary service in Colombia were deeply challenging and fulfilling. We learned to love the language, culture and people. We saw students and neighbors come to faith in Jesus at the school where we taught and through the witness of the local church with which we partnered. We built lasting friendships. It was hard to leave when our first term came to a close. Yet we felt called to be further equipped for future service.
We returned to Virginia so I could finish seminary, hoping to go back to Colombia as soon as possible. Two years of study stretched into four. Our family grew. The assignment we thought we were preparing for no longer seemed likely to materialize. Where was God leading us?
“Would you ever consider a role in mission leadership?” This question from Loren Horst, then president of VMMissions, opened a new chapter in my life. I joined the staff and began to learn what it took to support others in mission, and to partner with the global church. Two years later, I was named as the new president. It was not the path I had envisioned. But God’s call seemed unmistakable. Was I still called to be a missionary?
Over the past decade, I’ve learned more about what it means to live an everyday missional life. We invest in the faith formation of our four kids. We build meaningful relationships with our neighbors and the families we get to know through the public schools. We pray for those far from God and look for opportunities to share the hope we have in Jesus. We support missionaries financially and pray for them. These are things all Christians can do as participants in God’s mission.
Yet I also believe God gifts some uniquely as apostles and evangelists (Eph. 4:11). Like Paul, they have a specific call “to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard” (Rom. 15:20, NLT), or, I might add, properly understood. Perhaps the word “missionary” is best reserved for them. We’re all called to be missional. Some of us are called to be missionaries. Together, we partner with God, who is making all things new. To God be the glory.