Are Christian Missionaries Just Bums with a Title?

I've been a missionary for several years and it is amazing to me the reaction I get from other people sometimes. Being part of an organization called YWAM I have heard all kinds of insults. "So Alan, how are things in YWORK?" is one for example. It is pretty common for missionaries to be thought little of and insulted, kind of like TV evangelists. Most people assume that if you are a TV evangelist you are just after money. That may be true for some but there are others who truly believe what they are saying. In the same sense missionaries are often though of a lazy bums who didn't want to get a real job so they asked for money and left town.

For those of you who don't know much about missionaries let me explain briefly how it works. When you go to a foreign country to minister you are usually going to a place that does not have a Christian people group, or one that doesn't have any money. That is the whole point of being a missionary, going to places where other people haven't started churches or taught other people about who Jesus is. So unlike in other places where you could just get a job as a pastor you go and work for free. When you are working for free you have to have money to survive. That means that people in your home church have to send you monthly support, it is sort of like your paycheck. Usually it isn't very much and have to make the most of it.

So because of the fact that you don't have any kind of official payroll and you travel a lot, a lot of people think you are on vacation or something. That's when the insults come and people think you are a freeloader. I am here to set the record straight, if even only for a few people.