As Pathmakers, our goal is to make paths for others to connect with Jesus, and we love to support people across the world that do that work as a full-time job. Each one of us is a missionary, but these folks go cross-culturally, whether it is across the world or to a different generation or demographic. So, how can we support people in their mission?

We can pray.  

We can connect. 

We can spread the word.

Even though money is probably the first thing you think of when you think of supporting missionaries, prayer is the most important. Because God listens and acts out of love, we know that we can pray and He hears us. We can pray generally for our missionaries, but it’s also great to pray for specific requests. If you aren’t getting their newsletter or aren’t a part of their Facebook group, then ask to be added.  They might not always have time to reply to personal emails asking for requests right away. Be patient and keep praying.

When you see a post online or get a newsletter, ask a question or connect with some encouragement. Let your missionaries know that you read what they wrote and interact. Encourage them and share how they can pray for you. Remember that missionaries are people just like you with concerns and challenges. They aren’t perfect Christians, and they need to know they aren’t forgotten when they are serving.

Find ways to spread the word to more people about the missionaries you support. Maybe that means introducing the missionaries to your church family or other friends. Maybe that means asking permission and sharing a post on social media, so more people will pray for an event or for people in crisis that they are ministering to. Maybe it means asking for help from your church family to send a care package or submitting a prayer request for your prayer team to lift up to God.  Maybe it means doing a personal fundraiser to help meet a financial need for your missionaries and asking for support from your family.

Supporting missionaries with finances is a wonderful thing, but it’s just the start to the ways you can partner with other people who love Jesus and are serving Him across cultures or in our own backyard. Ask God how you can be a partner to the missionaries in your life and check out the missionaries that Pathmakers support on our missions tab at https://pathmakerschurch.org.

-Melissa