"Missionary Motivations"

When Pursuits  

Outweight Pressures

     So, why do Christians choose to "go" to the nations as missionaries?  Before answering that question, we need to consider the pressures inherent in the missionary call to appreciate their underlying motivations.  Fasten your seat belts as you take a whirlwind tour into the strange life of "being" a missionary.
 
     Pressures: the same Greek word for "trials, things that weigh you down".  Hmmm, interesting, isn't it?  You are now Missionary Family X embarking on your first term of foreign missionary service.  What pressures are you likely to face?

"FUNdraising"
     First and most often discussed is the emotionally battering experience of deputational support raising (i.e. raising support from many churches, rather than having one "sending" church).  Support raising has the potential to deter the called, effectively keeping some from ever pursuing missions work as a career. 
     But you have chosen to face the enormous task of raising funds to conduct overseas missionary ministry.  You will drive so many miles across this great land that the view of asphalt as seen from the windshield of your car will be indelibly engraved upon your mind.  Scenes of rushing to the next missions service invade your dreams and cause you to wake up in a cold sweat. 
     Then, imagine the scrutiny you will feel as you stand before a constantly revolving sea of faces.  All eyes are on you now, as you enter hundreds of churches.  Congregations will concern themselves with assessing your conduct, analyzing your convictions, determining the likability of your persona, critiquing your missions presentation, and contemplating the message you preached.  Oh, and did I mention, you need to pack all of this into a one hour time frame, make it interesting, if not captivating, issue forth a challenge, and bring it to one final crescendo-the altar service.  Are you enjoying this adventure yet?  Don't begin to ask yourself just yet why you would persist with this painful process we call itineration.

Family 
     Or, what about the strain missionary work places on your family?  Imagine creating a bustling itinerary for fundraising, while at the same time styling it as a "grand homeschool outing" for your children.  Schooling now takes on the sometimes comical, sometimes frustrating locations of the back car seat, the local hotel room, or an evangelist's quarters.  The pressure is on to find the time necessary to complete the required school work while at the same time conducting on average of four to six missions services per week.
     Envision in your mind sleeping in a different place continually, ever moving on in search of the desired goal of becoming fully funded.  Meals are had on the run.  McDonald's, Burger King, etc. become the bane of proper nutrition.  If you eat another fast food meal, you're afraid you will heave.
     Visualize your children thinking they have hundreds of aunts and uncles scattered around the country (since we call all believers by "brother" and "sister"), and trying to figure out to which ones they are related by blood.  Watch them make fast friends with children and youth in a matter of hours only to say their goodbyes, wondering if they'll ever meet again.  As they look up in your eyes, they whisper these words, "Daddy and Mommy, wouldn't it be nice to live here so we could see our friends every day?" as you tuck them into a provisional bed in Somewhere, USA.