Feel Like You're Not Ready to Become a Missionary? YWAM Doesn't Mind!

Kendra Norris August 26, 2014

Let's be real.... Most of us have probably never REALLY been ready to become a missionary. Perhaps you could compare it to having a baby. You could be as ready as ready gets... having read all the newest baby books, and having purchased the most aerodynamic stroller... but most likely these thoughts will continue sneaking into your mind:

"I have no clue what I'm going to do." --- "How does this really work?" --- "Will I even be good at this?"

But your love for your unborn child propels you forward into the unknown, trusting that you'll figure it out just as your parents and every other new parent in this world has. It's kind of like our love for Jesus, and how He and our love for Him propels us into the unknown world of missions.

Unknown countries.

Unknown languages.

Unknown people.

So God's calling you to be a missionary, but the classic thoughts hit you... "I JUST DONT FEEL READY!" --- "I don't know the Bible well enough..." --- "I don't know how it will look." --- "I don't know, I don't know, I don't know..."

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YES, there will ALWAYS be an element of question in how it will work... or look... or feel... or happen in saying yes to missions. But just as the soon-to-be parents prepared as much as they possibly could before baby's arrival, we as soon-to-be missionaries have the opportunity to do the same. You're not alone in this. I have felt the exact same way, and that's exactly what attracted me to YWAM. I felt called but unequipped, ready but not. With tons of missions organizations to choose from, I chose that one that equips, teaches, trains and THEN sends out. And thank goodness I did... cause I was NOT ready.

After three months of training during my Discipleship Training School... I felt ready to do this thing called missions. Well... you know how it goes... as ready as you can really be. But I had the confidence that I had done all I could to be prepared for the unknown. I had "read the baby books" and felt as ready as I ever would. Then I stepped into the unknown, thrust forward by my love for Him, trusting He would teach me and guide me through every step and stumble along the way.

And the good news is... 6 years later and He's still right there... guiding me through every step and stumble in this thing called being a missionary.