Mission work is one thing very few people feel equipped for, but something many are called to do. To pursue the mission field is to reject those things the world and those around us deem important to (or essential) in life’s success.

We live in a culture telling us to pursue a college degree to land a good, well-paying job, spend our summers pursuing internships aiding in our search for a prestigious career, and then prepare for our future lives: our mortgage, marriage, children, retirement, etc.

We are told to learn how to budget our money and develop financial responsibilities (at a school drowning us in student loans). We are taught to refrain from offending others with our religious or personal beliefs (in a nation allowing us free speech), and we are encouraged to set our minds on things to elevate our socioeconomic status in life, so we might achieve the “American Dream”.

We view mission work as a nice hobby, or pastime of our youth, but not as a career worthy of dedication for our entire lives.

I have a heart for missions. I desire to reach the ends of the earth and fellowship with people of all backgrounds and cultures. I love people, I love learning, I love travel, and I love my Jesus that commands me to spread the good news of the redemption I now have...

So why haven’t I committed to missions?

When people ask me what I want to do after college, my answer shifts between, “I want to work with non-profit organizations and teach English in Spanish-speaking countries as mission work,” and, “I’m thinking about pursuing a career in publishing and spending my summers in Spanish-speaking countries as my mission field.”

Each answer comes back to mission work, but I have such a hard time committing to the wholehearted pursuit of it because I was told time after time I will never make any money, my ethnic and religious affiliation makes me a target in those countries, and I need to have a degree to fall back on in case I ever want a “real job”.

When I say it out loud, and read it even know, I recognize how ridiculous it sounds; yet, the sad truth is, I know I am not the only person hindered from pursuing missions because of these words spoken to us.

As followers of Christ, we are each called to go forth from our comfort zones and cast aside the worries and treasures stored up on this earth to spread the joyous news of the Gospel. We are called to love one another genuinely and deeply, as Christ loves us, and place complete trust in His steadfast comfort and goodness when stepping out of our comfort zones.

This is so, so very hard to do, though, when our parents, friends, relatives, classmates, teachers, etc. encourage us to follow the desires of our hearts in terms of a career, as long as it leads us to our culture's definition of “success”.

I know I have been so apprehensive to completely trust God will provide for me in my pursuit of mission work because I not only have my own internal doubt, but I also have the external doubt being spoken over me constantly.

(Even now, in fundraising for a short-term trip, for every “God will provide if this is His plan for you” I hear, there are two “Wow, $3,000 in five weeks is a lot of money. That’s going to be pretty hard to do”.)

We have doubt and speculation of our God circulating in every word, every movement; I can only imagine the doubt spoken to those who pursue this as a lifetime career.

If you feel called to the mission field, even if you feel only a tug on your heart at the mention of a country or trip, do not be persuaded by the world around you. You serve a supernatural, omnipotent God who is not confined by the limitations of this world, so why worry about what He has complete sovereignty over?

I know the struggle between following your heart and passion and following the “fool-proof plan to success” life offers us in educational institutions and career-exploration services. You may not feel sufficiently equipped financially, educationally, emotionally, physically, or in any other form, but remember...

God does not call the equipped, but rather, He equips the called.

He will provide for you in any area(s) you lack because you chose to follow Him, regardless of what you sacrifice in this life on earth.