Basic Qualifications for Missions

Basic career missions info for . . .

High School Students | College Students | Seminary Students

Explore Your Personal Call to Missions

I Know God is Leading Me to Be a Career Missionary, so . . .

•  What University Should I Attend?

•  What Should I Major In?

•  Do I Have to Go to seminary?

•  Listing of all Baptist Colleges and Universities

•  *Online programs at Baptist Colleges and Universities

I Don't Want to be a Preacher - What Else Can I Do as a Career Missionary?

Are you Ready to be a Missionary?

•  Take this self-assessment

•  Qualifications for career missions

•  More FAQs about becoming a Career Missionary

High School and College Students

If you are a college student or younger and you sense the Lord leading you to be a career missionary, stay in touch with the Student Mobilization Team . It's not time yet to begin the steps toward becoming a career missionary, but the Student Team will mentor you in the early stages of that process before you begin the formal application.

First, sign up to be mentored toward a career in missions with the Missions Prep Network at www.answerthecall.net/mpn. MPN provides opportunities to be mentored by missionaries and mission staff from the International Mission Board or the North American Mission Board.

Members are also invited to MPN Mission Lab which provides a snapshot of what missions looks like plus hands-on experience  in various types of mission work to expand your understanding of missions. Mission Lab will also give you the opportunity to meet other students, just like you, who are answering the call to ministry or missions.

Second, get as much information as you can about what God is doing around the world. Sign up for the free eNewsletters, "thE-TASK," from the IMB Student Mobilization Team and "Trail Notes" from the North American Mission Board.

Third, get some ministry and mission experience. Be an intern with your church staff. Find a ministry project in your community that you can participate in each week or each month, even if you're the only person in your high school doing that ministry. Some ideas are

• Working with Habitat for Humanity
• Serving at a soup kitchen
• Volunteering at a homeless shelter
• Working in an apartment or trailer park ministry
• Volunteering at a retirement center or care center for elderly adults

Go outside your community with your youth group on mission for a week or two and then take a summer to be a summer missionary in another state or another country. You can find projects online for student missions!

• International missions for high school students
• International missions for college and seminary students
• North American missions for high school, college, or seminary students

The more personal experience you have with missions and ministry, the better prepared you will be for career missions in the future.

Talk with as many missionaries as you can to find out about their call, experiences, victories and failures on the field, how they learned language, and how they would prepare for missions knowing what they know now from experience on the mission field. The more information you can get from missionaries, the better prepared you will be. Remember, the Bible tells us that there is wisdom in godly counsel. Find as many godly counselors as you can and pick their brains! Each person has a unique experience with God and on the mission field and they all have a story to tell that can possibly benefit your future.

Seminary Students

If you are a seminary student call the Initial Contacts office of the International Mission Board at 1-800-999-3113 to find out when the Candidate Consultant assigned to your seminary will be on campus next. You will need to attend a "Going" conference as the first step in the process and your Candidate Consultant will help you with the next steps from there.