Choosing the right mission sending agency to partner with ranks one notch below choosing the right spouse! Seriously, it is really important. The world is a big place, and the task of missions is bigger. Imagine the steps required to arrive at your new little piece of the world and then imagine the steps required to thrive there personally and missionally. For many, taking these steps feels like blindly fumbling along a dark path.

That’s when your mission agency takes your hand and walks you safely through these things:

• Placement options. They will help with where and who the teams are in the region of the world you want to minister. They will also help guide you in what needs to happen to place you certain places in the world.

• Support raising. Your agency will offer coaching and accountability on fund-raising. They will also process all the donations coming in, depositing them in your account and sending the needed tax receipts back to your donors.

• Emergencies. The burden of handling how do respond to unforeseen urgent or tragic events falls on your agency.

• Training and ongoing field coaching. Many agencies have regional conferences to train missionaries on how to deal with specific issues, provide rest, and offer family and child counseling where needed.

Finding the right mission agency comes down to prayer, preference, and asking the right questions. God has a place He wants to use you! As you pray to Him, He will give you the opportunities and relationships you need to discern the path forward.

As far as preferences go, some self-awareness is helpful here. Some who are headed overseas already have a place or people group in mind to which they feel led. Because of this personal priority, these people are content to do whatever job is required to get them there. And their pool of agency options will be limited to those present in that area. That’s ok, though, because they are driven to be in a certain people group or religious group.

Some people who are headed overseas are committed to a certain profession. They’ve studied and pursued a specific career, feeling that God desired to use them in that field. These people will need to choose an agency experienced in employing people in that career.

Still others will prioritize going with certain people. Friends who desire to work together overseas will choose to be a team first with agency, profession, and location taking the back seat. Similarly, students who have served with a campus ministry in college feel comfortable and familiar with a specific group of people and style of ministry and will choose to carry on with that ministry, regardless of where it takes them.

Once you’ve done some searching about what’s important to you, here are some practical steps and helpful questions to assist you in choosing your agency:

First, ask advice from your church and ministry leaders about which agencies to start pursuing. There are hundreds out there working all over the world, and starting with five recommended ones will help you. Then, once narrowed the list to five agencies, create a list of questions to send them, like the following:

• What is your statement of faith?

• What do you require for pre-field training?

• What training and accountability are offered in fund-raising?

• How long have you been a mission agency?

• Do you focus on one specific religion or area?

• Do you allow school debt? If so, how much?

• How do you work in conjugation with the local church?

• What on-field missionary care do you offer?

• Who makes decisions? Individual teams, a regional director or U.S. headquarters? (In other words, what is the leadership structure?)

Questions like these will hopefully narrow you down to your top two or three possible agencies to join. From there, it may come down to chemistry. Continue the conversation, and grow the relationship until it becomes clearer which agency you connect with the most. If you are able, visit their headquarters or visit one of their teams on the field. Choosing the right agency is like choosing the right spouse… so date a couple before you settle down! Ask personal questions to get to know them. Remember that just like a spouse, no one is perfect. You won’t find an agency without some flaws. The important thing is to find one with flaws you can live with. A shared vision, many conversations, compatibility, lots of grace, and chemistry will help you avoid a messy split down the road.

Bottom line: If you want to stay longer and make a lasting impact, the mission agency will be key to your success.