Unqualified: Six Reasons Why I Shouldn’t Be Going on Missions (But Will Anyway)

In less than 25 hours, I will be in Santa Clara, Cuba. Yikes.

On that note, there’s one thing I need to make clear here and now: This wasn’t my idea.

This Wasn’t My Idea

Cue me, approximately one year ago. It was only my second year at Ferris State University and already I had started settling. The girl who had come to college half ready to pack up and go back home (yet in the same breath half ready to jump on a plane back to Guatemala) had gotten comfortable.

I was so happy with my own little linear plan for my life: degree, career, apartment, marriage, kids, house, retirement, death—all in West Michigan with a side of Jesus, please. It looked safe and nice in theory, but as I grew more and more accustomed to it, my fire for God began to dim. And as it dimmed, missions naturally took a back burner.

One Tuesday around that time, I heard a sermon at Real Life (the campus ministry I attend at Ferris) on the topic of missions. After the message, a friend asked me if we could go on a mission trip together in 2017—just something small, safe, and stateside. I agreed, albeit a little bit reluctantly. It seemed so far away anyway. While it wasn’t my idea, I was okay with it.

Shortly after, my mentor spent a week in Cuba. When she returned, she began to talk about taking a team of students.  She also gave me a copy of Radical, by David Platt.

My heart broke open and the fire was ignited once again. We are called to GO.

Fall came. More talk of Cuba. When I was asked how interested I would be in going on a scale of 1–10, I said “10. Actually, it’s more like 10,000.” The friend I planned to go with backed out, but it didn’t matter to me who went with. Cuba was where the Holy Spirit was leading me. And so, that was where I would follow. I couldn’t help it. This idea was His.

Six Reasons Not To Go

The decision to say yes took a significant amount of prompting from God. The following “reasons” are some of the major obstacles I needed to work through to get from a 0 to a 10,000.

1. I’m not an evangelist.

Some people have the gift of evangelism. I am not one of those people. But I do know that the same Jesus who is sending me out said this to His disciples “Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near” (Matthew 10:7). The chances that each and every one of these 12 (unskilled) young men all had a stellar natural ability to share the Gospel is very, very slim. Yet, Jesus still sent them. And he sent them out with the promise that the Holy Spirit would help them and speak through them (Matthew 10:20).

I don’t need to be a gifted evangelist, just a child of God willing to talk about my Father. 

2. I’m not a theologian.

I’ve never taken a theology class. When someone brings up Calvinists and Armenians, I generally turn the other way because I (still) don’t really understand the differences. I don’t know everything about the Bible. However, the cool thing is, not knowing everything can be more of an asset than anything.

Look at what Paul wrote: “When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:1–5).

Theology is simply the study of God. If you know God personally, you are more than capable of introducing Him to others. You never need to come with all of the answers.

I don’t need to be a theologian.

3. I don’t want to leave home.

Hello, inconvenience. Hello, airport security. Hello, crying because I miss my family. Hello, there go my vacation days. It can all seem like too much.

That is, until we put it into perspective and remember that even if we are in our house, surrounded by all of our family, we are not home. I repeat: you are not home right now, no matter how at home you feel. The Bible calls us “temporary residents and foreigners” (1 Peter 2:11) because “our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20).

I love my family. I love my friends. I love Rockford and Big Rapids. I love America and Ferris State University. But all of that combined cannot compare to how much I love Christ. And, out of my love for Him, my desire to obey Him is beginning to surpass my desire to be comfortable.

When we say we don’t want to leave “home”, what we’re really expressing is a desire to remain where we are comfortable, doing the things we are comfortable with doing.

This world is not my home.

If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.

Matthew 10:39

4. It’s too expensive.

This one leans on personal testimony a little bit. I have witnessed God provide. One great way many Christ-followers participate in missions during times when they are unable to go personally is by supporting those who can go and are going. If God truly desires for it to happen, it will. Support raising takes effort, but is not impossible.

When Jesus sent out the 12 disciples, He asked them to do something astonishing. “Don’t take any money in your money belts—no gold, silver, or even copper coins,” He said. “Don’t carry a traveler’s bag with a change of clothes and sandals or even a walking stick. Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve to be fed.” He sent them out with nothing, for He knew whose care they were under.

God will provide.

5. I can’t really make a difference.

This is the enemy’s feeble attempt to convince me that I am nothing and that God cannot use me. This goes much deeper than #1 not being an evangelist and #2 not being a theologian.

While I could—and often do—debate myself for hours over this, today a simple quote from Jesus will suffice. In John 14:12–14, He says “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!“

I really can make a difference because I have the Holy Spirit inside of me. 

6. I’m afraid.

Here is what it all comes down to. I struggle here. And if I’m being honest, everything on this list is just fear trying to win me over. A thousand “what if scenarios” come to mind because there are infinite things that could go wrong.

Yes, anything could happen. But here is what brings me peace: nothing can happen outside of the will of God. And God loves me as His child. He made me for a purpose. He does not delight in tormenting me or making my life a challenge, but in giving me His best and drawing me to Himself.

Jesus, after acknowledging that the 12 disciples were being sent out “as sheep among wolves” (Matthew 10:16), assured them that they had no reason to worry or fear.  “What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows” (Matthew 10:29–31).

He did not promise everything would be easy—and it likely won’t. He did not promise everything would be comfortable—and it certainly won’t. But He did paint a picture of our Father’s love for us that we can find peace in.

Even though I might feel afraid, I have nothing to fear. 

“Sometimes fear does not subside and one must choose to do it afraid.”

Elisabeth Elliot

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If you are interested in missions, drop me a line via the “Contact” tab or say so in the comments below. I would love to answer your questions and assist you in praying about your decision to GO.