What is a Missionary?

When I was sixteen, I went on a short-term mission trip to Guatemala with my church. At the time, I was prayerfully discerning whether God was calling me to long-term missionary service. During that trip, I observed the life and ministry of a faithful missionary family, and I became even more confident that God was leading me in that direction.

On the plane ride home from that trip, one of my friends handed me a book she had just finished reading. It was the story of a young girl who, fresh out of high school, stepped out in faith to be a missionary to Africa. Knowing that I had expressed a similar calling, she encouraged me to read that book and any other missionary stories I could get my hands on. I followed her counsel and quickly became even more enthralled with the lofty next steps these memoirs seemed to be inviting me into. Story after story seemed to confirm the same truth—a life of missionary service would be challenging, excruciatingly so at times due to the brokenness of this world, and it would be compelling, simply because Jesus is sufficient and faithful.

Walking away from those stories, I looked to these men and women in the history of missions as spiritual heroes for my personal journey toward obedience. But if those missionaries were to tell their own tales, I am confident that they would have said, “I’m not a hero; I’m just a servant. The hero of this story, and every story worth telling, is Jesus. He is the one who does the work; I just get to watch.” [1]

Just two years later and fresh out of high school, my walk with Jesus led me to live in one of the most densely populated cities in South Asia. There was so much of me that wanted to grow up into the picture of a missionary hero I had in my mind, but it was there, on those busy, crowded streets that Jesus met me, humbled me, and began to dismantle my romanticized understanding of missionary identity. Since then, I have sought to understand more carefully what Scripture teaches about missions and missionaries, both for my own obedience and for anyone the Lord may call through my influence.

Missionary Foundations

Any biblically faithful definition of a missionary must begin with God Himself. The foundation of mission was not birthed out of human sincerity, success stories, or strategy but from the very heart of God.  As Christopher Wright observes, “Mission was not made for the church; the church was made for mission—God’s mission.” [2]

Therefore, to understand the identity of a missionary, one must first understand the missionary God. From Genesis to Revelation, God is the One who sends, pursues, and redeems. His redemptive purposes are global in scope, and though He is sufficient, He chooses to use broken people time and time again to put His heart for all nations on display.

It is God’s desire that all believers be conformed to the image of Christ—to share in and identify personally with His heart. So, in the Great Commission, Jesus invites all believers to be active participants with Him in His mission. Thus, joining God in His mission to form “one people from all peoples for His glory and worship” is the shared responsibility of the entire church, and it is a way that God’s people can grow together to be more like Him. [3]

Missionary Distinctions

At the same time, Scripture does distinguish between the general command for all believers to make disciples of all nations and the particular calling of those who are set apart and sent out for specific missional assignments. To be clear, this distinction is not to be found in one’s obedience—again, we all share the same invitation to join God in what He is doing in the world; rather, it is in the “role through which we obey”. [4]

Biblical Definitions

Although the modern term “missionary” does not appear in Scripture, the concept of this distinct role is established in the Bible’s language. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew verb “shalach”, meaning “to send”, is used regularly to describe the act of God to send servants and prophets such as Moses or Isaiah to speak on His behalf. [5] (Exodus 3:10, Isaiah 6:8, 61:1)

In the same way, according to His sovereign plan, God sent Joseph to Egypt (Gen 45:5-8), Daniel to Babylon (Daniel 1:2), and Jonah to Ninevah (Jonah 1:1-2). The purpose of these events was to make God’s name great among the nations by offering them a chance to see His glory, repent, and worship Him as the one true God.

Similarly, in the New Testament, the Greek word “apostolos” meaning “sent one” or “messenger” is used in three main ways. [6] First, it is used to identify the “Twelve” disciples and the unique role they played in the early church after having been called to follow Jesus as His primary eyewitnesses. Secondly, it is used to describe several other foundational leaders who served, alongside the Twelve, to lay the doctrinal foundations of the early church authoritatively. The authority of these Apostles came directly from Jesus as they were likewise “eyewitnesses of his majesty” and were explicitly commissioned by Jesus for their service. [7] (Acts 9:15-16, 2 Peter 1:16) The Apostle Paul was the final recipient of this particular title, and when defending his own “Apostleship”, he lists only one distinct marker: suffering. [8] (2 Corinthians 11:16-33)

Finally, ‘apostolos” is used literally as “one who is sent” from specific churches for a particular task.[9] The Biblical pattern for the task of these messengers was that of carrying the good news to unreached peoples and places, to the end that self-sustaining and maturing communities of believers would be established among them. [10]

Biblical Examples

The following examples, including the functional missionary work of the Apostle Paul, provide clear biblical pictures of such apostolic missionary identity: Barnabas, in Acts 13 and 14, was commissioned for catalytic gospel work alongside Paul as a “sent one” of the church in Antioch, with John Mark joining them for a season. (Acts 14:14, 15:37-38) Likewise, Silas was sent out by the church in Jerusalem to serve alongside Paul as they established and strengthened new Christian communities. (Acts 15–18; 1 Thess. 2:6) In a similar sense, Timothy was sent on multiple occasions to teach, shepherd, and develop more faithful leaders in the established churches. (1 Thess. 2:6; 1 Cor. 4:17)

There are more who could be named here, but again, the pattern they reinforce about the distinct role of a missionary is clear: they are set apart by God and sent by the local church to grow the gospel’s footprint with humility, boldness, cooperation, and through persecution, suffering, and service.

The Task of a Missionary

These “sent ones” modeled, imperfectly yet faithfully, for the churches what it looked like to love God with their whole heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love their neighbor as themselves. They lived out what it means to make and multiply disciples in their day-to-day life. They also invited the churches to join them in their efforts to spread the gospel far and wide until there was no place left. (Romans 15:23)

At the same time, it is clear that these “sent ones” were distinctly compelled to flesh out these areas of obedience in catalytic roles which involved crossing geographic, cultural, or linguistic barriers, proclaiming the gospel where Christ had not yet been named (Romans 15:20), discipling those who came to faith from the harvest, establishing new churches, strengthening and mobilizing existing churches, developing mature, healthy leaders, and eventually exiting to begin new work in new places. [11]

To further exemplify all of this, we know that the Apostle Paul was saved and simultaneously set apart by God to take the gospel to the Gentiles in Acts 9, but it was not until Acts 13 (conservatively, 14 years later!) that He was commissioned for his first missionary assignment.

Ekhard Schnabel provides a helpful timeline [12] to better capture this idea in his book, Paul the Missionary: 

• AD 31/32 – Paul’s Conversion (Acts 9): Paul encounters Christ on the road to Damascus.
• AD 32–35 – Paul in Arabia & Damascus: Immediately after his call, Paul spends three years in Arabia and Damascus (Galatians 1:17–18).
• AD 35 – Paul’s First Jerusalem Visit: Paul meets Peter and James for 15 days (Acts 9:26–29).
• AD 35–43 – Paul in Tarsus, Syria, and Cilicia: Paul returns to his home region. This is the longest “silent” stretch, lasting roughly 8–10 years, where he was actively preaching but had not yet begun his international travels.
• AD 43–46 – Paul in Antioch: Barnabas recruits Paul to help lead the church in Antioch (Acts 11:25–26).
• AD 46/47 – Paul’s Commissioning (Acts 13): The Holy Spirit sets apart Paul and Barnabas for the First Missionary Journey.

Additionally, we know that even after his commissioning, Paul was a tentmaker by trade. [13] Scripture is clear that, in certain places and at strategic times, he worked for his wages rather than living off of what was provided from the generosity of the churches. (Acts 18: 1-3; 1 Thessalonians 2:9) At other times, we see him relying solely on their generosity for his life and ministry. (Phil 4:15; 2 Cor 11:9)

We also see evidenced in Paul’s missionary journeys, and the epistles written thereafter, that certain people were commissioned to team with him for particular seasons. They served to strengthen the churches that were planted, and they provided support to the broader band of those who had been sent through their skills and leadership. [14] (Acts 16:10; Ephesians 6:21; Colossians 4:7-9).

With all of this in mind, we can conclude from the Scriptures that the role of a missionary is not defined by nationality, personality, professional title, means of funding, length of service, or the location of their assignment, but by the calling of God and the commissioning of the church.

Practical Implications

Today, depending on the culture and season you find yourself in, this catalytic role can function, by necessity, as a full-time career or in a bi-vocational capacity. Also, there are ample opportunities to join the work for a season to further extend the reach of missionary teams around the world and to explore whether or not God is directing you toward similar long-term service.

Either way, there remains a vital need for individuals from all nations who are set apart by God and released by their churches to engage in the missionary task, particularly among peoples and places still lacking in access to the gospel. However, prayerfully discerning such a role can feel overwhelming for some.

I believe Scripture is clear that the invitation to take up this life of sojourning for the gospel is sensed most palpably when one is abiding in Christ through His Word, encountering His heart for the nations locally and globally, participating actively in the local church, sharing the gospel and making disciples wherever you are, praying for the nations near and far, and through other spiritual disciplines such as fasting and worship. These are ways in which all believers can grow to understand and share God’s missionary heart. Out of this, God brings clarity through His Spirit regarding the roles we each get to play to “proclaim the excellencies of Him who called [us] out of darkness into his marvelous light”. (1Peter 2:9)

Read more on the Missionary calling in Rachel’s new book: Live Sent: Discerning Your Role in God’s Kingdom Mission .