Should I Stay or Should I Go?
A brother in Christ, veteran missionary, astute theologian, missions leader, and professor once gave me these guidelines as I wrestled with going to the mission field, or staying, and then getting another degree here to be more prepared there, etc...I think all those with a call to missions and desire to be as equipped as possible could find this very helpful as you think about if, how, when, and where to go.
Here are some general principles that I have found both sound and useful:
1. If God has given you a heart for unreached peoples, your default should be to take the gospel to them unless He clearly tells you otherwise. Others will line up to take pastoral positions here in the US. Too few are lining up to take the gospel to the unreached.
2. Your educational efforts should be in support of your ministry. Only pursue a further degree if it equips you better to fulfill your calling.
3. The earlier you move overseas, the easier it will be on your children. However, if your kids are already teenagers, you probably want to wait until they leave home before moving cross-culturally. Teenage kids generally have too much else going on in their lives to handle a cross-cultural move very well.
4. You should not pursue academic studies for the first couple of years you are overseas. You need to concentrate on learning the language and loving your family through the transition.
