{"id":710,"date":"2015-11-07T09:00:54","date_gmt":"2015-11-07T14:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/missions\/?p=710"},"modified":"2015-10-14T20:03:37","modified_gmt":"2015-10-15T00:03:37","slug":"missionary-retention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/missions\/missionary-retention\/","title":{"rendered":"Missionary Retention"},"content":{"rendered":"

If attrition is one side of a coin, retention is the other side. \u00a0Retention is more than reasons people don’t leave. \u00a0When we talk about missionary retention, we are talking about the positive reasons that keep missionaries in their jobs.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Engage! study, was conducted to follow up on what was learned in the U.S. sections of ReMAP II study (Nelson 2010, 1).\u00a0 \u201cNearly 1,800 active and former staff, representing eighteen sending agencies, have participated in Engage!\u201d (Nelson 2010, 1), which focused on missionary retention. \u00a0That represents a significant group within the missionary community.<\/span><\/p>\n

The study identified several key influences that encourage continued service (Nelson 2010, 3-4): <\/span><\/p>\n

(1)<\/strong> A\u00a0continued sense of calling<\/a>:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>Sometimes with the pressures of ministry and life, missionaries become overwhelmed. \u00a0They begin to question their calling and purpose. \u00a0After all, most of us have chosen the easier path of serving God in our home culture near family and comfort, so wouldn’t it be alright\u00a0for a missionary to do that? \u00a0The rest of us can help the missionaries keep their focus and assurance of their calling by encouraging them through prayer and communication. \u00a0We can follow them on social media, subscribe to their blogs and email occasionally to tell them how we prayed for them. \u00a0Let’s encourage our missionaries to keep on keeping onl. (2 Thess 2:13-15<\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n

(2) An awareness on the part of leadership of missionaries\u2019 needs:<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0Our leadership team at Faith Global Missions<\/a> strives to\u00a0maintain an awareness of our missionaries’ needs. \u00a0Likewise, as church leaders we should be aware of the needs of our missionaries, both personal and ministry. \u00a0Let’s be so well connected to our missionaries and so aware of their needs that they would not consider doing something else. \u00a0(Rom 12:9-13<\/a>; 2 Cor 9:10-15<\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n

(3) Financial provision: <\/strong><\/span>\u00a0Many American companies have learned that it is less costly to pay good people well than it is to try to replace people who are underpaid. \u00a0Think of how much more likely you are to stay in a position of employment if you don’t have to worry about the grocery money next week. \u00a0We often collect nice salaries and benefits for a good 40 hour a week job in the U.S. and expect missionaries to work twice the hours for much less\u00a0pay. \u00a0We should be generous<\/a> with those serving in ministry. \u00a0Let’s make sure our missionaries are well cared for financially so they don’t think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. (Phil 4:15-19<\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n

(4) a sense of personal usefulness:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0It’s hard to stick around if you don’t feel useful. \u00a0Let’s encourage our missionaries by praising their efforts and their faithfulness. \u00a0I’m not saying we should paint a false picture or ignore problems, but some\u00a0of us could use more practice encouraging others rather than criticizing them. \u00a0(Phil 2:25<\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n

William\u00a0Taylor suggested the leading causes of\u00a0 \u201cpreventable\u201d attrition, \u201c\u2026have to do primarily with character and relationships\u201d (Taylor 1997, 13), so character and attitude must be a main point of focus in missionary preparation. \u00a0These same factors are positive influences for retention.\u00a0 Spiritual formation and interpersonal skills are of primary importance for missionary retention and their lack promotes attrition. Spiritual character is what ultimately determines if a missionary maintains a sense of his or her calling. Spiritual character is what ultimately determines if a missionary remains faithful even when others are unaware of his or her needs. \u00a0 Spiritual character is what ultimately determines if a missionary is content with the financial provisions God has granted in His grace. \u00a0 Spiritual character is what ultimately determines if a missionary is what determines a missionary’s true sense of usefulness. (Rom 8:26-39<\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n

References<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Nelson, James. 2010. \u201cThe Engage! Study executive summary.\u201d EMQOnline<\/em> 46 (July): 1\u20138. Accessed August 4, 2013. http:\/\/www.emisdirect.com.<\/span><\/p>\n

Taylor, William David. ed. 1997. Too valuable to lose\u202f: exploring the causes and cures of missionary attrition<\/em>. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library.v<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If attrition is one side of a coin, retention is the other side. \u00a0Retention is more than reasons people don’t leave. \u00a0When we talk about missionary retention, we are talking about the positive reasons that keep missionaries in their jobs. The Engage! study, was conducted to follow up on what was learned in the U.S…. read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[21098,13262,21102,13263],"tags":[21106,21101,21099],"yoast_head":"\nMissionary Retention - Faith Global Missions Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/missions\/missionary-retention\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Missionary Retention - Faith Global Missions Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If attrition is one side of a coin, retention is the other side. \u00a0Retention is more than reasons people don’t leave. \u00a0When we talk about missionary retention, we are talking about the positive reasons that keep missionaries in their jobs. 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