So you have this gut feeling that God is leading you overseas. You long to be part of seeing His glory spread across the nations “like the waters spread across the surface of the earth” (Habakkuk 3). Great! But now what? How do you get there?

1. Connection to God

On your journey to the nations, there is nothing more important than having a growing and active relationship with God. Like an electric cord on an appliance that is not plugged into the outlet, you are useless unless you are plugged into your power source — God.

I often meet people who have a great zeal for missions but not for the pursuit of God. They are excited about serving overseas, but their personal practice of the spiritual disciplines and pursuit of God is lacking, or non-existent.

How to develop your connection to God:

• Spend personal time in His Word. Learn this discipline and learn it well. Feed yourself by studying God’s Word, listening to podcasts, and reading books. You may someday live in an area without easy access to biblical teaching and you’ll need God’s Word hidden in your heart.
• Spend personal time in prayer. Know the voice of your Master. Your ability to hear the Shepherd’s voice and follow it above all other voices is vital to overcoming distraction and good intentions.

2. Connection to Your Church

If you are not plugged into a solid church that’s committed to sending people to the nations, then find one! You are going to need a community of believers around you — now and later. There is no room for lone rangers when it comes to being effective long term overseas.

How to develop your connection to your church:

• Invite the leadership to speak into your decision to serve cross-culturally, and learn to submit to their authority. They are there to equip you, affirm you in God’s leading, provide guidance when questions arrive, and help put the brakes on if necessary.
• Begin with service. Learn to serve on your own turf before facing the challenges of living cross-culturally. This provides an avenue in which to develop your gifts and prove yourself.  No one knows you better when it comes to ministry than your fellow believers.

3. Connection to a Mobilizer

Missiologist Ralph Winter said, “One out of 100 who decide to serve cross-culturally make it to the field.” Why? Because 99 of them didn’t have a mobilizer.

How developing a relationship with a mobilizer can help you:

• Expertise | Many mobilizers are former missionaries themselves and bring much wisdom to help you along your journey of getting overseas.
• Exploration | Many mobilizers are well-traveled and have first-hand knowledge of what God is doing around the world and the opportunities that exist.
• Encouragement | Believe it or not, not everyone in your life is going to be excited to see you go overseas. You’re going against the flow of everyday Christianity. There will be obstacles in your life and voices that you respect questioning your commitment to go. (After all, this is spiritual warfare.) Your mobilizer will be your cheerleader, your advisor, and your stay-on-course coach.
• Everyone | As networkers, mobilizers seem to know everyone. If they don’t, they seem to know someone who does. They are great at helping you connect to people who can hasten your journey to the nations.

Mark Silvers served with Crossworld in the Philippines for 10 years and joined the home office staff as Director of Mobilization in 2009. Mark’s driving passion is the goal of reaching the the 2.9 billion people in the world today with no access to the gospel.