You Get to Tell Them

Mission Service Opportunities

You get to tell them the Good News


Types of Missionary Service

  •  Career Missionary (5 years or more)
  • Length of service: Career missionary service is intended to last no less than five years.

    Financing: Missionaries work in partnership with the LCMS to establish and sustain a dynamic network of support.

    Candidate consideration process: This process helps LCMS congregation members assess their capacity to serve. If they are suited for missionary service, it connects them to missionary service opportunities.

    Connect: Complete and submit a missionary service inquiry form to start the missionary candidate consideration process. You may download the inquiry form below.

      Download information sheet

    View open positions

    Questions? Email sandy.kohlmeier@lcms.org or call 888-843-5267 (THE-LCMS).


  •  GEO Missionary (24-plus months)
  • GEO missionaries are Globally Engaged in Outreach with an initial commitment of 24-plus months of service.

    Financing: Missionaries work in partnership with the LCMS to establish and sustain a dynamic network of support.

    Candidate consideration process: This process helps LCMS congregation members assess their capacity to serve. If they are suited for missionary service, it connects them to missionary service opportunities.

    Connect: Complete and submit a missionary service inquiry form to start the missionary candidate consideration process. You may download the inquiry form below.

      Download information sheet

    View open positions

    Questions? Email sandy.kohlmeier@lcms.org or call 888-843-5267 (THE-LCMS).


  •  Short-term Volunteer Missionary (1 week – 6 months)
  • Short-term missionaries are needed to serve alongside missionaries and partner churches for one week to six months.

    Short-term missionaries serve in various and important roles in His harvest field. Short-term missionaries have served as pastors, nurses, doctors, teachers, business managers, camp counselors, and in many other crucial positions.

    As a short-term missionary, you will have an excellent opportunity to build lasting relationships, use your God-given gifts to His service, experience church and life in another culture, and become a beacon of light in a dark world.

    Length of service: Typically one week to six months.

    Cost/finances: Vary. Short-term missionaries are responsible for all travel and coordination costs. In some cases, short-term missionaries may be responsible for project costs.

    Placement process: Application, references, pastoral recommendation, and placement interview with LCMS staff.

    Serve now:



  •  Short-term Teams (1-2 weeks)
  • Short-term teams can have three to more than 20 people who serve alongside LCMS missionaries and Lutheran partners to proclaim Christ for one to two weeks. Teams can be formed by congregations, families, friends, small groups, etc.

    Length of service: Typically one to two weeks. Take a moment to browse through the opportunity database.

    Cost/finances: Vary on each trip. Teams are responsible for all travel and coordination costs. In some cases, teams may be responsible for any project costs. Download the Team support-raising manual for more information.

    Placement process:

    • Team online application (for team leader),
    • placement consultation, and
    • pastoral recommendation.

    Application form & manuals

    To start the process please complete the online application form.

    Team online application (for team leader) Download team leader manual Download team support-raising manual

    Short-term mission team video training

    This training is an important step in this journey. It will provide answers about what to expect and tools for your success. It will also allow you to meet and work with your team before you travel, live, and work together. This is an important step in building a strong, effective team.

    The training is divided into seven sections. Sections one through six are designed to be completed before the team departs for the field, and the seventh section to be completed after the team returns. The team leader can lead the team through the training or select a person from the team to act as the training facilitator.

    View training videos




Who is a missionary?

The key is that missionaries are sent by the Lord through the mediation of His Church. While the names and position titles have changed over the years, this is how the church has always done mission, even back to the time of the Apostles when Saint Paul first brought along Luke as a physician. A missionary for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod is a person called, that is, ordained or commissioned, or appointed (medical personnel, business, administrative, or other worker) by the appropriate sending agency (the Board for International Mission) who is sent to bear WITNESS (Martyria) to the Gospel of Jesus, to show MERCY (Diakonia), or to support those who do as we have a LIFE TOGETHER (koinonia).

 

What do missionaries do?

Learn more



  Know Before You Go

Whether you plan to travel as a congregation, with an organization or as an individual, here are some basic safety principles to keep in mind as you prepare.

Download Safety Tips

  Other Resources

Resources are available to assist you as you learn about, plan for and recruit for your own short-term mission trip

See Resources

 


 

Experience what your missionaries are doing

Sharing God’s Word in Santo Domingo and Beyond

Behind the Rev. Joel Fritsche stands a network of supporters who have partnered in the work in the Dominican Republic.

Read Story
Story: Sarah Kanoy

Paving the Way with Mercy in Rural Kenya

Twelve members of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod travel across the world to serve people in rural Kenya.

Read Story


Support the Mission

 

 

Search for Opportunities

Browse through the mission
service opportunity database.

Search

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The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Inc., including Mission Central (in Mapleton, Iowa), is an IRS registered 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charity.

A contribution designated (restricted) for a specific purpose, when accepted, will be used only to fund expenses related to that purpose. Occasionally, we may receive more in contributions for a particular purpose than can be wisely applied to it in the foreseeable future or the purpose may cease to be feasible. In these situations, the LCMS will make reasonable attempts to contact contributors to apply their contribution toward another aspect of ministry that aligns closely the contributor’s goals and values. If a contributor cannot be contacted, the LCMS will use the gift to meet a similar pressing need that most closely matches the contributor's original intent.

Consistent with Synod Board policy and in recognition of a more challenging economic and philanthropic/fundraising environment due to inflationary pressure, not more than 12.5 percent of any charitable contribution will be allocated to administering gifts and communicating with contributors (compared to a not-more-than ceiling of 10.5 percent the previous fiscal year). Contributions received and accepted by the LCMS are deemed to be in agreement with this statement.

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