“RP Global Missions isn’t good at missionary care.” These were the words of a member of the RPCNA who had spent time as a missionary with another missions agency. I had recently started my role as executive director of RP Global Missions, and those words hit me like a ton of bricks. What could I do in my new role to change this reality? What does good missionary care even look like?

Five years later, it feels like the board and I are still trying to answer these questions. But we are seeking to change and improve, and we have come a long way. Today, I want to invite you to grow with us in this area of missionary care by outlining some ways you can help care for our global laborers.

Pray and Give

These are the two areas most people think of when it comes to supporting the work of missions. They are so obvious I almost didn’t mention them. But they are obvious because they are so important.

“I felt your prayers” always seemed like something missionaries said because it was the thing to say. Then I became a missionary. I got to experience the support that one almost tangibly feels from the prayers of distant saints in the midst of spiritual warfare when there are so few believers physically present. I felt the prayers spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and even physically spurring me on during times of difficulty. God uses your prayers to uphold others. To underestimate the importance of prayer in a conversation about missionary care would be a serious error. Practically speaking, sign up for those prayer lists and read the prayer updates. When you see the missionaries or write to them, ask them about specific situations and people you were praying for.

When it comes to giving, funding is necessary to supply our field workers with the resources they need to live, do their work, and get the rest that is so needed in cross-cultural ministry. It also makes support positions possible. I always tell people that one of the four quadrants of my job is missionary care. Therefore, funding makes missionary care possible from many different facets.

Write to Them—With No Strings Attached

“Like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country” (Prov. 25:25).

Few Bible verses become more vividly applicable to an overseas laborer than Proverbs 25:25. If you are able to write handwritten letters to missionaries and those working in our churches abroad, those letters will be cherished. If they are in a place where it is difficult to send posted mail, send them email. Either way, write to them, even if it is just to let them know you are praying. (Hint: be specific about what you are praying.) Getting that communication lets them know they aren’t for-gotten but are cared for. That means more than most can imagine.

Also, try to think about other things to share with them. For instance, if they are in a remote place and you enjoy keeping up with the news, offer to send them regular recaps of what is going on in the world. If you are up on things happening in their home congregation, presbytery, or denomination, offer to send regular updates to keep them in the loop on things and people they care about. Sometimes the everyday stuff that seems mundane to us is refreshing to them because their life is filled with the “other” and “unfamiliar,” which can be wearisome.

Here’s the catch: writing back might be challenging for them. Missionaries and other global workers often have to deal with poor internet connections and limited electricity—making digital communication a challenge. Access to postal services may also be limited. Add all of that to the fact that working and living in a different culture and language is exhausting. When they finally have a bit of extra time, for some, the last thing they want to do is come up with more words.

When you write to them, do so with no strings attached. They might write back and be eager to have that mutual connection with you. But they might not. Be okay with either outcome and don’t let that dissuade you from writing to them again and again. Whether or not they write back, your words will be a profound encouragement to them.

Remember Special Days

Missionaries are typically really good at finding creative ways to make special days extra special, combining old traditions with new ones and using the resources and supplies available to them. But those days are even more special when others remember them and find creative ways to celebrate with them.

Sometimes, due to the distance, this might take advance planning to account for mail delivery across many miles. Find out in advance if packages are easily received. Sometimes the effort to get packages and the cost of tariffs makes packages more of a hassle than a joy. If this is the case, get creative with what you can put in a normal envelope—stickers, pictures, paintings, small foldable banners, bookmarks, extra fun cards, jewelry, magnets—you get the idea.

If you are able to have a party with them over a video call, this can be a great way to celebrate with them. Maybe you know of someone who will be visiting them in the near future, so that person can bring carefully selected gifts with them when they go. Or, if you don’t have a gift courier going to visit them, you can have everyone contribute to a cash gift to deposit in their account by their Pow-er of Attorney.

If you know them well, don’t forget the difficult days—e.g., anniversaries of the loss of close family members. Again, simply the act of remembering means so much to these ones who often feel so isolated and disconnected from their community.

Visit Them

In some fields, visiting is a challenge. And as noted previously, our field workers are very busy and might not have a lot of time to entertain visitors. But if you are able, have the time and money to do so, and have an invitation from the missionaries, go.

Visits do more than give you a chance to see the missionaries and where they work. It gives you the opportunity to lend a hand in an often-understaffed situation. And, maybe most importantly of all, it equips you to serve them and their work in new ways. Those who have “been there” better understand how to pray, encourage, communicate about the work, mobilize others, and care for the missionaries when they are on furlough.

Offer Practical Help

Do you know how to navigate the maze of the insurance industry? Are you a practiced bargain hunter? Are you a CPA or a financial advisor? Do you have extra storage space? There are many ways that you can offer practical assistance to those working and living abroad. Areas of life that are burdensome, frustrating, worrisome, and distracting in the best of situations are exponentially more difficult to muddle through when you add the many hurdles missionaries face.

And, when they come back to their passport country for furlough, there are many ways you can help, like offering housing and vehicle options, babysitting, buying groceries prior to their arrival, giving them gift cards to their favorite restaurants and coffee shops, taking them shopping for clothes so they can have an updated wardrobe, and so on.

Treat Them Like Honored Friends, Not ‘Those Missionaries’

Friends of mine told me a story from many years ago when they were missionaries and about to have a baby. Some women from their church spent a good amount of money to mail them a package of things for the new baby. They were touched and excited when they received the box in the mail. When they opened the box, what they found left lasting scars rather than increased joy.

The box was full of very obviously used clothes and toys. There was not one new item in the whole package. They had nothing against used clothes and toys, but what hurt was the fact that this same group of women threw baby showers for expectant mothers at their church. Those mothers would be showered with newly purchased items that everyone would ooh and ahh about as they opened the gifts one by one. But for the missionary family, they sent a box full of used clothes.

As you think about ways to care for these global laborers, remember to think of them as friends, family, and honored servants of God. How would you honor your loved ones? Would you send them your leftovers or would you think of ways to celebrate special occasions with carefully selected gifts? Would you ever think of sending your sister used tea bags (a story another missionary told me) or would you stock up on her favorite tea when it went on sale?

The Moral? Be Intentional

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace…in order that in everything God may be glorified through Christ Jesus. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Pet. 4:10–11).

Not everyone can or should do all of the above. But everyone can and should do something. However God has equipped you to love, encourage, and care for those laboring overseas, do so thoughtfully. Honor them well. Let them know through your words and actions that they are not an afterthought but that you intentionally think of them.

In short, as we labor together to care for our missionaries and other overseas kingdom workers, may the Reformed Presbyterian Church become known as a denomination that does missionary care with excellence. Not only is it good and right to do so, but these acts of service become external declarations about God’s glory.

Allow me to encourage you to make a plan to care for someone you know working overseas for Christ’s kingdom. Put it on your calendar. Start setting aside funds. Include others. Set reminders. Take time to think about meaningful and creative ways to do so.