Why Determining the Distinct Characteristics of a Missionary Call Matters for World Christian Leaders Today.
Church leaders who say every Christian is a missionary provide an unhelpful answer to the questions surrounding calling. If that statement were true, why do churches celebrate when someone signs up for a short-term mission trip? Why do agencies exist to mobilize Christians to move their lives to reach the under-reached, unreached, and unengaged people groups to enter, evangelize, plant churches, develop disciples, and leave? Why does the International Mission Board make such a big deal out of their Sending Celebration, publicly commissioning dozens into cross-cultural ministry? Why do churches sacrificially give to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, which promises 100% of every dollar goes to missionaries on the field?
If there's no real difference, why make a distinction?
The phrase “every Christian is a missionary” pervades the vocabulary of both historical and contemporary Christianity. Some leaders—like the Moravians—genuinely believed every Christian should witness through their vocation. Concerning the Moravian Missionaries, William Danker claimed, “[T]he most important contribution of the Moravians was their emphasis that every Christian is a missionary and should witness through his daily vocation.” Their movement was effective. But even they made functional distinctions. Being “missional” in everyday life is not the same thing as being called to leave home, cross cultures, and bring the Gospel to the unreached.
Leaders may deem this an appropriate moniker because every Christian must be missional and, therefore, should be designated as a missionary in their own right. The Bible clearly shows that every Christian should be involved in the Great Commission. The related passages describe Christians who perpetually make disciples of all nations and teach them to do the same. As leaders blur the lines between calls to missions and calls to general ministry leadership, this declaration could hinder Christians from exploring the idea and validity of missionary calls and discerning their distinct characteristics.
Leaders must help the Church navigate the contemporary landscape with this egalitarian approach to see if missionary calls should be equated to general leadership ministry calls or distinguished as a specific direction of calling. A misunderstanding of the missionary call could prevent leaders from helping individuals evaluate whether they are specifically called to missions or simply called to ministry leadership. It could also create a culture that leaves obedience to go in the Great Commission as a matter of personal preference or choice rather than a practice that requires spiritual wisdom and discernment.
But when we blur the lines between the general call to ministry leadership and a specific call to cross-cultural missions, we begin to lose sight of the distinctions that matter most.
Blurring the Lines Can Be Spiritually Harmful
Walter McConnell examines the missionary call in his work, “The Missionary Call: A Biblical and Practical Appraisal.” He compares the call to missions with other ministry calls but acknowledges that he cannot easily categorize it within the APEST model (Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Shepherds, Teachers) of Ephesians 4:11-12. McConnell concludes that a missionary calling holds a distinct role with unique considerations that extend beyond the general characteristics of vocational discernment.[1]
With no explicit prescription of a missionary call in the Bible, churches, Christian organizations, and leaders struggle to determine the unique aspects of a missionary call. They incorporate it into a general sense of calling. This approach avoids elevating missionary calls as a more important vocation for a higher class of Christians, which matters to prevent opportunities for a puffed-up nature. However, it can expand the concept of calling by making the term useless and allowing reluctant churches and Christians to avoid calling out and equipping individuals to serve in cross-cultural missions specifically.
Declaring “every Christian is a missionary” may seem pragmatic and motivational, but it can actually hinder the Church from helping people properly discern their role in God’s mission.
A misunderstanding of the missionary call could lead people to neglect the very process of discerning whether they are truly called to go. Worse, it may create a culture where obedience to go becomes a matter of personal preference rather than Spirit-led ambition.
Churches, mission boards, and sending organizations often incorporate the missionary call into a general sense of ministry leadership, thinking it avoids elitism. But in doing so, they risk stripping the term of its usefulness. If everyone is called to everything, then no one is called to anything in particular.
This confusion has consequences.
It leaves young Christians with a vague sense of what it means to follow God’s call.
It removes the urgency of reaching the unreached.
It makes it harder for pastors and churches to recognize, affirm, and send those truly called.
Missionary Callings Are Not More Important—But They Are Distinct
This is not about ranking callings or treating missionaries as superior Christians with magical powers. It's about recognizing the reality that a missionary call often bears characteristics that differ from other ministry leadership roles. It typically includes awareness of the world's lostness, ambition to go, ability to serve, and an action to actually go. We should celebrate this specific role, not diminish its importance.
Some may push back, arguing that making distinctions elevates missionaries as a “higher class” of Christians. But that misses the point entirely. This isn’t about creating tiers of holiness. It’s about restoring theological clarity and honoring the various ways God directs His people into His mission.
When everything becomes “missions,” we rob the term of its power. When everyone is called a “missionary,” the uniqueness of cross-cultural, gospel-centered vocation gets buried under a pile of good intentions or a desire to ignore the world’s lostness.
What We Need Now Is Clarity
We must recover meaningful terminology to describe what God is doing when He calls people into ministry—and when He specifically calls people into missions. Without those categories, we risk leaving people spiritually disoriented, the Church unequipped, and the unreached still waiting.
Yes, every Christian is called to be a disciple-making witness Yes, every believer should live missionally beyond their immediate home turf. But not every Christian is a missionary. When we flatten all categories of calling into one, we don’t motivate people—we mitigate the effectiveness of World Christian Leaders.
Are all Christians missionaries? No. Determining the distinctness of a Christian missionaries allows the church to analyze the gaps and address the problems as sending churches and World Christians. We need clarity to help call out the called and lead Christians to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation.