Missionary = supernatural connection to shepherd cross-culturally
From LifeLift Assessment D = Spiritual Gifts
The gift of missions is the divine strength or ability to reach others outside of your culture and nationality; while in most cases living in that culture or nation.
Whereas pastors and shepherds most often serve people who are LIKE them, missionaries go somewhere else to connect with people who are different than them. They have the ability to connect cross-culturally, and they often pick up languages and customs far more rapidly than others.
(See the link to the pastor / shepherd gift below, and compare.)
When I was a kid, one of my discipleship teachers— Ernie Davis— felt called to go to China. God infused him with a supernatural love for and connection to people he had never seen.
God endowed his wife with the same passion.
Does this gift have to be confined to the church?
No.
None of them do.
I had friends college who were always drawn to work with foreign exchange students who came to the U.S. to study. They taught “English as a second language” courses and spent HOURS each week at the student center for Internationals.
See also Acts 8:4, Acts 13:2-3, Acts 22:21, Romans 10:15.
