“This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of an [overseer]1 he desires a good work . . .But let these also first be tested[.]” (1 Timothy 3:1, 10, NKJV).
Perhaps the most frequently asked question in missiological circles today is “How can I know if I am called to serve as a missionary?”
It is an extremely important question, for as Michael Griffiths (1928–2022) wrote,
“A man needs to be sure that God has called him. He needs an inner conviction that it is not a personal whim, a subjective delusion, nor mere emotional excitement that has put him into the ministry at home or abroad, but the call of God Himself. When there is opposition, difficulty, temptation, doubt, depression, or disappointment, a person needs to be certain that he has really been called of God.”2
Unfortunately, the modern church has sometimes added to the confusion by being less than clear about how we can know we are called to gospel ministry, whether in a domestic or cross-cultural context. And yet the Bible is anything but silent on this subject.
There are two presuppositions underlying everything I will say next. First, I am discussing a calling to the role of lead church planter (or pastor-missionary), which I define as an elder-qualified man who laborers as a cross-cultural evangelist and church planter. Throughout this article, I will use the term “missionary” in that specific sense. Of course, other types of missionaries, including women and men serving in church ministry or support ministry roles, may faithfully serve on church planting teams, but this article is focused specifically on the qualifications and calling of those who lead this work. In this regard, the qualifications of a missionary are identical to those required for a pastor serving in a domestic context. Second, I believe that the New Testament model is for the local church to send missionaries, while recognizing that the church may receive invaluable assistance by partnering with parachurch mission agencies.3
With these two presuppositions in view, I am convinced that we find what we need to know about the missionary call in two passages of Scripture: 1 Timothy 3:1–13 and Titus 1:5–11. From these inspired words we can discern four marks of a missionary call: compulsion, character, competency, and confirmation.
1. Compulsion
The first mark is compulsion. “This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of an [overseer], he desires a good work” (1 Timothy 3:1 NKJV). When the Holy Spirit calls a man to be a missionary, he fills him with an unquenchable desire to do the work God has called missionaries to do. This holy desire will first compel him to diligently study the Word of God, to be ever growing in his theological literacy, and to lovingly serve God’s people inside his own local church (2 Timothy 2:15, 4:13). The necessity of preaching the gospel will become for him an irresistible burning in his bones that he cannot contain (cf. Jeremiah 20:9).
2. Character
The second mark shows that missionaries must be men of proven character. In 1 Timothy 3:1–13 and Titus 1:5–11, Paul has far more to say about the graces required of gospel ministers than he does about their giftedness. That is, they must be men of proven spiritual maturity. This is vital because missionaries lead not only by their words, but also by their godly examples.
Of particular importance is a man’s piety in his own household, especially in the way he loves his wife and raises his children (for those who are husbands and fathers). His leadership in the home must be exemplary, for it is a proving ground for his ability to rule in the household of God (1 Timothy 3:4–5, 11; Titus 1:6).
The beloved Scottish Presbyterian minister, Robert Murray M’Cheyne (1813–1843), famously said, “Is it not great talents God blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus. A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God.”4
3. Competency
The third mark is competency. Missionaries are called to feed, protect, and equip Christ’s sheep with the Word of God, and to do the work of an evangelist. To fulfill this high calling, a man must be endowed by God with the gifts and skill sets necessary to accomplish these tasks (John 21:15–17; Acts 15:24; 20:28–31; 1 Timothy 1:3-11; 2 Timothy 4:1-5). Specifically, he must “[hold] fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict” (Titus 1:9), and he must be “able to teach” (1 Timothy 3:2). That is, he must be a biblically and theologically literate man who is able to proclaim God’s message with accuracy, clarity, and power. And he must be equipped to protect God’s people from false teachers and heretical doctrine (1 Timothy 1:3–11, Titus 1:10–16).
4. Confirmation
The fourth mark of a missionary calling is confirmation. The qualifications enumerated in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 were not given so that a man can evaluate himself, as important as that may be. These qualifications were given by the Holy Spirit so that the local church can examine a man’s fitness for the ministry. This is why, after Paul gives us his list of qualifications for elders and deacons, he says, “let these also first be tested” (1 Timothy 3:10).
A man’s ministerial calling comes from God, not from men (Acts 20:28). But if that calling is real, the Holy Spirit will enable the officers and members of the local church to discern it. When the Lord sent the first two missionaries in New Testament history, Barnabas and Saul, he did not speak to them and say, “Go!” but instead spoke to the local church in Antioch and said, “Send!” (Acts 12:25–13:4). Therefore, each missionary candidate must be rigorously examined for his fitness to serve as a cross-cultural pastor (1 Timothy 3:10), and the church must be careful to “not lay hands on anyone hastily” (1 Timothy 5:22).
Let us pray fervently that the Lord of the Harvest will raise up and send many more skilled laborers from our churches into his harvest field who can plant local churches among unreached language groups that will burn bright and clear with the light of the Old Paths (Jeremiah 6:16; Matthew 9:37–38). May he be pleased to do so until the whole earth is filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14)!
Editor’s Note: Most of this article has been adapted from a pamphlet titled Officer Examination Guidelines, also by the author, which is published by Berean Baptist Church of Powder Springs, Georgia, and is used with permission. If anyone would like to receive a pdf copy of this pamphlet, they may request it via email at: contact@berean1689church.org.
[1] The NKJV translates the Greek word ἐπισκοπῆς as “bishop,” but “overseer” is a more accurate translation.
[2] Michael C. Griffiths, Give Up Your Small Ambitions (Bedford Square, London: Intervarsity Press, 1970), 16–17.
[3] For more on this please see Jerry Slate, Jr., Steve Martin, John Miller, and David Vinson, Reforming World Missions: Recovering a Biblical and Confessional Missiology (Cape Coral, FL: Founders Press, 2026).
[4] Andrew Bonar, Robert Murray M’Cheyne (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, repr. 2015).
