4 Ways To Support Missionaries Without Traveling

Many Western Christians want to help churches and missionaries around the world, especially church leaders and missionaries working in their native countries. While many used to think the way to help was to travel for short-term mission trips, studies are showing that these trips can do more harm than good. Travel is also very expensive these days.

Instead of spending so much money to go on a trip that may not help people, you can support missionaries without traveling in other ways. We describe four of these ways below.

Pray for Missionaries

Christians believe in the power of prayer. Through prayer, we create a sanctuary for God’s servants around the world right from our living rooms. Devote time to intentionally pray for missionaries’ safety, effectiveness, and well-being. You can pray alone, with other Christians, or a combination of the two.

Donate Money to Missionaries

Financial contributions can launch and sustain projects in tangibly transformative ways. Imagine financing a well in a community that brings not only water but the Living Word of the Bible to physically and metaphorically thirsty souls. Your donation, no matter the size, contributes to the global mission and echoes the generosity that the early Church modeled when they helped each other.

Donate Missionary Supplies

Some people don’t want to give the faceless gift of cash. They want to give missionaries something personal and immediately useful. Donating supplies can do this. You can buy wholesale Bibles in bulk to ship to a church or missionary group in need or ask a member of one of these groups what other supplies they need. Fundraise with your local church or other organizations if you can’t afford the supplies on your own. Many may feel like you and be more willing to donate supplies than cash.

Serve at Home

Serving missionaries and the global church from home is one of the best ways to support missionaries without traveling. Use your skills and talents to help these missionaries and churches around the world. Anything you do contributes a thread to the larger tapestry of mission work, whether it’s crafting a supportive email, using your knack for organization to assist in logistics from afar, or offering virtual counseling. And you don’t have to cross an ocean to do it!

Advocating for and supporting missionaries in the ways we described above contributes to both the giver’s and receiver’s spiritual growth. People of color already have a rich spiritual history and we can continue to build our faith when we build the global church.