After ministry experiences in high school and training in college, Jean Johnson began ministering to Southeast Asians in Minneapolis, Minnesota. While you might think that would prepare her for her first experiences overseas, she discovered that some of the things she thought were assets actually held her back.

After years of ministry experience, she wrote a book, “We are Not the Hero: A Missionary's Guide to Sharing Christ, Not a Culture of Dependency.” Here's more about her and how she got started.

Where and what people do you primarily serve?
We serve the sent, the senders, the trainers, and the recipients of mission efforts.

How do you serve those people?
Come alongside this global community to create a culture of dignity, sustainability, and multiplication in Great Commission efforts.

When did you begin to realize that you had a heart for missions or ministry?
In high school, I had a rather rapid and intentional connection to first generation S.E. Asian refugees who came to Minneapolis. I befriended them and asked to learn their story, while my peers avoided them due to their differences.

How and when did God lead you to this? How did you recognize His call?
In college, I asked God questions such as, “Who learns the Cambodian, Hmong, Vietnamese culture to such a degree they can make the good news make sense to that people group?” This is a dangerous question to ask God. He led me to prepare myself for such a task. At this point, I changed my major from the social sciences to cross-cultural communications.

Did you have a clear and measurable goal for ministry?
My goal was reformed and refined with experience. I believe I have landed back at the beginning in some ways: make disciples who have the vision and capability to makes disciples in their God-given context.

What would you do differently if you were starting today?
I would NOT plant or model the Western church in places like Cambodia.

How do you connect with new partners or supporters and stay connected with your existing partners?
The organization I direct, Five Stones Global, blogs intentionally about dignity, sustainability, and multiplication, which encourages, equips, and challenges partners and supporters. Otherwise we send newsletters and other forms of communication. Our website is intriguing and informative: fivestonesglobal.org

What books, tools, or resources that are important to doing what you do?
We Are Not The Hero is popular. We are coming out with a Participant's Guide and Videos the middle of Jan. 2018. Additionally, a new workbook is headed your way: Standing on Our Own Feet: Strengthening Church Dignity in Our Global Mission Efforts

How do you get ongoing training and coaching?
Our speciality is coaching and training based on our tagline: DAY 1 affects DAY 100 and We Are Not The Hero. If desired, please visit fivestonesglobal.org or email admin@fivestonesglobal.org

What first steps or training would you recommend that others just starting out?
Our DAY 1 affects DAY 100 tagline reveals that the beginning is important. We will either inhibit or strengthen local dignity, sustainability, or multiplication as we lay foundations. If you are interested in Five stones Global training, we suggest your start with the DAY 1 affects DAY 100 Introductory workshop or go through the We Are Not The Hero book, guide, and video with a small group or team.

What is a critical mindset or perspective regarding listening, teachability, flexibility, grace, etc?
Globalization has fooled us into thinking the cross-cultural work is no longer our role. So, we organize and conceptualize the mission task based on our culture, standard of living, and church experience. In the end, we end up with people striving to be American Christians.

A critical mindset to overcome this is to take on the apostle Paul's attitude and approach: “And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power” (1 Cor. 2:1-5).

Knowing what you know now, would you do it all again?
I would do it all again, but set a goal to be a humble learner before a doer in cross-cultural work; and count learning as ministry.

Beth Watkins has had an interesting journey that's included quick exits from countries, a cross-cultural marriage, and more. Here's how she got started.

Name + Contact Info

• • Name: Beth Watkins
  • Website: iambethwatkins.com
  • Email: iambethwatkins@gmail.com
  • Instagram: @weareteamwatkins
  • Facebook: @iambethwatkins
  • Twitter: @iambethwatkins

Where and what people do you primarily serve?
I spent 6 years working in closed countries in North Africa and in South Sudan working with vulnerable and marginalized populations, specifically street children and refugees. Because of health reasons, we've now resettled back in the US, and I'm currently looking for employment and volunteer opportunities to continue working with marginalized and immigrant populations.

How do you serve those people?
I worked with small local NGOs in various capacities, but my focus was primarily on job skills and development, particularly looking to help people not have to engage in dangerous activities to generate income, and focus on helping people be self sufficient.

When did you begin to realize that you had a heart for missions or ministry?
I was so intrigued by the world outside of the US ever since I was a kid, and about high school I really started considering ministry and life overseas as a vocation. By the time I was 17 or so that set my trajectory, and worked toward a life of ministry overseas.

How and when did God lead you to this? How did you recognize His call?
It was kind of gradual, and also kind of all at once. I can trace it back through books I read, experiences in church, pleading 16-year-old journal entries. Just all along the way as I grew in my faith, and grew into my faith, I knew I wanted to serve God with my life, and this ended up being what made the most sense to me.

Did you have a clear and measurable goal for ministry?
No, I just wanted to be faithful. That led me to North Africa and I couldn't have been happier about it.

What would you do differently if you were starting today?
Thats a tough question for me at the moment. I'm currently having health struggles–it's why I had to leave the field–and they are a result of long-term stress and trauma. We still don't know the long-term affects, or how this will affect our lives down the way. So while I wish we'd had more support, and that there was more discussion about these sorts of costs for eager young people going into missions, I don't have any regrets.

Many of the challenging circumstances we faced were completely unforeseen, and all we could keep doing was just take the next step, not knowing what else was ahead. While I'm deeply sad about leaving the field, and still grappling with health issues as a result of the life I choose–doing my best to follow where God led me–I'm not sure what I could have or would choose to have done differently. What I've seen and experienced have changed me in profound ways, and while much of it was painful, I know I'm better for it. That, and I met my husband overseas, and that does make all of the rest seem worth it!

How do you connect with new partners or supporters and stay connected with your existing partners?
While I'm no longer on support, I do still blog avidly as I did while I was overseas to keep up with supporters, and I still send out a regular newsletter about recognizing our neighbors and loving them, and even our enemies, wherever we find ourselves.

What books, tools, or resources that are important to doing what you do?
I find relationships are always the best resource and tool, and reading everything you can by people who have gone before you, and also about the places and histories of the people in the places where you are are so important. Now that we find ourselves back in the US, I am trying to read everything I can from people in America whose contexts and experience are very different from mine, as a middle-class white woman. I think wherever you are, whatever you do, it's important to recognize you can only see so much from your perspective, and it's so important to seek out the voices of those who can help you understand what you can't or don't see.

What first steps or training would you recommend that others just starting out?
Get as much training as you can, and spend time really developing skills. I was pretty young and bright-eyed when I went overseas, and though God was very gracious and I found my feet while I was there, I do wish I'd taken more time developing real skills for overseas work. Which can be many things depending on what you're hoping to do, such as first aid training, ESL, grant-writing. Read books like “When Helping Hurts,” and “A Smoldering Wick.” Get and take advice from those on the ground, plan to take time to study language–it really does make a huge difference.

What is a critical mindset or perspective regarding listening, teachability, flexibility, grace, etc?
Take the posture of a learner, always. Be willing to listen first, especially in your first few years, but really at every opportunity. No matter how much you know, you know less than the locals, less than your colleagues, and really be ok with that. Even in my last 2 years overseas as I was supervising a multi-cultural team of 7, I always asked questions, always listened first, always asked advice. This doesn't mean hesitating to act, but as you do, recognize you alway wear your own cultural glasses that mean you can't always see things in the best way. Also, love people! Find people to love, and it makes the rest of it all much easier.

Knowing what you know now, would you do it all again?
Absolutely. (Though I probably wouldn't recommend to others the exact path I trod!)

Matthew Meyer has made some pretty extreme regional changes, moving from Alaska to the southern United States. Now he's a missionary who recently moved to Poland. Here's how he got started.

Name + Contact Info

• • Name: Matthew Meyer
  • Email: matthewpmeyer21@gmail.com

Where and what people do you primarily serve?
Krakow, Poland, Polish People

How do you serve those people?
Anything from street evangelism, church planting, community outreaches, teaching english, volunteering in orphanages, and one on one discipleship.

When did you begin to realize that you had a heart for missions or ministry?
It was in college when I had the opportunity to go on a 5 week mission trip to east Asia.

How and when did God lead you to this? How did you recognize His call?
At first it just seemed like something as a Christian I was suppose to do, but quickly during my time over there God showed my the vast amount of lostness and the lack of access to the gospel.

Did you have a clear and measurable goal for ministry?
Yes, I believe God has called me to be in church planting in an international context, not just one church, but however many God chooses to allow me to be a part of.

What would you do differently if you were starting today?
Coming to faith a little bit later in life (when I was 18, now I'm 26) I wish I would have taken scripture memorization more seriously. I am working on it constantly, but having the ability to hide scripture in your heart that way I believe is not only a valuable to for evangelism, but personal closeness with Christ.

How do you connect with new partners or supporters and stay connected with your existing partners?
Many times it is through mutual contacts that I meet new people. As far as existing contacts we do monthly email updates and bi-yearly video updates. Close contacts we try and do video chats with almost every month at least.

What books, tools, or resources that are important to doing what you do?
There are many great tools and books out there, but for me my best resource has been learning from people that have been on the field much longer than me. We have many teammates that have been on the ground in Poland and other parts of Europe much longer than us, their wisdom and experience is invaluable.

How do you get ongoing training and coaching?
The IMB has many avenues for this, such as assigned mentors and supervisors. I have the privilege of working directly under the Affinity leader for Europe, Mark Edworthy. He has been a valued friend and mentor in many areas.

What first steps or training would you recommend that others just starting out?
Seek God's will in all things, try to identify how exactly God may get you wherever He may be taking you. Take every opportunity to be heavily involved in ministry where you are now, don't wait to become a “missionary” to start ministry, it does not work that way.

What is a critical mindset or perspective regarding listening, teachability, flexibility, grace, etc?
All these things are some of the most important attributes and skills you must have to be successful. Everything changes when you move into a new culture, being flexible and teachable allows learning a new culture to go much smoother and having grace for others and yourself will help you grow faster then you could imagine. Always be able to laugh at yourself, don't be too serious, especially in language and culture acquisition.

Knowing what you know now, would you do it all again?
I may only be 8 months in, but absolutely yes!