The following is an exert from chapter 10 of the book Missionary Guidebook For Ladies by Mindy Bush

“A little while, we are in eternity; before we find ourselves there, let us do much for Christ.” — Ann Hasseltine Judson

Women and children’s ministries are nothing if the Word of God isn’t at the heart and center of it! Fellowship with other believers is a good thing, but if that’s all it is, it has a very weak, human-centered focus. If we want God’s Word to work effectually and mightily in others, we must make it the focus of all we do.

Before you ever get to the mission field, you should have read your Bible through cover to cover! You should be very familiar with the Bible. Know the books of the Bible in order. Memorize key verses. Know the plan of salvation. Be able to easily tell Bible stories. If you didn’t grow up in a home where this was a priority, you may need to really work on this intentionally.

Look for ways to teach the Bible. Maybe your home church would allow you to teach a midweek Bible club, start a young ladies Bible study in your home, or disciple a young lady. The first person you ever lead to the Lord or disciple shouldn’t be from another language and culture. David killed the lion and the bear before God ever allowed him to go after Goliath. Prepare yourself for the ministry.

More importantly, you must know that you cannot do anything in ministry without the Lord’s help! Many people have done ministry without the Holy Spirit’s guidance and have ended up frustrated and lacking results. Feed yourself before going out to feed others. Prayer is something we often overlook. An idea of a new ministry may come to mind, but before we can even pray about it, we are already making plans and strategizing. Let the Lord lead you and He will help you to know exactly what you should do. Don’t underestimate the power of prayer. When my husband and I were in language school, we wanted to be used of God in some way to bring people to Him. Our biggest roadblock was the language barrier. We prayed about starting English classes to draw people to the church and have the opportunity to give them the gospel. God blessed in an amazing way. Helberth was a taxi driver that we invited to the English class. One day he and his wife, Zarela, showed up at church! They soon became believers and my husband and I had the joy of discipling them. They were so thankful that someone reached them with the gospel that they named their baby girl after me, even though “Mindy” is not a Spanish name! God answered our prayers to do something great for Him through those English classes!

Ministry looks different around the world. Every missionary lady is different and will do things differently because we all have different personalities! Some women absolutely thrive on ministry and could probably make better preachers than their husbands if it were biblical! Some women do what they can because they see it needs to be done. Others struggle along in ministry and can’t wait to turn it over to someone else.

You can’t compare yourself to another missionary. You must do what God wants you to do. 2 Corinthians 10:12 says, “For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.”

I would strongly encourage you to not to refuse to do ministry. Examine your heart to know why you refuse to serve. Are you using excuses to justify not serving? Are you too scared, too shy, or too busy? Are you too wrapped up in something else, even if it is a good thing like raising your family? You will miss out on so many blessings.

It is possible to be so immensely involved in ministry, thinking that it is a good thing, that you neglect other important things in your life. Many missionary wives put so much time and effort into the ministry because it feels satisfying or you can see quicker results than raising your children and being a help meet to your husband. There has to be a balance between home, family and ministry, and this balance constantly changes as your life changes. Your most important disciples (if you have children) may be right under your nose this very moment!