During my early days of training in the Army to become a Special Forces soldier, the cadre would often say something like, "If you are here because you want to wear a green beret or a tab on your shoulder, go buy one and be done with it. But if you are here because you want to do the job of a Green Beret, we can work with that."
The point they communicated was that Special Forces training wasn't for people who simply wanted Special Forces training. It was for men who desired to do the work. Work that would cost them and their families years of separation, pain, injury, and, even when things were going well, suffering. The best soldiers to train are the ones who are about the mission.
I think about this often when someone approaches me about Radius training. Most of the time, though, they aren't really asking — they're telling. They've already decided they're ready. But the better question, and the harder one, is not "When can I start?" but "Am I actually the kind of person this work requires?"
Desire is one aspect of readiness for Radius, but it is not the complete picture. It is instead the starting point. Beyond that, there are honest questions about your life, your character, your church, and your track record that deserve serious examination before you ever fill out an application.
So, when someone comes and asks (or tells) me if they are ready for Radius training, these are the questions I walk them through.
1. Is it your desire to just attend Radius, or to be used by God to see a church planted among a ULG?
Missionary candidates need to think about this honestly. There are many reasons someone might want to attend Radius. It could be because:
- The program looks exciting
- Guilt
- Prestige
- The esteem of others
- A desire to see men saved from hell
Motivations such as these may get you through other career paths, but they will not sustain you through the years of hardship and suffering that church planting often requires.
The primary motivation must be the glory and exaltation of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. After all, what else would it mean to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37–38) than to be primarily motivated by bringing His name honor and glory, especially among people where He is currently unknown?
2. Are you known by your church, and would they send you across the city to be part of a church plant?
A missionary’s task is no less than a church planter’s task. In many ways, it is more. So if church planting is not something you are equipped for or can be trusted with in your current context, the work of doing so cross-culturally may need to be delayed or even reconsidered.
Churches and individuals need to be prepared for the missionary to pastor a church. They must have thought through what that means. Not everyone needs to serve as the pastor on a church planting team, but they do need to be equipped for ministry.
- Are they qualified to oversee a congregation, or are they part of a core team being sent? If their age leaves room for uncertainty, are they on the right trajectory? (1 Timothy 3; Titus 1–2)
- Is this a person the church will genuinely miss when they are gone?
3. Have you finished anything significant in life?
This one may seem a little on the nose, but it correlates well to the missionary life, which includes long hours over many years of language learning, often accompanied by significant suffering and adversity. Even in countries that welcome missionaries. Add the barriers and hardships of a closed country, and the challenges only increase.
Important questions to ask yourself/someone who is thinking of applying:
- Do they have a college degree?
- If they do not, do they have life experience that demonstrates diligence and faithfulness in everyday responsibilities?
- Do they have a long history of changing jobs?
- Have they faced adversity or hardship and shown a pattern of trusting the Lord through it?
4. Do you have normal social skills and the ability to interact across a broad spectrum of people?
Perhaps you’ve heard it said before: nothing magical or transformative happens during a missionary’s plane ride overseas. That statement could not be more true.
If someone cannot interact appropriately and relationally before going overseas, they are unlikely to suddenly develop that ability when they move to a different language and culture.
Churches and individuals should ensure that candidates:
- Are able to hold normal conversations with people of varying demographics
- Know how to “read a room” and assess social situations
- Do not spend excessive hours each week on streaming, social media, or video games
Final thoughts:
Cross-cultural church planting is not quick, nor easy, nor can it survive off zealousness alone. It will require years of preparation and qualification, specifically within the local church.
Think of the training provided by Radius as the finishing work, and not the foundation. We take what the local church has already built into a person's life and then apply it to a cross-cultural context where language must be learned, businesses created and run, and unfamiliar cultures navigated.
If after all of this you are still considering applying, I recommend you take the following next steps:
- Take the time to prayerfully consider what this kind of work truly demands.
- Read the article Forged for the Frontlines on Missionary.com. It expands on the kind of men and women needed for this work and the weightiness of the calling. Read it carefully. Discuss it with your church leadership. Let it sharpen your thinking.
This work is not for everyone. But for those whom the Lord is preparing, it is worth everything.
