A Lifeline | the Reach June 2025
Dear Friends,
In the dusty outskirts of a conflict-torn city, Anna sat alone on the rooftop of her small apartment. Below her, life bustled in a language she still struggled to understand after two years. She had come full of passion to serve, to love, to bring the hope of the Gospel. But that night, with rockets echoing in the distance and the weight of culture shock pressing down on her, she felt more alone than ever.
Anna is not unique. She represents thousands of missionaries who serve in cross-cultural, high-risk environments—where trauma, spiritual warfare, and isolation are often daily realities. The call to follow Christ to reach the unreached is difficult. These people groups and places are unreached for a reason, because they are difficult, often dangerous places—even just to reach, let alone to live and work in. Without intentional and ongoing Care, that calling can quickly become a crushing burden.
Member Care refers to the provision of spiritual, emotional, relational, and physical support for missionaries. It’s not a luxury; it’s a lifeline. And it matters—for their health, their effectiveness, and their longevity on the field.
Emotional Health is often the first casualty in the mission field. Culture shock, homesickness, exposure to suffering, and sometimes hostility take a toll. In Anna’s case, the lack of a safe space to process trauma led to chronic anxiety. Had it not been for a visiting Member Care worker who recognized the signs and walked with her through healing, Anna might have returned home prematurely, convinced she had failed.
Spiritual Health also needs tending. Missionaries pour themselves out in service, often with little opportunity for being spiritually refilled. Without intentional care—retreats, mentorship, coaching, debriefing, and accountability—it’s easy for their wells to run dry. Anna admitted that her passion for prayer had withered under the demands of survival. But through a Member Care provider that offered guided spiritual retreats and regular pastoral check-ins, she began to rediscover the joy of abiding in Jesus—not just in the work of ministry.
Physical Health is another area where support makes a difference. Many missionaries endure harsh climates, lack of access to medical care, and the physical exhaustion that comes with constant adaptation. A well-functioning Member Care system includes not only mental, emotional, and spiritual care but providing access and consultations for physical health, crisis plans, and even furlough planning to ensure missionaries are not only surviving but thriving.
But perhaps the most overlooked benefit of Member Care is longevity. Research and experience show that missionaries who have someone to turn to during struggles are significantly more likely to stay long-term. They are not immune to hardship, but they are equipped to endure it. Anna, once on the brink of burnout, is now mentoring younger workers in the same region—because someone made it their mission to care for her.
If we in the EPC are to take the Great Commission seriously, we must also take seriously the care of those who go. Sending is only part of the equation. Sustaining is the other. Member Care isn’t just about keeping missionaries on the field—it’s about keeping them whole.
Let us be the ones who hold the ropes, who provide the anchor in the storm, so that those on the frontlines can stand strong—for the long haul.
By Chris Gibson, Director of Member Care
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