Men rise up....

[Sister Alvear]

Single woman outnumber single men 7 to 1 on the mission field according to EFMA, IFMA.


I really thought that were were a greater number of men....however may be wrong...

[Sister Alvear]

When Hudson Taylor was director of the China Inland Mission, he often interviewed candidates for the mission field. On one occasion, he met with a group of applicants to determine their motivations for service. "And why do you wish to go as a foreign missionary?" he asked one. "I want to go because Christ has commanded us to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature," was the reply. Another said, "I want to go because millions are perishing without Christ." Others gave different answers. Then Hudson Taylor said, "All of these motives, however good, will fail you in times of testings, trials, tribulations, and possible death. There is but one motive that will sustain you in trial and testing; namely, the love of Christ."

Source Unknown.

[Sister Alvear]

Seen lots of people come and go on the mission field...

[shazeep]

ya, my understanding is that that can be a quite thankless job, and if one attempts mission work as some attempt to please God or win their way to heaven, they are going to burn out pretty quick?

[Sister Alvear]

you know that is really true...I have seen people come to the mission field for all kinds of reasons...girls come looking for a boyfriend...boys come looking for a girlfriend....couples come looking for adventure or they are already burned out were they were and make havoc on the field...Guess in almost 50 years have seen it all...lol...however I have seen some that were truly called...

[KeptByTheWord]

You are so right, Sis. Alvear, and Shazeep... the only motivation for anything we do in the kingdom of Christ should be CHRIST and Christ alone.

[mfblume]

Originally Posted by Sister Alvear

you know that is really true...I have seen people come to the mission field for all kinds of reasons...girls come looking for a boyfriend...boys come looking for a girlfriend....couples come looking for adventure or they are already burned out were they were and make havoc on the field...Guess in almost 50 years have seen it all...lol...however I have seen some that were truly called...

That's the key. It's the calling. Called, chosen and faithful. But even then, many are called but few are chosen. And a faithful man, who can find?

[Monterrey]

Man, there for a minute I thought that the good Sister was going to finally take a stand against women preachers!

Lol

[houston]

Originally Posted by Monterrey

Man, there for a minute I thought that the good Sister was going to finally take a stand against women preachers!

Lol

If you move to Brazil she can step down.

[votivesoul]

Originally Posted by Sister Alvear

Single woman outnumber single men 7 to 1 on the mission field according to EFMA, IFMA.


I really thought that were were a greater number of men....however may be wrong...

An impossible to prove speculation on why this might be so:

Here in the West, and especially in the USA, if nowhere else, it is a generally understood fact that when young men graduate from high school, they go to work, college, or the military.

It is very much the same in the church. But also in the church, it is widely held that a single woman should live at home and wait for a man to come around and court her and then marriage.

A guess is that while a lot of young men in the church are going off to college, a career, or the military, a lot of young women, not having the same onus on them to get a career, go to college, or join the armed forces, see the mission field as the most tenable option to get out from underneath the parent's roof, say goodbye to the ponderosa for awhile, and do something for God in the meantime.

AIMers, I think, are more likely to be young women, at least from my experience. I've met many more young women who want to be missionaries, then I've met young men. Not sure why, but maybe the above explains it, at least in part???