An estimated 1.6 million Americans participate in short-term mission trips each year—at least they did before COVID hit. Suddenly, international travel came to a halt and mission trips were cancelled. Six months later, numerous countries still impose mandatory 14-day quarantines for international travelers, rendering a short-term mission trip unfeasible to those locations.

Many long-term missionaries also experienced significant impacts from COVID disruptions. Some are stuck, unable to travel to or from their country of service; some continue in their place of service with significant restrictions to their ministry. Others, contrarily, have found that the COVID outbreak actually opened new opportunities for ministry that they didn’t have before.

While COVID has paused many mission trips and changed many missionaries’ plans, by no means has it cancelled God’s call for each of us to live a life focused on sharing the Good News of Jesus with those both near and far. The needs and opportunities have not diminished. People are still searching for answers to fill the spiritual void in their lives.

Are you sensing God’s call to missions, but are unsure how to move forward in the midst of all the obstacles? Has COVID or some other challenge thrown a wrench into your plans and sent you down a detour on your mission journey? How do you avoid having it turn into a dead end?

Here are a few tips:

1. Surrender your ideas, plans, and time schedules to God, and ask Him to reveal his creative way forward. (Hint: God’s plan often looks different than we first envisioned.)
   
   
2. Find a cluster of mature believers with trusted discernment to walk with you in prayer and help you discern what God is saying in the midst of the twists and turns of the journey.
   
   
3. Don’t waste the delays. Ask God how he wants to use the postponements for additional preparation and character formation in your life, and then be intentional about finding ways to grow in the areas that he highlights. A mentor can be a valuable help in that process.
   
   
4. Serve and share Jesus right where you are. Don’t be so focused on your future ministry calling that you miss the opportunities God is placing in front of you right here and now to touch people’s lives.
   
   
5. If God has identified a specific place or people where he is calling you in missions, pray and intercede for them relentlessly. Even now, from a distance, you can make an impact there in the spiritual realm through prayer.
   
   
6. Keep listening for God’s directives and take steps of faith and obedience as he makes the path clear.

God will be faithful to lead and guide as you surrender yourself to him.

Tags: prayer, missions, opportunity, obedience, patience, great commission, missionaries, diligence, covid