by Detlef Bloecher
The Great Commission calls us “to make disciples of all nations.” The central focus is on making mature followers of Christ, not simply converts. This requires godly models lived out in humility and grace for long periods of time.
WHY MISSIONARY RETENTION IS IMPORTANT
The Great Commission calls us “to make disciples of all nations.” The central focus is on making mature followers of Christ, not simply converts. This requires godly models lived out in humility and grace for long periods of time.
This biblical concept is in contradistinction to today’s trend toward short assignments and quick solutions. One’s worldview and fundamental values change slowly.
Perseverance and humility are essential for an ambassador for Christ: learning the language, understanding the culture and walking alongside new believers as Jesus did. He didn’t visit earth for a short-term assignment. He walked and lived with us for more than thirty years. His whole life, not just his last three years of ministry, changed the lives of his disciples. Likewise, Christ’s long-term commitment and sacrifice requires that he not only be Savior but also Lord in the lives of Christians, gathered in culturally relevant, mature fellowships that bless their communities and nations, and from there to the ends of the earth.
— Delef Bloetcher
——
Believers crowd around the thatch-roofed church, awaiting the new missionaries’ arrival. Singing and dancing, they praise God and look forward to the new faces coming to live among them and teach God’s word. Their joy helps lessen the pain of losing their former missionaries who left because of their children’s repeated illnesses. The family had spent only two years there. Villagers had just begun to know and love them. But they’ve known this pain before. The previous family moved to a new ministry after only eighteen months.
This seems to be the modern way of doing missions—always speeding on while village life moves along at its traditional, slow pace. With joy, hope and fear, the villagers await the truck bringing the new missionaries. They wonder: Will it be any different this time?
Our modern world is in an express lane. Jobs and assignments change at an ever-increasing pace. The same holds true for missions. Each year roughly twenty thousand evangelical missionaries accept a long-term assignment while ten thousand return home. Others move to new assignments or change locations. Many have completed their duty and can happily move on. In other cases the goal has not yet been reached but other circumstances prompt the missionary’s reassignment or return.
What makes missionaries resilient, spiritually vibrant and strong enough to overcome crises? What helps them grow a fruitful ministry, stay in service and adjust well to changing conditions and needs? Which organizational structures and practices provide effective support without strangling the missionaries’ work or patronizing the national church in the country of service?
THE REMAP II STUDY
To answer these questions, the WEA Missions Commission launched the study Retaining Missionaries: Agency Practices (ReMAP II) in October 2002. ReMAP II followed the Reducing Missionary Attrition Project (ReMAP I), which studied why missionaries leave the field. ReMAP I produced Too Valuable to Lose: The Causes and Cures of Missionary Attrition. While the first study focused on missionaries leaving the field, ReMAP II focused on policies, practices, and agency cultures that help keep missionaries active and productively engaged on the field. For this study, retention was calculated as the percentage of missionaries still in active ministry after a defined period of time (such as five or ten years). ReMAP II covered missionaries sent out between 1981 and 2000. By studying the “healthy survivors” from each year’s cohort group, the study sought to gain insight into agency practices that promote retention.
ReMAP II was limited to long-term missionaries, defined as those expected to serve more than three years in cross-cultural ministries within or outside their national borders. In early 2003 a questionnaire was sent to all known evangelical sending agencies in the twenty-two participating countries. The questionnaire asked for sociological and statistical data on each agency’s missionaries and a self assessment of their organizational practices on a scale of one (very poorly done) to six (very well done). Six hundred agencies with almost 40,000 long-term missionaries responded. Survey samples represented between thirty to ninety-five percent of evangelical missionaries in a given country. Each agency’s response was multiplied by its corresponding number of active missionaries so that proper weighting could be given to the data. Otherwise, smaller mission agencies’ responses would skew the data analysis. That is because most agencies are small, but the personnel of small agencies still represent a minority of the total missionary force.
During the data analysis, researchers considered the total annual retention rate (RRT), which served as the independent variable to which all organizational factors and practices were correlated. Mission executives generally gave high ratings for their own organizational values—an indication they are convinced their agency’s ethos and performance are effective. But was this confidence reflected in their retention rates?
For this analysis, agencies were placed into three subgroups—each representing approximately thirty-three percent of the total number of missionaries in the study—according to their high (H), medium (M) and low (L) retention rates. Separate analyses were run for Old Sending Countries (OSC) and New Sending Countries (NSC). The OSC category included 325 agencies with 26,600 long-term missionaries from Australia, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, South Africa, United Kingdom, and the United States. The NSC category included 275 agencies with 13,065 missionaries from Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ghana, Guatemala, Hong Kong, India, South Korea, Malaysia, Nigeria, Philippines and Singapore. This report highlights results from these two analyses.
DATA ANALYSIS
While earlier studies like ReMAP I focused on personal reasons for the premature return of missionaries, ReMAP II focused on organizational factors related to missionary retention. By comparing the high (OSC H, NSC H) and low retaining agencies (OSC L, NSC L), the analysis found a strong correlation between missionary retention and forty specific agency factors under the following headings: Candidate Selection, Pre-field Training, Vision and Communication, Leadership, Orientation and Continuous Training, Personal Support, Member Care, Ministry, Ministry Outcomes, Continuous Training, Personal Care and Family Support, Finances and Home Office Operations. The survey is posted at www.wearesources.org/
CANDIDATE SELECTION
Agencies from OSCs and NSCs gave very high ratings to many candidate selection issues; however, big differences between high and low retaining agencies were found in the following areas listed below. The category of agency (NSC, OSC or both) which had a statistically significant difference between high and low retainers is listed parenthetically at the conclusion of each criterion.
- The applicant shows mature Christian character and discipline, such as prayer and devotional life (OSC and NSC)
- Meets health criteria determined by a physical exam (OSC and NSC)
- Meets health criteria determined through a psychological assessment (NSC)
- Shows contentment with present marital status (single, married)(OSC and NSC)
- Has the family’s blessing for mission service (NSC)
- Has ministry experience in a local church (OSC)
- Firm prayer support (OSC)
Many other areas of screening received elevated ratings from the high retaining group of agencies but were not significantly different from average and low retaining groups. Low ratings by NSC were unexpected in the following areas: Has ministry experience in a local church, Has had previous cross-cultural experience, Has good potential for financial support, Has demonstrated ability to cope well with stress and negative events and Firm prayer support.
Cross-cultural experience is considered an excellent preparation for mission service. Likewise, prayer support proved to be central to missionaries’ effectiveness in other sections of the survey. Do NSC churches give little ministry opportunity to young people and thus expect little experience? Perhaps prayer support is expected to come with deputation at a later stage of pre-field preparation? As with most studies, we are left with some open questions. From responses, however, careful candidate selection is among the most decisive factors leading to missionary longevity on the field.
PRE-FIELD TRAINING REQUIREMENTS
High retaining agencies expect twice as much theological training from their missionary candidates and three times as much formal missiological training, on average, than low retaining agencies. In this respect a striking similarity exists between OSC and NSC, underscoring the importance of pre-field training for missionary retention. Unfortunately, few agencies expect informal pre-field training so its usefulness could not be verified.
VISION AND COMMUNICATION
In this area, NSC often rated higher than OSC, dispelling the notion that vision, set procedures and defined organizational structures are just Western concepts. Two issues with high ratings are dominant: A culture of prayer is actively promoted within the agency (OSC and NSC), and Vision and purpose are shared and understood throughout the agency (NSC). Spiritual foundation and a clear sense of purpose do indeed mark the twofold foci for successful ministry.
LEADERSHIP
Most agencies received high ratings for Most leaders are good examples of the agency’s beliefs and values. A leaders’ integrity seems of greatest importance. High retaining agencies gave much higher ratings to There are documented procedures for handling complaints from missionaries (OSC and NSC), Good on-field supervision in quantity and quality (OSC and NSC), and Most leaders identify problems early and take appropriate action (NSC).
ORIENTATION AND TRAINING
Regarding orientation of new missionaries and continuous training, we found high ratings for:
- Missionaries are provided with opportunities for ongoing training of gifts and skills (OSC and NSC)
- Effective on-field orientation for new missionaries (OSC and NSC)
- Language learning arrangements for new missionaries to learn the local language (OSC)
- Ongoing language and culture training are actively encouraged (OSC)
MINISTRY
Among ministry-related issues, the groups gave very high ratings to Missionaries are committed to their ministry. This seems the most decisive issue in keeping up morale. Great differences between high and low retaining agencies were found in respect to: Missionaries are given room to shape and develop their own ministry (NSC), Missionaries know how to handle spiritual warfare, Missionaries are committed to their ministry, Missionaries are committed to the agency (NSC and OSC), Missionaries are not overloaded with work, Opportunities are provided for a ministry/role of the spouse (important to OSC) and Missionaries have adequate administrative and practical support on the field (NSC). It is beneficial to invest in these areas.
In addition, high retaining agencies gave high ratings to Missionaries are committed to the agency (NSC) and Missionaries are given room to shape and develop their own ministry (NSC and OSC).
MINISTRY OUTCOMES
Ministry outcomes in general were rated very high, revealing that most agencies have clear goals and expectations. Very high ratings were given to: Missionaries are developing good relationships with the people they serve (OSC and NSC), Church on the field values the ministry of our missionaries (OSC and NSC), Missionaries experience a sense of fulfillment in their ministry (OSC and NSC) and The people our missionaries serve are becoming followers of Christ (NSC).
This shows the importance of personal relationships in NSC. In OSC agencies, high ratings were also given to Develop local leadership, while low ratings were given to The people are becoming followers of Christ, especially in high retaining OSC agencies. Do OSC missionaries serve in resistant regions or have they lost their passion to see people meet Christ? In NSC, all ministry outcomes, including Missionaries are actually achieving the agency’s goals and expectation, are correlated with high retention, but in OSC only for Development of local leaders and Missionaries’ personal sense of fulfillment. Still the generally high ratings of ministry outcomes demonstrate the importance of these issues.
PERSONAL CARE AND FAMILY SUPPORT
NSC agencies invest fourteen percent of their total staff time and ten percent of their total budget on member care, which is twice as much as OSC agencies. High retaining NSC agencies spend fifty to one hundred percent more on member care than low retaining NSC agencies.
Highest priority was given to Time for annual vacation or holiday is provided, and Emphasis is placed on the maintenance and growth of personal spiritual life. The proper balance between work and rest, and ministry and personal walk with the Lord are essential to the missionary’s life. Both these factors are positively correlated with retention. In NSC agencies, retention is also positively correlated with Missionary teams are effective in providing each other with mutual support, Effective pastoral care exists at the field level, Interpersonal conflicts are solved in a timely and appropriate manner and Risk assessment and contingency planning is in place for all fields. Retention in OSC is correlated only to Risk assessment and Home churches are encouraged to be involved in the life of their missionaries.
FINANCES
Among the financial issues (figure 1) top ratings were given to Agency finances are transparent to the missionaries and donors, Project finances are used effectively, and Missionaries receive sustained financial support that is adequate for their needs (OSC). These factors correlate with retention in OSC. In NSC, Financial back-up for missionaries with low or irregular support was the decisive issue. These results evidence the significance of financial factors for missionary longevity.
HOME OFFICE
Home office operations received very high ratings (figure 2) from mission executives, especially Home office staff prays regularly for their missionaries, Pre-field screening prevents unsuitable persons proceeding to the field (OSC) and Formal debriefing during home leave (OSC). Pre-field screening and Home office prays (OSC) were correlated with high retention. Still, seemingly underdeveloped in the young NSCs mission movement are Re-entry arrangements are provided for missionaries commencing home leave, and Debriefing during home assignment.
RETENTION RATES
Figure 3 gives retention rates of the four subgroups. The total retention rates are very different between the high and low retention subgroups by definition. While high retaining OSC agencies retain approximately ninety-seven percent of their missionaries per year (corresponding to roughly 2.9 percent total attrition) low retaining agencies keep only around 89.95 percent. When the actual performance of the high-retaining subgroup (comprising a massive one-third of all the missionaries) is taken as a standard, then fifty-two percent of attrition cases could have been avoided. In high retaining NSC agencies the total retention rate is about 99.12 percent (two percent higher than in OSC H), while low retaining NSC agencies preserve only around ninety-three percent (corresponding to seven percent loss per year). Based on the actual performance of the high retaining subgroup, seventy-two percent of all NSC attrition could have been avoided.
These retention rates look fairly good, but remember that after ten years of service only seventy-four percent of missionaries from high retaining OSC agencies are still in active service. In low retaining OSC agencies that figure plummets to thirty-five percent. In high retaining NSC, ninety-one percent are kept in service, compared to forty-eight percent for low retaining NSC agencies. This means even a small increase in retention will make a big difference in the long run.
When calculating the potential of retaining those who left for potentially preventable reasons—personal, family, work, team or agency-related reasons or dismissal by the agency—we conclude that forty-five percent of preventable attrition in OSC and sixty-five percent in NSC could possibly have been avoided. High retaining OSC agencies lose 1.2 percent of their workforce per year for potentially preventable reasons, compared to 0.4 percent in high retaining NSC agencies. Family responsibilities, educational needs of children, personal reasons or missionaries sensing God calling them to a new type of ministry are much more prevalent in OSC, where organizational commitment was rated much lower than in NSC.
Figure 4 shows the development of RRP over the past twenty years. Low retaining OSC and NSC agencies are indeed hit by modern society’s trend for regular job changes. This leads to a decline in RRP, and thus the corresponding preventable attrition rate increased by fifty-four percent (OSC L) and eighty percent (NSC L). In contrast, high retaining OSC agencies have withstood this global trend and hold their missionaries’ commitment and organizational loyalty. They are rewarded by very high retention rates RRP of 98.8 percent. Yet high retaining NSC agencies are faced with a slight decline of their extremely high RRP values from 99.54 percent (1981-85) to 99.2 percent (1996-2000) as the founding years with the initial passion, commitment, and extraordinary sacrifices draw to a close. Their corresponding preventable attrition rate increased from 0.46 percent to 0.79 percent and is now nearing that of OSC H of 1.2 percent per year (plus 1.5 percent for unpreventable attrition, OSC H), which appears to be optimal value.
CONCLUSION
ReMAP II results show that retention involves a complex web of factors. The organizational triad of ethos, values and purpose to a great extent determines the agency’s practices and procedures and shape all agency operations. This web of factors for both old and new sending countries reflects their history, culture, ecclesiastical tradition and their supporting churches’ expectations.
The organizational performance of the high retaining subgroup (one-third of the total sample—not just a few extraordinary agencies) reduced the potentially preventable attrition by forty-five percent in OSC and sixty-five percent in NSC. In addition it has reduced unpreventable attrition (RRU) by an even larger percentage: fifty-five percent in OSC and seventy-five percent in NSC. A reduction of unpreventable attrition might seem to be an impossibility. But by definition, RRU includes such things as health reasons, loss of visa, end of pre-determined period of service and completion of project—factors that are not necessarily unavoidable. Thus most missionary attrition seems avoidable based on the demonstrated performance of the best third of mission agencies.
Good practice agencies expect well-trained missionary candidates and apply careful candidate selection. They have effective leadership and good interaction with their missionaries. They exercise a lean, quality administration with a servant attitude and flexible structures. They provide their missionaries with opportunities for continuous training and development of new gifts. They also encourage missionaries to improve their ministries and their agency’s operations and structures. This is vital as many agencies must undergo major structural changes to address current and future needs.
Yet good practice agencies do not impose these changes from the top, or in response to external advice. They use their missionaries’ expertise and insight. They value synergy and work in partnership with other agencies to maximize resources. They strive for the expansion of the global kingdom of God, not their own success. The missionary’s role and the agency’s way of operating constantly changes in response to needs in the country of service as the national church develops.
While retention has dropped over the past twenty years, it has not decreased in the subgroup of high retaining agencies. These agencies have maintained their missionaries’ commitment, loyalty and vision. They are blessed with highly experienced and dedicated staff.
Yet longevity is not an end in itself. Missionaries must be productive in a vital ministry. Missionaries can stay too long and hinder local leadership development. Mission agencies thus need to develop specific criteria for completion of a project and a clear exit strategy before launching a project. Missionaries who are wounded or become ineffective must be restored and/or brought home with grace and compassion.
Work among unreached peoples and other long-term assignments will only be achieved through dedicated, committed missionaries enabled and supported by dynamic, effective mission structures. Agencies must create a stimulating environment and empower their missionaries to develop a strategic and productive ministry.
References
Taylor, William D. 1997. Too Valuable to Lose: The Causes and Cures of Missionary Attrition. Pasadena, Calif.: William Carey Library.
—–
Detlef Bloecher, PhD, is executive director of German Missionary Fellowship (DMG), chairman of the German Evangelical Mission Alliance (AEM) and associate of the WEA Mission Commission. He is a physicist by training and formerly served as a tentmaker in the Middle East.
Copyright © 2005 Evangelism and Missions Information Service (EMIS). All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or copied in any form without written permission from EMIS.
