Trading Parables: Why Missionaries Shouldn’t Always Sell Their Homes

When mobilizers and missions pastors prepare families for the mission field, there’s a common checklist: raise support, secure visas, learn language, pack belongings—and sell the house.

For many, this seems like the obvious step. After all, a home is a major financial burden. But what if selling is not always the wisest decision? What if, in urging missionaries to sell, we are unintentionally encouraging them to discard one of their greatest assets—an asset that could serve their long-term sustainability, provide housing for furloughs, generate funding for their ministry, and even bless other workers in the harvest?

This is the conversation too few of us are having. And it’s time we start.

A Reimagined Parable

Jesus’ parable of the talents reminds us that stewardship is at the heart of discipleship. Each servant was entrusted with a measure of resources and expected to invest them for the Master’s return.

But imagine if one servant had sold his talent outright. Instead of investing it or even hiding it in the ground, he simply liquidated it, handed over the cash, and walked away. He would have missed the opportunity for multiplication.

That is what happens when missionaries automatically sell their homes before launch. Instead of stewarding the asset for kingdom growth, they dispose of it—removing a powerful tool from their long-term ministry.

Four Reasons Not to Rush to Sell

1. Missionary Retention

Retention is one of the great challenges of global missions. Many workers return within the first five years due to burnout, family needs, or unexpected crises. For those who sold their home, returning often feels like starting from scratch—not only in ministry but in stability.

Having a home to return to provides a safety net. It lowers the psychological barrier of reentry and preserves dignity in difficult transitions. A home base communicates to a family: You have a place, even if you return sooner than expected.

2. Equity Growth

Real estate is one of the most consistent long-term investments. Homes tend to appreciate in value over time while building equity through mortgage paydown. For missionaries, keeping their home means continuing to grow an asset that can later be leveraged for retirement, children’s education, or future ministry endeavors.

Selling a home before launch might provide short-term relief, or aid in their pre launch funding needs, but it eliminates decades of potential equity growth that could serve the kingdom far more effectively.

3. Sustainable Funding

A home is not only an appreciating asset—it can also be a monthly source of income. Renting or professionally managing a property can provide steady cash flow that offsets a missionary’s support needs.

Consider the example of a missionary family renting their home for $2,000 per month. That income alone could cover a significant portion of their monthly budget, reducing the fundraising burden and making their ministry more sustainable. Instead of being entirely dependent on fluctuating donations, they now have a built-in funding pipeline.

4. Serving the Kingdom

Beyond personal benefit, homes can be used as active tools in the Great Commission. A property could be dedicated for furloughing missionaries, pastoral sabbaticals, or short-term team housing. It could be entrusted to a local church or missions organization as a hospitality hub.

In this way, a single house in a single neighborhood can serve dozens of missionaries across decades of ministry. Selling it would have cut off that possibility.

But Didn’t Jesus Say, “Sell Everything and Follow Me”?

Some may push back: “Didn’t Jesus command the rich young ruler to sell everything and follow Him?”

Yes—He did. And that call remains real. As a former missions mobilizer, I would often press future workers to “burn the boats” and “slaughter the oxen”, as it were. But we must understand this parable in context. Jesus wasn’t giving a universal mandate that all disciples must liquidate every asset. He was exposing the idol of wealth in one man’s heart. And he commands all of us to empty our lives of anything that would hinder us from a life of service to the King.

If a missionary clings to a home for security apart from Christ, then yes, selling it is obedience. But stewardship is not the same as idolatry. Throughout the New Testament, we see believers using property for kingdom purposes:

Lydia opened her home for the church in Philippi (Acts 16).
Aquila and Priscilla’s home became a hub for discipleship (Romans 16).
Some early believers sold land voluntarily to meet needs (Acts 4–5), while others presumably did not, and continued stewarding their homes for hospitality.

The issue is not whether you sell or keep a home, but why. Radical obedience can look like selling everything—or like stewarding a home as a weapon for kingdom multiplication. Both are valid when the heart is surrendered.

Real Estate as a Kingdom Weapon

Homes are not just shelters; they are potential weapons against darkness. In a world where real estate drives economies and provides stability, why should God’s people not leverage it for global mission?

We live in an era of creative stewardship. Families are using business ventures, technology platforms, and investments to advance the kingdom. Real estate belongs in that same conversation. Rather than treating homes as disposable assets, we can see them as long-term engines of gospel impact.

A home can generate financial sustainability for missionary families.
A home can provide rest and stability for furloughing workers.
A home can serve as ministry space for local outreach.
A home can become a legacy of equity for the next generation of missions.

To sell quickly, without prayerful consideration, is often to sell short of what God could do.

A Call to Mobilizers

Mission mobilizers have a unique influence. They help shape the mindset of missionaries during their most formative season—preparation and launch. Yet too often, the financial conversation stops with support raising.

It’s time to add another question to our mobilization toolkit:
“How can your home serve your mission?”

This doesn’t mean every missionary must keep their house. For some, selling will be the right choice. But mobilizers should at least present the options: renting, professional management, or creative partnerships. Helping missionaries see their home as a stewardship tool, not just a liability, could radically change the trajectory of their ministry.

Homes for the Harvest

Imagine a global network of homes—missionary-owned, stewarded wisely, producing equity and income, serving families on furlough, funding ongoing ministry, and expanding the reach of the gospel.

That is not a far-off dream. It is a practical, actionable vision if we begin rethinking how we mobilize.

When the Master returns, He will not ask us whether we sold quickly and traveled light. He will ask whether we multiplied what He placed in our hands.

So let us not be like a servant who relinquished a talent entrusted to us. Let us be stewards who weaponize every asset—even our homes—for the sake of the nations and the glory of Christ.

About The Author

Oikos Property Ventures exists to steward real estate for Kingdom impact. We manage homes for missionaries and pastors during their kingdom assignment. Through innovative short-term rental management and purpose-driven development, we remove real estate as a practical barrier to the mission field.

This article was contributed by Oikos Property Ventures, a Missio Nexus member. Member organizations are welcome to contribute content to the Missio Nexus website. Learn how by clicking here.