When Missionaries Get Rerouted

Many missionary biographies tell the stories of men and women who persevered for decades in a single context. Today, though, God seems to be moving his workforce around the globe with growing frequency. Whether due to pandemic lockdowns, visa restrictions, unfriendly local officials or health and family concerns, many global workers are finding themselves working in contexts different from their initial destination.

Items May Have Shifted: When Missionaries Get Rerouted is a collection of stories of missionaries who left everything and moved across the world to serve among the unreached – and then were rerouted, often without much warning or explanation.

The book explores the disappointment and frustration that such redirection can bring, but it also reveals the unexpected joy that can come from following Jesus into the unknown and finding new seasons of fruitfulness.

The contributors’ experiences illustrate an inherent tension missionaries must maintain in our chaotic world: the commitment to go deep in difficult contexts as if it’s forever and the openhandedness to accept that plans may change at any time.

Why read this book? You (or missionaries you care about or your church supports) may be on the move by necessity or by choice. Either way, these stories remind us all that God’s people are called to a flexible, responsive faithfulness, tenaciously clinging to the God of the unexpected.

This book is currently available in three formats: Items May Have Shifted is free to read online, and also available for purchase on Amazon Kindle or in paperback on Amazon or wherever books are sold.

This article is submitted by Matt Green of Pioneers, a Missio Nexus member.  Member organizations can share their stories on the Missio Nexus website through our publish platform. See how by clicking here.