What Has Missionary Member Care Been Like Since Bible Times?
Short & Simple Summary
We have little information about missionary member care that was given for nearly 2000 years as Christianity spread around the globe. Missionaries were weeks if not months from “home” and communication took at least that long if it was successful at all, so any member care was given by colleagues on the field. However, during the 18th and 19th centuries it became apparent that member care was needed. Little was done until near the middle of the 20th century, and great interest was not shown until the last quarter of that century. Here are the topics covered in the chapter.
Early Protestant Missions
Recent Protestant Missions
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
If you want more detail and links to other sources, read on.
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After New Testament times unmarried Roman Catholic priests and nuns spread Christianity around the world. They literally “renounced marriage for the Kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:12). The majority of these Catholic missionaries traveling all over the world were men, and they had chosen to remain single so that they could better please God. Therefore, there were no marriage and family issues, and there were no third culture kids growing up between cultures.
Likewise, there were no member care specialists such as psychologists, social workers, and counselors. Any member care given came from the other missionaries in the group serving together.
Early Protestant Missions
The Protestant reformation in Europe in the 16th century was primarily aimed at reforming the Roman Catholic Church rather than reaching out to different people groups on other continents. Reformers such as Luther and Calvin had a ministry aimed at Christians in their own culture, those who had a different Christian theology.
The First Great Awakening in 18th century protestant Europe and the American colonies was also aimed primarily at Christians who had a different style of worship and theology. It emphasized personal commitment and morality over ritual and ceremony. It did result in the salvation of some of the slaves in the colonies, but the awakening was not aimed at taking the gospel to other cultures.
However, some individuals in both America and Europe did begin to take Christianity to other people groups. From the beginning such individuals and families revealed a need for member care. Here are some examples.
· David Brainerd. Born in Connecticut and missionary to Native Americans living in New Jersey in the 18th century, David Brainerd suffered from loneliness and depression. He wrote, “I live in the most lonely melancholy desert…My soul was weary of my life. I longed for death, beyond measure,” (He chose to work alone rather than with a veteran missionary couple with whom he had been assigned).
· Dorothy and Felix Carey. Born in England and missionary to people in India near the end of the 18th century, Dorothy and Felix were the wife and son of William Carey, often called the “Father of Modern Missions.” As noted in Chapter one, Dorothy was severely mentally ill and Felix turned his back on God after serving briefly as a missionary (No help from the agency in England, William tried to help on site.).
· J. Hudson Taylor. Born in England and 19th century missionary to China, J. Hudson Taylor at age 37, after 20 years of missionary service said, “Hope itself had almost died out.” He had such intense internal conflict that he agonized that “every day, almost every hour, the consciousness of failure and sin oppressed me.” He sank to such despair that he had “the awful temptation even to end his own life.” “Maria, his wife, stood between Hudson and suicide” (J. C. Pollock, 1962, Hudson Taylor and Maria, New York, McGraw-Hill, p. 195-196).
· Adoniram Judson. When his wife and daughter died, 19th century American missionary to Burma, Adoniram Judson’s grieving process turned into a mental disorder. Reclusive, he dug a grave in the jungle where he remained—filling his mind with thoughts of death. He said, “God is to me the Great Unknown. I believe in him, but I find him not.” (Fellow missionaries cared for him.).
· Mary Livingstone. When she and their children could not keep up with him, David Livingstone, 19th century Scottish missionary to Africa, sent them back to England. There Mary found cheap lodging for herself and the children, but was so distressed that she turned to alcohol. When David returned five years later he had no time for his family. (Even though Mary and the children were right there, their agency did nothing for them.).
Early Protestant missionaries from Europe and America to Asia in the 18th and 19th centuries had little missionary care. For more information, see “Historical Notes on Missionary Care” by Ruth Tucker and Leslie Andrews, Part One, Chapter 2 of Missionary Care: Counting the Cost for World Evangelization at https://sites.google.com/site/membercaravan/test/mc-counting-the-cost-book-
Recent Protestant Missions
The first half of the 20th century was similar to the 18th and 19th centuries regarding member care. Member care, when it was given, was primarily by family members on the field as well as missionary colleagues there too. Missionaries were expected to make a lifelong commitment to their call, to be spiritual giants, and be up to facing anything that happened. Some of them even traveled to the field with their belongings in the coffins they expected to be buried in. They have been called such things as “lone rangers” and “heroes of the faith,” like those mentioned in Hebrews 11.
Member care was still primarily a matter of helping missionaries reach the field, handling their finances in their passport country, and shipping needed items to them. Little was done to prepare them for service, to help meet their personal needs, or to help them reenter their passport countries. When missionaries returned before their expected term of service was completed or did not return for another term, they were often seen as disobeying God’s call.
One thing that was done for them was to help with the education of their children by beginning boarding schools. Although some of these schools have closed, here is a sample of some that are still serving TCKs.
· Rift Valley Academy (Kenya). RVA began classes in 1906, and US President Teddy Roosevelt laid the cornerstone of one of the buildings on campus in 1909. It now serves students whose parents serve with 80 agencies located in 20 African countries http://www.rva.org/ .
· Dalat International School (Malaysia). Dalat began in 1920 in Vietnam as a school for C&MA missionaries. Due to war conditions it moved several times, finally to Penang, Malaysia. It continues to provide “education for life founded on a biblical worldview” http://www.dalat.org/ .
· Morrison Academy (Taiwan). Classes began at Morrison Academy in the fall of 1953 with 35 students, and tuition was $10 per month. Four agencies assumed responsibility for the school, and it has grown to three campuses across the country http://www.mca.org.tw/ .
Missionary member care as we think of it today did not begin until past the middle of the 20th century, but even before that pastors often provided pastoral care of missionaries their churches supported, much like Stephanas, Titus, Timothy, and Mark did in the first century. This pastoral care was provided by some local churches, by some denominations, and by some mission agencies. Some agencies had “international pastors” who served full time visiting missionaries periodically on a regular schedule. This providing of pastoral care became more formalized in the Pastors to Missionaries Conferences by Barnabas International. Now the annual PTM Conference motto is “Providing Encouragement for Member Care Workers” http://ptm.barnabas.org/.
Few, if any, mental health professionals were involved in missionary member care. Often there was mutual suspicion between the church and missionaries on the one hand and psychologists and psychiatrists on the other. However, there were some notable exceptions. One of them was a Christian psychologist, Henry Brandt, who completed his PhD in 1952. One day R.E. Thompson, who had no salary to offer, asked Henry to help in counseling the missionary candidates in his young organization. Within a month, Henry had a full load counseling people in Missionary Internship, now Mission Training International http://www.mti.org/. Henry trained missionaries at home and ministered to them abroad. At his own expense he reached out to countless men and women stationed in extreme and isolated locations. He was the first counseling psychologist to meet with the missionary wives after the Auca massacre in the Amazon in 1956. For more information, see
http://biblicalcounselingoutreach.com/henry-brandt-biography/index.shtml.
Another notable exception was Clyde Narramore. In 1954 Dr. Narramore and his wife began a radio broadcast and monthly magazine, Psychology for Living. In 1958 he founded the Narramore Christian Foundation (http://www.ncfliving.org/ which still publishes Psychology for Living, and it has also ministered to thousands of missionaries and their children through seminars held around the world. For more information see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clyde_M._Narramore.
Another major contribution of Clyde Narramore to missionary member care was one of the first books about missionaries written by a mental health professional. In their “Christian Psychology Series” in 1969, Zondervan published his brief book, Problems Missionaries Face, which is basically a report of research he had done on the subject. He begins that book by describing what happened as he and his nephew, Bruce Narramore, took off from Mexico City. He wrote, “You see, we were on the last leg of a world trip, returning from several foreign mission fields. In Brazil alone, we had spent time with missionaries from more than forty missionary organizations…” Though he was aware of the limitations of his research, the information he gained from 35 missionaries in Puerto Rico in 1968 is still relevant today. Bruce Narramore and the Narramore Christian Foundation are still making major contributions to missionary member care today.
The last half of the 20th century was a time of increasing missionary member care as mental health professionals added their knowledge and skills to the pastoral care available at the time. Here is what happened decade by decade. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list, just a sample of what was done each decade. Look at the names of the organizations and events to get some “feel” for what happened. Most of these links will appear in later chapters when they are “answers” to the questions asked in chapter titles.
1950s
· Mission Training International, 1953 ( now Missionary Internship) http://www.mti.org/
· Narramore Christian Foundation, 1958, http://www.ncfliving.org/
1960s
· Link Care center, 1965, http://www.linkcare.org/
· Some agencies added children’s staff and counseling staff
· Book: Problems Missionaries Face, 1969
1970s
· Marble Retreat, 1975, http://www.marbleretreat.org/
1980s
· Conference on Mental Health and Missions, 1980, http://www.mti.org/programs/MHM
· ICMK (International Conferences on Missionary Kids). ICMK—Manila, 1984; Quito, 1987; Nairobi, 1989
· Barnabas International, 1986. http://www.barnabas.org/
· Peter’s Wife, 1986, http://pw.mikediane.com/
· Interaction International http://www.interactionintl.org/home.asp
· Mu Kappa, 1988, http://www.mukappa.org/
· MK-CART/CORE, 1987 (15 years, 3 major studies)
· Tumaini Counselling Centre, 1980s, http://tumainicounselling.net/
· Books: (1) Cross Cultural Reentry: A Book of Readings, 1986. (2) Overcoming Missionary Stress, 1987. (3) Helping Missionaries Grow: Readings in Mental Health and Missions, 1988.
1990s
· Heartstream Resources, 1992, http://www.heartstreamresources.org/
· Share Education Services, 1994, http://www.shareeducation.org/
· Godspeed Services, 1995, http://www.godspeedservices.org/
· ReMAP (Reducing Missionary Attrition Project) 1995-1997
· Women of the Harvest, 1997 which became Thrive, 2013, http://thriveministry.org/
· Missionary Care, 1998, http://www.missionarycare.com/
· Member Care Radio, 1998, http://www.membercareradio.com/
· A Quiet Place, 1998 http://www.aqpretreat.org/
· Quiet Place Ministries, 1998, http://www.quietplaceministries.org/
· Missionary Care Ministry, 1999, http://www.missionarycareministry.org/
· ELIM Retreats, 1999, http://www.elimretreats.org/
· Books: (1) Re-Entry: Making the Transition From Missions to Life at Home, 1992. (2). Missionary Care: Counting the Cost for World Evangelization, 1992. (3) Psychology of Missionary Adjustment, 1995. (4) Too Valuable to Lose: Exploring the Causes and Cures of Missionary Attrition, 1997. (5) The Third Culture Kid Experience, 1999.
2000s
· Alongside, 2000, http://www.alongsidecares.net/
· Mobile Member Care Team, 2000, http://www.mmct.org/
· The Well, 2000, https://www.thewellcm.com/
· ReMAP II (Reducing Missionary Attrition Project Two) 2002-2007, http://www.worldevangelicals.org/resources/rfiles/res3_96_link_1292358945.pdf
· Missionary Resources Connection, 2001, http://www.mresourcesconnection.org/
· E-Books appeared on Missionarycare.com, 2003
· Doctor of Ministry in Member Care, 2003, http://www.ciu.edu/academic-programs/doctor-ministry-program
· Cornerstone Counseling foundation, 2004, http://www.cornerstonecounseling.in.th/index.html
· Cross-Cultural Workers, 2005, http://www.crossculturalworkers.com/
· Child Safety and Protection Network, 2006, http://childsafetyprotectionnetwork.org/
· Doctor of Ministry in Member Care, 2007, http://www.ciu.edu/academic-programs/doctor-ministry-program
· Global Member Care Network, 2007, http://www.globalmembercare.com/
· Member Caravan, 2008, https://sites.google.com/site/membercaravan/home
· Member Care Associates, 2009. http://membercareassociates.org/
· Books: (1) Fitted Pieces: A Guide for Parents Educating Children Overseas, 2001. (2) Doing Member Care Well: Perspectives and Practices from Around the World, 2002. (3) Enhancing Missionary Vitality: Mental Health Professions Serving Global Mission, 2002. (4) The Family in Mission: Understanding and Caring for Those Who Serve, 2004. (5) Worth Keeping: Global Perspectives on Best Practice in Missionary Retention, 2007. (6) Parents of Missionaries: How to Thrive and stay Connected When your children and Grandchildren serve Cross-Culturally, 2008. (7) Global Member Care Volume One: The Pearls and Perils of Good Practice, 2011.
Just glancing over this chapter makes it clear that very little was done in missionary member care until the 1980s. Since that time people have been increasingly responding to the needs that missionaries have expressed.
Note to the reader: If you have suggestions about other things that would better answer this chapter’s question, please email those to me at ron@missionarycare.com. In that email please tell me three things: (1) what you believe needs to be included, (2) links to relevant websites if available, and (3) how it better answers the question “What has missionary member care been like since Bible times?” I plan to periodically update and expand the book with these suggestions.