Do you wish staff would stay around longer and make longer commitments? What can we do to keep our missionaries? The World Evangelical Alliance study of missionary retention identified ten agency practices that help to keep missionaries longer. The first agency practice is selection.

The study showed generally that mission organizations that were careful in the selection process were more likely to retain staff. An evaluation revealed ten qualifications that high retaining organizations used in selecting staff. The most important element was that the person had a genuine calling to missions that enabled them to persevere through the challenges normal in missionary life.

The second selection element was spiritual maturity, a quality that suggests the ability to handle the tests of life. Vital to this maturity is the ability to use the Word of God for personal application and growth. Successful organizations select Christians with mature character and disciplines, including excellent relationship skills. The careful selection process uses character references from friends and pastors for evaluation. The survey also found that a person’s contentment with their marital status, married or single, was key in determining staying ability in missions.

Applicants who came with strong support from their pastors and families and firm prayer support were more likely to stay in mission. This was more important in newer sending nations such as Africa.

In traditional mission agencies, the selection process takes place before a person is sent to the field. In YWAM, however, DTS graduates are often received as staff without a careful selection process. The research findings suggest the following for YWAM:

• We could be more careful in evaluating students during DTS so we can write clear references following DTS and outreach.
• We could be careful in getting and evaluating references from friends, pastors and DTS leaders if applicants are coming from other YWAM locations
• We could work on developing some of the above qualities during DTS!
• We could give more training regarding building pastor/church/family/prayer support and give more time for developing these support systems before coming on staff
  

Compiled by Randy and Jane Rhoades, Staff Development Facilitators, Field Service Team, Youth With A Mission, Africa. Volume 1, Issue No.8

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