That is an important question. But perhaps there is an even better question: “How is God already shaping me to follow Jesus faithfully, wherever He sends me?”

Being a missionary is not mainly about travelling overseas, having an adventurous life, becoming a pastor, or doing something unusually “spiritual.” It is about following Jesus and participating in His mission among people who need to know Him. 

And today, serving God overseas can take different forms. Some Christians are sent as full-time Christian workers through a church or mission agency. Others serve through their professions—as teachers, engineers, doctors, IT professionals, researchers, businesspeople, designers, social workers or other skilled workers—while intentionally living as disciples and witnesses of Jesus. This is sometimes called bi-vocational mission, tentmaking or Business as Mission (BAM).

So how might you discern whether God could be leading you in this direction? 

1. Start with Jesus, Not with “becoming a missionary”

Before asking: “Am I called to missions?” 

ask: “Am I becoming a faithful disciple of Jesus?” 

Missionary calling grows out of discipleship. Your first calling is not to a country, organisation or occupation. Your first calling is to Christ. 

Jesus said: “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” – Matthew 4:19. If you are not passionate about the gospel and not talking to others about Jesus…hmmm. 

A church or mission agency therefore should not simply ask whether someone feels strongly about becoming a missionary. Calling matters – but calling alone is not sufficient. Wise discernment also considers character, competence, capacity and the affirmation of the Christian community. 

Ask yourself: 

• Do I genuinely love Jesus—or mainly the idea of doing something significant for Him?
• Am I learning to obey Him in ordinary life? 
• Do prayer and Scripture increasingly shape my decisions? 
• When I sin or fail, do I repent and return to Christ? 
• Am I teachable when someone corrects me? 
• Would I continue following Jesus even if nobody noticed what I was doing?\ 
• Am I talking passionately to people about Jesus? 

An older Christian may ask of you uncomfortable questions to test your resolve, like : Can I follow Jesus without applause, remain faithful without visible fruit, and persevere in loneliness? 

Those questions matter because overseas mission will not automatically make you spiritually mature. Who you are becoming now is more important than where you hope to go later. 

2. Look at your life now: Are you already a witness?

Sometimes we imagine: Singapore → missionary training → overseas → start witnessing 

But perhaps God’s pathway looks more like: 

Singapore → faithful disciple → faithful witness → growing maturity → cross-cultural exposure → discernment → overseas service 

If God might someday call you to witness for Christ in Bangkok, Tokyo, Jakarta or another part of the world, an important question is: 

Am I willing to represent Christ where He has placed me today? 

Your mission field right now may be your: 

School • Polytechnic • ITE • university • NSF • internship • workplace • sports team • friendship circle 

You do not need the title missionary before living missionally. Ask yourself: 

Who around me knows that I follow Jesus—not because I am pushy about Christianity, but because my words, priorities, integrity, kindness and relationships point towards Him? 

3. Character comes before talent

You may be intelligent. You may be a gifted leader. You may speak several languages. You may have excellent Bible knowledge. You may even be passionate about missions. But churches and mission agencies will rightly look deeper. 

The candidate guide puts it simply: “Character Before Competence.” 

It particularly identifies humility, teachability, integrity, emotional maturity and spiritual consistency as qualities to examine before qualifications, degrees or ministry experience. 

Why? Because mission involves people. 

You will live and work with people who communicate differently, think differently, eat differently, lead differently and may disagree with you. 

Therefore ask: What happens when… 

• somebody criticises me? 
• my leader chooses someone else? 
• I don’t get my way? 
• another Christian annoys me? 
• my plans fail? 
• I am stressed? 
• nobody recognises what I have done? 
• I need to apologise? 
• God seems silent? 

Your response to these situations may tell you more about your missionary readiness than your enthusiasm for missions. 

4. Are you rooted in a local church?

Missionary calling is not simply: “God told me, so I’m going.” 

In Acts 13:1–3, the Holy Spirit called Barnabas and Saul, but that calling was recognised within the worshipping Christian community. The church discerned, prayed and sent. 

Your church therefore matters. The assessment guide emphasises that missionary calling should not be regarded as purely individual and asks a crucial question: 

“Who else recognises this calling?” 

So ask yourself: 

• Am I faithfully involved in my church? 
• Am I serving somewhere? 
• Does anyone actually know me well enough to speak about my character? 
• Who disciples or mentors me? 
• Who can challenge me? 
• Have my youth leaders, pastors or Christian mentors noticed missionary potential in me? 

An older Christian or your Pastor might share this memorable principle with you: “Missionaries should emerge from ministry. Not escape into ministry.” 

You don’t have to be an impressive ministry leader. But faithfulness somewhere is important. 

5. What about my studies and career?

They matter. Especially if God eventually leads you towards bi-vocational mission. 

Suppose you eventually enter another country legitimately as an: engineer • teacher • nurse • accountant • software developer • architect • researcher • manager • entrepreneur 

Your profession isn’t simply your “cover” while your real work is evangelism. Your work itself should honour Christ. 

That means becoming good at what you do. As you explore, an older Christian may dig deeper about your intention, asking: 

“What practical skills do you bring?”
“What have you actually accomplished?”
“How do others evaluate your work?” 

Its principle is equally important: “Potential is not enough. Evidence matters.” 

For a 17-year-old, nobody expects ten years of professional experience! 

But your habits are already developing. So right now, learn to: 

• study diligently;
• turn up when you said you would; 
• complete responsibilities properly; 
• work well with difficult people; 
• communicate clearly; 
• receive feedback; 
• develop useful skills; 
• keep promises; 
• treat people with dignity; 
• practise Christian integrity. 

Your classroom, NS unit, university and first workplace can all become part of God’s missionary preparation. 

6. Can I live among people different from me?

Cross-cultural mission sounds exciting until culture becomes inconvenient. 

People may: eat differently, communicate indirectly, have very different concepts of time, disagree with your Singaporean ideas about efficiency, speak English differently, or not at all! The people in the mission field or foreign work environment would interpret your behaviour differently from what you intended. 

Missionary readiness therefore includes adaptability, curiosity, humility and cultural intelligence. A useful missionary posture is: “Help me understand.” 

rather than: “Why can’t they do things properly?” 

You can begin developing this attitude without leaving Singapore. Make friends across cultures. Learn another language. Serve migrant or diaspora communities appropriately through your church. Join a well-led short-term mission exposure. Listen to international students. Learn from Christians from other countries. 

Cross-cultural mission begins with cross-cultural humility. 

7. Test the call – don’t just wait for a voice from heaven

God certainly can guide dramatically. But many Christians discover God’s direction gradually. You might think of discernment as: 

PRAY → SERVE → EXPLORE → LISTEN → TEST → PREPARE → GO 

PRAY: “Lord, my life belongs to You. Where and how would You have me serve?” 

↓ 

SERVE: Become faithful where God has already placed you. 

↓ 

EXPLORE: Learn about God’s mission, unreached peoples and the global Church. 

↓ 

LISTEN: Pay attention to Scripture, prayer, circumstances, opportunities and godly counsel. 

↓ 

TEST: Contact a mission-sending agency to explore appropriate short-term or cross-cultural opportunities. 

↓ 

PREPARE: Develop spiritual maturity, ministry experience, professional competence and cultural readiness. 

↓ 

GO: If God continues opening the way and the Christian community confirms it, be willing to obey. 

A missionary-sending church, as well as missionary-sending agencies both encourage (and assess!) prospective candidates to remain active in church, seek honest feedback, test their calling through ministry, pursue cross-cultural exposure, invite scrutiny and remain teachable.

8. Five signs worth paying attention to

None of these alone proves that God is calling you overseas. But together they may provide good reasons to explore further. 

① A growing love for Christ 

You increasingly want your whole life – not simply Sundays – to belong to Jesus. 

② A growing concern for people who do not know Christ 

Certain peoples, countries or communities increasingly remain on your heart and in your prayers. 

③ Faithfulness where you already are 

You are learning to serve Christ in ordinary life rather than waiting for something more exciting. 

④ Other mature Christians recognise something in you 

Pastors, mentors, leaders and Christian friends begin encouraging you to explore missions. 

⑤ Doors begin opening for exploration 

A short-term mission, overseas internship, ministry opportunity, language study, professional placement or relationship unexpectedly allows you to explore further. 

Don’t immediately conclude: “This proves I’m called!” 

Instead say: “Perhaps God is inviting me to take the next step in discerning.” 

9. Three questions that can reveal a lot

Question One

If God never sends me overseas, will I still gladly follow Jesus and serve Him in Singapore? 

And “If God closed the door to overseas missions tomorrow, would I still gladly follow Christ and serve faithfully where I am?” 

That question protects us from making “missionary” our identity. Your identity is in Christ.

Question Two

Would Christians who know me well trust me to represent Jesus overseas? 

The sending church must eventually be able to say: “Yes. We know this person. We have seen his/her character, service, relationships and growth. We believe God may genuinely be leading this person.” 

Church affirmation does not replace God’s call. It helps discern it. 

Question Three

Am I willing to prepare—even if preparation takes years? 

At ages 16–24 (plus or minus couple of years), God’s call may not mean: 

GO NOW. 

It may mean: 

START PREPARING NOW. 

Finish your studies.
Develop your profession.
Grow spiritually.
Learn Scripture.
Serve your church.
Learn to work with people.
Build healthy relationships.
Develop emotional resilience.
Learn another language.
Explore another culture.
Find mentors.
Take responsible short-term opportunities. 

Preparation is not delaying God’s call. Preparation may itself be obedience to God’s call. 

My personal missionary-discernment check

Don’t answer what you think a “good Christian” should answer. Answer truthfully. 

Lots of “Not Yet” answers do not mean “God isn’t calling me.” 

They may simply mean: God has more preparation to do in me. 

The candidate-assessment framework itself recognises this. Its “traffic light” model distinguishes between Green—ready now, Amber—potentially suitable but needing development, and Red—not presently suitable. 

For many young Christians, Amber (not Green nor Red light at your junction/season of life) may be a perfectly good place to wait upon the Lord. 

So…is God calling me?

Perhaps. 

You do not need to settle the rest of your life at 18, 21 or 24 years of age. 

But you can settle something much more important: 

“Jesus, wherever You lead me, I want to follow.” 

Then begin walking.
Be faithful in your studies.
Become excellent in your profession.
Love your neighbours.
Share Christ naturally.
Serve your church.
Learn about the world.
Cross cultural boundaries.
Seek wise mentors.
Take appropriate opportunities.
Allow other Christians to examine your calling.
And keep asking God: 

“Lord, what is my next faithful step?” 

Over time, you may discover that your next steps lead towards full-time Christian ministry overseas. 

They may lead towards a profession that enables you to live and work cross-culturally as a faithful Christian witness. 

Or God may keep you in Singapore and use you powerfully here. 

The destination is God’s responsibility. Faithful obedience is yours. 

One last thought

A missions agency ultimately isn’t trying to discover whether you are adventurous enough to survive overseas.  

The deeper question is whether you can: “faithfully represent Christ, serve fruitfully, remain healthy, and be sustained over time in the place God may be calling [you].” 

So don’t spend your youth trying to look like a missionary candidate. 

Spend it learning to walk closely with Jesus. 

Then, wherever He sends you, you will already have begun the journey.