Perhaps you have reached an exciting – and slightly frightening – point in your journey with God. 

You have begun asking: “Could God be calling me to serve Him overseas?” 

Then another question quickly follows: “But where?” 

Japan? Thailand? Cambodia? Indonesia? Central Asia? East Asia? Somewhere in the Middle East? A huge modern city? A rural community? A university? A hospital? A technology company? Somewhere you have never even heard of? 

For a young Christian, the number of possibilities can feel overwhelming. Here is an important starting point: 

You don’t have to discover God’s secret map for your life. You are learning to walk with the God who guides you. 

Biblical guidance is normally less about decoding hidden signs and more about knowing God, becoming wise, praying, listening, seeking counsel, examining opportunities and taking faithful steps. 

So perhaps the question is not simply: “Which country is God calling me to?”  but: “Lord, among which people, in what kind of place, and through what gifts might You want me to serve?” 

1. Begin with surrender, not a map

Before asking God: “Which country?” 

there is an earlier prayer: “Lord, am I genuinely willing to go?” 

Abraham was told: “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” – Genesis 12:1 

Notice the order. Go. 

Then: I will show you. 

God did not give Abraham the entire journey beforehand. 

Sometimes we want God to reveal His will so that we can decide whether we like it. Christian discernment works differently. We increasingly surrender ourselves to God and then ask Him to lead. 

That doesn’t mean switching off your brain. Quite the opposite. 

Paul urges Christians to be transformed by the renewing of their minds so that they may discern God’s will (Romans 12:1–2). 

So begin here:  

“Lord Jesus, my life belongs to You.
My education belongs to You.
My career belongs to You.
My abilities belong to You.
My future belongs to You.
My comfort belongs to You.
Wherever You want me to serve, make me willing to listen.” 

That may be the most important missionary prayer you pray. 

2. Don’t fall in love with a country – learn to love a people group

You might love Japanese culture. Or Korean food. Or the mountains of Central Asia. Or life in Bangkok. That’s fine. 

Interest in a place can become one of the ways God begins directing our attention. But enjoying a country and being called to serve its people are not the same thing. 

Mission is fundamentally about people.  

So move beyond: “Which country interests me?” 

towards: “Who are the people God may be asking me to love and serve?” 

Countries contain many different peoples, languages, cultures and communities. The same people group may also live across several national borders. 

Ask: 

• Who lives there? 
• What do they believe? 
• What are their hopes and struggles? 
• What is the Christian Church there like? 
• How many have meaningful access to the gospel? 
• What are local Christians already doing? 
• What do local churches actually need? 
• Where could someone with my abilities contribute? 
• Would my presence strengthen local Christians—or unintentionally get in their way? 

Mission is not: “I have something. They need me.” 

A healthier posture is: “God is already at work there. Could He be inviting me to participate humbly in what He is doing?” 

3. Let the Great Commission enlarge your world

Jesus’ Great Commission should shape our imagination: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” – Matthew 28:19 

And before His ascension Jesus told His disciples: “You will be my witnesses…to the end of the earth.” – Acts 1:8 

The risen Christ therefore gives His Church a global horizon. 

That doesn’t mean every Christian must become an overseas missionary. 

But every Christian should care that every people has the opportunity to hear of Christ. 

So when considering where to serve, don’t only ask: “Where would I enjoy living?” 

Ask: “Where are there people with relatively little opportunity to encounter the gospel?” 

This can dramatically change your thinking. 

Some places may have millions of Christians, thousands of churches and many Christian organisations. Other communities may have extremely limited Christian witness. 

Perhaps your prayer therefore becomes: “Lord, show me something of the world as You see it.” 

4. Notice what God keeps putting in front of you

Sometimes missionary direction begins surprisingly quietly. A speaker mentions a country, or you meet an international student, or your church begins supporting a missionary, or you participate in a short-term mission, or you read about an unreached people, and you start praying for them, Months later, you are still praying. Then another opportunity involving the same region appears. 

Don’t immediately conclude: “THIS MUST BE GOD’S CALL!” But don’t automatically dismiss it either. 

Instead ask: “Lord, is there something here You want me to pay attention to?” 

Samuel’s response provides a helpful posture: “Speak, for your servant hears.” –1 Samuel 3:10 

Keep listening. 

Keep praying. 

Keep learning. 

And see whether the concern deepens or disappears. 

5. Pay attention to your gifts – but don’t worship them

God has made you a particular person. You may love: 

languages • engineering • children • computers • medicine • business • theology • design • teaching • science • entrepreneurship • music • hospitality • research 

Those things matter. Especially for bi-vocational mission. 

If you eventually work overseas as an engineer, teacher, healthcare professional, researcher, IT specialist or manager, your professional ability is not incidental to your missionary calling. 

You need to objectively assess yourself (and get a close, Christian brother or sister to help!): 

“What practical skills do I bring?”
“What have I actually accomplished?”
“How do others evaluate my secular work?” 

and you may possible (and importantly) concludes: “Potential is not enough. Evidence matters.” 

So ask: “Where might the gifts God has given me genuinely serve people?” 

A healthcare professional and an agricultural specialist may find very different opportunities. 

A teacher may have legitimate access to places where a conventional missionary does not. 

A software engineer might live and work naturally in a major Asian city. 

A researcher might enter through a university. 

Your profession may become part of God’s providential guidance. 

But remember: Don’t choose a country simply because it needs your skill. 

Competence is only one part of discernment. 

6. Ask whether if you could actually live there

Sometimes young Christians romanticise missionary life. 

Instagram version: beautiful mountains + interesting food + smiling children + meaningful ministry 

Actual missionary life: language mistakes + bureaucracy + loneliness + cultural misunderstandings + difficult colleagues + homesickness + ordinary work + unanswered prayer + wonderful friendships + unexpected joy + God’s faithfulness 

A candidate-assessment guide used by a mission-sending agency is likely to identify attributes like adaptability, curiosity, humility and cultural intelligence as important dimensions of cross-cultural readiness.

Ask yourself: 

• Could I learn this language? 
• Could I eat differently? 
• Could I cope with less convenience? 
• Could I live somewhere where Christians are a tiny minority? 
• Could I respect local ways of doing things? 
• Could I submit to local leadership? 
• Could I function when people misunderstand me? 
• Could I learn without constantly comparing everything with Singapore? 
• Could I live without expecting the country to adapt itself to me? 

You won’t know all the answers beforehand. 

That’s why exposure matters. Go, first, on a short-term mission trip to the country or region, or take an overseas internship if at all possible.   

7. Go before you “go”

Before deciding: “I will spend the next ten years there.” 

perhaps spend: two weeks. 

Then perhaps: two months. 

Then perhaps: six months. 

A well-designed short-term mission should not mainly be an exciting Christian holiday. 

It should help you observe, listen, learn and discern. 

The candidate framework specifically encourages prospective workers to test calling through ministry and pursue cross-cultural exposure. 

When visiting a possible field, don’t only ask: “Did I enjoy the trip?” 

Ask:  

“What did I learn about the people?” 

“What did I learn about God?” 

“What did I learn about myself?” 

“Could I imagine learning this language seriously?” 

“What frustrated me?” 

“How did I react when things didn’t work?” 

“Did my concern for these people deepen after seeing reality?” 

“What do experienced workers and local Christians see in me?” 

This last question is especially important. 

Thanks for reading! You can read part 2 of this guide here.