True discipleship always begins with surrender.
Jesus said this in Chapter 14 of Luke’s gospel: “Whoever does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” In a culture where following Christ is often reduced to church attendance, playlists full of worship songs and a convenient spiritual routine – the words of Jesus sound extreme, even impossible. But his words are not an optional suggestion, they are part of a command. They are the starting line for every true disciple of Christ.
If God calls you into cross-cultural ministry, this surrender won’t just be part of the journey – it will define it.
What leads someone to become a missionary? The path to such a life is rarely straightforward. Often, God’s guidance towards cross-cultural ministry comes through a blend of biblical teaching, sustained prayer, discernment within a local church, counsel from fellow mature believers and direction from mission leaders. By the grace of God, the unique ingredients of your life are woven together to make his guidance clear.
There is no formula. There are no “Five Easy Steps” to a missionary calling. Years ago, someone told me, “Let the Holy Spirit be as creative with others as he was with you.” This is wise counsel. God has gifted each one of us with a unique and individualized mix of personality, interests, experiences, abilities and spiritual gifts. God has created you with intention; he is sovereign over your life, and he can be trusted to make his calling on your life unmistakable.
What is the essential ingredient? Surrender.
Many of us have sung hymns and worship songs about “surrendering all.” This isn’t meant to be simply a poetic ideal; it’s meant to describe our actual posture before the Lord.
One truth is inescapable: a life of ministry, whether as a missionary or in any other form, requires surrender.
Jesus makes it clear that surrender is not an option:
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple … So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26–27, 33, ESV).
The Greek word for renounce carries the idea of saying farewell to something. Following Jesus means saying goodbye to anything we would place above him – family, possessions, priorities and even our own lives.
This is shocking! Jesus doesn’t say that this is the bar for missionaries alone – it is the baseline for discipleship itself. Unfortunately, much of the North American church has lowered that bar. Consumer culture has shaped our expectations, and far too often we have equated discipleship with casual attendance, selective obedience and convenience-based spirituality.
Jesus really meant everything.
True discipleship means that everything, yes, everything, is surrendered. Our time, money, plans, relationships, possessions, desires. Anything that we hold back in our surrendering is disobedience. If surrender is essential for following Christ, it’s even more critical when discerning a call to cross-cultural ministry.
When the Lord called Saul (Paul), he first brought him to a place of complete broken surrender. Acts 9 tells us that Saul fell to the ground blinded and had to be led by the hand to Damascus. From that moment on, God was shaping Saul into a servant fully yielded to his will.
Surrender should be the normal state of every disciple. It is not a special qualification for missionaries. The call to serve flows out of a life that has already been laid down.
“If I surrender everything, will God make me a missionary?”
This is a question we often ask. “Does this mean that if I surrender everything, God will then make me a missionary?” Again, there is no formula. But consider this – is fear fueling that question? Is there something you are afraid to surrender? That may be exactly what the Lord wants you to place in his capable hands.
Surrender takes faith. It is the work of the Holy Spirit in us, releasing our grip on anything that competes with Christ. It is saying farewell to every rival for our devotion to Christ, and in doing so to let our heart’s greatest desire be to follow Jesus obediently in whatever direction he leads. Jesus can be trusted with everything – including giving you the guidance you need to follow his will. Trust the Lord to show you his desire for you. Whatever guidance he provides, we can trust that it will be the best, even if it’s not what we want or expect.
The real foundation is continuous surrender.
Missionary service begins with being a true disciple – one who surrenders daily to Jesus. If we start anywhere else, we’re building on a faulty foundation.
Whether or not God calls you to cross-cultural ministry is secondary. What matters most is honoring the Lord by following faithfully and obediently in whatever sphere of life he leads you.
As Paul wrote:
“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:7–8a).
