What is a Missionary Service Agency?

 A missionary service agency is an organization that helps to mobilize missionaries worldwide in partnership with local churches. A missionary service agency does not replace a local church, but rather partners with local churches in sending missionaries.

The idea behind a missionary service agency developed after the massive growth in the field of Christian missions in the twentieth century as a result of technological advancements that made traveling and communication much easier. The trend of sending more missionaries came with a growing understanding of the church’s vital role in missions; the church is not, anymore, a mere spectator but an essential player in the equation. Churches have come to realize that throughout the New Testament, sending missionaries has always been the role of the local church (Read more about The Role of the Local Church in Missions). Therefore, churches across the US are stepping up to take their biblical role in sending missionaries.

Choosing a Missionary Service Agency

Choosing an agency is one of the most important steps a missionary needs to take before moving to the mission field. This single decision will impact the missionary’s life and ministry for years to come. So, you ought to take this decision very seriously and with much prayer. In another article, How to Choose a Missionary Service Agency, Mission Quest put together a list of the main things you need to know and ask your potential agency before joining them. Please feel free to read the article and download our free guide.

Sending Missionaries is Full of Challenges.

When a church starts looking into sending missionaries locally or overseas, they immediately realize the high level of administration and complicated tasks and hoops that they have to jump through. This includes training, processing donations for missionaries, handling tax-related matters, stay on top of all the IRS regulations. This is absolutely exhausting for most churches. At this point, churches realize that they need a dependable missionary service agency!

What is the relationship between the missionary service agency and the local church?

 The missionary service agency complements the biblical role of the local church; the service agency stands by the church and does not replace it. The church is the entity that equips missionaries, trains them, prays with them, guides them, and always keeps them accountable, doing all that requires so much time and effort, especially when a church has so many missionaries. With that in mind, churches don’t need to worry about processing donations for these missionaries, especially when, in some cases, this could affect the tax-deductible status of the church (Read more about the IRS regulations on Charitable Contributions to Individual Missionaries).

In cases like this, missionary service agencies come into the scene. Missionary service agencies, like Mission Quest, have already established a dependable system that can handle all the logistics involved in processing donations to missionaries without violating the regulations of the Internal Revenue Service. Partnering with a missionary service agency allows churches to function as sending entities without dealing with the hassles and complexity of financial logistics.

How Does Mission Quest Function as a Missionary Service Agency?

 At Mission Quest, we operate as the home office for many missionaries. We support these missionaries for years as they grow their ministries and impact the world. The beauty of having us as your dependable home office and service agency rests in the fact that we play from behind the scenes, we serve you in the way you need to be served. Mission Quest does not force a specific method for you to preach the Gospel and fulfill your calling; after all, it is your calling that the Lord has called you to fulfill, but rather we stand behind you in accomplishing it. We are here to be sure that you keep your focus on what you do, knowing that we are handling the financial logistics. We are your dedicated home office and missionary service agency.

Watch the short video below to understand more about what we do.

Over the years, Mission Quest has seen missionaries lose heart and abandon the mission field because of the bureaucracy of some agencies that suffocate their vision and prevent them from following the Holy Spirit. At Mission Quest, we do not want you to become another sad story; we want you to follow God, knowing that we’ve got your back! 

If you have any questions about what it means to be a missionary service agency or how our home office can help you, please do not drop us a line and let’s start the conversation. NO obligations and no strings attached! What is a Missionary Service Organization?