And, they’re off! …Almost.

Our newest cohort of missionaries has completed their training, been commissioned, and is in the final stages of preparation before they will scatter across the globe to begin their cross-cultural ministries.  For some in this new team, this journey started with their Friends Network application last winter.  For others, it really started back in their original service with Friends of China.  Whether the road has been short or years in the making, 

God’s calling on each of their lives has led them through months of onboarding, training, and preparation to enter the mission field.  

This training culminated in the two weeks we all spent together at Friends Network headquarters in St Paul, exploring topics of cultural adaptation and discipleship, along with more practical matters of travel plans and taxes.  Throughout onboarding, in person training, and regular “Cohort Connect” meetings held with the new missionaries for the rest of 2025, this group of believers built and is strengthening a support network they can lean on as they transition to the field.

In addition to what the new missionaries are walking through, the existing teams in Davao, Philippines, Chiang Mai, Thailand, and Mito, Japan are getting ready as well.  They play an important role as they prepare to receive these new missionaries.  Some of them remember that transition well as they celebrate their own one year anniversary in the field, while some of the receiving missionaries are “veterans” with many years’ experience to share.  As our teams in each field grow, having a stable and hospitable landing spot is an enormous blessing for our new members.

And then there is you. Maybe you have been a supporter of Friends Network for years and have had a front row seat to the ministry growth and expansion into new parts of the world.  Or perhaps you had never heard of this ministry until your loved one told you of their plan to move across the globe.  However you got here, you have a critical role to play!  Your financial contributions, whether to a specific missionary’s support fund or to the general budget of Friends Network, allows for this work to happen.  But even more importantly, you get to approach the throne of our Creator every day, praying for protection and provision for our missionaries, our staff, and this ministry.  Praying for opportunities to share the gospel, praying that people see the light of Jesus through us, and praying for hearts of Christians to be stirred to consider foreign missions.  Praying for your own heart to be open to ways to share the gospel within your  local community.

So much effort, so much planning, so much training, so much preparation, and yet…all of what we do pales in comparison to the work God has been doing since before any of us was born.  HE is providing opportunities to share the gospel.  HE is shining his light into our lives so we might reflect it to others.  HE is calling people to mission work.  HE is protecting and providing for all his children.  HE has gone on before us, is with us, and will remain after our work is done.

So….soon they will be off.  Off to their new mission fields, knowing they have the constant companionship, leading, and care of the One who made them.

Gwen Schroeder

Director of Member Care