Since the ultimate mission of writing is to share a story or spread a message
that will make a difference in someone’s life, the task of writers who are
missionary is to see as many people as possible read their story. You are
going to have use the missionary mindset of how this will happen. You will
have to start to think like a missionary, write like a missionary, and spread
the message like a missionary.

How does a missionary think?

1. They know they have to contextualize the message. In other words,
they learn the culture, the language, and the people they are trying
to reach. They understand that everyone is not like them and
they have to adapt to the needs of the people they seek to reach.
When I moved to the Cleveland area, I was a guy from the hills
of East Tennessee. While Cleveland is only a days drive from East
Tennessee, it is a world away, at least it seems that way sometimes.
I learned pretty quickly I had to learn the culture in order to reach
the people I had come to reach. I had to learn to like the variety of
ethnic food, cold weather, and the Cleveland Browns all because I
had a message to share.

2. Missionaries are definitely “think outside the box” types. Cliché I
know, but so very true. Think about it – as a missionary you go
somewhere you are not native to and have to basically start a new
life. It is either sink or swim time. Call me crazy, but I think a
missionary’s mind works differently. They have this overwhelming
calling to make a difference in a group of peoples lives they have
never met and success is not guaranteed. Yet, they still go. I don’t
know about you, but I call that thinking differently. They have
an entrepreneurial spirit that drives them to succeed, knowing
ultimately they will be rewarded.

3. Missionaries have one common goal. That goal is to spread the good
news of Christ. There is nothing that drives them except the pursuit
of sharing his story with others and how his story infected their
lives. That’s what they do and that’s how think. That is what drives
them. It is why they get out of bed in the morning and what keeps
them pushing forward throughout the day. It is why they do what
they do.

These three thought processes that a missionary possess, all relate to
the thought processes that a writer must have to successfully reach their
readers. When you write, you are pouring your life into what you are
putting on paper, or as in this case the screen and you want it to matter.
When you are writing something that you want to put in someone’s
hands, you have to also think like a reader. The story may be compelling
to you as a writer, but will it be as equally compelling to the reader? This is
contextualizing. As a writer, your contextual missionary field is the reader.

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