“I don’t want to write the wrong things to our church’s missionaries and get them in trouble!” Many people have this fear so they don’t communicate with their missionaries at all, lest they make a mistake and jeopardize their long-term work. But they need your encouragement!

Many, if not most, of the countries in the 10/40 window don’t give missionary visas. These countries are often called CAN countries which stands for “Creative Access Nations.” CAN countries are Satan’s attempt to use authoritative governments to keep nations closed to the gospel. There are ways to get into these countries, but people have to be creative in what they do in order to get a visa to enter these countries. And they have to be creative to live there long-term to see an unreached people group brought into the Kingdom.

Jesus told His disciples, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues.” Matthew 10:16-17

Missionaries must “be shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” as they live creatively in CAN countries. To be a missionary in these countries long-term, they are required by the government to have a recognized job or other known purposes, other than “missionary,” that keeps them in the country. If a missionary is found to be doing missionary activity (evangelism, discipleship and church-planting), they will be asked to leave the country, and they will be unable to continue to proclaim the gospel and plant the church among unreached peoples who are beyond access to the gospel.

Senders also must be “shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” We live in a world of global online communication which brings both opportunities and threats for those who are taking the gospel to the nations. Foolish communication choices can lead to exposure and expulsion of missionaries who have gained access to the nations. Governments are using advanced artificial intelligence technology to monitor the online communication of missionaries to keep the nations in darkness. One of the biggest online risks is social media.

One missionary serving in a CAN country shared this reality with their supporters:

“Our new country of residence is capable of monitoring all incoming and outgoing communications. They can withdraw permission for us to live here at any point and for any reason. Therefore, we must use caution in communication to ensure that we are not compromising our work, other’s ministries or national believers. Although communication challenges exist, we will need encouragement along the way! Please have confidence that you can keep in contact with us appropriately.”

Make the effort to be an encouragement to those who are serving in far away places!

Below are some DOs and NEVERs and ALWAYs for communicating wisely with those in a CAN country:

DO write to missionaries. They need your encouragement! A note about what is happening in your life could make all the difference in their day!

DO remind others in your church about the realities of living and serving in a CAN country, and the importance of following these wise communication guidelines.

DO ask missionaries what is their preferred mode of communication. Use secure communication like the app, Signal, for messaging. Reply only to their secure email address.

NEVER put their information (names, country, work, ministry) ANYWHERE on the internet.

NEVER give their contact information (email or phone number) to anyone without their permission. Let them initiate contact.

NEVER forward their email prayer newsletters to others without their permission.

NEVER criticize the missionaries’ host country in any way, including their leaders, policies or politics! Assume government officials could be reading your communication.

NEVER name other organizations working overseas.

NEVER imply that the missionary is overseas for other than their work or study purposes.

NEVER use certain Christian words like missionary, missions, conversion, Bible or church. See alternative words below. Do not use character substitution like: “We are pr@ying for you.”

ALWAYS err on the side of caution. Have someone else read correspondence before you send it if you are unsure.

ALWAYS follow the example of the missionary. Take your communication cues from them.

ALWAYs hide the missionary’s email address as a blind copy (BCC) when sending group emails.

For church communication:

NEVER refer to your missionary in a CAN country as a “missionary” as this can carry negative and misleading connotations. Other options are “global partners,” “global goers” or “sent ones.”

NEVER publish your missionaries’ name, photo, email or country on church websites, in church bulletins, on bulletin boards or in social media.

In public services, ALWAYs refer to your missionaries’ by their first names only and never mention their host country.

Below are some words to avoid in your communication and some replacement words you can use instead.

We hope you make the effort to be an encouragement to those who are serving in far away places for His name sake!

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