Missionary Archetypes for the Single Male

As God was shaping my heart and preparing me to go overseas, I was blessed to interact with various current and former missionaries. Their stories were inspiring. They crafted a tangible picture of this life and work in all its glory and nitty-gritty realities. All of them were great examples of how God uses men and women to reach the ends of the earth. 

But every single one of them was either married or a single woman. 

I’ve never been a person to put a major emphasis on having someone represent me in x or y role. I am too stubborn for that and have that good ol’ American optimism believing myself capable even if I don’t have that one-to-one example. I can learn from married men and women doing this work, and I can learn from single women pursuing the call to the nations. 

God calls us to simple obedience so that should be more than enough. And it is. But He is also abundantly generous in His callings on people’s lives. In the call to nations, He has lovingly revealed in His Word a massive heart for the nations and His call for humble men and women to participate in that work. And single men, He even gave you a prime example in Paul, the single male missionary to the Gentiles! 

So this to say I do not begrudge you, single men, who want examples of what the missionary life might look like. 

One of my pet hypothesises (hypothesisessses? How do you make that plural?) is that one of the contributing factors to the discrepancy between single female to single male missionaries (1 to 8+) is that single women have such great access to women already doing this work. And sadly, it causes an exponential imbalance. 

More single women examples means more single women goers, which makes more single women examples, which makes more single women goers, which makes more examples, which now makes me write this infinite loop of “whiches” of single women. And to my understanding women do not like to be called witches. (Take note, you guys who want to get married.)

My ridiculousness aside, men, we need more examples. 

While I am endeavoring to find and share the examples of single male missionaries of the past and present, I want to start with some typological examples. Some single male missionary “archetypes” if you will.

I premise this off of a couple of ideas. One, the great mission front of our day is to places hostile to Christianity. In these countries, among these people groups, being a “missionary” or a “minister” will be a complete non-starter. You will probably not even make it through immigration control. 

Two, you have a long list of passions, skills, and interests. Some of these make up the very fiber of your being. For example, I constantly create and design things. I make buildings, logos, drawings, and even paper snowflakes for Christmas. God has made me creative. And He has uniquely made you as well. Rather than rejecting these interests for the sake of preaching the Good News, let us ask how we might submit them to God in His work in the nations.

Perhaps, you will be called to die to self and lay aside some of your interests. But I believe that God also may be equipping you for “such a time as this.” Your skills may not be an encumbrance for the Gospel, instead, the means for the Gospel may be your skills.

Before we get into the Archetypes, a word of clarity and intent. 

The Clarity and Intent

These Archetypes are NOT scientifically deduced major personalities of single male missionaries, or simply single males. They are NOT lenses to view you or your work in totality. They are NOT for narcissistic introspection, leading to passivity. They ARE rough descriptions of single male missionaries. They take into consideration personalities, interests, and skills. 

Also, the edges between the Archetypes are mushy. No one does or really should fall slowly into one single type. So what is the purpose of the Archetypes? 

Everyone has a stereotype of who a missionary is. And without a variety of examples, it is hard to see the diversity of work and opportunity God has in the world for you, single men. So the purpose of the Archetypes is to flesh out our image of a single male missionary. To give more examples. To see how God uses a wide variety of people and skills to reach the nations. And to hopefully see that you and your interests have a place in His plan and work.

Here are the Archetypes and a general description.

The Warrior: an Obedient Soldier

Your squadron commander orders everyone out of the trench and to charge the enemy. You look up and see machine gun fire and light from explosions coat the sky. What do you do? Do you question your commander’s intelligence or care for your life? Or do climb out and charge without a second thought? You know the mission. You know your role in it. You hear the command. You act. 

The Warrior is the second. He knows the Father’s love for him and His ultimate plan, so when the Warrior receives a command or a tool from his leadership, he quickly obeys. 

I am not a pure Warrior Archetype. I’m the guy in the trench, questioning the commanding officer, looking to dig a tunnel, or referring back to the map for an alternative plan. But I wish I was more like the Warrior because God is the good commander. He loves and leads His troops. And if I may use license with my own metaphor, Jesus is our commander. He is the one to leap out of the trench and run into no man’s land. He is certainly worth following.

No, missions is not a war against the nations. We already have too much of that in the world. Instead, I pull the Warrior Archetype from those men, who are glad servants, faithful soldiers for the Good News. They are those who have a heart and yearning for justice, which mobilizes them to press back against the darkness, to rescue the downtrodden. 

John Piper described prayer as a “wartime walkie-talkie.” In prayer, we are calling out to God in desperation and intense purpose as we are on the frontlines of this spiritual war. This Archetype are those who are prayer warriors. They wage the spiritual battle by means of the spirit, not with weapons of “flesh and blood.” (2 Corinthians 10:4)

So are you quick to obey the commands of God?

Quick to follow the guidance of a spiritual mentor?

Are you enflamed by injustice? And to protect the vulnerable?

Do you wish to tear down strongholds? 

Then maybe you are the Obedient Soldier. 

The Explorer: a Faithful Pioneer

When I was in college the movie, Into the Wild, came out. It follows the true story of Christopher McCandless. He, seeking to pursue freedom and purpose, rejects his family’s wealth and his worldly possessions to run off into the wilderness. He hitchhikes through the States, where he sees many of the country’s beautiful sites and encounters many eclectic and interesting people. Unfortunately, the adventure is cut short, when he begins living in the Alaskan wilderness. In hunger and desperation, he eats poison berries which lead to his untimely and painful death.

And so my friends and I were ready to go on an adventure! I think we took away the wrong message from the story… But this urge to explore, to wander, to embark on some great quest lives within many of us. 

Unlike McCandless, the Explorer is called to strike out into the wild, not despite his family. He has received a great inheritance from His Father, an inheritance he can’t help but want to share. The Explorer departs with a purpose, not in search of one. And finally, he lays aside his freedoms for the sake of others.

The mission of the nations calls us to the edge of the world. The remaining task is a pioneering task, necessitating people who do not fear the unknown. It is a rugged, challenging call. The Good News will go “to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) This is the literal ends of the earth and the ends of where the name of Jesus is known.

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings the good news…” (Isaiah 52:7). The Good News will be carried out by those who will traverse mountains, hitchhike across countries, and ride motorcycles through the Himalayas. Perhaps all this is figural, perhaps it is literal. 

The Explorer is a starter. They are the catalyst, the spark that starts the fire. But sometimes it takes someone else coming to fan the flame and keep the fire alive. In the old frontiers days of the US, a trusted guide was often the difference maker between life and death. The Explorer pioneers the untrod path making it easy for others to follow.

So if you see a mountain and your first urge is to climb,

If you have a yearning for adventure, a lust for travel,

If you love a challenge or the joys of discomfort,

If you want to forge a path so others may follow,

If you need to see the Gospel go to the ends of the earth with your own eyes,

You might be the Explorer, a Faithful Pioneer.

The Entertainer: a Charismatic Leader

Before I even go into the description, you know this person. He is the guy that naturally gathers a crowd. He makes everyone feel like they belong and have a purpose. He is well-liked, and it feels good to be liked by him. Maybe you are that person. 

At the very least, in the West you are well aware of people who fall into this Archetype. After all, we invented the celebrity, the influencer, or at least have taken these statuses to their most ostentatious ends. As a result of these people’s falls and all public shortcomings, we often sneer or reject their influence entirely. But a humble, Christ-like Entertainer. There is a unique purpose and role for such a figure. 

Do you find that people naturally gravitate to you? The Entertainer naturally draws people to themselves. They never meet a stranger, somehow making each person feel connected, even if they only just met in line for coffee. Given the purpose and person of God, the Entertainer presents people with a compelling reason to follow and serve.

Maybe you have started a prayer or interest group focused on God’s heart for the nations. Or you are leading a small group studying the Bible together. Slowly but surely, your passion for the topic is transforming of members’ passions. You mobilize them to go, lead, and disciple.

The Entertainer hosts excellent parties and get togethers, or they are the one who brings the party to the get together. Each person they interact with feels like they belong, like they are connected. They introduce people, gather people, and start the conga line (or whatever the cool kids do at parties these days).

To be a leader does not by default mean that one is the Entertainer, a Charismatic Leader. A leader is merely someone with followers. To the Entertainer out there, you will have followers. So are you going to be a good leader or a bad leader? 

Aspire to be like Jesus. 

He gathered throngs of people to Himself with charm, charisma, and a handful of miracles. He was the greatest leader that has ever walked the earth. But His primary focus wasn’t just gathering large crowds, in fact on occasion He scared some people off (John 6:66). When He asked those who remained why, they said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68) 

Be the Entertainer who speaks words of life.

Be the Charismatic Leader who leads people to eternity.

Be like Jesus in all of His ways.

The Technician: a Content Craftsman

It’s 1878. You and your brother just come inside after playing Throw Rocks at Each Other and Chase the Dog. (You’re the one living in the 1800s, not me! I don’t know what games you played back then.) And father comes home with a new toy. It has paper wings and is jammed together with a cork, a rubber band, and a bamboo stick. With a rip of the band, instead of falling to the ground, it soars across the house like a bird! Airplanes don’t exist yet. “Yet” is the important word. 

Years down the road, you and your brother craft a massive contraption with paper wings and sticks. With a simple push and gust of wind, your family name is etched into the history of flight. Wright where it belongs.

By the single men, the Wright brothers were both single when they built the first airplane. Just saying…

This is the heart of the Technician. He wants to build, to create. He reshapes the world with tinkering and working with his hands. 

The Technician operates in two fields, the systematic and the artistic. He is the engineer, the accountant, or the programmer. He is the painter, graphic designer, and the woodworker. Often culture and our churches say the Technician’s value is in the American career world or their artistic pursuits are just a hobby for when they have extra time. God thinks differently.

In the Bible, the first person to be “filled by the Spirit of God” was not a prophet, not a priest, not even Moses (granted, the Spirit clearly worked through him). It was Bezalel. A simple craftsman. The Spirit gifted Bezalel, and other craftsmen, for God’s special work of creating the Tabernacle. (Exodus 35) He helped craft the house of God, the tent by which God moved through the wilderness nations and dwelt among His people. The Technician’s skill is not just something for a secular career or paltry hobby.

Even Paul, our great (single male) missionary example, learned a craft. He spent many an hour making tents, and this was not merely to fund his ministry. In Corinth, this trade was formative in his relationship with Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:2), who would go on to serve Paul and the church in incredible ways (Acts 18:26, Romans 16:3-5, 1 Corinthians 16:19, Acts 19:1). 

Are you blessed with hands filled with talent and skill?

Or an analytical brain which makes sense of and orders the world?

Do you brim with a passion to create or to innovate?

Do you wish to devote your God given ability to His service?

Then maybe, just maybe, you are the Technician.

The Philosopher: an Intentional Thinker

Bernoulli's Theorem. Partial-Preterist Eschatology. Cyclical Theory of History. Transcendental Argument for God. Existential Phenomenology. Atmospheric Perspective. Epistemology. 

How about some Latin? Memento Mori. Cognito Ergo Sum. Or my favorite, Post Tenebras Lux. 

Words! Concepts! Theology!

Did you get excited? I know I did! 

The Philosopher is that relentless learner and thinker, who loves concepts and theories, even if they wholeheartedly reject them. When they read a weird stream of doctrines or philosophical concepts their hearts smile with the ones they recognize or their curiosity is piqued when they do not recognize the term. 

Serving the Lord, the Philosopher is not some pointless ponderer. He does not sit in a house full of books with a head overflowing with knowledge to do nothing. He shares. He guides. He proclaims the glories of a magnificent God. He is an Intentional Thinker, not an aimless reflector who never contributes.

The work of the Lord requires deep thinkers. As the Good News goes out to the far reaches of this earth, we need to develop new strategies and tools for that work. When a missionary encounters a new culture, people of a novel worldview, how will the beautiful, ancient truths of the Bible take hold there? 

We see the early church wrestle with the implications of the Gospel going to the Gentiles in Acts 15. Through the discernment of wise, ordained men the uncircumcised Gentiles were welcomed into the New Covenant community without having to endure the physical snippity-snip traditions of the Old. Elsewhere, John wrote his first epistle in response. In it, he harshly repudiates the Greek, Proto-Gnostic philosophy (more fancy words!) that was seeking to slink its way into the church. 

A polygamist, tribal leader in Papua New Guinea comes to faith. He encounters the passage that an elder should be a man of “one wife.” (1 Timothy 3:2) And then the passages prohibiting divorce (Matthew 5:31-32). What is he to do? This is where we need wise, Spirit-led men to guide and disciple. We need the Philosopher.

God bless you, deep thinker.

Your love for books, podcasts, and lectures,

Has not gone unnoticed.

Now where will you devote that skill and passion? 

Will it be squandered in self-musing with no end?

Or will it be laid before God in service?

God bless the Philosopher, the Intentional Thinker.

Conclusion

So much more needs to be will be developed and written about these Archetypes. But at this point, I hope one or two of these offerings resonate with you. I know I didn’t share any specific examples of single male missionaries here. Those too will come. But hopefully, you no longer have the excuse of not having some sort of example. 

Hopefully, you will take that next step of obedience in pursuing God’s call to the nations.

So to the obedient Warrior ready to serve, to the intrepid Explorer and the indelible Entertainer, to the Technician, with hands of skill and technique, and to concept-filled the Philosopher, I give thanks for your passion and skill, for they will serve the God of this world well.