A wife of a missionary is called to be a wife of a missionary, and thus called to be engaged in the work of God wherever she is - which would be on the mission field.

Since the two are one flesh, to cut the wife out and speak of, "Here is a missionary....oh yes, and also his wife.." seems out of place. They both labor in their respective roles on the same place.

If missionary support roles can be considered mission work (which I believe they can be) then a wife is the most important missionary support role around - the care of the family while on the field!

Furthermore, the same applies to single missionary ladies. She can be called a missionary and ought to be supported in her work. We ought to praise her for her self sacrifice and hold her up in special prayer since a large percentage of single missionary ladies never ever get married for a variety of reasons (sometimes personality, sometimes lack of choice in mates, sometimes geographic isolation, etc). They sacrifice tremendously and several I know care dearly for orphaned children after their years of praying for a husband have gone unanswered. They have left behind their dreams of family for the work.

Also, in Muslim and also some tribal areas where the status of women is degraded substantially, the wife has even a larger realm of "ministry" than her husband by showing an example to the community, and by ministry out of her own home. Men would have little access or little suceess in preaching the Gospel to women or children and women would be the key. The Middle East, in particular needs more women missionaries. Arab Muslim women could be the largest unreached people group in the world!


As far as missionary attrition goes, those women who feel that the Lord is calling them to the field (which he obviously is through her husband) last longer, are more content and more effective. Even if she does not feel "zapped" she can rest assured that the Lord has willed her present family situation and this, too, constitutes a calling into a particular station of life.

In general, I am in favor of de-mystifying all these things such as a supposed need to feel a clear and pressing missionary call. God speaks to us through His Word and our own desires and then the confirmation of our churches. We read in Scriptures Matthew 28, we desire to go, our churches second that and send us and then we go and serve. A Christian wife will obvisouly feel compassion for those around her...wherever in the world she ends up, and will do all she can to reach those around her. I see no great difference between a missionary wife and the field and any Christian wife in the US or the West.

The best thing to do I think is to praise these women and encourage them in their roles. We "Reformed" often get caught up in the theological battles of our times. In reality, most women on the field do not ever want to become pastors or "usurp" (the favorite word of some who try to emphasis what women cannot do rather than what they can do)the role of the man. They want to serve the Lord in servant roles and care for those who are sick, dying and without the Gospel. We should encourage and stress what all segments of our churches can do and not fall into the temptation to use every opportunity in speaking about women's roles to stress what they cannot do.



Summary: the wife of a "teaching elder type" of missionary need not have any higher qualifications than the wife of an elder in Scripture. Some cultural adaptibility is needed as far as practical needs go, but theologically I do not see extra requirements.

As far as the wife of a support worker (pilot, teacher, nurse, etc) I do not know. One need not be an elder to be a missionary I do not believe. But I would like to explore that more.

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Pergamum


"If a commission by an earthly king is considered a honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?"
-- David Livingstone