My 10-Year-Old Asked Me, "What Do You Even Do for Work?"

My son recently started going to a new school. During his first week, the kids were getting to know each other by sharing what their parents do for work.

One friend had a dad who was a doctor. Another boy's parents were teachers. One boy's parents sold mattresses.

Then it was my son's turn. He told the other boys that his mother and I didn't have jobs.

His 10-year-old logic had figured out that because YWAM doesn't pay us a salary, we don't have jobs. He then struggled to explain to his new friends what it actually means to be a YWAM missionary.

And honestly, I can understand the confusion.

So, What Does a Missionary Actually Do?

The job of a YWAM missionary is a little difficult to put into a traditional job description.

Some days, we are ministering in villages or doing outreach on the streets of Europe. Other days, we're cooking lunch for the YWAM base, teaching, meeting with people, or sitting in an office doing administration.

And yes, someone has to collect every receipt from every outreach.

Missions doesn't always look like what we imagine missions should look like.

Sometimes it looks like sharing the gospel with someone on the street. Sometimes it looks like talking to someone over coffee. Sometimes it looks like cooking lunch for 30 people so that everyone else can do what they need to do. Sometimes it looks like spending an afternoon sorting receipts.

The tasks change. The mission doesn't.

At the end of the day, the job of a YWAM missionary is to help people get to know Jesus and teach them what it means to follow Him. We do that in all kinds of different ways, but the goal is always the same: introducing people to Jesus and helping them become His disciples.

But What About You?

I think there's something important about this that goes beyond what my son was asking.

When you're 17, 18, 19, or 20 years old, you're probably starting to think about what you're going to do with your life. Maybe you're choosing what to study, looking for a job, considering where you want to live, or wondering what God might have for you.
And those are all good questions.

But there's another question worth asking: How does God want to use my life to help people know Jesus?

You don't have to have "missionary" written on your job description to be part of God's mission.
A teacher can make disciples. A doctor can make disciples. A business owner can make disciples. A mechanic can make disciples. A student can make disciples. A graphic designer can make disciples.
You can follow Jesus and participate in His mission wherever God has placed you.

The question isn't just, "What do I want to do with my life?"

It's also, "How can I use my life for Jesus?"

Missions Is a Team Sport

One of the things I appreciate most about YWAM is the opportunity it gives people all over the world to participate in the Great Commission. Not everyone is called to move to another country. Not everyone is called to work for YWAM. But everyone can play a part.

Some people go and serve. Others give financially. Everyone can pray.

And the people who go don't go alone. They go because people have prayed for them, encouraged them, supported them, and helped make it possible for them to be there.

It's a picture of the body of Christ. We don't all have to do the same thing to be part of what God is doing.
Whoever you are, wherever you are, and whatever you do, there is room for you in the Great Commission.

So... What Do I Do for Work?

I explained all of this to my son.

I told him that being a YWAM missionary isn't a typical job, but it is meaningful work. It's hard work, too. YWAM missionaries don't receive a salary from YWAM, but we do have financial income through the generosity of people who choose to partner with us.

And honestly, I think that's incredible.

People all over the world are partnering together with God's plans and purposes for the nations. Some are going. Some are giving. Some are praying. All of us can be part of introducing people to Jesus and teaching them what it means to follow Him.

My son looked back at me blankly for a moment.

Then he asked, "Is it okay if I tell my friends you're a Bible teacher?"

"That works too," I told him.

Maybe my son still doesn't completely understand what I do for work. But I hope he grows up understanding something much more important: following Jesus isn't just something we do on Sundays, and missions isn't just something missionaries do in other countries.

Our whole lives can be part of God's mission.

So as you think about your future, don't only ask, "What do I want to do?"

Ask God, "How do You want to use my life?"

You don't have to have the whole answer yet. You just have to be willing to follow Him.