As you can imagine, Christian dating for missionaries is incredibly challenging. Not only have you removed yourself from your life of comfort and relocated due to a calling from the Lord, but you have largely done so independently. Many singles, young and old, who haven’t found the ideal relationship yet have chosen to spread the Gospel around the world, and they do so joyfully. However, that doesn’t mean these individuals have written off love altogether.
God has a calling for all of his people, and single missionaries dating is certainly not out of the question. In recent years, online dating for missionaries has become popular, primarily because it allows them to discover if there are other Christians in the region with like-minded views and interests. Christian Mingle is proud to deliver the best dating site for missionaries who are looking for other devout singles near them who are also pursuing serious and meaningful relationships. Who knows, you may even possibly join forces with them for a cause.
Understanding the Missionary Life
The life of a missionary is not one most people are familiar with. Before exploring the dating scene, it’s important to remember their core adaptions and responsibilities.
Challenges
There is nothing that comes easy as a missionary, and the transition alone presents the obvious struggles that become even more real once you arrive for your service. The language barrier is always the most obvious obstacle to overcome early on, but adjusting to the cultural norms in a new setting can be just as difficult. Living conditions may not be what you were anticipating, and you’re certainly likely to miss your friends and family back home.
Rewards
On the other hand, your extraordinary work will reap spiritually fulfilling rewards that won’t go unnoticed, both from your new community as well as your sponsors back home. All of your contributions to the area’s people, both spiritual and humanitarian, validate your purpose behind becoming a missionary in the first place. As you grow closer to the local population over time, each obstacle and milestone you achieve will not only feel like a personal victory but one that can be celebrated from your place on Earth all the way to His Holy kingdom up above.
The Importance of Shared Faith in Missionary Dating
If you are two missionaries dating, you will most likely want to date within your mutual Christian faith. Not only does this align with your mission to spread God’s word across the globe, but it also has the potential to strengthen a bond beyond common means. It’s already great that you are both doing work in the name of Christ, but if you happen to be working or volunteering in similar industries, it could lead to a strong mutual connection early on.
Sharing in the Christian faith means you’ll also be able to pray together through individual issues or regional challenges affecting everyone living there. When you’re able to succumb to this vulnerability and lean on faith to mold your relationship, the experiences and lessons learned can be profound.
Building Connections from Afar
Christian dating for missionaries is tricky enough to fit in your volunteer schedule as it is, and in the reality of the service, being planted in one place doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be there a long time — and probably not forever, excluding special circumstances. This means that if you’re using a dating site for missionaries like Christian Mingle to meet initially, you may have to establish long-term contact information in order to continue your relationship from afar.
Once you feel like you’ve made an invaluable connection with a fellow Christian who’s either also a missionary or someone you met while serving in a particular region, you’ll want to exchange phone numbers, social media, WhatsApp, or however you find it easier to stay in touch. Because you will lose interaction and companionship moving forward, video calls, planned meetings, and strategic communication due to time zone differences are all ways to keep the flame lit.
Navigating Cultural Differences in Relationships
While Christian Mingle can be a valuable resource when online dating for missionaries, it doesn’t guarantee you’ll meet someone of the same cultural background or ethnicity as you. Christians are an incredibly diverse population who can be found all around our planet, so there’s a high likelihood that evangelicals of other nationalities might be in your immediate region.
Initially, this can present additional language barriers, and it will require you to be patient and open-minded when being educated on the cultural differences that may exist between your respective backgrounds. Regardless of what your lifestyle back home looks like, here, you are both immersed in the same environment, meaning your connection with Christ should ultimately guide you as single missionaries dating. If he brought you together in this remote location, it’s only justified to investigate the potential of this improbable prospect.
Safety and Security in Missionary Dating
Any missionaries dating need to keep their personal safety and security in mind at all times, both while dating and in their daily life in a foreign country. However, if you’re all alone in a foreign nation and are not familiar with anyone in your community outside of where you have settled, you should be cautious of people you meet solely through a dating app.
Unfortunately, there are bad actors who utilize these tools with the wrong intentions, and you will always want to vet your pairings and message them through the app before deciding on the possibility of meeting in person. However, at Christian Mingle, we pride ourselves on conducting thorough background checks and profile verification processes, hoping to do our part in eliminating any unwanted interactions or attempted exploitation.
Preparing for Home Visits and Reunions
It may be the case that you’ve established such a strong and God-centered bond with an individual while serving as a missionary that you develop a serious and ongoing long-distance relationship. At this point, it may seem natural that you’ll want to reconnect whenever possible, and that could include reuniting in the original city or country you met or potentially visiting one another at your permanent home, wherever that may be.
You can bet that the anticipation leading up to these meetings will be full of butterflies and excitement, but you’ll also need to keep in mind that there will be adjustments to make since the last time you saw the other person. Praying before these moments is a great first step, but communicating beforehand and planning thoughtful activities that will be meaningful for both of you helps make the most of this temporary yet crucial time together.
Balancing Commitment: Mission vs. Relationship
Once you get involved in a serious relationship with someone, your attention may begin to be split more substantially between your work and your time spent talking with or traveling to visit your new partner. While there’s no problem with falling in love, you must remember your commitment to God and the service you are doing for your local community. This should come as your first priority, and communicating your future schedule and obligations is important so that this new person in your life can understand what to expect from your role as a missionary.
Resources and Support for Missionary Couples
Christian missionaries from around the world are often supported by their personal churches back home or potentially an organization they partner with in the area. Because of this, you usually have an active resource who follows up with your progress and offers support during times of need or trouble. These people can be invaluable because they offer personal experience, mentorship, and guidance through a truly unpredictable but virtuous endeavor.
It’s also expected that missionaries will stay in constant contact with their family, friends, and loved ones back home, who will always provide unconditional support, as well as pray with and for you throughout your tenure. The relationship you have with these loyal individuals transcends boundaries, and you can count on their support no matter how far you are from home.
The Future: Settling Down or Continuing the Journey Together
In the case that you’ve truly built a connection with a fellow Christian while serving as a missionary, and now you’re ready to take things to the next stages, it’s important to envision what that looks like for both parties. Whether or not you or your partner will need to move is the first discussion that needs to be had, in addition to how much remaining missionary service you both either need or want to achieve. Perhaps you will be able to join together and volunteer for the same cause, but in the instance where that is not possible, a flexible yet vulnerable attitude will be necessary.
The dedication and passion that missionaries bring to the Christian community set an example for the commitment and drive that is achievable with divine direction from God when lived out in the image of Christ, where unreached populations can experience this glory firsthand. When Christian missionaries find a partner who not only adheres to these beliefs but is brought together by such valiant service, you can’t help but think that God himself is behind this orchestration.