The Vital Ministry of Hosting Missionaries on Home Assignment

Opening our homes and hearts to those who serve abroad

When we think about supporting missions, our minds often turn to financial giving or prayer. These are certainly essential pillars of mission support, but there’s another practical need that’s frequently overlooked: providing a temporary home for missionaries during their home assignment periods.

Understanding Home Assignment

Missionaries typically return to their sending countries every few years for a period called “home assignment” (sometimes called furlough). These breaks from the field serve multiple purposes:

• Physical, emotional, and spiritual refreshment
• Reconnecting with family, friends, and supporting churches
• Reporting on their work and raising continued support
• Receiving medical care or additional training
• Processing experiences and preparing for their return to the field

Yet ironically, many missionaries find themselves without a true “home” during this time. Housing costs in their sending country may be prohibitive after years abroad, and constantly moving between short-term accommodations adds stress to an already challenging transition.

The Hidden Need

Many returning missionaries face a difficult reality: after years serving abroad, they return “home” only to discover they have nowhere to truly settle. Consider these challenges:

• Housing costs have often risen dramatically during their absence
• Their modest missionary income makes renting or purchasing impossible
• They may need accommodations for several months to a year
• They need a stable base from which to visit supporting churches
• Their children need a sense of stability during cultural readjustment

Why Hosting Matters

When a family or church provides housing for missionaries on home assignment, they offer more than just shelter. They provide:

1. Rest and Restoration

Missionary life often involves significant stress, culture shock, language barriers, and sometimes physical hardships or security concerns. A comfortable, stable living situation allows missionaries to truly rest and heal from burnout.

2. Financial Relief

Housing is typically the largest expense missionaries face during home assignment. By eliminating this cost, hosts free up limited resources for medical care, education, transportation, and preparation for returning to the field.

3. Community and Belonging

Many missionaries struggle with feeling disconnected when they return—too foreign for their home culture but also missing their adopted country. By including them in your home and community, you help bridge this gap.

4. Practical Support System

Returning missionaries may need help navigating changes in their home country, from new technologies to shifted cultural norms. Hosts can provide crucial guidance and assistance.

How Your Church Can Help

Churches can approach missionary housing in several ways:

• Dedicated missionary housing: Some churches maintain a property specifically for rotating missionary families on home assignment
• Host family network: Organize families willing to open their homes for various lengths of time
• Housing fund: Create a designated fund to help cover rental costs for returning missionaries
• Vacant property utilization: Identify church members with vacant rental properties, vacation homes, or in-law suites who might offer them to missionaries at reduced rates

What Makes a Good Host?

Hosting missionaries requires sensitivity and understanding. Good hosts:

• Respect the missionary’s need for both community and private space
• Understand cultural readjustment challenges
• Are flexible with household routines
• Provide appropriate autonomy while offering support
• Communicate expectations clearly
• Recognize that missionaries are processing complex experiences

Practical Considerations

If you’re considering hosting missionaries, address these questions:

• What space can you realistically offer? (Separate living quarters are ideal but not always necessary)
• What time frame works for your family?
• What expectations do you have regarding shared meals, utilities, chores, etc.?
• How will you balance including them in family activities while respecting their need for independence?
• What household items might they need access to?

The Mutual Blessing

While hosting missionaries requires sacrifice, hosts consistently report receiving unexpected blessings:

• Broader global perspective
• Deeper understanding of cross-cultural ministry
• Rich spiritual conversations
• Modeling missions involvement for children
• Lasting friendships that span continents

One host family shared: “We thought we were the ones giving, but having the Williams family with us for six months transformed our understanding of God’s work globally. Our children now pray specifically for countries they’d never heard of before, and we’ve gained friends for eternity.”

Starting Point

If your church has never engaged in missionary housing, consider these first steps:

1. Survey your congregation for housing possibilities
2. Contact missionaries your church supports to inquire about upcoming home assignment needs
3. Connect with mission agencies regarding their housing protocols
4. Establish clear guidelines and expectations
5. Start small, perhaps with a short-term arrangement, and build from there

If you are considering hosting missionaries, we would love to partner with you click here, to get in touch