Resources for Missionary Recruits Online by Marty Andry, Doug Lucas, and Chris Bushnell

Chapter 10

Tentmaking--Counting the Cost

[Note: Chapter 10 was originally published privately under the title," EVALUATING INTERNATIONAL EMPLOYMENT POTENTIALS". It is included here in its entirety through the courtesy of its author, Ron K. Miller. At the time of this book's first publishing date, Mr. Miller was Director of Tentmakers International, a Seattle based research agency which provides the Christian community with information about restricted access nations while equipping the local church to send missionaries to unreached peoples. At that time, for more information, one could contact him at PO Box 30727, Seattle, WA 98103-0727; Tel. (206)789-2806. The authors wish to thank Mr. Miller for his willingness to share his work.]

One cannot talk about tentmaking missions without carefully considering the twentieth century counterpart of making tents. It is the employment opportunity that makes possible [the] support for the ministry and provides the basis for visa status in the host country.

There are two ways tentmakers support themselves overseas. The first, and that which most tentmakers do, is to find secular employment working for someone else. The second is the entrepreneurial method of developing, investing and growing one's own business.

The entrepreneurial method has some advantages. The owners set the agenda for the business and exercise control. The business can hire Christian nationals, encourage the church, bring a team of people together and provide on-field accountability bases.

Most people who would be tentmakers lack the basic qualities and resources necessary for success as entrepreneurs. The entrepreneur can do nothing without funding, and funding is not always readily available. Many entrepreneurial types lack the business and administrative skills necessary for success.

The door is wide open in most countries for the entrepreneur who can establish a business that will enhance the economy of the host country and employ nationals. What is needed are Christian businessmen who are willing to invest dollars without expectation of great monetary return. Some agency or clearing house could put together the entrepreneurial types and those with business skills and investment capital.

At this point in time, most tentmakers are not using this method. They are working for someone. The remainder of this paper will deal with evaluating those employment potentials.

The rules of thumb

Every rule has its exception, but several principles dictate direction in the international market place.

Jobs first go to qualified nationals

Very few countries will permit expatriates to take a job that can be done by a national. As a rule of thumb, in order to secure international employment one must possess a skill that is not plentiful in the host country. Of course, expatriates have been employed overseas as nannies and musicians, but they are the exceptions. Most western countries do have qualified nationals. The job prospects in Europe and Australia are not as great as in Asia and the Middle East. It is also true that many third world laborers are brought into wealthy Middle Eastern countries to perform work and provide services that the nationals do not want to do.

A college degree and experience

There are very few opportunities for non college grads and entry level employment. It is expensive to support an expatriate overseas, and employers want individuals in whom they have confidence for success.

The employer types

The thousands of jobs that exist overseas fall into three general employer types:

Employment as teachers

Most international employment has the dimension of teaching. Nurses hired on a cardiac floor in a hospital in Turkey will be expected to share their expertise with national nurses, while Western lawyers are hired to teach business law to graduate students in China. In formal teaching environments, three categories show up:

The English language teacher

Without question, more opportunities exist today for native English speakers than any other single group. Native English language teachers are not available in many countries, making the expatriate welcome in Asia, the Middle East and other parts of the world. In some cases, native English and a college degree is sufficient to secure employment, but that trend is changing. The demand is growing for those who have completed graduate programs in teaching English as a second language and have some teaching experience in their passport country as well. It appears that the employment potential in this area will remain strong for the next ten years.

The international school teacher

There are hundreds of international schools where grades K-12 are taught in English. Both the British and American systems hire expatriates in almost every country of the globe. They all require credentials of the equivalent of a teaching certificate, and prefer experience. Teaching couples are often in demand in smaller schools, where support moneys go further when husband and wife both teach.

The university professor

The Fullbright Scholarship represents just one of the opportunities for visiting professors to teach in overseas universities. It is usually in the sciences that openings exist, but there are some in the arts as well. Such positions require a Ph. D. and recognition in the field. These positions are usually shorter term duration.

Employed by Governments

Host country governments often seek highly skilled experts to enter the country as project leaders and developers. Passport countries are often asked to send development workers who can improve the quality of life in the host country.

Host governments

Many host countries give permission to relief and development agencies to enter and do everything from refugee work to water improvement projects. Some of these agencies are Christian in their makeup, others are purely humanitarian. A number of career skills are in demand from medicine to social work. In some cases, Saudi Arabia being one, many education and business services are nationalized. The government hires for teaching positions and energy related industry.

Passport governments

It is often the tentmaker's home country that can provide overseas employment. The Peace Corps in the United States is a good example of entry level government employment. Not only does it provide close contact with nationals, it also provides a reference base for further employment with the US government. The US government and other passport governments, provide embassy related employment in host countries.

Often the passport country is concerned about exports and controls. One individual was sent to a Caribbean country to study and report on better ways to control disease in mango imports to the US Opportunities are often available in a contract relationship with passport governments. Projects in drug enforcement and criminal investigation are often handled on a contract basis.

The Private Sector

There is no limit to the variety of private sector employment. From engineering to marketing of products, many businesses have entered the international arena.

The best scenario is to begin employment with a multi-national company in the passport country, and use the position and experience to network one's way into an overseas assignment. Employers prefer to send people they know, whose performance is guaranteed. It also proves beneficial for the employee who is able to continue his or her career if it is necessary to return home. It is also possible, however, that the cutting edge can be lost in a high tech career during an overseas employment contract. One engineer spent five years in a remote site in the Middle East, and had to re-enter the US job market without the advantages of the changes that had occurred in his career field in relation to computer technology.

Many of the multinational companies are looking for individuals who have language abilities. The three languages most sought are Japanese, Arabic and Chinese. As the private sector moves into other countries, the desire for career skills is coupled with the desires for language abilities.

There are openings for those experienced in international trade. Backgrounds in law, management and accounting are in demand. As the multi-national companies begin doing business overseas, experts in the fields of tariffs and importing are in demand.

The computer industry continues to look for qualified people abroad. The trend seems to be toward the personal computer. The demand in this area is for individuals who have the skills to convert overseas companies to modern standards and procedures.

The private sector entering new sales markets shows a demand for those with cross cultural sales experience. In electronic and consumer goods, representatives are needed who can take Japanese and US products into new markets.

There are opportunities in international banking and stock brokering. Those who understand monetary systems and can handle transactions in multiple stock markets are sought after.

Evaluating the employment fields

There are pros and cons in each employment field. These considerations are not exhaustive, but do provide a starting point for evaluating the potential of the employment opportunity.

Teaching

The teacher is met with an audience which is ready to receive. Often the teacher is placed on a pedestal. Teaching loads can be light enough so that opportunities exist for interpersonal relationships. Usually teachers are housed near schools and can interact with students. There are drawbacks in the teaching fields. Teachers are easily observed and monitored. In some middle eastern countries it is against the law to speak to young people about counter cultural religious beliefs, of which Christianity is one.

Governments

Employees working on government projects are in the circles of the most influential in the host country. These contacts can change the course of their countrymen, and such leaders ought to be a primary target group for the Gospel of the Lord Jesus. But governments can place burdensome restrictions on Christians concerning the propagation of their faith. The Peace Corps in the United States screens carefully to assure themselves that an individual is not accepting a Peace Corps position as a platform for their religious beliefs. That is not to say that there are no effective tentmakers in the Peace Corps. They are free to worship with nationals and answer questions about their own beliefs.

The Private Sector

Multinational companies can put burdens of time and production expectations on the tentmaker. Exhausted after a 60 hour week, the Christian is not in an advantageous position for ministry. But management positions do place the tentmaker at an advantage with the employee. There is respect and authority that comes with the job. Another advantage is the base of contacts for ministry. One traditional missionary stated, "That tentmaker has been in more non-Christian homes in two years than I have been in ten." The hospitality was just work related.

It takes effort to find employment overseas. Jobs don't fall out of the sky. Contacts, study, evaluation and preparation are all part of the employment process. In many cases, jobs are more readily available to those expatriates already living overseas.

Tentmaking is not the easy way to do missions work. The tentmaker needs to evaluate his or her background and abilities in addition to the many employment possibilities. While the mid-career, highly skilled college graduate is the most marketable in the international job market, tentmaking considerations must begin early so that preparations are adequately and targeted based not only on abilities, but the potential for employment in the restricted access countries, the focus of the tentmaker missionary.

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