How To Live As An Everyday Missionary: 6 Steps For Sharing Jesus Daily
Twenty-three years ago, I first discovered what it meant to live as an everyday missionary. I wasn’t on a plane headed to another country—I was simply leading women’s ministry at my church. Through the testimony of a friend, God showed me that missionary life begins wherever He places us. That truth has shaped my life ever since, and it’s a challenge I want to share with you today.
What It Takes to Be an Everyday Missionary
When we hear the word missionary, most of us picture someone who travels across the world to live in another country and bring the gospel to people who have never heard it. And while that is true, being a missionary isn’t only about traveling to other countries.
On my most recent episode of HER Podcast: From Wounds and Lies to Discovering True Worth), I interviewed my new friend Sue Corl, founder of Crown of Beauty International. Sue lived as a missionary for twenty-five years. Her journey began in her hometown of Pennsylvania, which led her to Hawaii, and eventually to China, where she spent much of her adult life. Today, she continues to travel around the world sharing the message of Jesus with women everywhere.
Sue’s life pictures what we most often think of when we hear the word missionary. And sometimes God’s calling looks like this, but more often, He calls us to live as everyday missionaries right where we are. Your family, your friends, your coworkers, the people at the gym where you work out, and the cashiers at the stores your frequent all need to hear the hope of Jesus just as much as someone across the globe.
1. Your Message of Faith and Transformation
The very first thing it takes to be an everyday missionary is a message of your faith and transformation that you believe in so deeply it becomes your life mission. Our message is always Jesus and what He has done for us. His work impacts every part of our lives—spiritual, mental, emotional, relational, and even physical. When you’ve experienced (and continue to experience) the ongoing work of sanctification, you can’t help but share it.
I remember my very first writing class in seminary. The professor asked us, “Why do you want to write?” For me, the answer was easy. I said:
“I want to write because I want to give away what I have been given. I want others to experience what I have experienced, and I believe that I have something to offer—something that can help other women know and experience God in a way that benefits their spiritual lives and positively impacts their physical, mental, emotional, and relational lives.”
That is the heart of being a missionary. Missionaries believe with all their heart that what God worked in their life can dramatically benefit anyone else who believes. And, they believe it so strongly that nothing can stop them from sharing it—not even death.
Revelation 12:11
“They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; and they did not love their lives to the death.”
When your message is rooted in Jesus and your own transformation, it becomes unstoppable. That message is what you carry wherever you go.
2. Identify People God Placed in Your Life
Every one of us interacts with people who don’t know Jesus. Being intentional begins with identifying who they are:
Family
Friends
Co-workers or classmates
People at places you frequent (stores, gyms, hobbies, coffee shops)
Years ago, my friend Ann Crowe gave me an unforgettable example of intentional prayer. She created what she called a “Hit List”—a simple list of friends in her life who didn’t know Jesus. Ann committed to pray for them daily, asking God to open their hearts to His salvation. One by one, she watched as Jesus transformed lives, and with joy she marked their names off her list.
Her story challenged me to do the same—and it’s a challenge I want to pass on to you.
3. Pray for the People on Your List
Prayer is where the work begins. Scripture tells us there is power in praying God’s Word:
1 John 5:14–15 - Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”
I created a printable Salvation Prayer List with space to write names and powerful Scriptures to pray over each person you list. Once you’ve written down your names, commit to pray for them daily. Tuck your Salvation Prayer List into your Bible or prayer journal and let it guide your prayers. Over time, you’ll not only be encouraged by answered prayers—you’ll also see your own faith deepened as you trust God’s timing and power.
👉 Download your free Everyday Missionary Prayer Toolkit here
4. Pray for Yourself and the Holy Spirit’s Anointing
Being an everyday missionary means we don’t only pray for others—we also pray for ourselves. We ask God to:
Prepare hearts to receive His message.
Prepare us to step into opportunities as He provides them.
Clothe us with the shoes of the gospel of peace (Ephesians 6:15).
To help us stay aware and focused on our mission, I created a printable Closet Prayer Sign included in the free resource. Placing this sign in your closet or near where you put on your shoes is a simple, practical reminder to pray for yourself as you step into the mission of reaching others for Christ.
Here is the prayer, based on Ephesians 6:14–16 and Acts 4:29–30:
“Lord, anoint my feet with Your gospel of peace everywhere You set them today, and grant me boldness to speak Your Word.”
Let this serve as a daily reminder that God’s Spirit goes with you everywhere your feet step.
Zechariah 4:6 - Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says the Lord of hosts.
5. Pray for Boldness and Courage
In Acts 4:23–31, we see the early church praying for boldness in the face of opposition. They lived in a world where many were hostile toward the message of Jesus—and so do we.
The recent assassination of Charlie Kirk is a sobering reminder that hostility to the gospel is real. I believe Charlie Kirk was an everyday missionary who was martyred for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. His life and death remind us that sharing the truth of Jesus may come with a cost. Jesus prepared us for this reality when He said:
John 15:18 - “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.”
Being an everyday missionary will not always be easy. Not everyone we meet will welcome our message. Yet we can walk in confidence, because the Holy Spirit within us gives us the boldness and courage we need. Boldness comes when we trust the Spirit to speak through us, empowering us to proclaim the truth of Christ no matter who or what we face.
6. Pray for Urgency
Whether or not we understand all the details of end-times theology, this much is true: Jesus is coming back. We don’t know the day or the hour, but Scripture gives us signs that the season is near—and we know for certain that today we are one day closer to His return than we were yesterday.
As believers in Jesus, our deep desire is to take as many people with us as possible into eternity with Christ. The reality of His nearness should stir urgency in us, because we don’t want to leave anyone behind. One way we receive and maintain that urgency by asking God’s Spirit to awaken in us a deep awareness of the times we live in and to give us a holy urgency for sharing the gospel.
Romans 13:11-“The hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.”
Living as an everyday missionary doesn’t require a passport, a platform, or a theology degree. It simply requires a heart transformed by Jesus, eyes to see the people around you, and the willingness to step into each day with prayer, boldness, and urgency. The truth is, you are already in your mission field—your home, your neighborhood, your workplace, your gym, your grocery store. God has placed people in your path who need to hear about His love and salvation.
So let’s live intentionally. Let’s pray for the people God has entrusted to us. Let’s ask the Holy Spirit for courage and boldness. And let’s keep our eyes fixed on eternity, remembering that every day brings us one step closer to the return of Christ.
If you’re ready to begin, I’d love to equip you with my free Everyday Missionary Prayer Toolkit—a resource that includes both the Salvation Prayer List and the Closet Prayer Sign. These tools will guide you in praying for the people God has placed in your life and remind you to stay prepared and bold in your witness.
👉 Download your free Everyday Missionary Prayer Toolkit here and take your first step into living as an everyday missionary today.
