Who are you, and who do the people around you think you are? Your social identity in the eyes of your host government may be one thing, but in the eyes of your neighbors it might be another. What are the implications of leaning into one of those identities more than the other? A former NGO worker who has both lived in and been expelled from creative-access contexts shares hard-won lessons and tips for those beginning the journey.

Organizational research suggests that the feeling of “fit” in work has less to do with role and more to do with our capacity to make psychological adjustments to available opportunities. This article presents two case studies where field workers in different contexts experienced significant disruption in their fields. These illustrate that making successful adjustments in role and identity can lead to flourishing in ministry amidst volatility and change.

In “closed” countries, cross-cultural workers often establish a legitimate, reasonable identity other than “missionary.” However, should cross-cultural workers in more “open” countries self-identify as “missionaries,” or can they continue to utilize a non-missionary identity there as well? A female church planter who has relocated from a creative-access to an open nation explores the questions surrounding her shifting contexts and the various perspectives that workers have on identity, truth-telling, and the “m” word.

Community development can be a time-consuming labor of love that can challenge workers as they struggle with committing the time necessary to do it well. A worker with significant experience in Muslim contexts argues that community development can also pay great gospel dividends when workers work strategically, take a long-term view, and shift their perspective in a few key areas.

Some cross-cultural workers have full-time jobs in addition to their many other missional responsibilities. There is constant pressure from countless possible tasks vying for our time and attention. An experienced missionary and global professional (GP), who runs an equipping course for other GPs, shares his experiential knowledge regarding how leaders can help those they lead navigate the impossible and avoid burnout as they seek to be faithful amidst multiple vocations.

God is using global professionals as witnesses in many restricted countries, but to be effective, they must navigate a very different environment from their traditional mission peers. Is it possible to unify our work and ministry identity so as to have an authentic presence as a witness for Christ in a “secular” work environment? A veteran worker shares stories, principles, and lessons learned over decades of witness as a global professional in a Muslim country.