Missionary

A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to proselytize and/or perform ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin missionem (nom. missio), meaning "act of sending" or mittere, meaning "to send". The word was used in light of its biblical usage; in the Latin translation of the Bible, Christ uses the word when sending the disciples to preach in his name. The term is most commonly used for Christian missions, but can be used for any creed or ideology.

Missionaries by religion

Christian missions

A Christian missionary can be defined as "one who is to witness across cultures". The Lausanne Congress of 1974, defined the term, related to Christian mission as, "to form a viable indigenous church-planting movement". Missionaries can be found in many countries around the world.

Jesus instructed the apostles to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19–20, Mark 16:15–18). This verse is referred to by Christian missionaries as the Great Commission and inspires missionary work.

Missionary (film)

Missionary is a 2013 horror thriller film by Anthony DiBlasi. It received its world premiere on July 25, 2013 at the Fantasia International Film Festival and stars Dawn Olivieri as a beautiful single mother caught up in one man's obsession with her.

Synopsis

Katherine (Dawn Olivieri) is a mother trying to raise her son Kesley (Connor Christie) the best she can, despite being recently separated from her husband Ian (Kip Pardue). When Mormon missionary Elder Kevin Brock (Mitch Ryan) offers to help her son practice football, both he and Katherine are drawn to one another. Despite some worries about the 10 year age difference between the two of them, Katherine and Kevin are initially happy in their blossoming relationship. It takes a sour turn when Katherine decides to try to work things out with her estranged husband, which doesn't sit well with Kevin. Already a little mentally unstable, Kevin's warped mind tries to use his religion to justify making Katherine his... forever.

Missionary (LDS Church)

Missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)—widely known as Mormon missionaries—are volunteer representatives of the LDS Church who engage variously in proselytizing, church service, humanitarian aid, and community service. Mormon missionaries may serve on a full- or part-time basis depending on the assignment, and are organized geographically into missions. The mission assignment could be to any one of the 418 missions organized worldwide.

The LDS Church is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work, reporting that it had over 85,000 full-time missionaries worldwide at the end of 2014 (as well as over 30,000 part-time church-service missionaries). Most full-time Mormon missionaries are single young men and women in their late teens and early twenties and older couples no longer with children in the home. Missionaries are often assigned to serve far from their homes, including in other countries. Many missionaries learn a new language at a missionary training center as part of their assignment. Missions typically last two years for males, 18 months for females, and 6 to 18 months for older couples. The LDS Church strongly encourages, but does not require, missionary service for young men. All Mormon missionaries serve voluntarily and do not receive a salary for their work; they typically finance missions themselves or with assistance from family or other church members. Many Latter-day Saints save money during their teenage years to cover their mission expenses.