The Brazilian missionary movement and of the structures that have not kept pace with its growth.
Brazilian transcultural missionaries estimated by the survey
AMTB projection, calculated from the 2017 survey with a conservative 5% annual rate through 2022.Sending has matured. The care ecosystem, less so.
The data show a missionary force that is experienced, diverse, and largely connected to churches and agencies. They also expose repeated gaps in preparation, family accompaniment, security, and support.
The sample covers Brazilians in transcultural action inside and outside the country. The 19,000 missionaries and some national totals in the report are projections, not census counts.
That staying power is an asset. It suggests accumulated experience, intercultural bonds, and the capacity to weather crises. At the same time, it makes care a question of sending sustainability, not an accessory service.
The report's decisive finding lies in the gap between the length of the calling and the consistency of the support offered.
An experienced, family-centered, majority-female force
The average profile does not fit the stereotype of the young single on a short mission.
Where the missionaries are
When the survey removes missionaries serving inside Brazil, the distribution shifts: Asia 31%, Europe 27%, Africa 26%, Americas 15%, and Oceania 1%.
Institutional ties run deep: 82% were sent in partnership by a local church and a mission agency. Another 18% operated outside the arrangement AMTB considers ideal (about 3,400 people in the national projection).
The weak points show up in language, family, and finances
Life on the field is shaped by personal and institutional factors. The survey lets us see where support arrives and where it fails.
Moderate-to-severe stress
The report identifies the local language, adaptation to the new culture, and leaving the home country as the greatest stress generators.
Incomplete support
More than a quarter said their monthly income did not cover personal and family expenses. The average reported family income was R$5,900.
No emergency reserve
Without a reserve, families are more exposed to crises, exchange-rate swings, medical bills, and unexpected return.
99% agree the missionary's mental health needs to be accompanied. Even so, 21% of organizations said they never assess their missionaries' quality of life, and another 13% take more than two years to check in with them.
The family shares in the sending, but its children arrive poorly prepared
The answers about the children were given by the parents themselves. The report acknowledges that this mediation may not capture the full emotional experience of the children and teenagers.
Language and third-culture identity also demand attention. Among children outside Brazil, 45% spoke and wrote Portuguese fluently; 8% had weak command and 3% could neither speak nor understand it.
Parents reported bullying frequently or sometimes for 21.8% of children by fellow students, 14.7% by local people, and 9.7% by teachers.
Organizations recognize care, but operate under pressure
Among the 43 responding organizations, 77% were affiliated with AMTB and 67% had been organized in Brazil from 1981 onward.
Finances · 55.8%
It was the most cited area, followed by lack of missionaries (51.2%) and mobilization (48.8%).
75% have a dedicated department
Among the services offered: pastoral care (84%), psychological care (63%), care for children (49%), and health care (44%).
49% have a policy
Another 35% said they had no child and adolescent protection policy; 9% marked “not applicable” and 7% did not know what it was.
51% have an organizational plan
The same percentage said the plan was written down and had been shared with the missionaries before sending.
Among organizations offering courses, 76.7% train in missiology, 67.4% in evangelism, and 55.8% in theology or church planting. Missionary care appears at 37.2% and linguistics at 27.9%.
Among the missionaries themselves, anthropology leads the desired study topics (16.1%), followed by counseling (10.5%), linguistics (9.9%), theology (9.7%), and church planting (9.4%).
Premature return begins long before the return ticket
Twenty-three organizations reported 77 premature returns in five years. The report projects about 450 cases across the 250 catalogued organizations, not counting independent or church-only sendings.
Factors cited by the organizations
Categories summarized for readability. “Conflict and conduct” groups lack of commitment, sin, team conflict, and immoral life; “government and persecution” groups governmental situations, religious persecution, COVID-19, and visas.
Five decisions to strengthen sending
The data point to measures churches and agencies can build into the full sending cycle.
Treat care as infrastructure
Define who is responsible, how often contact happens, the budget, and the referral network. Care should not depend merely on the goodwill of whoever is available.
Prepare the whole family
Include spouses and children in pre-field training, track Portuguese and local-language learning, create dedicated channels for children and teenagers, and plan reentry.
Integrate language, culture, and mental health
These factors come together in missionary experience. Linguistic and anthropological training needs to walk alongside counseling, supervision, and quality-of-life assessment.
Set minimum security standards
Before sending, document contingency plans, child protection, insurance, crisis officers, and communication protocols for sensitive contexts.
Measure staying, not just sending
Track support coverage, emergency reserves, reasons for return, time on the field, and quality of reintegration. What is not tracked tends to surface late.
About the source
Pesquisa Força Missionária Brasileira 2022, conducted by the Associação de Missões Transculturais Brasileiras (AMTB), São Paulo. This brief synthesizes and interprets the report's data. Percentages and projections belong to the original survey.