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Missionary newsletters (sometimes called Updates or Prayer Letters) help missionaries communicate with their sending churches and individual supporters back home. The purpose of these letters is to inform Christians about the details of the ministry so that they can pray for and support the missionary responsibly. Many of St. Paul’s epistles were first-century examples of missionary updates.

We as missionaries must improve our writing skills. I’ve read many bad prayer letters from missionaries. A handful are average and a select few are excellent. A quarter of them I wish would end after the first two sentences.

I understand this is somewhat subjective. What is good for one may be bad for another. I know there are different tastes. There is no Mosaic Prayer Letter Manual that Sinai insists we follow, though the writings of Missionary Paul are a good start.

I have no axe to grind. I’m pro missions. I’ve been a missionary for almost two decades. When it comes to missions, I’m like the mother who attends her son’s sporting events–pompoms, face paint, team jersey. I’m all in.

While some newsletters are like Rachel, beautiful to behold, others are like Leah, plain and lacking vitality. I’ve read newsletters with over 3,000 words–equal to nine pages in a typical book. I’ve read other letters with scores of photos, including vacation pics, birthday parties and lots of cutsie photos of the kiddos–more man-centered than Christ exalting.

Below you’ll find six marks of a good prayer, followed by a couple helpful examples.

Economical

The better the writer, the longer the letter. In general, keep the updates brief. We don’t care to see a dozen photos of spaghetti on your toddler’s face. Save that for Facebook. Only your mother and the dear widow back home really cares. A handful of photos will suffice.

Missionary newsletters are not about family, though we can reference them. They’re not even about you. They are about the Lord Jesus and the work He is doing through clay pots like us. When Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch to report, they “declared all that God had done with them” (Ac. 14:27).

Don’t preach a sermon in your newsletters. Yes, bring Scripture to bear. Yes, ask probing theological questions. No, don’t rehash each point from your morning devotions.

What’s a good length? It covers one side of a page. If you can paste the letter on the fridge and read the whole thing while both hands are occupied with the casserole, that’s a good sized letter. Good prayer letters don’t need staples. Good prayer letters sit nicely in their trays at the back of the church.

My prayer letters average between 450–650 words. I try to cut every word that’s not imperative. I’ve sent 136 newsletters in 17 years, 8 per year, once every six weeks. Short and frequent is often better than rare and long.

Jonah, the best Old Testament book on missions, was just over a thousand words. The majority of Paul’s letters were under 2,000 words. Our modern culture lives on brevity–Instagram, X, Facebook. Don’t expect them to read a treatise. Pastors have told me flatly they don’t even read newsletters that are long.

Respectful

Be humble. Don’t make yourself the hero of the letter. The fourth word in Paul’s letter to the Philippians is “servant”. That’s how he thought of himself. Paul never gave statistics in his letters. Luke did occasionally but usually in round numbers.

Be careful about asking for money. I can’t think of a time I’ve solicited funds in my prayer letters. George Müller trusted in a sovereign God and made known his needs to Him only in prayer.

It is not necessarily wrong to ask for ministry funds. This is often how the churches back home can learn about the needs. But don’t make this the center of your letters. Never demand. Ask. A simple link will often suffice.

Inspirational

Books about missionaries (i.e. biographies) surpass books about missions (i.e. missiology) because the former does two things while the latter does only one. A biography is a bike with two wheels–it informs and inspires. Good missionary biographies impel us to pray, go, give, and teach.

Newsletters should stir and spur, prompt and prod. Readers should anticipate the letters because they walk away encouraged. Point to Christ, point to the church, point to the new birth, point to the Scriptures, point to Heaven, point to Hell.

Newsletters should be didactic, a place to teach the church how to think carefully about Great Commission work. Recommend good books. Share an ethical dilemma. But keep the lesson short. Include hyperlinks for deeper content.

Prayerful

Always include ways the believers back home can pray. Paul asked for prayer from the churches at Colossae (Col. 4:3), Thessalonica (1Th. 5:25) and Corinth (2Cor. 1:11). Include praises as well. Be specific if you can.

You make it easy for the church to pray when you place concise, bulleted requests and praises at the end of the newsletter.

Colorful

Exclamation marks are dictators, demanding exclamation. Colorful words are poets, wooing you to cry, shout and laugh. Use the latter.

Don’t tell us your new disciple is courageous. Say he’s like a ship ballasted with iron. Don’t tell us you’re happy. Say you danced like Miriam beside the Red Sea. Help us smell the dust in Morocco. Help us taste the tuna eyeballs in Japan. Help us feel the witchdoctor’s dance in Mozambique. Give your audience a reason to keep reading.

Throw in a quote from Charles Spurgeon, Groucho Marx, George Whitefield or Lou Holtz. Sprinkle in a Swahili or Portuguese word here and there. Example: the old woman greeted me warmly, “Mi njhani?” You don’t need to know Tsonga to understand what she said.

Metaphor keeps people awake and clears up confusion. Jesus was the master: light of the world, the strong man’s house, bread of life, the wheat and the tares. Paul excelled too. Christians run a race (1Cor. 9:24). Gentle pastors are like nursing mothers (1Th. 2:7). Peter said false teachers are like springs without water (2Pt. 2:17). If inspired Scripture helps the reader with metaphor, how much more should uninspired missionaries use word pictures?

I send an old school PDF to hundreds on my mailing lists. Many today use Mail Chimp. Either way, make the letter pleasing to the eye. Choose pleasant colors. Make the date, author and title clear. Cut out the highlights, all CAPS, and dozen fonts. Tabletalk Magazine will guide you.

Grateful

“I thank my God in all remembrance of you” (Phil. 1:3). Thank the churches for their prayers for you. Thank the believers for their encouragement, financial support and patience with your ministry. Thank them for modeling the kind of church you want to establish.

Careful not to criticize the culture or individuals in the ministry. Be honest about the challenges you face, which includes the sins that surround you, but newsletters are not the place for chastisement. Plus, with technology, locals can easily get access to your newsletters. Don’t write what you’d be ashamed for them to see. In closed countries, be extra careful with names and locations.

Conclusion

Good missionary newsletters should be economical, respectful, inspirational, prayerful, colorful and grateful. Here are two excellent examples of newsletters. This one is from my teammate Seth. This one is from our dear friends the Katungas. If you’re itching for more, yours truly can be found here.