Retirement realities

Last year at our annual staff conference for Barnabas International, our longtime executive director and his wife stepped away from leadership and gracefully entered their retirement years. Another colleague couple from Barnabas International will be retiring from the organization at the end of the year. As I edge ever closer to the age of 70, I can’t help but ponder what that next stage called retirement might look like in my life.

According to Ronald L. Koteskey, “Retirement can take many forms from a delightful, freeing experience to a traumatic, depressing one. A major factor in determining which it becomes is the planning one has done.”¹ With a certain segment of missionaries in Japan facing retirement in the near future, it is vitally important to consider some realities. This is not only to make this transition as smooth as possible but to ensure we remain faithful to God as we go into retirement. Some may choose to remain in Japan, and some may return to their passport country, but all are encouraged to consider these simple suggestions. Much could be said about this topic, and there are numerous resources to consult, but I would like to highlight three basic realities.

Practical realities

Often the first thing older missionaries think about is where will they live. Whether remaining on the field or returning to their passport country, a missionary may have questions like: “In what area of the country will I live?” “Should I locate close to relatives (siblings, one of the children)?” “Do I buy a house or rent?” “What about a retirement community?”

A related concern is financial viability, whether or not they will have enough financial resources to meet their needs. In today’s world, inflation continues to take a toll on future planning. I remember speaking with two retiring couples in Japan. One couple had all their financial arrangements made and were ready to return confidently to their passport country. The other couple had never talked to a financial planner to discuss what resources they might need to retire. It was a more stressful time for them as they considered retirement.

Something retiring missionaries may not consider is relationships. If a missionary returns to their passport country, finding friends and building relationships may be the most difficult task they encounter. Their values may be quite different than most of the people their age. They may have changed so much over the years that they don’t feel as if they fit anywhere, even among those who may have been their closest friends from the past.

Emotional realities

While people are quite comfortable talking about their practical needs when it comes to retirement, a much more difficult reality relates to one’s emotions. For many years, missionaries have given themselves to the work to which they felt God had called them. Their identity was built upon what they had been doing on the mission field. Now it comes time to leave that work and enter a new phase of life. They may experience a loss of role, a loss of significance, a loss of importance. If they are not a missionary, then who are they? Is there a place for them in their home culture, and can they do something meaningful during the rest of their lives? Is it even OK to enjoy this time of life without feeling guilty? Of course if a missionary plans to remain in Japan during their latter years, the change will be slower, but it is still important for all older missionaries to process these questions.

Leaving something one has done for an entire career is a loss. Leadership positions will be turned over to someone else. Will they give themselves permission to grieve this loss? Close relationships have been built with other missionaries and with local believers, and they will be missed. Cultural practices appreciated and enjoyed will also be missed and seen as a loss. Therefore, it is essential they have someone to talk with (to debrief) so that they can off-load and talk about their experiences: “A safe person who will value your thoughts and feelings about the whole range of your experience. They don’t have to understand missions or life on the field; they just have to be willing to listen, empathize, and listen. (And yes, I said that on purpose.)”² Emotional realities are just as important as practical realities.

Spiritual realities

Celebrate faithfulness, not accomplishments. The apostle Paul was a great missionary, but he did not focus on his accomplishments so much as on God’s faithfulness and his own commitment to follow God to the very end.³ In a world that focuses more on productivity than character, it is easy to get caught up in looking back on years of service with regret. God was at work when you progressed through your missionary career, and God will continue to be at work long after you are gone. Elizabeth and Jonathan Trotter remind us, “There is a tremendous power in making room for the paradoxical truths that there was good and there was bad and there is God.”⁴ So celebrate what God did in you more than what he did through you because he was with you.

Even if a person returns to their passport country and rests from their labor, there may be an interest in further ministry. Refuse to force that upon yourself, but be ready if the Lord should stir something in you. You are greatly gifted and have much to offer in mentoring, missions expertise, prayer, teaching, etc. Remember that Psalm 92:12–14 can apply to you: “The righteous thrive like a palm tree and grow like a cedar tree in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the LORD, they thrive in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, healthy and green” (CSB, emphasis mine).

1. Ronald L. Koteskey, “What Missionaries Ought to Know About Retirement,” Missionarycare.com, https://missionarycare.com/pdfs/Missionaries-Retirement.pdf (accessed July 31, 2024).
2. Elizabeth and Jonathan Trotter, “Leaving (and Arriving) Well,” in Serving Well: Help for the Wannabe, Newbie, or Weary Cross-cultural Christian Worker (Eugene: Resource Publications, 2019), 379–380.
3. See 2 Timothy 4:7.
4. Trotter, Serving Well, 380.