Review of Staying Well
This new book specifically addresses the struggles of ministering in Japan and helps readers identify hazards and strategies for health in their personal context
You may have heard it said that “Japan is the graveyard of missionaries”—a dramatic but sadly true description. Over the decades, many of those who felt called to Japan have found themselves unable to endure the challenges of living and serving here. Staying Well: Highlighting Hazards, Highlighting Health for Missionaries in Japan provides a valuable contribution to the discussion of missionary retention and attrition.
Janet Dallman’s desire to see missionaries thrive motivated her to pursue a master’s in member care in England, her homeland, and to share her discoveries. She states, “This book arises out of my long-held desire to encourage and care for missionaries, and out of my own experience of struggling to stay and ‘stay well’ in Japan” (p. xix). Janet knows firsthand what it is like to live and work in a country where less than one percent of the population are believers, having served in Japan with her husband Peter for more than 20 years.
The book has three parts. Highlighting Hazards notes factors that have caused missionaries to leave the field. Highlighting Health deals with factors that have helped keep missionaries engaged in ministry for the long haul. These two parts include worksheets that can be used for self-assessment of both hazards and health. Recommendations & Reflections for Self-care & Agency Member Care offers suggestions to missionaries and sending agencies for achieving better retention and greater missionary health.
Janet also provides several appendices, including data from her survey and interview questions, an explanation of the Japanese context, and a glossary of terms. In sharing survey results from a broad range of former and current missionaries to Japan, as well as personal interview quotes, the book brings the reader face-to-face with real-life issues that missionaries experience as they seek to share the gospel in a culture that has been quite resistant to the message of Christ. Janet’s honesty in sharing her own struggles while ministering in Japan enhances the quality of her research and results.
As I worked my way through the book, I appreciated the effort Janet expended in researching relevant literature, surveying a broad range of people, interviewing former missionaries, compiling data, and reflecting on the results. Her recommendations and suggestions for missionaries and sending agencies therefore come from informed research and not simply opinion. Her grasp of the relevant literature is broad and well documented throughout the book, providing a wealth of resources to investigate further.
The workbook pages in the book will be valuable for both individuals and mission agencies. Greater awareness of hazards may highlight significant issues to be addressed, and implementing some of Janet’s practical suggestions may help missionaries enjoy more fulfilling ministry.
While Janet has done a good job of reporting the basic information from her study, it does feel a little academic at times. An expanded discussion of specific hazards missionaries face could have been a nice addition to the book. For example, the issue of conflict on teams, which has been pointed out as a major contributing factor in attrition by another researcher.1 I also would have appreciated having more in-depth interviewee stories sprinkled throughout the book or perhaps more case studies in the workbook sections, although I realize that may be tough to do while maintaining confidentiality. With that said, the facts she shares are still very important to the overall focus of the book and provide evidence for the best ways to keep missionaries healthy and resilient.
All in all, Janet Dallman has made a wonderful contribution to the discussion of missionary attrition and retention. Her discoveries, reflections, and recommendations give missionaries and their agencies valuable tools they can use to help extend the careers of missionaries in Japan. For those who are experiencing the struggle of ministry in Japan, or even those who are thriving, I would highly recommend Staying Well as a resource from which to draw significant assistance and inspiration.
1. In her research study on attrition, Andrea Sears notes the factor of team conflict as a major contributor to missionaries leaving the field.
https://themissionsexperience.weebly.com/blog/team-factors (accessed August 26, 2021).