Friends to cheer us on

Hi there, my name is Hilja and I was part of the 2025-2026 cohort for Dignity’s ‘Friends on Mission’ - an online learning community designed to help you connect with others across the world with a heart for mission.

I grew up in a missional context, with a number of my family members doing missionary work in Europe. I knew from a young age that God was calling me to mission work too, and seeing what God can do when we say ‘yes’ got me excited for the future. I also always had a heart for different nations and cultures growing up, with a particular soft spot for nations in southern Africa.

My journey of discerning ‘where’ and ‘what’ hasn’t been straightforward. After thinking I might want to do some work in Zambia or the Middle East, God started speaking to me about a particular nation in East Asia in summer 2023. Initially, I kept this largely to myself, but after a lot of confirmation from the Father, I started to feel a bit more confident to share some of these things to a few close friends, at which point Tim and Becky (organisers, Friends on Mission) encouraged me to join Friends on Mission.

Friends on Mission allowed me to meet with a few others on a monthly basis to learn, grow, and discern next steps together. Our group had a number of people from across the world doing all sorts of mission activities, but the sessions were applicable across the board - providing practical tools to think about calling, purpose, and strategy. And, of course - accountability and friendship in a context that can feel hard and lonely.

When I look back on my time with Friends on Mission, three things jump out:

1. It showed me that mission is not easy, but neither is it complicated. Friends on Mission allowed me to see how I could be a missionary in my local context, not just have to wait for a big moment of moving abroad. This helped me seize opportunities in my day-to-day life to share the love of Jesus with those already around me.

2. It gave me a number of tools which can be used to think creatively about mission. One of the highlights was our weekend away, which invited us to problem-solve our mission questions in small groups, and to hear from those more “seasoned” on the field!

3. It gave me confidence to take bold next steps. As a result of the community cheering me on, I ended up booking a 3-week trip to the nation I believe God is calling me to, travelling solo across cities to meet with church leaders and missionaries, as well as to pray and listen to what God might be saying in the land.

So, whether like me you grew up in a missionary context but don’t know where to start yourself, or you are completely new to Christianity or to mission - there is so much gold-dust here for you. I would recommend anyone who is considering doing any mission to join the group for the next cohort. And I would encourage you especially if you don’t ‘feel’ like a missionary - because we are all on a mission in this broken world, and we need friends around us to cheer us on as we go.