Few would argue the fact that family concerns have dominated the church’s relational agenda over the past decade. Led by such personalities as James Dobson and Chuck Swindoll, we have collectively turned our hearts and minds toward home in an effort to strengthen and secure a “sanctuary” from the rabid secularism and resultant breakdowns that typify our culture.
But not all those within the body have automatically benefited from this zealous family emphasis. Take missionary kids, for example. Is quality versus quantity time even an issue when Mom and Dad are “doing ministry” and their children are in a boarding school nine months of the year?
Hardly.
In fact, the reasons given for why family life in America is in disarray—absent father, absent mother—are commonplace on the mission field. So just how are transplanted missionary families (and their boards) coping?
Surprisingly well, reports missiologist Ruth Tucker, whose cover story cuts through some popular misperceptions (such as that MKS are generally socially maladjusted) while providing a no-nonsense look at the very real challenges that overseas families face—and usually face head-on. Indeed, the fact that so many MKS eventually become missionaries themselves speaks of a resilience and flexibility in the family that should be an encouragement to us all.
HAROLD B. SMITH, Managing Editor
