When Nick Meyer felt God calling him to become a FOCUS missionary, saying yes didn’t exactly fit into the plans he had for his future.
He was already working as a public school teacher and considering graduate school. He knew only two people involved with FOCUS and had little experience with evangelization or discipleship. Still, he couldn’t shake the sense that God was asking him to take a different path.
“God will always surprise you when you say, “yes,” even when you don’t know exactly what is in store for you,” Nick said. “I was working professionally as a teacher in a public school when I made the leap to leave and become a missionary. I had never led a Bible study, never formally or intentionally been in discipleship or discipled someone, and I despised asking people for money — but I knew despite those things, this is what the Lord was asking me to do.”
Looking back now, Nick describes that decision as one that “changed the trajectory” of his life. His years as a missionary formed him for nearly every part of the life he leads today.
As a missionary, Nick received spiritual and intellectual formation while learning how to work with a team, face rejection and take a genuine interest in others. One of his greatest challenges was fundraising, something he had dreaded before becoming a missionary. But learning to raise support taught him to build relationships, persevere through rejection and do things that initially felt uncomfortable.
“Being a missionary showed me that I could do really hard things,” Nick said.
Years later, he can see a direct connection between that experience and his career.
“I was taught a process and skills that have led me to a career in relationships and sales, which I never imagined would be true,” he said. “That foundation was laid during my first year of summer training in learning how to fundraise.”
Those lessons continue to shape how Nick approaches his work. He strives to pursue excellence while supporting his teammates and placing the success of the team ahead of his own.
“Much of this I learned as a missionary and carry with me,” he said.
Nick’s years with FOCUS shaped more than his professional life. During that time, he also met the woman who would become his wife, which he says never would have happened had he not become a missionary. Today, he sees his vocation as a husband and father as the first place he is called to live on mission.
“The call and mission of evangelization and discipleship today continues to evolve,” Nick said. “Really, it’s about where God has placed me, where my time is spent most and who is in my circle of influence.”
At home, Nick and his wife pray with their children, read a Bible story each night and prioritize Mass as a family, and even include a daily decade of the Rosary, which Nick notes is “typically just the right length for a 2- and 4-year-old.”
His workplace has become another place to live on mission. More than a year ago, Nick helped start a men’s Bible study at work with men of different ages and faith backgrounds. One coworker was received into the Catholic Church this past Easter, sponsored by another coworker who is also a former FOCUS missionary.
Another colleague had been attending Mass only sporadically. During Lent, Nick invited coworkers to join him for daily Mass each Friday, and that colleague came every week. “Thanks be to God, he now regularly attends every Sunday,” Nick said.
The same intentionality extends to his neighborhood. Nick has gotten to know the people around him, including several fallen-away Catholics, and hopes those relationships might eventually grow into a men’s Bible study on his back porch after the kids are asleep.
That perspective is what Nick hopes others will understand when they discern whether becoming a missionary will put their careers or plans on hold.
“I get it, I left my career, put on hold graduate school, and left the vision and plan I had because I felt the call to be a missionary,” Nick said. But from where he stands today, those years weren’t time lost. They deepened his faith, prepared him for a career he never anticipated, and shaped how he approaches marriage, fatherhood, work and relationships.
“God has an incredible plan for your life — trust Him with that, explore that call you feel, seek wise counsel. Then, take ‘the risk,’ embrace the adventure and say yes,” Nick said. “Becoming a missionary will prepare you for what God has in store for you and likely will give you greater clarity. Will it be easy? No. Will it be comfortable? No. Will it shape and mold you? Yes. As Pope Benedict XVI once said, ‘You weren’t made for comfort; you were made for greatness,’ for sainthood.”
What could your “yes” lead to?
Like Nick, you don’t have to know exactly what comes next to say yes to where God is calling you today. Learn more about serving with FOCUS, what to expect as a missionary and how to begin the application process.
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