Isn’t a Call Enough? What Is the Purpose of Psychologically Assessing Cross-Cultural Mission Workers?

Abstract

Psychological assessments are routinely conducted by many cross-cultural mission organizations when recruiting candidates. This qualitative research aimed to clarify the purpose of these assessments, to provide a way forward to improving them. It is part of a larger project which has investigated the use of psychological assessments in the Australasian region. A subsample of six chief executive officers (CEOs), six-member care specialists, and six professional assessors consented to a 1-hour interview about the purpose of psychological assessments. Thematic analysis was used to extract the key themes, and the data from each group were triangulated to form overarching themes. The results suggested each group approached purpose from their professional standpoint. CEOs focused on missiology, member care specialists on pastoral care, and assessors on psychological frameworks for understanding candidates. Five key purposes were identified for these assessments: (1) screening risk, (2) candidate self-awareness and growth, (3) fit for role, (4) discerning call, and (5) normalizing prevention of harm. These assessments are a key part of the discernment process for ministry. They need to be improved based on our increased understanding of the purpose they can potentially serve in ameliorating harm to people who volunteer for cross-cultural work.