What do we learn about white evangelicalism from those raised by its heroes? From historian Holly Berkley Fletcher, herself a missionary kid, comes this first-of-its-kind examination of how the experiences of missionary kids illuminate broader currents in American Christianity. As sidekicks to their parents' and churches' ambitions, missionary kids (MKs) face questions many white Christians eventually ask: about God's calling, sacrifice, faith, privilege, racism, abuse, and what belonging means. In The Missionary Kids, Fletcher reveals how MKs have intimate access to the movement's logic, longings, and ideals. With penetrating research, sly wit, and an empathic gaze, Fletcher lays bare complicated emotions and troublesome truths. She investigates how calling, multiculturalism, saints, and indispensability can distract white American Christians from their own tradition's sins and failures. Drawing on her experience as a Southern Baptist MK in Kenya, on conversations with other missionary kids, and on the work of psychologists, historians, missiologists, and researchers, Fletcher paints an intricate portrait of family life on the front lines of the missionary movement. From boarding school to war zones, and from sexual assault by adult missionaries to fending for themselves so as not to distract from the work of the Lord, MKs bear the weight of their parents' choices and their churches' ideals. Fletcher delves into the "missionary industrial complex" that shapes the lives of missionary families, listening to MKs speak of the vexing, wordless longing for the places they've lived. For many years, few people sought out MKs' real voices. God had called their parents to do great things, so the kids were beside the point. But the children of missionaries are beneficiaries of evangelicalism's rewards and victims of its failings. And now they are ready to talk.
Holly Berkley Fletcher is a historian, essayist, and former intelligence analyst. She was raised in Kenya by missionary parents. She earned a PhD in American history and taught in universities for several years before being hired as an Africa analyst by the Central Intelligence Agency, where she worked for nineteen years. She lives in the Washington, DC, area with her husband, two kids, and dog.
Introduction PART I The Myth of Calling Chapter 1 Accessories to Martyrs Chapter 2 A Very Special Calling Chapter 3 Jesus is Their Favorite PART II The Myth of Multiculturalism Chapter 4 Bubble Boys and Girls Chapter 5 The Great (Race) Escape Chapter 6 A Cultural Trade Imbalance PART III The Myth of Saints Chapter 7 The Untouchables Chapter 8 One Big Happy Family Chapter 9 A Breeding Ground for Abuse Chapter 10 Sent Home Chapter 11 Fighting for Change Chapter 12 Theology Trumps Policy PART IV The Myth of Indispensability Chapter 13 Getting Out of the Way Chapter 14 Searching for Home Conclusion Acknowledgments Notes
"It's long past time for the church to grapple with how we do 'mission work' across the globe, and The Missionary Kids is a good wake-up call. Holly Berkley Fletcher, herself a missionary kid, exposes a relatively unpublicized underbelly of mission work--the children taken to unfamiliar locations, disconnected from their parents, and left to fend for themselves all in the name of God." --Nancy French, author of Ghosted: An American Story "Dr. Berkley Fletcher's very personal look into the experiences of white evangelical missionary kids (MKs) will leave few readers unprovoked. Many will be provoked to shock and further disillusionment with the white evangelical subculture. Many others will be provoked to defensiveness, protesting about all the people missionaries serve or the many MKs who've cherished their experiences. (I found myself provoked in both directions as I read.) Most importantly, however, this book will provoke serious discussion about the blind spots of American Christians and what it really means to love God and love people, within our homes and abroad." --Samuel L. Perry, professor of sociology, University of Oklahoma, and author of Religion for Realists and coauthor of Taking America Back for God "The Missionary Kids mixes sensitive retellings of what happens to children when parents place spiritual calling above the obligation to protect and care for their own kids, within a system of white evangelicalism that holds itself above and often apart from those abroad whom they say they are called to serve." --Sarah Stankorb, author of Disobedient Women "This sad, aching, beautifully written book is part memoir, part investigative report, part expose--not just about what it is like to be a missionary kid, but about the distorted, misguided white US evangelical imagination that has produced the missionary enterprise as it now exists. The discussion of sexual predation in overseas missionary contexts is stunning and horrifying. This book is a must-read, and a crucial addition to the post-evangelical literature that is rapidly growing these days." --David P. Gushee, professor of Christian ethics, Mercer University, and author of After Evangelicalism and Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies "Through the keyhole of missionary kids around the globe, Holly Berkley Fletcher provides keen insights not just into evangelical Christianity, but also into America's political morass in the twenty-first century. A highly readable and enlightening analysis of the intersection of church and politics." --Mona Charen, syndicated columnist and policy editor of The Bulwark "This book is a must-read wake-up call for the evangelical church! Yes, it details the heart-wrenching realities that missionary kids all too often experience. But more than that, The Missionary Kids is a thorough, insightful critique of evangelicalism as a whole. As Holly Berkley Fletcher explains in detail how and why missionary kids were made to feel expendable, she helps us see how evangelicalism has gone off track too. And she invites those of us who want to cling to Jesus to a faith that doesn't demand child sacrifice, but instead focuses on flourishing and wholeness. We simply must do better, and this book leads the way." --Sheila Wray Gregoire, author of The Great Sex Rescue and host of the Bare Marriage podcast "Given recent political and cultural events in our country, readers cannot do enough to understand the complicated and powerful world of white evangelicalism. The Missionary Kids is no exception. As Holly Berkley Fletcher writes, the book exposes the good and the bad, the beautiful and the brutal, and the wondrous and the woeful, from the forgotten perspective of those who often saw it all. America's former missionary children tell a story of paradox the rest of us best pay attention to and learn from if we want to see real change." --Cara Meredith, author of Church Camp
