Torn Between

You want to serve cross-culturally, but maybe you have anxiety, addiction, or even trauma in your story. Does that disqualify you?In this episode of Torn Between, we talk with Bobby, a licensed therapist and One Collective senior leader, about what actually happens to your mental health when you move overseas—and how you can prepare for it.Learn more about cross-cultural work at Onecollective.org/begin

You want to serve cross-culturally—but you also want to keep building your skills, experience, and resume. Is overseas work a career pause, or can it actually push your career forward? In this episode, we dive into the ‘Ministry is only a Bible study’ myth and look at real roles—from communications to public health to entrepreneurship. If you’ve wondered what you’d actually do overseas (and how it translates back home), this episode is for you.

You’ve considered cross-cultural work, but the idea of fundraising and relying on others for your income makes you hesitate.In this episode, we name the challenges: awkward asks, a “tapped” network, actually having enough to live well, and the tension between calling and financial security. We then get practical, talking about how support-raising works, when it’s treated as a partnership, how to map your network, how to get referrals to expand your network, and how to set a realistic, healthy budget that includes savings, retirement, debt repayment, and actual rest.This is a down-to-earth look at the pros, cons, and first steps to help you decide if cross-cultural work is for you.

When you feel called to cross-cultural work, the hardest part isn’t always fundraising, language learning, or even moving overseas, but navigating family. Parents, siblings, and loved ones all carry expectations, fears, and hopes for your future, and those can collide with your calling in messy ways.In this episode, Michael, Mark, and Carly get real about what it’s like to navigate family relationships with a desire to serve abroad. From parental fears to sibling dynamics to the tension of honoring family while stepping into obedience, this conversation is raw, honest, and deeply personal.If you’ve ever wrestled with how to move forward when your family doesn’t fully understand your calling, this episode is for you.

You're thinking about moving abroad to serve, but you're also in a relationship. Or you want to be. And now you're torn between the two.If you feel this, then you're not alone. Join us as we unpack one of the most complicated and emotional questions people wrestle with: How does my relationship or desire for one fit into a calling to cross-cultural work? In this episode, we share personal stories and honest reflection, we explore what it means to surrender our timelines, trust God, and make space for both desire and discernment.

You feel called to cross-cultural work, and you are actually considering committing to it. But alongside that calling is a wave of uncertainty:How will I make money? What do I do about my relationship? How is my family going to respond to this?What if I don’t feel ready? What if I never feel ready?Torn Between is a mini-series created for people who want to move abroad for cross-cultural work but feel stuck in the tension of fear, uncertainty, and desire.This isn’t a podcast full of answers. It’s a space to name the doubts and fears you’ve been carrying and realize you’re not the only one. Because the path to serving isn’t always clear—and that’s not a disqualifier. It’s a starting point.Hosted by Mark and Carley who help others take the leap abroad—and Michael who’s standing on the edge himself. These are honest, personal conversations with no easy answers-just good questions and a few next steps forward.