Are Sister Missionaries More Effective Than Elder Missionaries?

[zerinus]

We have had some sister missionaries for the past couple of months, and they have been doing a phenomal job of bringing in investigators, and reactivating inactives. Almose every Sunday they bring in some investigators. They have also brought to Church several long time inactives, although none of them has stayed so far. But they are definitely bringing them in. We have never had elder missionaries being as effective as these sisters have been. So do sister missionaries generally make better missionaries than the elders?

--Case for giving the priesthood to women!

[Storm Rider]

It is unwise to make such a broad generalization on the example of two sisters. I have known a lot of great missionaries, both sisters and Elders. What defines a great missionary? Is it the number of baptisms they have or is it the number of times they successfully bring the Holy Spirit into a conversation with others? Or does it have more to do with something else entirely?

Interestingly, when we study who God has used throughout history to be his servants, they have never been the most qualified, brightest, most eloquent, best looking, etc. He has most often taken the weak and humble and molded them into powerful tools.

[Tacenda]

Not to derail, but does anyone know if missionaries still ask investigators if they are ready for baptism in the 1st or 2nd discussion? I read something about this recently happening and the investigator turning around and saying to the missionaries that the church is all about numbers and didn't continue on with the discussions. I thought the church discontinued with this line of thinking of encouraging investigators to get baptised so early in the process.

Edited September 13, 2012 by Tacenda

[why me]

My daughter is a missionary in Russia and she is sending emails that are filled with people being interested in the gospel. It seems that people react differently to sister missionaries, many because they speak not just with the spirit but with the heart and with empathy.

[why me]

Not to derail, but does anyone know if missionaries still ask investigators if they are ready for baptism in the 1st or 2nd discussion? I read something about this recently happening and the investigator turning around and saying to the missionaries that the church is all about numbers and didn't continue on with the discussions. I thought the church discontinued with this line of thinking of encouraging investigators to get baptised so early in the process.

Yes, I think that it happens in some missions. It all depends on the mission president. And yes, it is far too early to ask someone to be baptized. And it is a mistake to do so.

But the response that you are only interested in numbers sounds fishy. Most people do not think about such things. Rather they may think that the missionaries are too eager.

[Tacenda]

In all my years of living in Utah I don't remember having sister missionaries in our stake. Not saying it didn't happen though. Curious to know how prevelant they are here in the area of church headquarters. The sister missionaries abound at the church sites here. Temple Square, Brigham Young home, Church History Library, etc. I don't ever recall seeing them walking down the streets tracting though, ever.

But I will vouch for wonderful sister missionaries as I have several nieces that have served. One I spoke with recently that loved her mission and misses the people she served.

Edited September 13, 2012 by Tacenda

[Duncan]

Yes, I think that it happens in some missions. It all depends on the mission president. And yes, it is far too early to ask someone to be baptized. And it is a mistake to do so.

But the response that you are only interested in numbers sounds fishy. Most people do not think about such things. Rather they may think that the missionaries are too eager.

It happens in this mission and the amount of baptisms are down, that is either good or bad though. The best missionary in my mission was a sister missionary. But in this mission I would say the best missionary is an Elder-not to demean all the other elders and sisters who do their best but this one elder carries the spirit in rich abundance and he is a very humble person

[Buzzard]

My daughter is a sister missionary in Texas, she tells us that some people won't work with the elders, but will meet with the sisters. I think it all depends on the investigators and the missionary. On my mission a few decades back, I knew some phenomenal sisters, and some who were a waste of a perfectly good name tag. Just like the elders, not surprisingly.

Edited September 13, 2012 by Buzzard

[mfbukowski]

We have had some sister missionaries for the past couple of months, and they have been doing a phenomal job of bringing in investigators, and reactivating inactives. Almose every Sunday they bring in some investigators. They have also brought to Church several long time inactives, although none of them has stayed so far. But they are definitely bringing them in. We have never had elder missionaries being as effective as these sisters have been. So do sister missionaries generally make better missionaries than the elders?

--Case for giving the priesthood to women!

I don't know about the priesthood to women but when you think about it there are good reasons to think they might be better missionaries.

First of all, I think women tend to be better and being people-oriented.

Women are not threatening to women whereas a couple of young men might be perceived as threatening to some.

Guys like talking to young women, and I think that women are better at diffusing issues that might lead to contention.

Have I missed any sterotypes to reinforce?

[Antoni]

As an investigator, I'd have to say I've been impressed with the sister missionaries more than the male ones I've met. One of the elders was a very astute and wise man (for his age). However the sisters I met had a real sense of spirit I felt were letting the Lord lead rather than following a set pattern.

I've felt them push for baptism a bit, one of the sisters was quite shocked I hadn't been baptised yet due to my testimony, however they've been excellent at letting me take my time and I think their enthusiasm is that - enthusiasm (which I had at that age to be honest. I also understand that they're not around for ever and so would want to baptise people they've led to Lord.

[why me]

Have I missed any sterotypes to reinforce?

No. But I can think of a good reason. Sister Missionaries in general tend to teach women and families. They do not teach men if elders are also in the area. I think that women are more open to talk and to engage with other women. Also, they are more open with their problems which can be addressed by sister missionaries.

[Antoni]

ps I like to remind missionaries that Brigham Young took 18 months or so to investigate the faith (to which one went, - you know your LDS history better than me!)

[Tacenda]

ps I like to remind missionaries that Brigham Young took 18 months or so to investigate the faith (to which one went, - you know your LDS history better than me!)

I believe they think there is a small window of time in which to reach some investigators and that is maybe why they push at the beginning. I don't agree with this at all. I've even heard recently, maybe in the "cult" thread on MD&D, that religions that are easy to get into and hard to get out of is a sign that it's not a good cult. Therefore the church must, must let the investigator take their time, even insist on them taking atleast a year to search it out.

[The Nehor]

It has been my experience and most people who I have spoken to that have served agree with me that sisters tend to extremes. With elders you have a couple of really good ones and a couple of lousy ones with most falling between the two extremes. With sisters the middle-range ones are rare. They are either really good and went for the right reasons or went because they never got married and had nothing better to do. Statistically this means good sisters have about a 50/50 shot of being paired with someone good and usually having great success. Success gets noticed while the two crummy sisters just fail at everything and are barely noticed. I think part of the spread is due to being more mature due to age so the girls that do grow up are well along the way and those who will never grow up are more visibly immature.

Sisters also tend to need more attention and time from District and Zone Leaders and the Mission President as when they do not get along it tends to be worse and sometimes more public then when elders do not get along. Sisters are a mixed bag. Sounds like you got a pair of good ones. I am kind of wondering if it is my sister in your ward. That sounds like her letters home in any case.

[Antoni]

I also think the missionaries are surprised at the amount of research I've (and no doubt others have) done this far and will continue to do. One of them couldn't believe I'd read Vol 1 of the JS papers.

[CV75]

So do sister missionaries generally make better missionaries than the elders?

--Case for giving the priesthood to women!

Or a case as to why they don't need it!

At any rate, I'm happy things are going well in your ward. I wouldn't be surprised that the sisters are more effective in certain aspects of ministering (even if not administering the actual ordinances)--but to each their own!

If there was a study of some sort that shows certain measures of missionary effectiveness by gender (misionary as well as convert), that would be great. The "Rescue" and "Real Growth" initiatives involve both the ministry and administering components.

[why me]

ps I like to remind missionaries that Brigham Young took 18 months or so to investigate the faith (to which one went, - you know your LDS history better than me!)

Great response.

[why me]

I also think the missionaries are surprised at the amount of research I've (and no doubt others have) done this far and will continue to do. One of them couldn't believe I'd read Vol 1 of the JS papers.

If you join the lds church, you will be a great member. One, you are on this board. Two, you are studying the lds church independently. And you are learning all the nooks and crannies about the faith. It is also good to think about the witnesses to the book of mormon and how many of them gave their final testimony on their deathbeds.

[Saints Alive]

Why do we always have threads that pit men against women? Would it be acceptable to ask, "are black missionaries more effective than white ones?"

[mfbukowski]

Why do we always have threads that pit men against women? Would it be acceptable to ask, "are black missionaries more effective than white ones?"

No, that wouldn't be acceptable, but it's ok with men and women, because men are naturally better at everything because we have the priesthood.

[Freedom]

I was in involved in looking at the missionary and new-convert statistics about 20 years ago. We found that the sister missionaries tended to have larger teaching pools and more baptisms, but a lower retention rate. We found that the larger teaching pools were more composed of people who enjoyed having the sisters over rather than people who wanted to learn the gospel. Elders were more likely to drop an investigator if they did not progress but on the other hand, the Elders were less tolerant of people who put up any opposition to the message. Sisters were more likely to resolve concerns and stay focused on the gospel message. We found that the converts had a stronger relationship with the sisters and were more likely to fall away when the sisters left. We also found that the sisters were more mature and more sensitive to the needs of the investigators which is a no brainer. So, there was a double edge sword. In terms of total numbers, however, the end result slightly favored the sisters but the statistics were flaws in that the number of sisters surveyed were too few too draw reasonable conclusions. Ultimately, the missionary effort is more about turning boys into men than about pulling in large numbers of converts, so comparing results of baptisms was looking at it backwards. Baptism, we were advised (I don't recall who it was, I think it was the area authority), were a pleasant side benefit to sending young men on missions.

The surveys of investigators and converts in the Vancouver Canada Mission were completed by Salt Lake, but our task was to examine the data and to try to find out how to improve the missionary effort in our area. In the end, we came up with the following recommendations:

1) Elders needed to have more sensitivity training and be more willing to seek to understand the concerns of their investigators

2) Sisters needed to do a better job of identifying the low hanging fruit and leave the fellowshiping to the members

3) more members needed to be taken out on teaching appointments

4) the new membership checklist was not being followed by the ward councils so this was re-introduced

5) Non-members were not offended when people shared the gospel with them, nor were they offended when asked if they would be baptized if they knew the church was true, thus the missionaries could afford to be more bold. The boldness helped weed out the uninterested.

6) Here was a great one - there was no correlation between the number of copies of the Book of Mormon handed out and the number of investigators or converts. In fact, we found a slight negative correlation.

There was a host of other things we found. In the end, it was all minor tinkering that made little difference. The main purpose of missions was for the missionaries and not for the investigators. It was the role of the members to find the investigators and bring them to church, it was the role of the missionaries to teach and thereby become great people.

[halconero]

Yes, I think that it happens in some missions. It all depends on the mission president. And yes, it is far too early to ask someone to be baptized. And it is a mistake to do so.

But the response that you are only interested in numbers sounds fishy. Most people do not think about such things. Rather they may think that the missionaries are too eager.

Call me combative but I'm going to come out an say you're wrong on a few things. Currently the First Presidency has directed the missionaries of the church to extend the baptismal invitation in the first lesson. I was on my mission when this was implemented. It included in person instruction from a Seventy.

I had problems with it at first. I was not converted to the idea. I thought it was pushy. As I practiced it though, as I began to be obedient to my mission president and the instruction of the General Authorities I gained a testimony of it.

I learned that there was a difference between pushing baptism in the first lesson and making them aware that there was this open invitation and that this is where the course of the lessons would take us. I would use to strengthen their ability to understand Moroni's promise. An example would be:

"The reason we invite you to follow the example of the Saviour in being baptized is so that when you pray about our message you can let Heavenly Father know that if this message really is true you will starting taking the proper steps to prepare yourself for this at a future point."

99% of the people I taught weren't scared by this explanation. I saw the number of people who received an answer to prayer increase hugely. The conversions were stronger and the focus was on preparing them to receive sacred ordinances right from the start. Teaching was easy. I followed this pattern from the doorstep even (although I personally preferred dinner appointments with less active and non members for finding for obvious reasons. )

Are all missionaries going to approach it that way? No. I saw some push baptism vs. invite baptism. I also saw some never bring it up and get lost in their teaching. Does that make it not a true principle? Absolutely not. The reality is that I receive instruction from Prophets, Seers and Revelators, Seventy, and my mission president. The trick then went from "should I do this" but to "how do I do this by the Spirit?"

There are both modern and ancient references to this happening.

A few:

Preach My Gospel, Chapter 3, Lesson 1. The English translation doesn't quite make it clear, but the phrase "do not hesitate [to invite]" connotes a "do this unless the Spirit says otherwise" in other languages. (There were times where I felt the Spirit tell me not to)

Preach My Gospel: The District 2, German (Pronounced Herman) video.

Fundamentals from Preach My Gospel, Lesson 1, The Doctrine of Christ

"The Challenging and Testifying Missionary" President Dyer, 1967 General Conference

Instances of "First Lesson" invites from the Scriptures:

Acts 2:37-41 Peter on the day of Pentecost

Acts 10:47 - Peter and Cornelius

Acts 8:37

Acts 16:33 - Baptized the jailer that very night

Acts 22:16 - Ananias to Paul

Alma 5:62 - Alma in Zarahemla

Alma 7:14-15 - Alma in Gedeon

Alma 32:16 - Not necessarily an invite, but he did teach the necessity of baptism in this first meeting with the Zoramites

Alma 34:38 - Amulek's continuation of this first lesson

I have more, but it is now time to attend my lovely linguistics class at the beautiful campus of Unversity of Toronto. Cheers!

[Saints Alive]

No, that wouldn't be acceptable, but it's ok with men and women, because men are naturally better at everything because we have the priesthood.

Ahhhh! I understand now. Thanks.

[halconero]

As for the difference between the effectiveness in Sisters and Elders? On a basic number level, not much.

Sisters do tend to bring maturity to a district and more easily get trust with members, be Elders can do this as well.

Elders tend to be more bold, Sisters more caring and long suffering. Advantages to both, the best is a combo of both. The best missionaries I saw didn't tend to either sex, but were a mix of both.

[Duncan]

No, that wouldn't be acceptable, but it's ok with men and women, because men are naturally better at everything because we have the priesthood.

you're single right?!