INSIGHTS

Factors Contributing to Missionary Longevity: A Preliminary Survival Analysis of Studio Internship Alumni
By Roger Martin, Ph.D. 
5 October 2026

Why do some missionaries remain in difficult overseas assignments while others leave early? This study uses survival analysis to examine the experiences of 63 Studio Internship alumni serving in majority-Muslim contexts. It evaluates whether early host-language learning, personal and family characteristics, and host-country conditions predict retention through five years. The amount of formal language study completed during the first two years on the field emerges as the most consistent predictor of longevity: the estimated probability of completing five years increases from 56.7% among those who reach only GPA Level 2 to 95.9% among those who reach GPA Level 5.