What Makes a Great Missionary Email

Your weekly email is more than an update — it's how the people who love you get to experience your mission alongside you. Here's how to make it count.

Every week, dozens of people open your email hoping to feel a little closer to you. They want to know: What is it really like for you right now? What are you seeing, feeling, learning? Who are the people in your life? How is your faith growing?

The best missionary emails answer those questions. They don't just report what happened — they bring the reader into the experience. And the good news is that this is a skill anyone can develop.

Why Pday Exists #

Here's the truth: a lot of missionaries don't want to write their weekly email. They don't know what to say, they feel like they're repeating themselves, or they wonder if anyone even reads it. On the other side, families and friends are refreshing their inbox every Monday hoping for something — anything — that helps them feel connected.

Pday exists to bridge that gap. It gives missionaries a clear, simple framework for what to write so they're never staring at a blank screen. And it turns their emails into something meaningful — scored, highlighted, and presented in a way that helps everyone feel closer. The result: missionaries do a better job documenting their mission, and the people who care about them actually get to experience it alongside them.

Pday evaluates your emails around three simple goals. Here's what each one means and how to improve.

The Three Goals #

Story Paint a Picture

Can we picture one moment from your week?

Your readers have never been where you are. They don't know what your apartment looks like, what the streets smell like after rain, or what it sounds like when your neighborhood wakes up. You are their eyes and ears. Slow down on one moment from your week and describe it well enough that the reader can picture themselves there — the setting, the people, what happened, and why it mattered.

Generic "We did a lot of service this week and had a good zone conference. Also went to the market on P-day."

Specific "We spent Saturday morning helping Sister Oliveira clear her yard after the storm. The whole street was covered in broken branches and red mud. Her neighbor came out with a machete and started chopping branches alongside us without saying a word. By noon we were all sitting on her porch drinking guaraná out of plastic cups, covered in mud, laughing about nothing."

People Introduce Us to Someone

Can we name one person from your week and feel like we know them?

Your mission is built on people — the ones you teach, the ones you serve with, your companion. When you write "we taught a family," nobody can hold onto that. When you write "we taught the Ramirez family," suddenly they're real. Use names, describe what makes someone memorable, and let your readers start caring about the same people you care about. Over time, these people become characters in the story of your mission.

Generic "We had some good lessons this week and met with a few investigators. Our ward mission leader is really helpful."

Specific "Brother Thompson — the ward mission leader who looks exactly like a lumberjack and brings us homemade jerky every Sunday — came with us to teach Diego this week. Diego has been nervous about coming to church, but Brother Thompson told him about his own first Sunday twenty years ago, and you could see Diego relax."

Testimony Share Your Testimony

Can we tell how your faith is growing?

The people reading your email want to hear your testimony — not a Sunday School answer, but what you're actually experiencing. What scriptures are hitting differently now? What have you learned about prayer? Where have you seen the Lord's hand? Be specific and honest. It's okay to share that you had a hard week — sharing how your faith is carrying you through is some of the most powerful testimony you can bear.

Generic "The Spirit was really strong this week. I love being a missionary and I know this church is true."

Specific "We were teaching Maria about the Plan of Salvation and when we got to the part about families being together forever, she started crying. I realized I was crying too. I've taught that lesson maybe fifty times, but sitting in her living room with the pictures of her mom on the wall, I understood it in a way I never had before."

Practical Tips #

Start with a moment, not a summary

Instead of opening with "This week was good," try opening with a specific scene: "There's a dog on our street that waits for us every morning..." or "Elder Johnson and I got completely lost on Tuesday and ended up at..." You'll hook your reader immediately and the rest of the email will flow from there.

Write to one person

It's hard to write a good email to "everyone." Pick one person — your mom, your best friend, your little sibling — and write as if you're talking to them. The email will feel more natural and personal, even though lots of people will read it.

Share what you're learning, not just what you're doing

Activities are the skeleton of your email, but insights are the soul. "We taught three lessons" is an activity. "I'm learning that people can feel when you actually care about them versus when you're just trying to hit a number" is an insight. Both can go in the same email — but the insight is what people will remember.

It's okay to be honest about hard things

You don't need to share every struggle in a broadcast email — some things are better saved for a personal call or a letter to your parents. But acknowledging that not every day is easy, and sharing how you're working through it, makes your email real. Your readers aren't expecting perfection. They're expecting you.

End with testimony

You don't need a formal testimony every week, but closing with something you believe — even one sentence — ties the whole email together. It reminds your reader (and you) why you're out there.

Rate Your Last Email #

How Pday Scores Your Emails #

Pday scores each weekly email around three simple goals: Story (up to 30 points for painting a vivid picture), People (up to 30 points for introducing someone by name), and Testimony (up to 30 points for sharing how your faith is growing). You also get 10 free points just for writing the email — because showing up matters. The total adds up to 100.

Along with the score, you'll get a personalized tip — a short paragraph that highlights a specific area to focus on next week. Not a generic suggestion, but advice connected to what was actually in the email.

The score isn't a grade. It's a coaching tool — a gentle nudge to help your missionary develop the habit of sharing meaningful, vivid, heartfelt updates. Over time, most missionaries naturally improve just by being aware of what makes a great email.

• 90–100 — Master Correspondent. Exceptional. The reader feels like they were there.
• 78–89 — Seasoned Writer. Strong across all three goals with real depth.
• 65–77 — Finding Their Voice. Good content in some areas, room to grow in others.
• 50–64 — Getting Started. The basics are there. More detail and reflection will help.
• 0–49 — Room to Grow. A short or surface-level email. That's okay — every writer starts somewhere.

The most important thing isn't the number. It's the habit of sitting down each week and really thinking about what you want the people at home to know — and then writing it in a way that lets them experience it with you.

Frequently Asked Questions #