Is it common to have a commissioned full time missionary who is not ordained?
http://174.121.134.66/~mtwcr/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Suggestions-for-a-MTW-Missionary-commissioning.pdf
Above is a link to a suggested MTW commissioning service (MTW is the PCA's missionary arm). I only know a few MTW-rs, but maybe someone else could give more info; it seems that MTW accepts missionary candidates who are not merely elders or deacons and sends/commissions them. This practice (of commissioning missionaries, even when they are not ordained) is also common among many baptist groups. I know a woman commissioned to work among Chinese women. She did great work and referred many new believers to an elder-qualified man for baptism and incorporation into an established church.
In general, I would love to read more about a reformed theology of missionary commissioning.