Step 5: Church and Agency Contact and Candidacy
by Steve HokeThe next critical step to consider (and the point at which many prospective candidates get sidetracked or detoured) is how you’ll get there. Will you serve with a specific mission agency, church, or denomination?
Romans 10:15 asks, “How can they preach unless they are sent?” Experience shows that those who are sent within the framework of a mission agency or church denomination are most likely to be effective, long-term missionaries. The wisest sending churches are developing strategic alliances with established field based teams or agencies.
Begin with input from your home church. By now you should have a good feel for the missions heart and vision of your own church. Is their vision compatible with yours? If you’re a member of a denomination, get information about your denomination’s mission first.
Continue with the mission agency you know best. What agency or agencies do your family, missions committee, and pastor recommend that you consider? Do they have a relationship with one or several agencies? What do you know about the church’s missionary sending process?
Check out the organization’s theology, model of ministry, vision, and leadership. Are their views compatible with yours? If so, this is a natural place to start. If not, it’s wise to continue to explore until you find at least a few other agencies with whom you find compatibility on the major issues.
Take a wider look around. There are thousands of strong churches and over 700 North American agencies with a wide span of cross-cultural ministry interests. They range in size from those with thousands of missionaries to those with just a handful.
Some minister all over the world. Others work only in one country. Many have broad, holistic ministries - from relief and development to church planting to theological education. Others have very specific ministries such as literature distribution, church planting, or leadership development. Many are inter-denominational; they have on their staff men and women from many different denominations.
Some agencies are deeply involved in church planting, while others may consider it their major role to serve the existing church. Some target specific peoples, such as Muslims or Native American peoples. Some focus on the vast “unevangelized” world. Others have broader geographic involvement.
Check out the key source of agency information - the most recent edition of The MARC Mission Agency Handbook: North America Protestant Ministries Overseas. This triennial publication catalogs the more than 700 agencies in North America and describes their doctrinal emphasis, focus of ministry, size, and the types of missionaries they look for. Agencies are cross-listed by countries and type of ministry.
Call, e-mail, or write to agencies. Direct your inquiries to the candidate coordinator or director of personnel. Someone in each agency will be glad to explain their distinctive procedures, from prerequisites to application to appointment. The important thing is that you contact several agencies as soon as you have a handle on some of the questions to ask.
Local church and regional mission conferences are a fantastic opportunity to meet personally with mission agency representatives. The Urbana Student Missions Convention, in particular, is a prime opportunity to meet representatives from dozens of agencies involved in the full range of ministry, from evangelism and church planting to mission aviation, medical ministry, and micro-enterprise development. This national conference is held every three years on the campus of the University of Illinois and is coordinated by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. The next Urbana Convention is scheduled for December 2003. A.D. 2000.
The initiative lies with you. Remember, God wants you to be in a growing relationship with Him. He has a distinctive purpose for your life. That purpose involves providing His guidance to take you exactly where He wants you to be. That place is worth seeking in faith.
Don’t let anyone tell you that investigating or seeking is “unspiritual.” Scripture encourages the right kind of seeking, and that includes investigating ministry roles and the gifts necessary to fill them. See 1 Timothy 3:1 and 1 Corinthians 12:31.
For some more thoughts on churches and agencies, check out the next article.
Unless otherwise noted, all materials on the urbana.org web site are Copyright InterVarsity Christian Fellowship / USA. All rights reserved.
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