Audio Transcript:

Welcome to Missions on Point, the Propempo perspective on church and missions. We're in episode 219 of the series. From here to there on Missionary training, get a sending agency. This is part B. If you're just joining us, you'll want to go back to episode 218 for part A of this topic. We're jumping right into the middle of a ten-point question framework for asking sending agencies, who they are and how they operate and how it will affect your ministry. We covered the beginning and numbers one through five in the question framework in the previous episode, so here we go.

Number six, what is the agency's missiological framework and strategy? Put more simply what methodologies and principles direct the agency's ministry decisions and practices, particularly in church planting. Does the agency tend toward more traditional or trendy approaches? Problems are associated with both ends of this spectrum. Some traditional approaches may no longer be effective. Trendy practices may spring from theologically questionable pragmatism with untested long-term results. Note, test the key definitions to discern biblical compatibility, like definitions of the gospel, of what is a believer and how does a person become a believer or a convert. What are the qualifications for a church leader? And what is the definition of a local church?

Number seven, how does the agency relate to indigenous Christians on the field? Some agencies have pre-established relationships with an indigenous or national church body in your target area, which could impact your ministry. Other agencies avoid restrictive ministry relationships with indigenous Christians in order to plant churches from scratch. Still, other agencies may insist that you work under the direction and control of local national Christian leadership. Number eight, what quality of member care does the agency provide? What are the agency's resources and plan for supervising, shepherding and nurturing you while on the field? To what extent does the agency welcome your churches visiting and shepherding you on the field? What are the responsibilities and obligations of mission members during home assignments? What are the policies regarding time away from field ministry for vacation, training, short home visits, and further education?

Number nine, what does the agency's member handbook tell you? An agency should be glad to let you read its manual of organizational policies. It's a helpful glance inside the organization that will inform you on issues such as rules and regulations for behavior, organizational structure, expectations for accountability and reporting, support requirements and expectations, administrative costs. While the handbook probably won't be a major factor in deciding on an agency, its description of the agency's organizational culture may tip the balance in favor of one over another. Number 10, how does the agency address current issues and trends? Read through the agency's statements of policies, issues statements, or principles regarding current trends in mission strategies such as the 'insider movement', which is a contextualization issue. If you researched all of that, you've done a lot.

What should you expect in the application process? Once you've chosen your sending agency, you'll apply to become a member. The process will include references. You'll be asked to provide character references from your church, school, workplace, and friends. The agency will likely ask your references for other references, a Bible and doctrine assessment. You'll usually take standardized tests to determine your basic Bible knowledge and theological understanding. The best doctrinal exams will frame questions in a field context such as 'over coffee a Muslim friend asks you to explain the Trinity'. Ideally, the mission will provide both a score and feedback to you regarding results on the tests. Another area is psychological testing. Though the effectiveness of secular normed standardized psychological testing is questionable, many agencies still use this means to discern aberrant behavior or weaknesses that could become a liability or disqualification for field service.

We encourage a more biblical approach of relationship and discipleship tailored to building leadership character, like that found in 1 Timothy 3, being above reproach for ministry leaders. If you and your church leaders work with you through your answers to direct probing questions, that process will be worth more. See another appendix at the back of here to there for questions for missionary candidates. After reviewing your application, the mission agency may extend an invitation for you to attend, its one or two week candidate orientation school, or equivalent, at its headquarters or chosen place for the school and at your own cost. The agency is relying heavily on your references and test results along with orientation to make a decision on offering you membership. Your local church should know you far better than what the agency can know about you through a relatively limited process. This is why your church's recommendation is arguably the most important element of your application.

Candidate orientation usually includes the following parts, an introduction to the agency's history and vision, a virtual tour of the agency's fields of service and types of ministries, contact with experienced missionaries from the agency, an intensive series of interviews and evaluations, pointed questions about your testimony, personal life and ministry experience, instruction about expectations, requirements, and public image as a member of the mission, instruction about fundraising and accountability. If you have been diligent and preparing, you'll probably receive a letter of acceptance with contingencies. The contingencies will address specific needs for personal growth, development, and or skill building and requirements for your perspective specific field and ministry. Don't be discouraged, the Mission agency feels it's their job to make sure that everybody has some kind of requirements or contingency. You'll be expected to sign a formal acceptance paper, granting you all the terms, rights and responsibilities of membership, and granting the agency lots of terms, rights and responsibilities for you being a member.

Depending on its pre-field requirements, personalized preparation and contingencies, you then officially become a missionary member of that organization. While you may be a fully accepted member of your mission agency, you may still need to fulfill certain requirements for your church before it releases you to raise funds and book tickets for the field. That's part of the role of the sending church. Though growing in its use, it's ideal for your sending church and sending agency to draft a written partnership agreement or memo of understanding to secure your sending church's ongoing role in your ministry direction, shepherding and evaluation, and we've included a sample of this in the appendix of the book. Now you begin the path of focus preparation for field ministry, knowing much more about your sending missionary agency partner and the field or team to which you're going.

Typical pre-field requirements the mission sending agency will give you, are things like one year of marital counseling, if you're married. That may include family counseling, if you have children. It may also be wise and they may assign you to do linguistic training or language acquisition skill training, which could take as much as a year. Also, usually one semester will suffice. You'll have to have baseline medical physical examinations, just to check and make sure that everything's working properly. And if you have known issues, you'll have to have a strategy for how to handle that on the field. If you haven't done so earlier, as we suggested in the training through your sending church suggested in the here to their book, the mission may assign you to do some specific training and reading and reflection on biblical conflict resolution and team building. They may give you additional academic type work in reading books and writing reflection papers for things related to church planting within your particular majority cultural group, be it Atheism or Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and other major eastern religion or Animism.

Of course, one of the major tasks that you'll face is support raising or partnership development. There are a number of schools of thought about this. But at this point, let me just say that you shouldn't fear it, it is a common thing for missionaries for hundreds of years now. Ultimately, all your support, no matter where it comes from, comes from God, so your dependency is on him and you have to be diligent to do your part. We will cover this in more detail in a future episode in this series. Here are a couple of resources we recommend you check out. One is a book called When Helping Hurts, by Corbett and Fikkert. This is in the top five books we would require of every missionary candidate. It helps you grasp a realistic and effective approach to dealing with extreme poverty and human needs, especially in the sense of a missionary on a mission field.

Another one is When Missions Shapes the mission of the church, by David Horn. Horn tells it like it is from the perspective of a missions minded thirty-year pastoral ministry in a significant southern Baptist church in Raleigh, North Carolina. If you are from a southern Baptist background, it is an eye-opening read full of great missions quotes. There are a couple of web pages for your agency search process we would recommend you check out. One is an article by James Rutz, R-U-T-Z, how do I choose a mission agency. Another one is on the world Venture site, how to choose a mission agency. These resources might help you and your sending church leadership as you try to pray and discern God's will for your sending agency partnership. May the Lord lead you and guide you confidently toward your field over there as you select a sending agency partner.

Thanks for joining us today on Missions on Point. We trust that you'll find more help and resources on our websites at Propempo.com, and MissioSERVE.org. We are so thankful for those who support us, enabling us to produce this podcast. Now to God, be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever. Amen.