We are living in times where the local church is rapidly expanding in many non-western nations. Missionary sending is no longer only from West to South, but ‘from everywhere to everywhere’. This is our new context as SIM works alongside our brothers and sisters in Christ from a great diversity of sending nations. We are living in exciting times where partnership provides enormous richness in serving together for the mutual goal of seeing communities impacted for the Kingdom.

When we hear international news reports we are painfully aware of how much the hope of the ‘good news’ is needed for so many in our world. We long for justice, for eradication of poverty, for lives and communities to be transformed. There are a multitude of ways that you can be involved in ministry through SIM, from committing to overseas service yourself, to being part of a missions team in your church, to praying for missionaries and/or helping support them financially.

Those who are sent need committed teams of people who will pray and care as they go through the transitions needed to learn the many skills and attitudes to be effective in a new culture. Would you consider supporting someone you know in this way, or someone else seeking to build their support team?

Perhaps you are considering mission service yourself? There are many different ways to get involved, all requiring a genuine commitment to serve. There are opportunities in numerous areas: from church planting, theological education, leadership development, women’s, youth & children’s ministries to healthcare (including HIV/AIDS ministries), education, agricultural and community development projects, business and administration, media, information technology & technical services.

Naturally, some roles require a longer time commitment (e.g. church planting where you need to learn a local language) than others (e.g. doctors, teachers, media, children’s ministry workers) where people on shorter assignments can work effectively. Both length of service and type of placement overseas help SIM New Zealand determine the amount of orientation, pre-field preparation, Biblical training etc, required to be effective overseas.

While your ultimate goal may be to serve overseas on a long-term basis, the process of moving toward this can involve an initial commitment to a shorter period of overseas service (e.g. 2 months to 2 years). This gives you time to evaluate whether there are some areas of training that would be beneficial to be more effective overseas in the longer term (e.g. study in subjects like 2/3rds world theology, cross-cultural studies, cultural anthropology, linguistics, interpersonal skills, study on world religions etc.) and also helps you define exactly the type of role you’re passionate about. A shorter assignment often provides a way of ‘visioning’ for the future.