ASSOCIATES IN MISSIONS
HOW MUCH DO YOU CARE?
Lord, open my eyes that I might see that the world is my parish,
The billions who now live in far-flung places of the earth
Thousands of miles from my door.
Lord, open my understanding that I may know how much you love the man
Whose color, way of life is so very different from mine;
I must love him, too, if I would be like Thee.
Lord, enlarge my vision so that I can see not just
my street, my neighborhood, my town;
Let me feel the great weight of my debt to a weary world lost in darkness,
Lord, I owe You everything I have,
The only way I can repay You for shining Your light into my darkened soul
Is to take Your light to others.
What is the Associates In Missions Program?
The Associates In Missions (AIM) of the Foreign Missions Division is designed to provide missionaries with the help they may need, whether in evangelism, teaching, preaching, or in secular areas such a office assistance or construction. It is a short-term, self-supporting program with no missionary PIM funds expended.
Who is Eligible To Apply?
We are looking for dedicated Pentecostals willing to spend a period of time abroad, either in a preaching and teaching ministry, or in the utilization of secular skills and God-given abilities. If you feel you have something to offer to assist a resident missionary aboard, you are eligible to apply.
What Would My Living Conditions be on the Field?
Circumstances vary considerably from one field to another. In most cases, you would live in quarters provided by the local church or the missionary. You must be flexible and able to adapt to a very different culture and life style. It could mean that you would find yourself in conditions very different from those to which you are accustomed, such as sleeping on a mat on the floor, bathing out of a basin, and eating strange food. On some fields, you will feel the frustration of not knowing the language, and you will have to learn to speak through an interpreter. But, if we pattern our lives after our Lord, we must remember that “Though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor..” The servant is not greater than his master.
How Would My AIM Tour Be Financed?
The program is designed to be self-supporting. However, this does not necessarily mean that you must furnish all of the funds yourself. If you are approved by the Foreign Missions Division as an AIM missionary, you will be given the privilege to solicit fund from your church, relatives, or friends, and they will receive credit. The amount needed to finance your tour will be set by the Foreign Missions Division based on a projected budget submitted from the prospective supervising missionary. Before you may leave for the field, you must have on deposit with the Foreign Missions Division your round-trip fare to and from your field, and at least one-half of your projected living costs, with the other half firmly pledged.
What Are Some of the Activities in Which AIM Missionaries Participate?
At the present time, we have AIMers in many fields engaged in such activities as pastoring national churches, passing out tracts, teaching in Bible schools, teaching missionaries’ children, running printing presses, serving as furlough replacements, performing secretarial duties, and strengthening the hands of missionaries in many other ways.
You would work under the direct supervision of the resident missionary and would fulfill the assignments he outlines for you.
What Do AIM Workers Say About Their Experiences on the Field?
Sister Kathy Miller went to France in October 1982 to teach the children of Missionaries John and Anne Nowacki. She penned:
Spring has exploded in Melun with blossoms and buds. The Lord has given us some miraculous opportunities to witness lately.
On Mondays and Tuesdays I work with Laureen and Emmanuel in our classroom and give a home Bible study in the evening.
On Wednesdays and Thursdays I go to the university. The Lord has opened the door for me to testify and give tracts to other students and my teachers.
One teacher was even speaking about the “tongues of fire” on the Day of Pentecost. I told her I spoke in tongues and gave her a tract about the truth of the Holy Ghost. Sister Myriam and I also evangelize in the subways before church.
On Fridays I go to class every other week. On the weeks I don’t go to class, I stay in Melun and answer any questions that Laureen and Emmanuel have in their work.
On the days I go to class, I have a long break between classes, so Melissa Hardin and I pass tracts. We passed 400 tracts in only a half hour in the university district. There were only seven tracts thrown on the ground too! Last week we gave out 1100 tracts telling of Jesus’ coming and advertising for the Bible study “In Search of Wonderful Truth.” Melissa was able to testify to one girl for a long time. Praise the Lord!
Brother Allan Facker has been in Nigeria since 1985. He is involved in various aspects of the work. He stated:
We completed weeks 7-10 at United Pentecostal Church Christian Development College this month.
New crops were planted- that is cassava, maize, melon, groundnut, cucumber, pumpkin, and waterleaf. The new pumpkin and waterleaf plots were well
developed this time and, if all goes well, the school will never need to purchase these products again. A new pig farrowing house was built to handle the increase of pigs which will also help in the feeding of our students.
There were a variety of church functions this month. We had services at the Ikot Udoh UPC. Then at the Okon UPC, a Youth Leaders’ Training Seminar was held. We took various parts in the services at the Ediene II UPC. One Sunday evening at Azusa Street #2 UPC (Bible school), the theme was “Lord, Give Me a Burden.” Coordinated by Brother Poitras, the purpose of this service was to gain an understanding of our twenty-one Nigerian states and our 134 million people. Prayer bands were started for each state. Our interns are looking after a new work in Awka, Anambra State (four hour drive away), and we took part in a service there.
Brother Gary Butt went to teach in the Bible school in Zambia in November 1987. He reports:
Life is good here in Zambia. We have good water to drink, good food to eat, a nice house to live in, and beautiful weather.
The primary activity that Brother Grosbach has me engaged in every day is teaching classes in the Bible school. The Bible school has eight students, all young men in their twenties. Six of the students are from Zambia and the other two are from Malawi.
I have also been teaching in the adult Sunday school class. There are four UPC churches in the city of Lusaka. I am going with the Grosbachs to a different one each Sunday morning.
Sister Joyce Cooper, a former AIMer to Korea, went to Hong Kong in January 1987. She teaches English at Friendship English Language College. She writes:
I was privileged to see another one of our Fellowship English Language College students baptized! That makes three so far. Doreen had attended our camp in October but had not yet made up her mind about baptism. We were thrilled when she asked to be baptized. Doreen, Josephine, and Isabella are attending church and we expect to see them filled with the Holy Ghost soon.
Most of my time is still spent teach at F.E.L.C. We have a current enrollment of forty-one students.
I now have a Bible study every Tuesday morning. This is a direct result of F.E.L.C.
Brother and Sister Jimmy Mitchell arrived in the Philippines in November 1987. Brother Mitchell states:
Many exciting events occurred in the month of March. The Apostolic Center of Theological Studies (ACTS) has a group of nine students who make up an
evangelism team of which I am the advisor. We have had two to three crusades per month since January.
This month we rented a jeepney and traveled to the “Sin City” of the Philippines, Olangapoa. This is the location of Subic Naval Base. Several thousand tracts were distributed by Lois, the students, and me during this two day and three night crusade. We were blessed with eight new souls filled with the Holy Ghost. Our students taught soul winning and Christian living seminars all day Saturday as an additional boost for revival.
Lois was guest speaker and lecturer at the Southern Luzon District Ladies Retreat. She and Sister Varnell have been used very much during these Ladies services.
One of the highlights of March’s events was my chance to be involved with the Bus Ministry – Filipino style. The second year students at ACTS are required to spend time doing outreach. Under the direction of Brother Rod Gallemit, the students divide into teams of three or four and preach on the public buses and jeepney. This is a fantastic tool for outreach/evangelism. I was personally able to preach on seven buses. Tracts were distributed and there is no doubt that many souls were touched by the thirteen teams who went out in Jesus’ name.
Sister Jo Ann Brown has been on the field longer than any other AIMer. Self-supporting, Sister Brown works as a nurse in a local hospital. She writes:
Over the past five years and ten months the Lord has shown Himself real to me many times. Each day I am learning to lean on Jesus more. He has given me many opportunities to serve Him in different ways. Arriving in St. Croix in June 1981, two months were spent trying to locate an apartment. The Lord provided just the right apartment at the right time. Also, when I had to begin the search all over again in 1984, the Lord led me to a beautiful little apartment, that was within my budget. It is so true what Paul said in Philippians 4:19-He will supply our needs.
The Lord has opened door after door for me to work with the youth of St. Croix, and I count it such a privilege. I wish I could tell you about all of them….
The main purpose of this letter is to request another year here in the Leeward Island. As I have said in the past, it is a great privilege to work with Brother and Sister Lloyd Shirley.
How Can I Apply?
Not everyone is cut out for this type of Christian service. But you may be one who is.
What are you doing to fulfill your part of the Great Commission? According to its precepts, you must either go or send someone else. If you feel that this is the kind of program you are looking for and if you are willing to make some sacrifices and pour yourself into a rewarding experience, you may start the process by filing an Associates In Missions Application with the Foreign Missions Division. Support your application with the necessary letters of recommendation from your pastor, Bible college president, if applicable, and from your District Superintendent, if you are a minister.
Upon receipt of your application and letters of recommendation, copies of your file will be sent to the supervising missionary of the field in which you have expressed interest, as well as to the Regional Field Supervisor of that region. Upon receipt of all necessary letters of recommendation, a letter of sanction from the Regional Field Supervisor, your file will go to the Foreign Missions Administrative Committee for action.
To receive an application or further information, complete the form below and mail to:
OVERSEAS MINISTRIES
FOREIGN MISSIONS DIVISION
8855 DUNN ROAD
HAZELWOOD, MO 63042-2299
Please send me an Associates In Missions Application.
Name_____________________________________________________________
Address__________________________________________________________
City____________________________State__________Zip_______________
AIM POLICY
AIM is a program to encourage and coordinate the practical and beneficial involvement of dedicated persons (both ministers and laymen) as Associates with duly appointed full time missionaries or established national churches on a short term or continuing basis. It may involve those with spiritual ministries or preachers and Bible teachers, or those with secular skills in business, construction, literature, education, etc.
1. Purpose. The purpose of AIM is twofold;
a. To offer needed assistance in fields of special ministries and skills;
b. To develop greater dedication and vision in the lives of the participants.
2. Categories. Persons interested in approval as an Associates In Missions missionary should write to the Coordinator of Overseas Ministries for an application form. The categories of AIM missionaries are:
a. Missionary helper who is fully self-supporting;
b. Missionary helper who needs at least partial support;
c. Overseas evangelist, either self-supporting or needing some financial assistance;
d. Member of a missionary family presently on the field, who is actually involved in missionary work but beyond the age limit for support and desiring financial assistance by the Foreign Missions Division;
e. Bible college student desiring to spend a period of time aboard serving as a missionary intern, being fully self-supporting;
f. Missionary furlough replacement desiring to spend a period of time abroad.
3. Procedure.
a. The applicant must submit to the Foreign Missions Division the following:
(1) A completed AIM application, along with resume;
(2) A letter of approval and recommendation from his District Superintendent if he is a minister, or from his pastor if he is a layman. In addition to this, if he is a Bible college student, he must have a letter of recommendation from His Bible college president.
b. In addition to the above, the following should be on file in the Foreign Missions Division;
(1) A written letter of invitation from the missionary in whose field the applicant would like to serve. Said letter should include a complete job description and proposed budget including living and travel expenses.
(2) A letter of invitation from the Field Superintendent in whose field the applicant would like to serve.
(3) A letter of recommendation from the Regional Field Supervisor of the Region in which the applicant would like to serve.
c. After all the above has been received by the Foreign Missions Division, all AIM applicants proposing less than 12 months of service aboard and needing less than $10,000 financial assistance shall be interviewed by a member of the Foreign Missions Board who in not on the administrative level. Said interview is to be conducted on location of the applicant whenever possible. Upon completion of this interview, the Foreign Missions Board member shall forward a letter of recommendation to the Foreign Missions Administrative Committee for consideration, and the applicant may then be cleared by the Foreign Missions Administrative Committee, with a minimum of three members present.
All applicants proposing more than 12 months abroad or needing more than $10,000 financial assistance must meet with the Foreign Missions Board personally.
All furlough replacement candidates must personally meet the Foreign Missions Board.
Applicants fully supporting themselves may be cleared by the Foreign Missions Administrative Committee, with a minimum of three members present, without an interview by a member of the Foreign Missions Board.
d. The Foreign Missions Administrative Committee, with a minimum of three members present, is authorized to approve all AIM proposals from missionaries, and is authorized to approve all candidates for involvement within approved AIM proposals.
4. Implementation.
a. The initiating missionary or national church shall set forth a planned program or need for the assistance of AIM personnel. Said proposal should include:
(1) A definition of the assistance desired and/or needed, specifying the types of ministry or skills sought after;
(2) The duration of the proposed program (normally from 3 to 12 months);
(3) The plan for residence, and supervision of the AIM missionary;
(4) A proposed budget which would include estimated costs of fare to and from the field, and living costs while on the field:
(5) An outline of the planned program giving in detail what the activities of the AIM missionary would be, along with schedules, etc.
b. Before the AIM missionary departs for the field, he must be in possession of a round trip ticket or his return fare must be deposited with the Foreign Missions Division.
c. Before the AIM missionary departs for the field, at least one-half of the money needed while on the field must be deposited with the Foreign Missions Division and the balance of the money needed must be fully pledged.
Items b and c shall include all AIM applicants except those applying for foreign service within the framework of International Evangelism, furlough replacements, or short-term Bible school teachers.
5. Basic Concepts.
a. The initiative shall rest with the missionary or national church which shall set forth the proposed program and invitation.
b. Group involvement with its own leadership not totally dependent on the missionary is anticipated.
c. A workable knowledge of the language will be desired.
d. The program shall be basically self-supporting.
e. Provision for room and board of participants should be made outside of the missionary residence.
f. There should be a well-defined code of personal discipline by which AIM missionaries should govern themselves and be supervised.
g. Local congregations providing authorized support to AIM missionaries shall be entitled to missionary offering credit for such funds.
(The above material was published by the Foreign Missions Division in Hazelwood, Mo.)
Christian Information Network
