OUT WITH THE OLD….IN WITH THE NEW

On February 1, 2020, the Short-Term Mission team launched a new online registration process. Out with the old system of mailing forms, faxing copies of passport pages, hand written documents, etc………In with the new, a click of the mouse, to help register volunteers who want to serve in short-term missions –  https://portal.internationalministries.org/global-service-opportunities

There are still conversations to be had, zoom conferencing to be done and face to face meetings to make happen, but trying to see where God might have you volunteer for two weeks, thirty days or perhaps eighteen months is initiated through an online process. While STM maintains standards of excellence with vetting, orientation sessions, cross-cultural training, helping to organize and plan trips, and more, an electronic registration process helps to begin some of the necessary paperwork to weave a stronger safety net for all volunteers who feel called to serve abroad.

It has become more and more challenging to be the light and salt of Christ alongside long-term global servants or with partners. The need to register with the US State department before departing the US is no longer a luxury and so is having proper medical evacuation and repatriation insurance. These are necessary needs, musts to possess.                                When volunteers face emergencies abroad and discover that they don’t have the proper coverage, it can be devastating for loved ones and IM longtime partners to pick up the pieces. The cost of medical evacuation is astronomical. The challenge of repatriating remains when a volunteer dies on the field has myriad of protocol depending on the country. In some areas, who depend on cash economy, nothing can happen, until the hospital bill has been paid in full. These challenges are real, and should not be left to the hosts and/or in country partners to attend to, because volunteers chose not to be properly insured.

Registering with the STM office or purchasing the proper medical evacuation and repatriation insurance, to follow God’s call to serve alongside IM global servants, can minimize HUGE headaches.

Like many of the Christian sending agencies, IM wants all God’s servants to fulfill their call with the assurance of a strong safety net. STM has a registration fee of $45 for volunteers. Other sending agencies have registration fees that range in the $100’s. All of the sending agencies who are accredited with SOE (Standard of Excellence) abide by providing quality support and accompaniment along the way where God remains at the center of strengthened partnerships.                          For more information about the STM registration process, please contact volunteers@internationalministries.org