Missionary Associates

Missionary Associate (MA) appointments are made by the OPC Committee on Foreign Missions.

OPC Short-Term Missions helps to get the word out about MA opportunities through its website and S.T.O.R.M. Report.We have seen how God can use a short-term missions experience to spark someone's interest in serving as a Missionary Associate.In the 2018 short-term missions survey, 19% of respondents who had served on short-term missions teams indicated they were now interested in serving as a Missionary Associate.OP mission fields in Asia, Czech Republic, Haiti, Japan, Quebec, Uganda, and Uruguay have all welcomed Missionary Associates who were introduced to missions through short-term missions.

The objectives of MA service are:

• To assist a foreign Mission in its evangelistic outreach and other tasks

• To test an individual's gifts for long-term service as a foreign missionary

• To enrich the MA’s life for greater service as a member of their local church

Basic requirements for service as an MA are:

• Communicant membership in good standing in an OP church or church of like faith and practice

• Personal doctrinal convictions that align with Reformed theology

• Availability to commit to at least three months, though preferably one or two years, of service

Specific duties of the MA are:

• Determined by the Mission according to its needs, the cultural situation, and the gifts of the MA

The MA application procedure includes:

• Completion of forms required by the Committee on Foreign Missions

• Assessment of the applicant's training and experience to determine if he or she is qualified for the tasks assigned by the Mission

• Approval by the Candidates Committee in consultation with the Mission

• Potential field-specific requirements

Upon acceptance as an MA the candidate will be encouraged to:

• Begin working through a suggested reading list for field orientation

• Spend the first month or two on the field in concentrated language study

On the field, the MA will:

• Be expected to accept the authority and direction of the Mission

• Report on his or her work at each regular meeting of the Mission

Financial considerations for the MA:

• The Committee on Foreign Missions does not provide salary, housing, fringe benefits, or travel funds for the MA

• The MA must raise all their own support

• The Committee and the Mission will help the MA develop a personal budget

The Mission helps the MA by:

• Making arrangements for language study

• Helping to find housing

• Providing orientation to the culture and history of the country, the status of Christianity in that area, and the current work of the Mission

• Supervising the MA's work on the field

• Providing fellowship with the Mission families

Fields That Utilize Missionary Associates:

• Asia

• Quebec

• Uganda

• Uruguay