Categories of Missionaries

The United Brethren missionary family can be broken down into these categories:

Full Support Missionaries

These missionaries are employees of Global Ministries and are assigned to a Global Ministries assignment. Currently, the only such missionaries serve in Macau, India and Sierra Leone. Full support missionaries raise their own support. However, Global Ministries comes alongside them in a variety of ways, including promotion and administration.

Sojourn Missionaries (New Category)

These missionaries are employees of Global Ministries assigned to a partner agency. Under this category, missionaries raise full support as a Global Ministries missionary. They receive their salary, health insurance, pension and all other benefits just as any Global Ministries missionary would, with the exception of being assigned to a ministry with another agency. Under this arrangement, the partnership would be “agency-to-agency” and a seconding agreement established between Global Ministries and the partner agency.

Advantages:

Closer identification with the UB Church.
Creates a ministry “home” for years to come, regardless of assignment changes.
Provides opportunity for a “seamless” transfer to a Global Ministries, or UB pastoral assignment should the opportunity present itself.
Increased opportunity for Global Ministries to share ownership of the assignment, even recruiting additional missionaries or volunteers to lend support.

Endorsed Missionaries

These missionaries are not employees of Global Ministries but are free to raise support in UB churches and are considered part of our Global Ministries team.

Here are the requirements for becoming an Endorsed Missionary.

UB Membership. The person, or at least either the husband or wife in a family, must hold membership in a UB church.
Overseas Focus. The ministry they will engage in must have an overseas focus. This may involve actually relocating to another country, or serving administratively stateside in an organization whose focus is overseas. (By this criteria, a person serving in the States on an Indian reservation, for example, wouldn't qualify for Global Ministries Endorsed status.)
Approved Agency. Their organization must meet the Global Ministries Leadership Team's criteria for a missions agency, which includes being fully qualified to receive tax-exempt monies.
Application and Acceptance. They must apply to the Global Ministries Leadership Team for Endorsed status and be approved.

This page explains the benefits of becoming an endorsed missionary.

Non-Traditional Staff

This category is for non-traditional staff members who derive all or part of their income from sources other than traditional missionary support. They may be either full or part time and are accountable to Global Ministries for their ministry-related activities. In order to be approved they must meet the same criteria as any Global Ministries applicant.

Short-Term Missionaries

These persons are appointed by Global Ministries to serve in United Brethren-staffed or related works for a short-term basis. They are able to raise funds for their ministry expenses. Various retired persons and young people have served short-term in Macau or Myanmar in this capacity, teaching English and assisting with local churches. Another young lady recently served at Jamaica Bible College.

Short-term missionaries sign an agreement specifying the conditions of their service, but they are not actually employed by Global Ministries. These persons typically serve for 3-12 months.

All gifts to Global Ministries designated for a missionary's support will be so directed. At the conclusion of a missionary's service, remaining funds will be redesignated.