RICHMOND, Va. (BP) – With the International Mission Board expecting hundreds of missionaries to leave their positions in the coming months, the board has published a list of ways individuals and churches can support field personnel returning to the U.S.
According to a Q&A posted on the IMB website and updated Nov. 18, at least 600 field personnel and stateside staff members are expected to resign as a result of a voluntary retirement incentive (VRI) offered to all personnel 50 and older with five or more years of service and a subsequent “hand-raising opportunity” for all remaining personnel to indicate a call from God to pursue non-IMB ministry opportunities.
An undated document titled “Ways to Support Your Field Personnel as they Return to the U.S.” recommends that churches form “re-entry teams” to assist returning missionaries with practical services, friendship and prayer. Among the IMB’s suggestions:
- Let them talk.
Those returning need to share their experiences. As a church, create venues – large or small – where they can tell their stories. Be proactive in helping them find ways to thank those who supported them on the field. Affirm them for their contribution to God’s Kingdom, past, present and future. Perhaps you could interview them during a worship service, invite them to lead a prayer time or share during Life Group or Sunday School times. You could include prayer requests from them about the work they left behind in church newsletters or websites. These are just a few examples to help them tell their experiences of what God has done. - Be sensitive to culture shock.
Many field personnel have difficulty re-entering the U.S. This is sometimes referred to as reverse culture shock. Reconciling differences in the cultures, such as the materialism of the West as opposed to the poverty and suffering of developing cultures, can create stress. For TCKs who have lived most of their lives overseas, their parents’ home culture is a new culture. They are not experiencing reverse culture shock, but primary culture shock. Sometimes, by not fully understanding how hard it is to return to the U.S., we could make returnees feel uncomfortable. Even if we don’t understand, asking questions or reaching out in gentle and sensitive ways will be greatly appreciated. - Give them some breathing room.
Ask them to help you know when they are ready to more fully engage in the life and ministry of your congregation, but stay in touch. Give them some time to settle back into life in the U.S. If they are ready to jump back in, then by all means assist them in finding places of ministry. - Be sincere.
Guard against overwhelming them when they first arrive, then disappearing. Develop genuine relationships and friendships so they won’t feel they have been merely assigned to individuals or a group. - Help them network.
Introduce them to association and state mission leaders. Include them in events where they can meet members of local ethnic congregations. Encourage them to use their spiritual gifts through sharing their knowledge and expertise within the local church and at association and statewide events. Be alert to staff positions and ministry opportunities for which they may be perfectly suited and to which the church may be able to prepare the way through introductions and recommendations. Help them find a continuing place of ministry. - Be patient.
They are not going to be in transition forever. Anyone who has served cross-culturally needs time adjust. For some, providing an extended time of listening empathetically and asking good, clarifying questions as they re-enter the U.S. may be enough. Others may have lived through traumatic events such as war, detention, interrogation, injury, illness, disease or other kinds of distress. Everyone who has experienced any crisis needs the opportunity to debrief by sharing stories and emotions. Returning field personnel are sometimes reluctant to do this. Offer a safe place for them to open up and tell their stories. Be “quick to listen and slow to speak” (James 1:19) and “weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15). If there are on-going issues over a period of time, then professional assistance may be needed. A phone call to the IMB Member Care team at 804-620-3371 is the place to begin when seeking direction and counsel.
Among other budget information noted in the Nov. 18 Q&A update:
• The one-time payout to personnel who accept the VRI is estimated at $23.1 million. In a November 2015 letter to trustees posted on the IMB website, President David Platt said that projection is based on the assumption 600-800 individuals will accept the retirement incentive.
No official total of personnel to accept the VRI will be available before Dec. 11, the date after which individuals accepting the incentive cannot rescind their decisions.
• Personnel resigning as a result of the VRI are expected to save the IMB $38.6 million in 2016. Factoring in the one-time payout, net savings are estimated at $15.5 million for 2016.
• A projected 2016 budget deficit of $22.58 million “is explained by one-time VRI costs” and will be covered from reserve funds.
• Proceeds from property sales were not factored into the 2016 budget. Any such proceeds “will be used to replenish and stabilize the organization’s reserves.” The IMB estimated its total 2015 financial reserves at $168 million, according to the 2015 CP ministry report it submitted to the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
• For 2016, the IMB has projected Lottie Moon Christmas Offering receipts “based on a historical projection of the past four years.”
In the past, the IMB has projected Lottie Moon receipts equivalent to the previous year’s offering goal, which at times has been higher than the amount received. For example, the 2015 SBC Annual listed 2015 and 2016 Lottie Moon income projections at $175 million each — even though the 2014 offering totaled just over $153 million and the 2013 offering totaled just over $154 million.
Platt told trustees in his letter that projecting Lottie Moon income based on past receipts was a “key factor” in the 2016 budget.
“We have decided to project LMCO giving based on an historical projection of the past 4 years of LMCO giving rather than setting it equal to our stretch goal,” Platt wrote. “We believe this better aligns our budgeted expenses with expected giving, while still leaving open the possibility that our actual LMCO giving may be much higher. We have estimated LMCO giving of $151.8 million [for 2016], which is $23.2 million below our 2015 goal of $175 million.”
The 2016 IMB operating budget of $278,755,000 approved by trustees during their Nov. 5-6 meeting in New Orleans appeared to have been adjusted down by some $26 million from the 2016 ministry costs estimated in the 2015 SBC Annual.