Southern Baptist Mission Board Says Teachers, Doctors and Accountants Are Among Its Greatest Needs
International Mission Board leaders say many field positions go unfilled because they do not fit the traditional picture of a missionary.
See where this is ›The International Mission Board, the Southern Baptist Convention's overseas mission agency, is seeking teachers, healthcare workers, counselors, accountants and logistics specialists, saying some of its greatest needs are for professionals who work out of public view, according to an article by Chris Doyle of the IMB published by Kentucky Today.
Scott Ray, the IMB's senior director of global deployment, said many positions stay open because they fall outside common ideas of missionary work. Openings include finance professionals, veterinarians, medical workers and Send Relief personnel, and Ray said professional skills can open doors to countries that are hard to enter on a standard missionary visa. “There's always room for everybody on the field,” Ray said. “If they are in a Southern Baptist church, they have a spot on the field right now.”
Tom Hicks, the IMB's director of global health strategies, called healthcare one of the most strategic areas of need. Many regions want family medicine physicians, internists, pediatricians, pediatric nurse practitioners, obstetric providers, lactation consultants and physical, occupational and speech therapists. The need is especially sharp in sub-Saharan Africa, where a young population drives demand for pediatric care. “We do have an issue where people will select out because they don't think that what they do is useful on the mission field,” Hicks said.
Doreen Baker, the IMB's director of third culture kid education, said teachers are needed in international schools and other settings that serve missionary children. Baker, who spent 25 years teaching in Asia, said consultants are also needed. “We also have great needs for consultants to support our families on the field with their children's education in many ways,” she said.
Chris Martin, the IMB's director of global member care, described his field as support for missionaries' spiritual, emotional, mental and relational health. Many of those workers have counseling backgrounds and help missionaries through stress, conflict and grief. Martin compared them to Aaron and Hur, who held up Moses' arms during battle.
See where this is ›The article pointed to Baptist Medical Centre in Nalerigu, Ghana, and Black Forest Academy in Germany as places where IMB personnel now serve. It directs those interested in the different roles to the IMB's website.
