ABWE Application

I feel like I'm getting pealed open again, but this time it's different. When Marge and I applied for the BGC Missions Assessment Conference, I felt like we were getting pealed open like a can of beans. It was a little unnerving.

As we are making application with ABWE it feels different. One reason it feels different is that I have done something like it already. I've kept making a point that the BGC event wasn't strictly for the purposes of screening BGC missionary candidates. That said, it was very much that.

Going into it Marge and I understood that they might very likely have an opening for us to consider. At the conference itself, however, of the five couple there, only one couple was specifically planning on pursuing a BGC missionary position.

Looking back on the Missionary Assessment Conference, it was three days well spent, but I still feel disappointment at the outcome. I'm not sure why. Perhaps a certain amount of embarrassment that they offered us a short term position and then the team in the field said that they didn't want us. Frustration that they so far have had nothing more to offer.

It's hard when the assessors at the conference confirmed, "You are clearly called to missions", and so enthusiastically told us we would be perfect for a certain position, then that position fell through and the process stopped. I wish they would have said that they weren't sure what to do with us right away.

So, in a way, were approved as candidates for BGC with no position to which to go. They did throw out some other ideas, but nothing fit.

In contrast, ABWE has such a broad spectrum of positions and countries that they are working with us to seek out God's will. That has been refreshing. They have a nurturing quality in their interactions. So we are nearly complete in the application process for ABWE.

Some of the application information has been similar to what we completed for BGC. The nice thing is that all the forms are web forms that you "submit" online. So, I have a little web site that I log into to complete forms or check my progress. At the initial stage there is a preliminary application. If the prelim app hasn't been accepted by ABWE then the links for all the application stuff on the page don't work. Once the prelim app is accepted, then the long form application unlocks as do some other links.

The long form application asks about family, job, and church history. You also provide health history, and answer questions about major influences in your life. They ask you to provide at least 17 names for references. If you provide them with an e-mail address for a person then that person gets a web link via e-mail and the reference form is completed online.

Another part of the application process is reading a text book on missions, a book on the history of ABWE, watching a DVD on ABWE, listening to a tape on conflict resolution and using a discipleship book with a new believer. I haven't done the discipleship book with the new believer yet. I don't really know any new believers.

Probably the most unnerving part is the doctrinal exams. The first one is a multiple choice point and click 100+ question exam that you take online. Later we will be an oral examination before the ABWE Missions Moblizer. He is coming to Michigan to meet with us and others who are applying to be sent to missions by ABWE. They require your pastor to be present. I was told that during the oral exam they not only expect me to tell them what I believe, but have an idea of the general area in which a verse supporting my belief is found. Such as my saying Jesus and God are one is taught in the first chapter of the Gospel of John.
Needless to say, Marge and I are studying vigorously.

Also had to have some extra medical tests for stuff I would never have considered. I've never had a reason to get an aids test, and was a little embarrassed to get one.

We are nearly complete with the application process. The Missions Mobilizer, Don Trott, said that it can take three months to complete the application process or a matter of weeks. Other than a few things Marge and I will have completed it in about six weeks.

I believe that we are on track for the Candidate Seminar in February. That is the final step before being "recognized" as a missionary by ABWE. Pray for Marge and I. We want to move in God's timing. If it's His timing, then all the pieces will be in place for us to attend the Candidate seminar. Pray that God will help us make good financial decisions, and that we will grow in our faith and relationship with Christ.

Adam