Freeing up of the flow of volunteers into the mission field, that’s the underlying purpose of the new KBC Partnership Missions Department (PMD) structure, ALL THE WORLD. Simply put, the original model of state sponsored partnerships served us well for many years, but was beginning to limit the flow of volunteers. Here are a few of the ways ALL THE WORLD helps put more Kentucky Baptists on the field to work within the strategies of our missionaries:
ALL THE WORLD . . . .
. . . . mobilizes a greater NUMBER of volunteers.
In 1984, when partnership missions was in its infancy, only 6066 volunteers participated in projects affiliated with the IMB. Ten years later, the number had doubled.1 Volunteer numbers dipped after the 9/11 attacks, but Baptist volunteers going through the IMB and other organizations has continued to rise in recent years. ALL THE WORLD is designed to handle the growing number of Kentucky Baptist churches seeking places and ways to send out their volunteers.
. . . . gives volunteers more choices of WHERE they can go.
Volunteers that may have been exclude from going to a fixed location because of the long travel involved, the cost, or absence of calling to go to a certain place, now have the flexibility of going wherever their time, budget, and calling dictate. The PMD is constantly researching and networking with missionaries to find projects in ALL THE WORLD.
. . . . allows volunteers go to the field WHEN they are available.
With the original state partnership model, there was a set number of projects with fixed dates. If the date available to a team was not available, it had no choice but to seek an alternative. With ALL THE WORLD, not only are an almost unlimited number of projects available, but also when associations and churches form their own partnerships they set the project dates that works for theirs and the missionary’s calendar.
. . . . gives missionaries more FLEXIBILITY.
With the ALL THE WORLD structure a missionary can utilize volunteers at his pace, partnering with as little or as many teams as he needs. He can partner with as many churches or associations needed to fill the needs of his strategy instead of feeling pressured to accept more teams than he can handle.
. . . . facilitates on-going RELATIONSHIPS.
While serving in Brazil, many times a volunteer team would ask me about returning to the same place to continue their work, but the structure would not allow it. With the exception of some volunteers that have returned to former partnership nations, relevant relationships with the nationals were often terminated along with the closing of the ”official partnership.” With ALL THE WORLD, Associations and churches are encouraged to form their own partnerships that allow them to build lasting relationships through return visits to a place of service.
The challenge before Kentucky Baptists is to take the gospel to ALL THE WORLD. Will you join us?
1 Mark Kelly, “Be sure overseas volunteer help doesn’t hurt”, IMB News and Information, 7/28/2000
