What exactly does Shepherd’s Staff Mission Facilitators do?
Shepherd’s Staff serves churches that desire to send their own missionaries directly to the field. We provide administrative services on behalf of the local church and their missionaries by receiving, receipting and disbursing donated funds in accordance with applicable IRS requirements. We also provide knowledge, insight and practical assistance to churches in other areas critical to the success of their global missions endeavors, such as:
- Establishing missionary care structures and training missionary care givers.
- Providing guidance in creating a customized written missions sending policy.
- Conducting informative missions-related messages and seminars.
- Facilitating pre-field training for missionaries.
Will Shepherd’s Staff accept me as a missionary if I’m already on the field?
Yes, as long as Shepherd’s Staff basic missionary and home church criteria are met.
Will Shepherd’s Staff accept me if I do not have a dedicated home church?
No. Within Shepherd’s Staff’s paradigm of ministry, the home church and missionary relationship is crucial to the spiritual health and success of the missionary serving in the field.
How does Shepherd’s Staff differ from other sending agencies?
Our vision and practice is to facilitate churches and their missionaries to fulfill THEIR vision, not ours. Therefore:
- We do not have a promotion or marketing department, so churches and donors will not receive financial or project pleas from Shepherd’s Staff.
- We do not actively recruit missionaries for our organization.
- We are able to operate very efficiently which keeps our administration fees among the lowest of all missions organizations. We also place a monthly “cap” on our administration fees, which allows even more funding to go toward field work.
Does Shepherd’s Staff require, or provide, pre-field missionary training?
Shepherd’s Staff requires pre-field training for all missionaries through an approved training organization. Current Shepherd’s Staff approved training organizations are:
Train International, Joplin MO
Missions Training International, (MTI), Colorado Springs, CO
Center for Intercultural Training (CIT), Union Mills, NC
IMB, Richmond, VA (for missionaries from Southern Baptist churches only)
My church is developing a missions program, what does Shepherd’s Staff suggest?
We suggest you contact us and together we can pray and dialogue about how Shepherd’s Staff can best serve you. Our hope is to come alongside you to help your church develop a God-honoring plan for global missions.
Does Shepherd’s Staff provide training for raising financial support?
Shepherd’s Staff provides several options for pre-field and on-field missionaries to develop or enhance their missionary support raising and communication efforts:
- Search our blog and podcast archive for topics related to support raising and communication.
- Schedule Shepherd’s Staff to come to your church for a missionary support and communication training workshop.
- Contact us for one on one (or one on few) support raising and communication coaching in person or on Skype.