Missionary Associates

Missionary Associate Angela Voskuil in Uganda in 2019
Missionary Associate (MA) appointments are made by the OPC Committee on Foreign Missions.
OPC Short-Term Missions helps to get the word out about MA opportunities through its website and S.T.O.R.M. Report.
We have seen how God can use a short-term missions experience to spark someone's interest in serving as a Missionary Associate.
In the 2018 short-term missions survey, 19% of respondents who had served on short-term missions teams indicated they were now interested in serving as a Missionary Associate.
OP mission fields in Asia, Czech Republic, Haiti, Japan, Quebec, Uganda, and Uruguay have all welcomed Missionary Associates who were introduced to missions through short-term missions.
The objectives of MA service are:
- To assist a foreign Mission in its evangelistic outreach and other tasks
- To test an individual's gifts for long-term service as a foreign missionary
- To enrich the MA’s life for greater service as a member of their local church
Basic requirements for service as an MA are:
- Communicant membership in good standing in an OP church or church of like faith and practice
- Personal doctrinal convictions that align with Reformed theology
- Availability to commit to at least three months, though preferably one or two years, of service
Specific duties of the MA are:
- Determined by the Mission according to its needs, the cultural situation, and the gifts of the MA
The MA application procedure includes:
- Completion of forms required by the Committee on Foreign Missions
- Assessment of the applicant's training and experience to determine if he or she is qualified for the tasks assigned by the Mission
- Approval by the Candidates Committee in consultation with the Mission
- Potential field-specific requirements
Upon acceptance as an MA the candidate will be encouraged to:
- Begin working through a suggested reading list for field orientation
- Spend the first month or two on the field in concentrated language study
On the field, the MA will:
- Be expected to accept the authority and direction of the Mission
- Report on his or her work at each regular meeting of the Mission
Financial considerations for the MA:
- The Committee on Foreign Missions does not provide salary, housing, fringe benefits, or travel funds for the MA
- The MA must raise all their own support
- The Committee and the Mission will help the MA develop a personal budget
The Mission helps the MA by:
- Making arrangements for language study
- Helping to find housing
- Providing orientation to the culture and history of the country, the status of Christianity in that area, and the current work of the Mission
- Supervising the MA's work on the field
- Providing fellowship with the Mission families
Fields That Utilize Missionary Associates:
- Asia
- Quebec
- Uganda
- Uruguay
Current Openings for Missionary Associates:
Current MA OpportunitiesContact:
For all the details regarding MA service, contact:
Rev. Douglas Clawson
Associate General Secretary
Committee on Foreign Missions
[email protected]