missionary

International Mission Board

A typical day on the field could be summed up as having a supervisor micromanage every minute of your day in order to fulfill their goals. You are there to serve and fulfill their goals for you not God's

A lot of valuable life experiences were gained during this time in many countries around the world but it was always negated by overbearing leadership that was always out to get you because most will view you as competition to their job and position. 

Workplace culture is all about praising the company. You can never speak a negative word about company policy or your supervisor even if they are doing wrong or even going against company policy. Higher leadership will always believe and support other leadership at your expense. They can make anything up about you they want and frame your conversations as they wish. They will threaten you with disciplinary actions and even being fired if you don't kowtow to their demands and even go as far as trying to withhold benefits and damage your future career if you don't sign an NDA that promises not to say anything bad about the company.

The hardest part of the job is going into the job thinking you are going to have the freedom to serve God and how he leads you. In reality you will be stuck being micromanaged and meeting the 24/7 demands of an overbearing supervisor who is just using you so he can produce good reports to his leadership to continue to affirm his position and be in line for a possible promotion. 

The sliver of enjoyment in the midst of the dread of receiving an email or phone call from your supervisor to hear their next demand or criticism is meeting people from around the world and traveling to places you never would otherwise.

I highly recommend if you are a missionary or Church to consider working with your home Church or for the Church to directly send their own missionaries and withhold support from the Co-op program and Lottie Moon giving to do so. The massive bloat and overhead and the overbearing leadership that provide zero real encouragement and support to the real missionaries doing all the work on the field are not worth supporting.

My day started at 7am and I had different responsibilities each day. Answering phones, assisting co-workers, processing expense reports was done daily. There was coffee in the break room and lots of times snacks. I receive travel expenses from agencies on Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday to have completed by Friday. It was a tight process, but I was proud when I completed it. We had prayers on a daily basis and chapel on Wednesday. Daily I prepared checks for mailing by verifying accuracy of payments & supportive documents. I received incoming work and distributed to accounts payable staff. This process was done 3 or 4 times a day. I researched account numbers, project ID's and verified personal information {including names, addresses, bank accounts}. The day ended at 3:30pm. The most part of my job was when a
ever I accomplished a task. The hardest part was when I was pushing the clock to finish, but it always worked out. We were a team.

This organization has fired dozens of people for absolutely no reason at all except ego driven power plays. Myself and many others who have worked faithfully for this organization for multiple years, and grew its influence around the world, cut numerous people simply because they wanted to, despite our excellent work and production. No reason was provided for our layoffs, and we all had to sign nondisclosures saying we would never publicly mention the issue if we wanted any form of compensation for our premature termination. But I cannot allow others to join this company and experience the same thing I did. The IMB is not this great Gospel focused institution that it claims to be. Your work is not valued here. There is no security in your work.  Go somewhere else that actually values people, the Kingdom mission, and humanity. I've been burned and hurt, along with many others, and it's a great shame that this company treats its people so harshly in the name of Christ. This was my dream job and company.... heartbreaking. 

Being a missionary overseas called on every drop of experience from all my background- finance and accounting, personnel management, service, counseling, and yard work (from high school).  No day was the same, though I did have the structure of an office.  It was such a pleasure working with a staff and with fellow missionaries with a common task and goal.  The organization allowed us freedom to explore our areas of interest and ministry.  The past eight years provided us an opportunity to work with refugees- delivering food, helping with work, visiting in prison and being friends.  I love the power of hope and encouragement and frequently saw the effects in peoples' lives.  I sometimes faced issues that were above my capabilities and experience, but was able to find people in my network that could provide the right counsel and expertise.  The job taught the value of working well in community and how a group accomplishes much more than a single.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Work with the professional people in the same faith and best practices in the Christian organization.  Honor the Lord with excellent work ethics and sharing the love God for people in the world who are dealing the problem of “lostness.”

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Learning new things as I got on board which is normal at the beginning at any given job opportunity.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Loving, caring, and sharing the gifts and talents to promote the gospel of Jesus Christ to the hurting world.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Just as any given administration role, to provide the excellent service to all customers (staff members) in the organization.

I began my tenure at the Board as an overseas missionary doing communications work and then was asked to transfer to the Board's home office to help with editing work with the Board's flagship magazine. I learned the true value of teamwork with wonderful colleagues who were also friends. The work could be complicated and stressful at times since we dealt with religious journalism. However, the publication was viewed by certain audiences all over the United States and in areas overseas. The most enjoyable part of the job was knowing every story told a story about how God works through missionary workers to reflect His love to others around the world.

IMB does a great deal of good and a great deal of bad.  The IMB has helped get the gospel to countless locations.  However, the IMB has also done a great disservice to it's employees by allowing field leadership to have no accountability and by not providing adequate support to people in need.  No organization is perfect, but the IMB has done a poor job in taking care of their people.  There are many people that have had a good experience with this organization; however, there are many more that have not.

Well, if you become part of the Good Ole Boy System, then you will do well and likely enjoy many years of unhindered service.  If you don't make the cut, you will likely be miserable and your family will pay the price.  Just being honest.  People should keep their eyes wide open.  Leadership is shakey at best; some are good, some are bad and then there is the other category.  The Gold Card Insurance is great, but often times, it's the only reason some people stay with the company.  The company has a great PR department.  Don't get caught saying anything bad about the organization; you will be put on the naughty list.

IMB strives to be a proper missions agency, but they run things too much like a business. There is not much concern for the individual as long as numbers are what they should be. Overall health of the employee is a stated concern by the company, but the company doesn't allow the individual to make autonomous decisions concerning said health. It is a great company to work for and has been a good experience.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The people are of high quality and are Christ-centered.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Occasionally workload can be high. Being a large organization it can be bureaucratic at times.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The culture is positive and Christ-centered. Work environment depends on your role, but the two different environments I was in were very rewarding and I felt support of others.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
There are too many variables to answer this well.

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