I spent the middle of April this year on St. Vincent in the Caribbean. It was neither an official, work-related trip nor a vacation—at least not in the traditional sense of the term. With my teenage progeny I was involved in a volunteer mission project sponsored by the Takoma Park Seventh-day Adventist Church, where I am a member.
We were helping to finish a muchneeded school in Richland Park, St. Vin cent. There more than 200 students meet in a building adequate for only 100. For two weeks we tended masons and did some block laying ourselves, installed windows, and scraped, whitewashed, and painted walls and ceilings. (And swam, snorkled, climbed a volcano, and generally acted like tourists on our days off!)
I must confess that before leaving I had some misgivings about the enterprise. Out of our group of 35, only two had professional-level construction skills. So we were spending some $20,000 to bring unskilled laborers into an area with an unemployment rate of about 30 percent. I wondered if we couldn't have done more good by simply donating the money and allowing the people there to hire lo cal labor to work on the school thus both giving the project itself a big financial boost and providing work for those who needed it much more than did any of us.
I believe there's room for that approach, too. But the kind of mission service we did has merit on at least a couple counts. First, without the goal the trip provided, we probably wouldn't have raised that amount of money. We wouldn't have known of the need or had the motivation to do the fund-raising, and some of those who donated to our trip probably wouldn't have done so for the other type of project. In addition, while our involvement may not have brought a great deal of immediate financial help to the area, those who went may well continue to show an interest in and be supportive of that particular project and the church's work throughout that region.
Second, people-to-people contact is important in itself. I'm sure it changed the concepts of those who went. There's no better way to learn the needs in other parts of the world than to experience those needs. I know of at least one of the youth in our group who is interested in mission service because of this trip.
No doubt we were not the only ones who benefited by the contact with brothers and sisters from another culture. I hope that our presence encouraged the church members on St. Vincent and that their acquaintance with us we stayed in the homes of the local members broadened their view of the church. I believe our presence may well have contributed to the church's image among the nonmembers in the community also.
We happened to be on St. Vincent while Pastor Roosevelt Daniels of the North Carribean Conference was con ducting a major evangelistic crusade in Kingstown, the capital of the island. We attended his Sabbath seminars on both of the Sabbaths we were there, and one of the evening meetings as well. And Tim Evans, youth pastor of the Takoma Park church and "fearless leader" of our mission experience; John Fortune, an associate pastor of the same church; and I had the privilege of participating in the first baptism resulting from that series a service that saw more than 500 people buried in the Caribbean and then raised to a new life in Christ. (Reports since we re turned say that altogether the crusade has netted more than 900!)
Alternative forms of mission service
This issue of Ministry presents the challenge that lies ahead of our church. Full-term missionaries operating through regular channels will no doubt continue to form the backbone of the church's mission program. But alternative forms of mission service are providing an important adjunct, and mission experts tell us the importance of their role will continue to increase.
During the past year Maranatha Volunteers International, the lay-operated agency that oversaw the trip in which I participated, directed 55 projects involving more than 2,500 adults and youth from across the United States and Canada. All of the projects this organization takes on involve building, but those who go may also provide Community Services activities, medical or dental work, and help with Vacation Bible Schools, and other evangelistic activities. Requests for the services of groups directed by Maranatha originate with the conferences/missions or unions needing those services.1
The General Conference also has its volunteer programs the more well-known Adventist Youth Service, or student missionary program, and the Adventist Volunteer Service (AVS). The latter parallels, though on a more professional level, the student missionary program. Under the auspices of AVS, pastors, teachers, medical personnel, and others may provide short-term (generally one to two years) volunteer mission service.
In 1989 there were more than 500 AVS workers, 287 from the South Pacific Division, 214 from the North American Division, 32 from the Trans- European Division, and 5 from the Euro- Africa Division. These numbers nearly match those of the student missionaries sent out.
The General Conference is not now actively seeking applications for this pro gram. Most recruits are called rather than chosen from volunteer applicants. But the program has grown significantly during the past five years, and the changing circumstances of mission service may well encourage further growth.2
Opportunities to participate in the Adventist mission program abound. The church can only benefit as more of its members get involved.
1. For more information, contact Matanatha Volunteers International, 5240 Garfield Avenue, Sacramento, CA 95841; telephone (916) 344-4300.
2. For further information, see the 1989-1990 General Conference Working Policy or contact Secretariat, Adventist Volunteer Service, 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904-6600.
