Parents, raising support, debt, fear, lack of clarity, learning language, stereotypes, even sending agencies, what do all of these have in common? They are all barriers that keep this generation from going into long-term or full-time missions, that is why we exist. We are here to remove those obstacles. One way that we do this is by partnering with sending agencies.
A partnership between Café 1040 and one of these sending agencies looks something like this. They have looked at our application, they have looked at our screening process, they have visited our ministry to learn first-hand what we are doing overseas and they have agreed to fast-track our graduates. Why is fast-tracking so important, I am glad that you asked. I want to give you a common scenario for a student that would like to apply with one of these sending agencies.
First, the student has to decide which sending agency to go with, a lengthy process because there are so many out there. Second, once they find a sending agency they have to get in contact with them, this can also be a lengthy process, let’s face it, the agencies are busy. Third, they have to fill out the initial application, usually around 100 questions. Fourth, they have to submit the application, which can take up to two months for the agencies to process. Fifth, they receive the second application, this time it is not 100 questions, it is more like 500 questions, with essay questions, meetings they have to attend, etc. Sixth, ( I know what you are thinking, when is he going to stop, well that is what most of these students are thinking as well) they have to be screened, psych tests, medical evaluations, etc.
Now, let’s add up all this time. Let’s say a month (conservative) for the agency decision process + two weeks to get in contact with an agency + two weeks to fill out the application + 2 months for application to be processed + 1 month (conservative) to fill out second application + 6-8 months to be screened = 11-13 months until all that is finished and they are ready for the field. Also, it is going to take them around 8 to 10 months to get acclimated to their new surroundings.
With agreeing to fast-track our graduates, these sending agencies have said that our application, screening process, and the time overseas, fulfills around 60-80% of their application and screening process, meaning. If one of our students graduates in November, they could be on the field by January and only need a few weeks to a couple months to get acclimated to their new surroundings. That is 5-7 months compared to 11-13 months! Getting excited, well meet Paul, a graduate from our Fall team that just returned home in November, getting ready to deploy to a hostile un-reached country in the Middle East this January! Paul is not our first, but he is our most recent student that this has happened to.
For His glory among the nations,
-Mike
