A Call for All Christians

"We are building not only buildings but personal faith. We have many ways to grow our faith when we participate."
— Participant at the International Conference on Sending and Hosting Volunteers, November 1998.

Building Relationships
Giving in a Global Context

All day long, day after day, the phone brought the same inquiry: "Is there anything that I can do?" The computer screen was filled with E-mail messages offering help. Hundreds consulted the Volunteer Hotline (1-800-918-3100).

United Methodists throughout the world were responding to the scenes unfolding on their television screens. Hurricane Mitch had parked off the coast of Honduras and was dumping unprecedented amounts of water on the land. Winds, floods, and mudslides were wiping out whole villages, killing hundreds. People were suffering, as they did this year in Hurricane Floyd, and then, as now, compassionate people felt compelled to help and to serve when needed.

Today's technology makes instant information possible. We can be on the scene of a disaster, thanks to television. We can communicate with someone at the scene via the Internet. Whether it be the plight of refugees fleeing ethnic cleansing in the Balkans, children dying from famine and disease, or national infrastructures being devastated by civil conflict, we know about it as it is happening. For many, to sit back and do nothing is unthinkable.

Mother Teresa observed that "there is a tremendous strength growing in the world through sharing together, praying together, suffering together, and working together." There is a new spirit in mission that focuses on developing relationships between people for a common cause. There is a new understanding that the call to be in mission is not just for the chosen few, but for all Christians. The vital, growing mission-volunteer movement in The United Methodist Church is fueled by this new spirit. Last year, more than 60,000 people served in 48 different countries through the United Methodist Volunteers In Mission program. Thousands of others chose different volunteer opportunities for service.

Volunteers are helping to provide housing for the homeless and medical care for those who have access to little or none. They are establishing dental clinics, offering their skills for agricultural projects, and working with ministries that seek to provide food for the undernourished. They are teaching Bible studies, literacy, and skill development. They are constructing and repairing church buildings, raising funds, and helping with congregational development. As volunteers put their faith into action, they become, through their caring presence, powerful witnesses of the love of Christ.

Building Relationships

Even more important than the tasks volunteers perform are the relationships that they build. Time and again, volunteers report that they went to offer help, but what they found was new purpose and direction for their own lives. The real power of the volunteer movement appears to be in establishing relationships at levels never before experienced. These relationships occur in three arenas: with the other team members, with those who receive the volunteers, and with God.

We speak of the importance of experiencing community in the local church, but it is not easy to achieve. Bishop John Hopkins of the Minnesota Area, himself a veteran volunteer, reminded attendees at the Southeastern Jurisdiction's Volunteers In Mission rally that John Wesley started a movement, not an organized church. Bishop Hopkins noted that, from his experience, whenever Methodists around the world act like a movement, God blesses them and does marvelous things with them.

"When I serve on teams," Hopkins said, "I always learn something about myself. I learn something about other people, but, more important, I understand how God builds a Christian community. When you go on a Volunteers In Mission team–no matter how much of an expert you are, no matter what you're in charge of in the real world–you do what is necessary on the work team. I have seen accountants dig ditches. I have seen physicians count money. I have seen homemakers paint buildings. I have seen executives baby-sit. When you go on Volunteers In Mission teams, you become somebody helping the whole group, not somebody who's identified by the role you perform where you get your paycheck.

"In most of our activities, we have leadership defined in advance, and we always look to the leader to do things. But on a mission team, whoever is there at the time takes over and leads. You learn about strong personalities who lead but sometimes don't have any followers. And you also learn about people who seem meek and mild, but they are there at the right time. People ask: How did you do that?'"

Relationships also get built in the giving and receiving of hospitality. The gift of hospitality is a recurring theme running throughout the Scriptures. The Hebrew Scriptures make it clear that giving shelter to the traveler, helping the sojourner in our midst, and sharing with one another are what God expects. Jesus introduces us to a God of grace who offers unconditional hospitality to all who will come. Provisions are made for all, with a special place reserved for those who are among the marginalized. We are told in the Book of Hebrews: "Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it." (Hebrews 13:1-2)

Volunteers have discovered themselves powerfully impacted by the generosity of those who make careful preparations for receiving them in their community. They have discovered that, when people from more affluent countries and congregations work alongside those who are poor or oppressed, the affluent ones are blessed in profound ways. When volunteers dare to tear down barriers and experience the reality of other contexts, they begin to live their own lives with greater sensitivity, understanding, and compassion. For them, mission comes alive!

A common witness coming from volunteers is that their service was a "life- transforming" experience, bringing them a new relationship and commitment to God. Every follower of Jesus must deal with the biblical imperative to reach out to those who are oppressed, hungry, or poor and to alleviate the conditions that perpetuate poverty and oppression. Through volunteer service, the entire church community is called into witness and service–not just the professional missionaries. Through volunteer service in the name of the church, every individual has the opportunity to serve. All can live their calling and their lives more faithfully. For many, this becomes a deeply spiritual experience.

Giving in a Global Context

The selfless giving of volunteers who go to serve at their own expense and the hospitality given by those who reach out to receive them carry the message of Jesus Christ to the community. The local people see that others are willing to give of their time and talent to work beside them and make their lives better. In the process, true community is realized and the church is blessed. When people are directly involved in mission, whether it be responding to disasters or working with the indigenous church, they have ownership. They become ambassadors for the mission project.

As we move into the twenty-first century, it is clear that mission volunteers have an increasingly important role to play. The linking of mission volunteers with global mission projects will result in cross-cultural relationships and enrichment as people reach out to one another in cooperative ministry. Volunteers will be integral to the realization of the global church, as they learn to understand and work in one another's context.

An International Conference on Sending and Hosting Volunteers was held in November 1998, with participants from 35 countries. There, the following statement was issued.

"We dream of a future where Volunteers In Mission will become the driving force for mission renewal of the local church. There will be a continuing positive impact of love and of brotherhood and sisterhood in a world torn apart by injustice and separated by apathy. Volunteers will be strong advocates for world peace, justice, and equality. We envision a church that recovers its purpose and power as it demonstrates God's mission by pouring itself out for others–crossing all boundaries to identify with joys and fears, struggles and needs, yearnings and sorrows,confusion and doubt, and the quest for true human dignity among people everywhere, especially those regarded as the least of God's children."

God has given us the volunteer movement to lead the way.

Robert E. Walton is Assistant General Secretary for MissionVolunteers at the General Board of Global Ministries.