Words spoken decades ago by D. T. Niles, referring to Christians involved in evangelism, might be adapted to apply to mission volunteers today. In Niles's vision, to be a mission volunteer "is not just an undertaking to help others. It is rather to be caught within the explosion of the Gospel. Christ is at work–and in His working we are caught, impelled, given, till we become part of the lives of those with whom we are called to work. Those who do not learn more about Jesus Christ from the people and situations where they go to serve are not engaged in mission service, but in some other activity."

• A Ministry of Hands
• Theological Understandings
• Volunteers' Concerns
• Host Responsibilities
• Connectionality on Behalf of Life

A very large Christ figure stands on a mountain in the high Andes overlooking the Bolivian city of Cochabamba. Wherever you turn in the city and surrounding valley, you see this graceful ecumenical representation of our Lord holding out his arms to embrace all peoples.

Within sight of this Andean Christ figure, a dedicated team of mission volunteers from the United States worked side by side with Bolivian colleagues in the hot sun. Together, they constructed a new roof for the Emmanuel Methodist Church Community Center, which includes a health center, a daycare center, and a program for elderly women. Several members of the visiting work team gave witness to significant spiritual experiences as they encountered the living Christ through their relationships with their Bolivian coworkers.

Some time later at the same project, Alejandro Vera–leader of the Bolivian work crew and a lay leader of Emmanuel Methodist Church–led a devotional with another United Methodist Volunteers In Mission (UMVIM) team that had come to help build the adjacent basketball court. With the cement about to be poured and with the Christ figure in the background, Vera reminded team members that they were not only building a sports court. They and their Bolivian colleagues were also building each other up in the Body of Christ. And they were creating an arena where wholesome activities might be used by the Holy Spirit to transform lives.

A popular song among the people of Emmanuel Methodist Church, which they shared with the mission volunteers in their midst, is entitled: "One Hand Is Not Enough." The words affirm the actions of the North American volunteers as they worked with local church and community members to build not only a church roof or a sports court but the community of faith, itself: "No basta solo una mano si vamos a construir una iglesia de testigos que anuncie a Cristo–vamos juntos de la mano!" (One hand is not enough if we are going to build a church of witnesses who proclaim Christ–let's go together hand in hand!)

A Ministry of Hands

Hands of Emmanuel church members have been linked with hands of United Methodist volunteers from Oklahoma, Texas, North Carolina, Nebraska, Missouri, Louisiana, Arkansas, Minnesota, New York, and New Mexico. Together, they have cleaned up debris from the collapsed roof and walls of the ministries building, where some 200 poor children receive food and loving care each day.

Callused laborers' hands have joined with white-collar workers' tender hands (bearing painful blisters) as together they nailed up new beams, chipped off old stucco, and painted walls to renovate a 140-year-old building for ministry with children. Small hands have clapped for joy as the children played and sang. And the hands of hard-working cooks have prepared delicious meals for all volunteer construction workers.

And the grateful hands of volunteers from North America and Bolivia have shared with one another the consecrated bread and wine from the table of the Lord.

The people of Emmanuel have been especially grateful for the visiting volunteers who have joyfully shared the life of faith in their midst. They remember several mutually shared Bible studies that became true events of the Spirit among Christians who differed in language, culture, and race. The times of shared laughter and enjoyment have been a sign of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's admonition from his prison cell to "spread hilaritas" whenever possible.

The joyful interactions many volunteers have experienced with the hosts of children all about Emmanuel have been occasions of special grace. And some medical volunteers, while sharing their knowledge and skill across language and cultural barriers, have become agents of pastoral care to their patients.

Most surely the experiences of United Methodist Volunteers In Mission at Emmanuel Methodist Church are common to a great host of mission volunteers who go out each year to serve with churches in many parts of the world. In a three-year period, more than 500 volunteer groups have gone out to the churches of Latin America and the Caribbean from the Southeastern Jurisdiction alone. In the United States, a Brazilian Methodist team has worked in Alabama, a Palestinian team has helped repair tornado damage in Oklahoma, and students from Africa University have worked as volunteers with youth in the summer camping program of the West Ohio Annual Conference. When we consider volunteer groups going to so many countries and continents from all across the world Methodist family, we must realize that the Volunteers In Mission movement is today a most significant expression of mission and service in the global church.

Theological Understandings

What is the theological understanding of mission volunteers–their comprehension of the importance of approaching volunteer mission in terms of "covenant" and of God's action in history? How is God at work in raising up persons who are being called to go as mission volunteers? How is God at work in the churches and local situations in which the volunteers serve? How are both "visiting volunteers" and "home volunteers" being called to respond to God's grace-full action? How do both participate in a covenant relationship of mutual responsibility?

A covenant relationship requires prior communication and serious planning on both sides. What goals and expectations does the host church have for the volunteers and how they might make the most effective contribution to God's mission in that place? This question implies something far more than helping to construct a building, dig a well, or provide medical care. What steps can the "receiving" church take to faithfully prepare and care for the volunteers? How can the Christians of that place faithfully "give" as well as "receive"? What do mission volunteers have to learn from the people whom they go to serve? What insights can they gain about who they are and their own need for forgiveness and grace?

Volunteers' Concerns

Key leaders of mission volunteers, along with the leaders in several of the receiving churches, point to several relational concerns. Sensitivity to racial and cultural differences is critically important. There is a wide gap in many situations between the relative affluence of many mission volunteers and the poverty of the people with whom they work. Sensitive volunteers are increasingly aware of the dangers of paternalism in their relationships. Volunteers go to "give a hand, not a handout." They should not hesitate to insist that members of the local community share as fully as possible in the work involved.

Volunteers must always remember that people are more important than projects. We "learn the Gospel" and "share the Gospel" through human relationships. Volunteers can be so task-oriented ("get the building finished") that the task of participating in the building up of the faith community may be wrongly seen as secondary.

Host Responsibilities

Congregations that receive volunteers should understand that they are also in mission with the volunteers in their midst. They are responsible for faith-full hospitality and sensitive care. They should provide opportunities to share with the volunteers the life and mission of their church through Bible study, worship, and social activities.

Connectionality on Behalf of Life

Surely one of the greatest strengths of the mission-volunteer movement is a powerful people-to-people dynamic. This dynamic binds together peoples of very different backgrounds and national identities in loving service on behalf of God's mission in the world. Latin American Methodists speak of "conexionalidad a favor de la Vida" (connectionality on behalf of life). In this way, they claim the importance of the "connection" of the world Methodist family that enables a flow of mission energy, linking people around the world.

More and more Christians, "caught within the explosion of the Gospel," are answering God's call to give periods of volunteer service. They are committing their own financial resources and often personal vacation time from their jobs. As these volunteers respond, the words of Henri J. M. Nouwen can serve as a reminder of the concerns of many of the peoples with whom they are called to serve.

Help us discover our own riches;
don't judge us poor because we lack what you have.
Help us discover our chains;
don't judge us slaves by the type of shackles you wear.
Be patient with us as a people;
don't judge us backward simply because we don't follow your stride.
Be patient with our pace;
don't judge us lazy simply because we can't follow your tempo.
Be patient with our symbols;
don't judge us ignorant because we can't read your signs.
Be with us and proclaim the richness of your life which you can share with us.
Be with us and be open to what we can give.
Be with us as a companion who walks with us neither behind nor in front in our search for life and, ultimately, for God!
—Henri J. M. Nouwen*

*The Nouwen quotation above is cited in People, Places, and Partnerships by Sally Campbell-Evans. This workbook, highly recommended for use by volunteer teams in preparation for their journey, may be obtained for $2 per copy plus shipping and handling ($3.50 for an order of $25 or less) from the Literature Sales Room, General Board of Global Ministries, 475 Riverside Dr., Room 1358, New York, NY 10115, tel. 212-870-3761; or call the Service Center at 1-800-305-9857.

Dr. Wilson T. Boots and his wife, Nora Quiroga Boots, are stationed in Bolivia as United Methodist missionaries working with the Latin American Council of Evangelical Methodist Churches (CIEMAL).