Pastoral Care Application
THE OPPORTUNITY
This is an exciting full-time opportunity for a husband and wife team to serve with a wonderful group of people, caring for some of God’s finest – missionaries.
As a Pastoral Care couple, you will regularly travel to visit missionary families under your care and be part of welcoming and training new missionaries at our three-day orientation event held twice a year.
As the name implies, the ministry is “pastoral” but church pastoral experience is not a requirement. This is not a preaching, teaching or counseling situation. It primarily is listening, understanding, caring and being an available friend. We are looking for people who love and care for others, work well with a team and preferably have overseas missions experience.
KEY QUALIFICATIONS
This is a support-based position that involves raising financial support for your salary.
Both husband and wife must be able to travel (usually 3-4 trips a year; 2-5 weeks per trip).
Both must work well with the team making “every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
Agreement with CTEN Statement of Faith and an ability to value, respect and care for those who come from different theological perspectives – such as Pentecostal/Charismatic, Cessationist, Reformed, Armenian, whatever you are not.
If you love people, love missions and love missionaries, this could be just the opportunity you have been praying for.
THE THING WE DO
Most mission agencies have the “thing” they do – translate the Bible, plant churches, operate orphanages, focus on a particular people group, etc. The “thing” CTEN does is send and care for missionaries. We help them do what they sense God has called them to do. We coach, advise and pray with the missionaries but trust the Holy Spirit to guide them as to what they should do and how they should do it. As you browse the various missionaries and ministries on our site, you will see many missionaries fulfilling traditional missionary roles and many using “out of the box” methods of sharing the message.
Jesus said, “make disciples,” not just converts. Making disciples takes time. So it is not only important that we send missionaries but also that they stay - and stay healthy in spirit, soul and body.
WHAT DO PASTORAL CARE COUPLES DO?
Once a new missionary applicant is initially approved, based upon the region of the world where they will serve, a pastoral care couple is assigned to welcome them, walk with them and encourage them as they prepare to go to the field. This is usually not a long process – a matter of a few months is common. You will encourage them, coach as necessary, and be an available resource to help them transition to CTEN and the field as smoothly and quickly as possible.
As part of their acceptance process, you will contact their home church to begin a relationship with that church. We work with and through their sending church as much as possible. As pastoral care, we try to supplement, not supplant, the role of their sending church pastor and staff.
Once the missionary is on the field, you will stay in touch with them and be their primary contact at CTEN. Additionally, you will visit them on the field every 18-24 months. Travel expenses for these pastoral care visits are covered by CTEN.
OFFICE HOURS AND TRAVEL
This is a full-time role but with a high degree of flexibility. Your tasks include
planning trips
attending orientations at the home office in Texas
participating in daily online staff prayer
keeping records of missionary contacts and interaction
communicating with the pastoral care team and home office
staying connected with your own support/prayer team.
You'll often need to connect outside of standard office hours to accommodate international time zones and respond to emergencies.
Trip planning is done under the guidance of the Director. We suggest no more than five weeks per trip, spending one to three days in each location. But this will vary based on missionary needs.
WHAT ARE THE ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS
While very flexible in most areas, we cannot even consider your application if you do not meet the five essential qualifications.
This is a support-based position that involves raising financial support for your salary.
We offer several benefits to help with this and we cover the cost of the travel but, like the Founder and all our missionaries, Pastoral Care couples are missionaries that raise their own support. You must have adequate support before you start.
Both husband and wife must be able to travel, anxious to connect with missionaries and see this as a calling of the Lord on their lives.
You will provide care for single women, single men, couples and families. This requires both husband and wife to be involved in contacting, visiting and caring for the missionaries under your care. Obviously, it also means you either have no children or older children who are not dependent upon you for care.
Both must work well with the team making “every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
The primary command Jesus gave was to love one another. The relational health and spiritual unity of our team directly impacts the care we provide the missionaries. There is no room for “discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, gossip … and the like.”
Agreement with CTEN Statement of Faith with an ability to value and respect those who come from different theological perspectives – such as Pentecostal/Charismatic, Cessationist, Reformed, Armenian, whatever you are not.
All CTEN missionaries adhere to our Statement of Faith (www.cten.org/statement-of-faith) but beyond these Biblical basics, they come from a wide range of theological and doctrinal positions. Some speak in tongues. Some call that “strange fire.” Some define “election” and “predestination” one way, some another. Your missionaries might be from the US, Canada, nationals working in their own country or in a bi-cultural marriage.
If missionary applicants are in agreement with the Statement of Faith and the addendum “Board Policy on Sexuality, Marriage and Moral Conduct”, we are delighted to send them to proclaim the message of salvation to the nations.
As pastoral care it is important you don’t just “tolerate” doctrinal differences, but are able to value, respect and care for those who come from different theological and cultural perspectives without feeling a need to “correct” them.
WANT TO LEARN MORE?
Read or listen to the story of how we came into being in 1994. Check out a free sample of the book HERE.
Or purchase the paperback, Kindle or Audiobook HERE.
Examine our website and information packet for new missionaries
If you have more questions, email director@cten.org.
READY TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP TOWARD MISSIONARY CARE?
Complete and submit this information application and we will contact you for a time to meet and discuss the possibility of your future partnership with Commission To Every Nation.