Begin your journey to
Go Deeper!
Your journey to South Asia begins long before you step on the plane.
There are many ways for you to prepare for your trip ahead of time.
The following will help guide you along your journey and prepare you to make the most of your time on the field.
Qualifications to be an IMB volunteer:
- Team leaders must be Southern Baptist
- Assignments for church planting, preaching and teaching, theological education, etc., must be led by a Southern Baptist and include team members who are Southern Baptist.
- Members of other evangelical churches can be enlisted as team members on certain other assignments. These types of assignments include ministry to human needs, prayer, Scripture distribution and construction projects.
- Volunteers must raise funds to pay their own way.
- All volunteers must be willing to work within missionary field strategies and be willing to go where needed.
Process for becoming a volunteer:
Volunteer teams respond to requests from the mission field.
As IMB field personnel have needs that volunteers can meet, they will complete a Volunteer Request form.
Once a request receives appropriate approval it will be automatically placed on our IMB
Volunteers In Missions page.
Occasionally, there are requests for a single individual; however, most requests are for teams that will vary in size according to the need.
Volunteers interested in a particular assignment can respond to field personnel directly from our IMB Volunteers In Missions page. Once there, you will have three options...
- (1) You can request more information on a particular job
- (2) You can accept the role of Team Leader
- (3) You can let our office know if you would prefer to be a Team Member rather than lead a team. If you prefer to be a Team Member, you will be notified once a Team Leader has accepted the assignment and has need for additional members for his/her team.
If you feel God leading you to serve as a volunteer and you meet the qualifications, you can take the next steps below:
- Step 1 - Prayerfully consider where God would have you serve and the type of ministry He would have you perform.
- Step 2 - Involve other individuals and/or groups in your decision.
- Step 3 - Check the IMB web site (Search Projects: Adults or Students) for assignments that are of interest to you.
- Step 4 - If you feel led to accept an assignment listed on the website, you will be given an opportunity (by clicking on the appropriate link) to communicate directly with field personnel associated with that particular assignment. You will let them know of your availability and your willingness to accept the position.
Preparation Guide:
To assist you in preparing for your mission, we have compiled excellent information that covers everything from spiritual preparation to how to pack a suitcase.
Download and/or print the preparation guide:
PDF format - 1.48 M
Discover South Asia with our new Visitor's Guide. Download and/or print the guide:
PDF format - 6.17 MB
For more information contact:
SAR Volunteer Help
The International Mission Board has many resources to aid you in preparing for your trip. You can visit the volunteer portion of the IMB Web site at the Volunteer Page.