them. It is important to note that each particular situation will be different and each missionary will be involved at various levels of service. Second, there is retirement from the job of being a missionary. In most cases, this is the time when a missionary is not able to do the work that is required of those in full- time ministry. Although these missionaries are no longer “officially” missionaries, they will continue to serve in their local church as much as possible. For these servants of God, there is no question about their willingness to do the work. The main thing that has changed is their ability to continue in the work. When considering these two aspects of missionary retirement, our follow-up question should now be asked: “How long should a missionary continue receiving support?” To answer this question, it is important for the church to contact the missionary and inquire about his individual situation. Has the missionary made financial preparations for this time in his life? Will he be receiving Social Security or some other type of income? Has he assumed that churches would support him for his entire life? What will his ministry now entail? While some missionaries have planned for the day when churches discontinue their support, many have not. For those who have joined BIMI in recent years, a retirement plan has been prepared for them. They contribute to this plan monthly, which will help them to be ready for their retirement years. However, many Each particular situation is going to be different and must be handled individually. of the missionaries who are retiring today joined BIMI prior to this plan and are counting on the continued support of their churches. Again, it needs to be emphasized that each particular situation is going to be different and must be handled individually. 3 Finally, there is Full Retirement. Truly, this is the ultimate answer to our original question. This is what every missionary works toward throughout his entire life. Of course, Full Retirement comes only when a missionary enters heaven. It will be a wonderful day when the faithful missionary stands before the Lord and hears “Well done, thou good and faithful servant…” (Matthew 25:21). God's dedicated servant will rejoice in seeing those who are in heaven because of his ministry—eternal fruit that resulted from a life committed to the Lord's service. This is also fruit that abounds to the account of those who supported this missionary, not only while he was on the field but also while he was “retired.” 1 Cambridge University Press ©2011, http://dictionary. cambridge.org/dictionary/american-english/ 2 Relief Missionaries are usually based in the United States. Their ministry regularly takes them to different mission fields around the world to fill in for missionaries needing to take a furlough. Relief Missionaries serve at churches for different lengths of time. Sometimes they are at a church for several weeks and other times for many months. Occasionally, they may fill in for an entire year. 3 Baptist International Missions suggests that every church enact a missions policy. This will provide a foundation from which to individually deal with issues such as retiring missionaries, missionary widows, etc. For more information on developing a church missions policy, go to http://www.bimi.org/content/ reChurchMissionPolicy.php. BAPTIST INTERNATIONAL MISSIONS, INC., was founded in 1960 as an independent Baptist faith mission. BIMI is a fundamental mission agency, true to the Word of God in doctrine and method. The purpose of BIMI is to assist fundamental Baptist churches in fulfilling our Lord's command to evangelize the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our objectives are to establish indigenous Baptist churches and train national pastors and leaders. There are over 1,000 missionaries with BIMI working in 100 countries of the world. OFFICERS/BOARD OF TRUSTEES: Michael Edwards, Chairman; Scott Wendal, Vice Chairman; David Snyder, President; JB Godfrey, Vice President; James Butler, Corporate Secretary; Al Goss, Treasurer; Jeff Amsbaugh, David Atkinson, Andy Bloom; David Bragg; Tim Butler; Paul Chappell; John W. Collier; Bill Egerdahl; James God; CO Grinstead; Rodney Kelley; David Pittman; James Ray; Jim Rushing; Don Sisk; Mark Stevens; Ray Thompson; Jim Townsley; Robert Vrandenburgh; Robert Wall; Tom Wallace ADMINISTRATION/FIELD DIRECTORS: David Snyder, General Director; JB Godfrey, Executive Director; James Butler, International Office Director; Doug Cunningham, Comptroller; Jeff Alverson, Assistant Military; John Bailes, USA; Gerry Baughman, CAMP BIMI*SMART; Roger Blevins, South America; Eric Bohman, Assistant Africa; Ron Bragg, Africa; Alan Brooks, Assistant Southeast Asia; Pat Creed, Caribbean; Bob Green, Candidate and Deputation; Malcolm Gregory, Assistant South America; William Griffin, Enrichment; David Harris, Far East; Ed Hembree, Europe; Terry Jones, Central America; James Kennard, Military; Robert Larson, Assistant USA; Jim Lilley, Estate Planning; Sean Lunday, Assistant Brazil; Robert Meyer, Southeast Asia; Jimmy Rose, Brazil; Don Sisk, General Director Emeritus; Gary Sprunger, Assistant Caribbean; Steve Stone, Far North; Ray Thompson, Executive Director Emeritus; Carl Vonnoh, CLAIM REPRESENTATIVES: Gailen Abbett, Roy Ackerle, Les Frazier, Ed Gibson, John Halsey, Brant Holladay, Robert Johnson, Mark Logan, Michael McCombie, James Ray, Jerry Reece, Reggie Rempel, Clayton Revels, Clayton Shumpert STAFF: Don Arnold, Audio Visuals; Ken Catoe, Printing Services; John Ramsey, Missionary Finances; Alan Robinson, Missionary Services Coordinator; Kevin Wnuk, Computer Services BIMI World: David Snyder, Executive Editor; Ken Catoe, Editor; Don Arnold, Production Photographer; Jonathan Bergen, Designer Field Editors: Eric Bohman, Africa; Alan Brooks, Southeast Asia; Gary Craft, Military; David Harris, Far East; Mark Lockhart, Central America; Ed Johnson, Brazil; Coy Shaw, USA; Gary Sprunger, Caribbean; Clint Vernoy, South America; Rob Willoughby, Europe Official Publication of Baptist International Missions, Inc. · All Scripture quotations are from the KJV. Mailing Address: P.O. Box 9215 - Chattanooga, TN 37412 / Shipping Address: 8614 Harrison Bay Road - Harrison, TN 37341 / Phone: (423) 344- 5050 Fax: (423) 344-4774 / Info@bimi.org / www.bimi.org / BIMI Canada: P.O. Box 242 - St. Jacobs, Ontario N0B 2N0 / (519) 664-3242