BIMI
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