New program a bridge to long-term service

MBMS International has launched a new mission program with a three-year term, designed as a bridge between current short-term mission programs and a long-term mission commitment.

It’s being called “Jornada,” which is Portuguese for “journey.”

“Missionaries are on a journey, as all Christians are,” says Ray Harms-Wiebe, MBMS International’s team leader for global teams and initiatives. “This program would be the beginning of their journey into long-term mission.”

Randy Friesen, MBMS International’s general director, calls it one way to “get a generation launched” into long-term service.

A three-year commitment is long enough to gain language training and some cultural understanding, and to make a significant contribution, but short enough to be manageable for college graduates or young families who still have questions about their future.

Participants will receive more intense and intentional training, including seminary-level training, than in the short-term programs. At least six months will be dedicated specifically to language training.

“There’s probably no more significant door-opener into another culture than language acquisition,” Friesen says.

Jornada participants are expected to raise about $1,000 per month for the three-year term.

MBMS International hopes the Jornada program will result in many more long-term workers. Friesen says the challenge of reaching an estimated two billion unreached people globally motivates the program. “It’s not business as usual,” he says.

The agency is already seeing increased interest in overseas service, he says.

—Myra Holmes, Christian Leader