Application

PERSONAL DATA

• Name

  Home phone

• Present Address

  Work phone

• Address effective until

• List addresses where you have lived over the last ten years

• E-mail address

ASSIGNMENT

• Select the service arrangement you are interested in:

  Short Term team (2 to 3 weeks)Short Term (1 month to 1 year)Mission Internship (1-2 years)Long Term (2+ years)Office Staff

• Specific assignment you are interested in (if applicable)

When are you available to begin an assignment?

REFERENCES

• In addition to a pastor who knows you well, list three persons (co-worker, teacher, friend, etc.) who know you well from the standpoint of character, motivation and general qualifications. Do NOT include close relatives. Please provide complete addresses.

  Name	Street Address AND e-mail address	City/State	Zip	Phone # Day & evening

EDUCATION and EXPERIENCE

• Circle highest level completed:	High School	College	Graduate School
  	9101112	1234	1234

• Attach resumé or list schools attended (in chronological order)

  Name of high school, college, seminary, Bible, business, nursing school	Location City, State	Date attended From To	Degree and year received	Field of Study major minor

• Attach resumé or list occupational experience (most recent first)

  Dates	Employer & Complete Address	Duties and Skills
  From: To:
  From: To:
  From: To:

• Check () the following items in which you have had actual experience or training. Double check () those in which you have had sufficient training or experience to enable your assuming major responsibility:

  Group leadershipGroup leadership

  AdministrationAdministration

  PreachingPreaching

  TeachingTeaching

  EvangelismEvangelism

  Music/WorshipMusic/Worship

  AccountingAccounting

  Money managementMoney management

  Computer/data processingComputer/data processing

  Creative/news writingCreative/news writing

  Art and layoutArt and layout

  PhotographyPhotography

  AgricultureAgriculture

  Construction skillsConstruction skills

  Conflict resolutionConflict resolution

  CounselingCounseling

  Medical/First AidMedical/First Aid

• Additional comments about training or experience

• What do you feel are your strengths and weaknesses in the areas of your occupational experience as it pertains to the VMMissions position in which you are currently interested?

• As VMMissions works cross-culturally, both in the US and abroad, the ability to speak or write in other languages is an asset. Please list what language(s) you speak, read or write, and how well.

• In both the office and in US and international placements, VMMissions employees and appointees frequently interact with persons from other cultures. Describe the times and places you have worked closely with people of a culture or ethnic background different from your own.

CHURCH and CHRISTIAN LIFE

VMMissions is a religious employer. As such, we seek the following information regarding your Christian commitment and church life. Additionally, all applicants are required to sign the Lifestyle Covenant below if they wish to be considered for employment or appointment.

1. How long have you been a Christian?

2. Of what church are you a member?

   Denomination

   Pastor’s name

   Phone

3. What church do you currently attend (if different from above)?

   Pastor’s name

   Phone

4. Describe your involvements in your local congregation.

5. Evaluate your ability to work closely and harmoniously with other people, especially as part of a team.

6. What does Christ and the Christian faith mean to you? Please share significant factors in your development as a Christian, how you relate your faith to everyday experiences, and your call to the position for which you are currently interested.

7. Please summarize your understanding of Jesus' call to peacemaking, nonviolence, and love for neighbor and even enemies. What is your personal response to that call?

APPOINTED WORKER SECTION

Complete this section if you are interested in an appointed worker position (that is, not an office staff position.)

• For what type of work do you feel best suited? You may wish to include things such as music, sports, working with children, etc.

• Length of term preferred?

  Indicate preference of geographical location, if any

• Please list any unresolved litigation (i.e. law suits) or financial obligations (e.g. student loans) you need to resolve prior to your time of service or that may negatively impact your ministry.

• If you are interested in applying with other Mennonite agencies, and would like us to share your file with them, please list the names of the agencies:

• If married, please comment on your marital relationship and unity regarding this assignment. If single, are you comfortable with singleness and how would it affect your assignment?

• Marital Status:

  Single
  Engaged	Date of wedding	Name of fiancé(e)
  Married	Date of marriage	Name of spouse
  Widowed	Date
  Separated	Date
  Divorced	Date finalized

• List names, birth dates of dependent children or other dependents

I acknowledge that I have read and accept the following VMMissions’ policies which are in place because of the demands of ministry, particularly in the first year:

• Single workers are cautioned against entering into a dating relationship or making decisions about engagement and marriage during their first term of service.

• Because VMMissions does not typically appoint only one spouse to an international setting, for international workers, marriage while on assignment will initiate a review of the assignment by VMMissions.

• Workers are cautioned against having children in the first year of an assignment or until intensive language learning, whichever last occurs, is completed.

• Newly married couples will normally be considered for service only after they have been married for at least one year.

• Persons experiencing major grief, such as due to the loss of an immediate family member or recent divorce are also encouraged to wait a year to apply.

• After an applicant has been accepted for placement, and as part of the process of discerning the timing, location and features of any placement, the worker will be asked to review the “Worker Background Assessment” and discuss it honestly with the applicable director. Disclosures pursuant to this document are not expected at the time of application; rather, we wish for all applicants to be aware that he or she will be asked about his or her background during the placement process.

LIFESTYLE COVENANT

Shared Beliefs and Values: Virginia Mennonite Missions embraces the teachings of the 1995 Confession of Faith in Mennonite Perspective. God is the creator of all that exists. The Bible is our fully inspired and trustworthy guide for who God is, what God is doing in the world, and how we can live as God's people. Scripture also exposes the sin that holds us and our world captive to the forces of evil. We can find salvation through Christ alone. Through the atoning and victorious work of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection we may be reconciled to God.

All who open themselves to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit can experience forgiveness, healing, new life, and a new community of peace and joy. As baptized believers, we proclaim and live out the good news of Jesus Christ in the midst of a broken world. We gather regularly to worship and celebrate, discern God's will, give and receive counsel, bear one another's burdens, and be sent into God’s mission in the world. We seek to be peacemakers and wise stewards of the resources God has given us. Though we often fall short of God’s plan, the church is the foretaste and instrument of God's reconciling activity in the world. We look forward to the day when Jesus Christ will return to make all things new.

Mission: VMMissions equips the church to share new life in Jesus Christ with neighbors near and far.

Vision: VMMissions envisions a Spirit-filled church of many cultures living out God’s kingdom in every sphere of life.

Personal Qualities: VMMissions believes that certain shared commitments are essential for participation in God’s mission. VMMissions seeks people who:

• Live daily under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the authority of Scripture.

• Participate in a local fellowship as available in the assigned place of service.

• Express faith in ways that help others to know God through Jesus Christ.

• Adapt to different cultural and social environments with sensitivity to local believers regarding appearance, conduct, values, and traditions.

• Nurture their own emotional, social, spiritual, and physical well being.

• Adopt a life-style consistent with the biblical teachings of respect for all life including peacemaking, non-violence, compassion, and stewardship of creation.

• Demonstrate willingness, as guests, to respect the host culture.

• Embrace sexual wholeness and reserve sexual activity for a marriage relationship between one male and one female and refrain from supporting other sexual activity or practice (premarital, extramarital, and homosexual).

• Practice self-control by refraining from pornography, substance abuse and other addictive behaviors.

• Recognize God’s presence in the global church as well as in individual caring communities.

• Are accountable to appropriate and designated supervision.

I recognize that as a representative of VMMissions, I am an ambassador. I represent Christ, the Christian church, the Mennonite sending community, and VMMissions to everyone I meet. By signing below, I acknowledge that I have read, affirm, and commit to this rule of life while serving in this capacity.

AUTHORIZATION FOR RELEASE OF REFERENCES

I authorize the Virginia Mennonite Missions (VMMissions) to inquire about the information provided in this application, my work history and qualifications, and any other information that VMMissions considers relevant. This information may include, but is not limited to, my general character, Christian commitment and family relationships.

I authorize VMMissions to provide information that is considered relevant to persons with whom I might work in the VMM assignment. I authorize any person or entity to provide the requested information to VMMissions and release VMMissions and any person which provides information, from all liability arising from making the inquiries, providing the information, or deciding about my employment as a result of the inquiries or information.

In the event that this becomes a joint appointment between VMMissions and another agency, I hereby give my consent to have my application and information shared with the partner agency.

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