Frequently asked questions about serving As a missionary through Christian Health Service Corps

Frequently asked questions about serving As a missionary through Christian Health Service Corps

What are your organization s thoughts on medical missions? We believe: All people of the world have a God given right to pursue physical, emotional, and spiritual health. Healthcare missions exist to facilitate and encourage that pursuit. Protection and promotion of human dignity is a priority in all healthcare missions and in all circumstances. This applies to both patients treated and the local healthcare workers. Healthcare missions should facilitate permanence and continuity of health services, not perpetuate fragmentation. We believe compassionate medical and surgical care is not restricted by denomination. As such, we accept applications for service from all Protestant denominations, Catholic, Messianic, and Orthodox Christian believers. We have service opportunities at both Protestant and Catholic hospitals, clinics, and health programs. However, we believe strongly in the literal interpretation of the bible and it is from cover to cover the divinely inspired word of God. We believe it is incumbent on any missionary to live in aspiration of applying the word of God to their everyday lives. Are you willing to take on long-term medical/healthcare missionaries? Yes, The Christian Healthcare Service Corps is an independent missionary sending agency. We exist because the traditional senders are not always a good fit for physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals. Most have only a few hospital or health program affiliations which may or may not have needs and often have denominational boundaries that can be difficult to cross. If you are accepted for service, we will send you to any facility that has needs based on your calling; you can also come to us with a program in mind. We also accept applications from Christian physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals already serving in developing communities. Both local healthcare professionals and foreign missionaries are welcome to apply. Are you willing to take on short-term medical volunteers for hospitals and health programs? Yes, although our purpose is to be a long term missionary sending program many programs have needs for short term volunteers. Specialty and surgical providers are always needed. There is also always a place for any healthcare or allied health professional looking to serve short term at a facility to see if God may be calling them full time. Third and fourth year Christian medical students seeking placement for global health electives are also welcome. Is your organization interested in setting up a program that will facilitate the sending of missionaries who wish to serve with PAACS or similar residency programs?

We have a heart to place surgeons in for both short and long term teaching assignment where you can work alongside local physicians as they endeavor to improve their skills. These placement options are at both formal residencies and hospitals with local surgical staff looking for opportunities to upgrade their skills through hosting highly trained visiting staff. The surgical residencies in developing countries are always in need of visiting faculty with humble servant hearts to share knowledge and expertise. Are you able to secund to other mission organizations? Do you have any history in secunding to AIM, SIM, WGM, Church of the Nazarene, ABWE, NAB, etc? Yes, most mission sending programs have only a few affiliated hospitals or health programs. Because we send healthcare professionals to most mission facilities we often partner with mission organizations that directly administer and operate healthcare facilities. These partnerships allow us to provide healthcare professionals looking at missionary service a much greater spectrum of facility and program choices. They rarely have significant affects on the missionary s service. What oversight process or requirements do you have on physicians special projects i.e. housing for residents, money to provide hip replacements to patients, poor fund, etc at these other organization s institutions? The founders of CHS have done successful grant writing in the past. We hope as the organization matures and demonstrates effective stewardship we can increase programmatic support and grant writing for missionary programs. Within such projects reporting, monitoring and evaluation criteria are usually spelled out specifically. What is your organization s doctrinal statement? We are an interdenominational Christian organization that holds the Apostle s Creed as our statement of faith. What are your pre-deployment requirements? Orientation, cross cultural studies, Bible, language, etc? What preparation, if any, does your organization help arrange for missionary candidates before they go overseas? We have a 9 module online healthcare mission CME/CEU training program that is our step one requirement to serve with us, short or long term. https://canvas.instructure.com/courses/30347 Step two is our online Perspectives for Healthcare Missions which is a requirement for long term healthcare. We also require church/ pastoral involvement in the long term sending process. We at least require some level of commissioning by their home church and congregation.

Step Three Field Preparation Many field preparation courses are available and most fulfill their mission of preparing you for issues on field service. However, most of these programs are expensive and vary in length from one week to three months. Each missionary family needs to weigh the benefits and cost of such pre-service training. The Christian Health Service will be providing a one week course starting in 2012 covering the essential aspect of field preparation such as conflict resolution, cultural transition, at a fraction of the cost of other conventional programs. The CMDA also offers one weekend preparation courses a few time per year that are available to Christian Health Service missionaries. Some receiving facilities and partnering agencies have specific training requirements candidates must also complete. What is your policy about setting the amount of funding a missionary needs to raise prior to service where they feel called? Budget and funding needs are worked out in partnership with the receiving facility, missionary and CHS leadership. Healthcare missionaries are professionals and some choose to self-fund for long term. Some also return to their home countries for locum contracts once per year. We do not advocate these funding models but respect these as options for licensed professional missionary staff. How much does your organization ask a missionary to contribute towards your organization's expenses? If so, what amount or percentage? At present, we are engaged fundraising projects that are directed toward meeting the organizational needs. We are also an all volunteer program so in this phase of our organizational development we do not need to keep any percentage of funds. Missionaries are required to pay all accounting and fund transfer costs associated with managing their funds. All newsletter printing, support cards and support raising costs are the responsibility of the missionary. Is your organization able to set up and track more than one account for each missionary? (For example, one for their support, one for donations to their work, etc.) Yes Some physicians and nurses are currently raising funds with their home church or other short term organization, could these funds be rolled over to a CHS support account?

We will process and receipt those funds if necessary at no charge. CHS does not take any portion of missionary support at present but all associated transfer and accounting fees would be the missionary responsibility. Our CPA is paid from missionary accounts for monthly auditing at a rate of $30 per hour and each missionary. These monthly audits run between 30 and 90 minutes depending on the number of missionary donors. Please describe your services to donors on behalf of the missionaries. The Christian Health Service has one paid staff member who is a CPA that assists manages missionary funds. CHS receipts all donors and maintains a database of each missionary s donors. Postage for receipting is paid for from missionaries support account and missionaries can choose for receipts to go out monthly, or quarterly. Email receipting is also available for donors we have emails for and for which the missionaries choose. What are the ways in which you facilitate a missionary's access to his funds? This is dependent on location of service, we will transfer funds to their account or make deposits in their US account which they can then transfer. Our services include logging donations, track donors, send receipts, make deposits and send monthly statements are provided to all missionary staff. Are you a Project MedSend sending agency-partner (www.medsend.org an organization which repays student loans of physicians)? We have not done so as of yet but we have met with med-send and hope join this coming year. There is a $5,000 donation requirement which we expect to raise in 2012. Candidates planning to start service in late 2012 or 2013 should be able to receive medsend student loan funding as a CHS missionary. Does your organization have an agreement with a health provider for your missionaries to use? Which one? If possible, please provide a description of the services provided, costs and copayments. We have a few companies we recommend but we do not provide these services. Do you have a life insurance plan available? Please provide particulars. We have a few companies we recommend but we do not provide these services. Do you have a retirement plan available? Please provide particulars. Missionaries who serve through CHS are considered independent contractors by IRS standards; as such, retirement accounts are an individual missionary responsibility.

What kind of support services to you provide for missionaries who are in emotional or physical trouble? We assure missionaries have emergency travel fund in place prior to beginning their service. Medical evacuation and international health insurance are also a service prerequisite. The CHS missionary liaison program makes sure missionaries have a point person for emotional support and accountability. The liaison is available 24/7 for each missionary serving. Decisions can be made with partnering organizations and missionary staff if there is a need for furlough or rotation home. Do you have procedures and policies for a missionary who is behaving inappropriately, immorally, or who has a pattern of dealing poorly with conflict, or who is accused by a national or by another missionary of unacceptable behavior? We all wish we could say that moral failure on the mission field is very rare, unfortunately it happens with greater frequency than anyone would like. In most circumstances we would support the receiving facility recommendation. These decisions are case by case instances which are made with partnering facilities and organizations based on the validity and severity of the accusation. This must be a responsibility share between sending, receiving and placement organizations and facilities. What is your policy for a missionary who is kidnapped and held hostage? We do not pay ransom or negotiate with terrorists, however we cannot prohibit families from such negotiations and payments. We are to a large extent an independent missionary sending agency, we can offer only prayer in these circumstances. In the event of emergency, crisis or trauma we work with the sending church and the missionary s medical evacuation insurance company to facilitates evacuation. Do you provide services for the mailing of missionary newsletters (print and/or electronic)? Please describe. We provide access to constant contact, and will work with missionary advocacy team to assist in any way possible. CHS will print and mail newsletters designed by the missionary however postage and printing charges are the responsibility of the missionary. We are looking at the possibility of doing one joint publication each year; the organization will cover the cost of this project if we are able to put it together. What is your home assignment policy? One year for every three years of service? For every four years? Flexible?

We are an independent missionary sending agency as such we can set no assignment policies. We cannot and do not set leave policy, although missionaries are expected to coordinate leave time with their receiving facility. We respect healthcare providers as professionals able to discern their need for leave and support rising. What is your policy about missionaries taking more than a month's vacation in the homeland per year (not counting home assignment)? We are an independent missionary sending agency as such we can set no assignment policies. We cannot, and do not set leave policy, although missionaries are expected to coordinate leave time with their receiving facility. We respect healthcare providers as professionals able to discern their need for leave and support rising. When home on furlough (home assignment), do you have a requisite or voluntary debriefing program. What requirements do you have for them on furlough? We are an independent missionary sending agency as such we set no assignment policies. We cannot and do not set leave policy, although missionaries must coordinate leave time with their receiving facility. We respect healthcare providers as professionals able to discern their need for leave and support rising. We have staff that have Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) training if needed. Do you have a member care program? Do you make periodic field visits? What requirements of participation do you have of the missionary on the field? Please describe all particulars. Each missionary we send has a missionary liaison either through CHS or their home church. Men have a man assigned to them and women a women assigned to them. This person is available 24 /7 to counsel or just lend a listening ear for problems arising on the field. They have spent time as supported missionaries and have lived through the transition to field life. We are also working on a chaplaincy program.