Becoming a Missionary

LBTC is seeking Lutherans

To serve overseas through the ministry of Bible translation and Scripture Engagement. If you feel that God may be leading you towards missions, LBTC may have a place for you.

In order to be considered for full-time missionary service with LBTC, you must be a United States or Canadian citizen or permanent resident, be a member in good standing of a Lutheran church, be in full agreement with our doctrinal statement, and hold a Bachelor’s degree in any field.

Make sure you are qualified

What does it take to be an LBTC missionary? There are a few qualifications that every individual must meet in order to be considered for missionary service with LBTC:

Be a member in good standing of a Lutheran Church
Be in full agreement with our doctrinal position
Be a United States or Canadian citizen
Hold a Bachelor’s degree in any field
Have a desire to serve the Lord in overseas ministry

Consider this list of majors and courses

Here is a list of helpful majors and courses you can take during or after college. Please note this is not intended to be a complete list of helpful courses and majors, but rather a starting point.

Anthropology
Biblical Studies
Bible Translation
Education Foreign Language
Linguistics
Literacy
Missiology/Missions
Pre-Seminary Courses
Intro to Anthropology
Applied Missiology
Applied Linguistics
Cultural Anthropology
Language Acquisition
Intro to Linguistics
Greek
Hebrew
French (depending on area of assignment)
Spanish (depending on area of assignment)
Pedagogical Theory
Old Testament Survey
New Testament Survey
Lutheran Doctrine
Theology Missions
Cross-cultural internships

The application process: becoming a missionary with LBT

By this point, you should have a really good idea if your interests and skills fit with LBT. But even more importantly, by now you should feel a strong green light in your heart that this is how God is leading you. If you don’t feel him leading you to LBTC, then go where he is leading. Now you are ready to apply! LBTC will supply you with the application form and a list of information that they need from you. You’ll go through a screening process, including interviews. Applications from successful candidates will be given to the Board of Advisors, who will vote on whether or not to accept your application

Begin pre-field partnership development

What is Partnership Development? During this period of six months to a year, a new missionary’s primary responsibility is identifying churches, schools, mission groups, and individuals to partner with him or her in prayer and financial support. LBTC missionaries have a significant role in educating the Lutheran community about the importance of the ministry of Bible translation, literacy, and Scripture use. They provide learning opportunities by:

speaking in church services
visiting with individuals
small group presentations (Bible studies, men’s and women’s groups)
speaking with Sunday and day schools
writing prayer letters

Through these contacts, relationships are formed and a group of prayer and financial partners is identified for each missionary team. LBTC provides assistance in contacting churches and in preparing presentations and displays. LBTC pays the travel costs connected with speaking events. LBTC operates on a pooled income basis. Each year, missionaries are given a financial goal to support the income pool. Some missionaries routinely exceed this goal, others occasionally fall short. With the pooled income plan, no one missionary or program suffers due to lack of funding.

Complete required training for language program assignments.

Like any other job or career, there is training involved to prepare missionaries for what they will encounter overseas and to enable them to fulfill their duties. Lutheran Bible Translators of Canada recommends the Canada Institute of Linguistics (CANIL) in Langley BC to provide the bulk of that training. All LBTC missionaries involved in language programs are required to complete the Certificate of Applied Linguistics program at CANIL or its equivalent. Please contact the Home Office with any questions.

Complete advanced training.

Different assignments have additional specific training requirements. This advanced training usually takes 5-6 months and will vary depending on your chosen missionary track. The descriptions below give some basic details regarding the advanced training required for each position. All long-term missionaries who serve overseas with LBTC will be required to earn their Certificate of Applied Linguistics or its equivalent before going to the field, regardless of their position.

Bible Translation Advisor

Some of the required courses for advanced training in Bible Translation can be found here:

Literacy/Scripture Engagement Specialist

Some of the required courses for advanced training in Bible Translation can be found on CANIL’s website or on the Trinity Western University website

Vernacular Media Specialist

No online advanced training information is available at this time. If you have any questions please contact Karen with the contact us form.

Missionary Children’s Tutor

Depending on the length of assignment, a Missionary Children’s Tutor may not need to complete the entire Certificate of Applied Linguistics. Only portions of the Certificate may be needed. However, it is necessary for each tutor to be a certified teacher, and it is preferable but not necessary that they have some experience.

Overseas Volunteers

Overseas volunteers are workers who have acquired specific expertise often needed by LBTC. They may not be able to commit to long term mission work or may not have linguistics skills that are needed to become a staff missionary. However they are able to offer specialized talents to LBTC perhaps on a short term basis. Their assignment can be brief like 2-4 weeks or longer like 2-3 years depending on the task which they perform and the time commitment they accommodate. Overseas volunteers are not employees (staff) of LBTC but LBTC helps them raise necessary funding to support themselves while overseas; prepares them for the mission field; and acts as a liaison when associate organizations are involved in their assignments. LBTC matches a volunteer’s skills with positions available overseas. For example, sometimes LBTC missionaries lack skills to accomplish a very specific task that is not directly related to their LBTC translation assignment but critical nonetheless to managing their home, family or workplace. Overseas volunteers are matched then to a missionary. This process may take a bit of time. LBTC matches a volunteer’s skills with positions available overseas. For example, sometimes LBTC missionaries lack skills to accomplish a very specific task that is not directly related to their LBTC translation assignment but critical nonetheless to managing their home, family or workplace. Overseas volunteers are matched then to a missionary. This process may take a bit of time.

How Can You Be Involved as an Overseas Volunteer?

Teaching/tutoring
House parents/hospitality
Computer programmers and technicians
Maintenance and construction including specialists in alternative electrical generating systems
Bookkeepers, receptionists and general office staff
Printing

Board of Directors and Voting Membership

Voting Membership Requirements.

You have attained the age of 18 years
be a member in good standing of a Lutheran congregation
agree with the statement of objectives and the doctrinal position of LBTC
have signed and submitted the application for voting membership

Board of Directors Requirements

be a member in good standing of a Lutheran congregation
be a member in good standing of LBTC (see above)
be eligible for election to the LBTC Board of Directors

Other Volunteers in Canada

LBTC is blessed to have the faithful support of a dedicated group of volunteers. Local Kitchener volunteers assist with many of the tasks in the office. Some help with mailings of The Messenger newsmagazine and other mailings. Others volunteer to deliver correspondance.

Congregational volunteers also provide a vital link between your congregation and LBTC. Working with their pastors, they receive and distribute various LBTC publications to their congregational members and place notices in the church bulletin on occasion. Many volunteers represent LBTC at area mission events.

The work of LBTC would be impossible without the help of voluteers and are a integral part of LBTC’s ministry. We thank God for each of them. Becoming a volunteer partner with LBTC is simple. Consider the ways you can help and contact the LBTC Home Office today.

Financial Supporters

Prayer is central in the life of all LBTC missionaries and staff wherever they work. It is the
most powerful weapon Christians have been given to battle with and defeat Satan who would
prevent our important work.

Some 500 persons from various churches have offered to pray for all aspects of LBTC’s mission.
We welcome new prayer partners to join us any time. Here are the ways in which our Prayer
Partners are involved:

Prayer Calendar: intended for daily use during personal devotions. Calendars are mailed every other month, and contain prayer requests for all LBT/C staff worldwide, with an emphasis on Canadian workers.
Urgent Prayer Request Chain: LBTC field missionaries, on occasion, request urgent prayer support and the office staff in Canada are dedicated to informing those of such a prayer request immediately following the request. Urgent prayers are often related to political upheaval or health concerns. LBTC has an email group of prayer partners dedicated to these urgent prayer requests.