FAQ
Here are some answers to the questions we get most often; if there is something we have not covered please feel free to contact us.

Qual è la vostra politica sulla privacy?
In applicazione del D.Lgs 196/03 (cd. Codice della Privacy), riguardante la tutela dei dati personali, informiamo che i dati personali comuni che ci verranno forniti compilando i vari campi dei moduli on-line saranno acquisiti e trattati da parte dell’Associazione Italian Ministries, con sede legale in Via Garibaldi, 1 – 40054 Budrio BO (Titolare del trattamento) con strumenti sia manuali che elettronici/informatici e/o telematici, con modalità tali da garantire la sicurezza e la riservatezza degli stessi e da ridurre al minimo i rischi di perdita, distruzione, trattamento non autorizzato o non consentito, in linea con le prescrizioni contenute nel D.Lgs. 196/03 e nelle ulteriori disposizioni in tema di privacy. I dati raccolti potranno essere utilizzati solo per far fronte alle esigenze organizzative del Congresso. L’interessato potrà in qualsiasi momento esercitare i diritti di cui all’Art. 7 del Codice della Privacy (es. aggiornamento/rettificazione, integrazione, opposizione al trattamento, blocco, ecc.) rivolgendosi a info@ialianministries.org.

What is IM?
As our “ethos” statement explains: SIM is a community of God’s people who delight to worship him and are passionate about the Gospel, seeking to fulfill the mission of Jesus Christ in the world.
More specifically, IM is an international mission organization with more than 4,000 workers serving in about 70 countries. SIM members serve God among many diverse people groups in Africa, Asia, and South America.
IM members are “international” themselves, representing more than 70 nationalities—including nations that in the past only received missionaries. They also serve in a wide variety of career fields. The IM family can use people of every ethnicity who have almost any skill imaginable!

What do the letters IM stand for?
SIM was begun in 1893 as the Soudan Interior Mission. As other groups working outside of Africa merged with SIM, the decision was made to keep the acronym (SIM) as our official name.

What do the letters GMI stand for?

What kinds of work do IM missionaries do?
IM is a general mission. We appreciate and work closely with specialized missions in Bible translation, radio outreach, community development, medicine, HIV and AIDS ministry, and aviation, but our distinctive is our church-focused vision. Many of our missionaries work as church planters in pioneer areas or in partnership with local churches in discipleship, evangelism, or theological education.

Do I need to raise financial support to serve with IM?
Yes. IM is a donor-supported, faith-based organization. Most of our missionaries build a team of partners who will pray for them and their ministries and undergird them financially.

How are IM’s missionaries supported?
IM is a faith mission. This means missionaries receive prayer and financial support from churches, friends, and others who believe in their ministry.

How much financial support will I need to raise?
Support levels can vary greatly depending on type of ministry, length of service, and location. Each support schedule is highly individualized so we work hard to develop a support schedule that will ensure you are equipped and enabled to pursue God’s calling upon your life.

What does IM believe?
Those who serve with IM are committed to the essential truths of biblical Christianity. See our statement of faith.

Do I have what it takes to be a missionary?
Being a missionary requires physical and emotional stamina and a resilient character. See a list of questions we’ll ask as you consider missionary service.

How do I apply to IM?
Let’s start by getting acquainted. See a step-by-step list of the process on our Application Process FAQ.

How does IM relate to other organizations?
IM relates to other organizations as described below:

Evangelical Bodies
The policy of the Mission is to maintain fellowship with other groups of like evangelical position, while maintaining our ability to function independently when necessary. The Mission seeks to preserve its interdenominational character in view of its responsibility to the evangelical community of which it is a part. The Mission recognizes each member’s Christian liberty to hold varying views within its established policy.

Non-evangelical Bodies
It may be necessary to relate to other groups (e.g. government or professional bodies) regarding common concerns. In no case does this involve organic union or mutual interdependence with non-evangelical bodies such as the World Council of Churches or its affiliates.

Sponsorship by Other Organizations
When entering a new country of service under the sponsorship of another organization, IM will seek to cooperate with that organization in every way, but will maintain the Mission’s autonomy and responsibility for its program within the Terms of Agreement with the sponsoring organization and its policy on Organizational Relationships.

IM and Local Churches
IM recognizes that church groups arising from its ministry are not the Mission’s but Christ’s. From the beginning, the Mission seeks to emphasize that a local church comes under the authority of Christ and not of a mission organization, and that the church, with the Lord’s enabling, should be self-reliant and not dependent on resources from other organizations.

All IM policy and principles of relationship are detailed in the IM Manual “Note Interne” which is available for review upon request.

What has God accomplished through IM in more than 20 years?
God’s main work is invisible, within human hearts. SIM has, however, been involved in:

• planting thousands of churches serving millions of believers and seekers
• over 60 hospitals and community health ministries
• around 90 institutions for training Christian leaders
• 33 Bible translations
• distributing millions of books for Christian workers around the world
• providing sources of safe water for more than a quarter million people
• innovative HIV and AIDS ministries in Africa and Asia
• dozens of Christian radio ministries (20 in Benin alone)
• encouraging and facilitating new mission agencies in former mission fields

FAQ
Here are some answers to the questions we get most often; if there is something we have not covered please feel free to contact us.

What Does IM Do?
Our ministries in over 100 countries and onboard our ship, Logos Hope, focus on:

EVANGELISM, CHURCH PLANTING, RELIEF & DEVELOPMENT,JUSTICE, MENTORING & DISCIPLESHIP

Why IM?
Our founder, Bob Evans, chose the name Greater Europe Mission (affectionately “GEM”) in 1952 because he had a vision to someday have missionaries serving in northern and eastern Europe, as well as in North Africa. Today, this means that we consider many nations including Nordic countries like Iceland and Sweden, Eastern European countries like Russia and Ukraine, and Eurasian countries like Georgia and Azerbaijan, to be part of “Greater” Europe. Learn more on our “About” page:

About GEM

How do I give to a GEM field worker?
All the details are available on our donation page: Donate
You may also call us at +1.800.436.4488, option 2 with any specific question you may have.

How many missionaries do you have?
IM has more than 310 missionaries living in 23 countries in Europe, Eurasia, and North Africa and ministering in another 10 countries.

In what types of ministries are IM workers involved?
IM’s mission is to reach Europe through multiplying disciples and growing Christ’s Church. Regardless of a missionary’s specific gifting and ministry assignment (which could range from business to the arts to church-planting), each missionary is held accountable for sharing their personal faith and the Gospel in a way that is simple and reproducible.

Our goal is to see churches planted throughout Europe and North Africa. This happens through a seamless evangelism, discipleship, and church-planting process. GEM appointees are trained in and practice these principles before departing for the field.

What is the typical age for a GEM missionary or appointee?
There is no typical age! Please see the case studies below to meet the many faces of GEM:

• A college intern who spent a summer serving in Sweden
• A couple in their early 20’s appointed to church-planting in France
• A family appointed to serve in Scotland with 3 kids under the age of 4
• A church-planting family in Germany with 3 kids aged 8-13
• A single woman mobilizing prayer in the Republic of Georgia
• A couple with grandchildren beginning their second career in Italy

What are the lengths of service available with GEM?
We offer service lengths for each of the time commitments below (click for opportunities):

• Short-Term Teams (up to 4 weeks)
• Internships – Summer, Semester and Gap Year (2-11 months)
• Mid-Term (2-3 years) and

Long-Term (3+ years) deployments

What is the next step in serving with GEM overseas?
If you feel that God might be calling you to serve Him in Europe or North Africa with GEM, please fill out an inquiry form below:

What are the steps to the field and the application process?

1. First Step call with GEM
2. Conversation with field personnel
3. Application (on-line)
4. References (Pastor/Employer/Co-worker/Personal)
5. Biblical/Theological understanding
6. Psychological profile
7. Invitation to Candidate Orientation
8. Candidate Orientation at IHQ (offered 3 times/year for one week)

These steps can take 2-3 months before an invitation to Candidate Orientation.

When is Candidate Orientation, and what other details do I need to know about it?
Candidate Orientation for our full-time Mid- and Long-Term Missionary Candidates is held at our international headquarters in scenic Colorado Springs, Colorado near many national landmarks like Pike’s Peak and the US Air Force Academy.

This training is typically held three times yearly during the months of February, June, and October.
For those with children, because of the focused environment, children are generally not invited to attend, so please plan to arrange for childcare at home while you are away for 7 days.

What kind of support do you provide for your people, both prior to depature and on the field?
By joining GEM, you are joining a family who will surround and support you. We desire to provide leadership and care at all levels.
Our Member Care department, both here and on the ground in Europe, is staffed with trained counselors who work with our office staff to evaluate incoming candidates based on their individual circumstances and needs. In this we aim to ensure the success of each candidate on the field. Once a candidate is appointed, he or she is assigned a mentor who walks through the support-raising and preparation process leaving for the field.

Once on the field, we offer a variety of conferences, retreats, and time spent with Member Care to ensure your success. Additionally, we have an internal website where we share prayer requests and pray for each other.

To ensure the educational success of your children, we partner with SHARE Education Services. They work with each GEM family to evaluate education options. Learn more at:www.shareeducation.org

Additionally, our GEM-K’s (our missionary kids who are of high school and college age) have their own retreats twice a year. They also receive personal mentoring throughout the year through Member Care, both while on the field and in North America.

Do I need to know the language before I go?
No, you are not required to learn the local language before departing for the field. The beginning of your time on the field will be primarily spent learning the language, whether it is through a formal language school, private tutoring, or other avenues.

Do I need to raise financial support to serve with GEM?
Yes. IM is a donor-supported, faith-based organization. Most of our missionaries build a team of partners who will pray for them and their ministries and undergird them financially.

How much financial support will I need to raise?
Support levels can vary greatly depending on type of ministry, length of service, and location. Each support schedule is highly individualized so we work hard to develop a support schedule that will ensure you are equipped and enabled to pursue God’s calling upon your life.

Will you help me raise my financial support?
Yes! We partner with Tailored Fundraising Solutions to help you throughout your support-raising process. We also have full-time staff at GEM who are dedicated to helping our appointees raise their support.

What is GEM’s policy regarding debt?
GEM accepts and appoints candidates who are in small amounts of debt. However, with the exception of student loans, it is best if your debts are paid before departing for the field. In some situations, appointees are allowed to raise extra support to continue paying off student loans.

What is gem’s response to the refugee opportunity?
The refugee situation in Europe is not something that suddenly happened in the past few months. People have been migrating to Europe for many years. Admittedly, it has accelerated in the past months, and with the Syrian crisis getting worse, media attention really started to focus on it late this summer. But this movement of peoples into Europe is something that has been happening for years and will continue for months and years to come. The face of Europe is changing.

While many of our missionaries and staff have been engaging individually with migrants, and now in the refugee situation across Europe, GEM sees an opportunity to respond as an entire organization. God is giving us an opportunity to meet physical needs and spiritual needs for folks that are in difficult times of transition.