THOSE WHO ARE CALLED OF God to serve the world as a missionary find that the spiritual high point of their dedication is allowed by a number of very practical matters.

Logically, the first question will be, "should I apply to a Mission Agency for assistance (vital information, bookkeeping, checking accounts, help in securing visas, etc. ), or can my local church take care of my needs? How do I go about becoming a missionary applicant, If I decide to apply? Where shall I apply? What can I expect, when I do apply?"

We must be sure that you understand EMI's viewpoint in order that we may properly answer your questions. We are Independent Baptist , and as such, attract people who come from New Testament Independent Baptist Churches where the same basic issues of Doctrine, policy, and procedures are recognized and held. Applicants coming to EMI must realize that we have the settled purpose of evangelizing the lost of the world an organizing the converts into indigenous, Bible believing New Testament Independent Baptist Churches.

You should apply to a Mission Agency with your eyes open and your hearts attentive. Your affiliation with the organization which will help you go to the field will, more than likely, be a lifetime relationship. You owe it to your home church, your Mission Agency, and to yourself to be absolutely sure that you are in the right place.

You must be commissioned by your sending church as a missionary. Additionally, EMI will hold a special service at the Annual Candidate School in which the Missionaries affiliation with EMI will be publicly affirmed.

Be absolutely sure that the Mission Agency to which you apply is God's choice. Haste is no virtue in the weighty decision that is involved in this phase of your service for our Lord.

Effective missionary service involves the complete putting aside of personal plans and ambitions. It requires a life that is absolutely yielded to God and to His will. It may mean danger, suffering, sorrow, sickness, loneliness, and will expose you to many testing. It demands the ability to cooperate sympathetically with others.

Above all, it is based on a real energizing love for the souls of those who are lost.

To what extent do you believer that you qualify? You must be a genuinely converted person, of a clean wholesome spiritual life, witnessing to the lost, having a sincere love for souls. You must be a Baptist by conviction, must hold membership in a New Testament Baptist Church, accept Baptist (New Testament) policy, and also, be familiar with Baptist history and directives. You must have a clear conviction about the call of God to the mission field and the call to a particular people. Should the door to the field to which you feel called of the Lord be closed for any reason, you should be willing to look to the Lord for further direction. You should be thoroughly acquainted with the field, the climate, the people, their history, and their spiritual needs. Each applicant must give satisfactory evidence of physical fitness, mental aptitude, and social compatibility. EMI requires that each applicant have at least a Graduate of Theology Degree. However, in some cases professional or technical training may be substituted for College. Some who do not meet these standards but who have pastoral or other experience in Christian leadership, being well versed in the Scriptures, may be qualified for certain types of mission work. Each applicant is considered on their own merits.