Hey, Want to Help? 

It was on a Saturday in early January here in West Michigan, the time when snow and ice render life miserable outside and compel cold-hating men like me to work on long-ignored honey-do lists inside their homes. I maneuvered the treacherous roads to a nearby hardware store to pick up a few items. There, in the parking lot, an older Asian gentleman was exerting all his efforts in pushing a cart through the stubborn, icy snow toward his parked car. Suddenly the cart flipped and, ironically, his heavy bags of salt were halfway buried in the icy snow. Before I could figure out exactly what had just happened, a younger man jumped out of a truck parked nearby with all the determination of a secret service agent protecting a U.S. President from danger. He rushed to the scene, set the cart upright, pushed it away from oncoming traffic, reloaded the cart, and lifted a bag on his shoulder. Then he escorted the older gentleman toward his vehicle and returned to pick up the other bags. By now, the older gentleman’s emotions were visibly oscillating between embarrassment and gratefulness.

Watching from afar in the middle of the slowly moving traffic, I thought, “I want to help, too.” By the time I could park my car, the Good Samaritan had completed his action of grace and disappeared into anonymity. I felt that I had lost an opportunity to be part of something grand. I entered the store thinking, “This is the thing that makes America great: that desire to help with a sense of duty.”

Upon returning home, I checked the news on the internet, as I often do, in order to know how much the world had changed in the last two hours or so. CNN.com was then featuring, in its revolving window, an article about the trend among professionals who had jettisoned their lucrative, powerful positions in order to serve in lower-level capacities that would gratify them with a sense of accomplishment and an opportunity to impact people and the world. I thought, “This reflects Christian values! That’s what mission is about. And that’s why our people are serving at and through Bibles International.” That thought was not an earth-shattering discovery but an impressive reminder. What was new, however, was this: “What about extending the same opportunity to professionals in the Christian world whereby they could volunteer their expertise to organizations such as BI?!”

Bibles International has relied on volunteers since its inception. The longest serving members of BI are volunteers, some of whom started in the early ‘80’s. A volunteer is responsible for the BI library; volunteers do most of our mailings; and volunteers remodeled the BI building. The professional architect/engineer, the professional designer, the construction workers, all were volunteers! From representation of BI to banquets, landscaping, and more, volunteers make these things happen!

Many volunteer opportunities at BI do not require trained professionals, but some do. In that vein, I would like to introduce the specialized volunteer program. Looking at the help BI needs in finance, office management, information technology, text formatting, stewardship representation, maintenance, audio/visual production and projects coordination, my existing team and I feel as limited as the older gentleman whose cart flipped in the icy snow. Churches would not generally support missionaries to do those types of valuable ministries. Even if they did, missionary funds are scarce for the moment. On the other hand, BI is using its meager resources to directly fund the production and printing of Scripture and related materials, leaving little for staff hiring.

The specialized volunteer program might be the answer. Let us say the younger gentleman in our story above were a prospective specialized volunteer. He would contact BI to signify his intention. BI would submit an application to him and conduct a work interview with him. He would agree to adhere to our statement of faith, promise obedience to our policies, negotiate the terms of work (schedule, work expenses, and possible stipend), sign a statement of commitment, and then engage in the work.

Since the program is for specialized volunteers, BI wishes to enlist those who are professionals in the area of their prospective volunteer work. For example, in remodeling the BI building, the volunteer architect/engineer had worked in the same capacity for about 20 years at a bank; the interior designer owned a business in that field; and the heads of projects (framing, drywall, plumbing, electrical works, etc) were either contractors in their own rights or licensed in the field in which they volunteered.

Perhaps you are a retired, Christian professional seeking an opportunity to serve. Or maybe you are a professional working part time who would like to invest your experience and time in a worthwhile ministry. Hey, want to help at BI?