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Your Questions

Whether you’re exploring a call, preparing to go, or simply want to know more, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve answered common questions about serving with SIM.

What does SIM believe?

SIM is a Christian evangelical, non-denominational mission agency. We are united by our absolute trust in the Bible as God’s living word and by our desire to make disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ in communities where He is least known. You can read our Purpose, Mission and Vision and our Statement of Faith here.

What do SIM mission workers do?

SIM engages in many types of ministries around the world, all of which are focused on making disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ in communities where He is least known. Our ministries cover four main areas: disciple-making and church planting; outreach; serving and equipping the local church; and leadership and services. To get a broader idea of what our workers do, look at our location pages or search our opportunities. All of our work is done in partnership with the local church, where that exists.

Where does SIM work?

SIM is an international mission organisation with thousands of workers serving in more than 70 countries. Many of those countries have little or no gospel witness.

How are SIM mission workers supported?

SIM workers raise prayer and financial support from churches, donors, supporters and friends and family. This team of supporters and prayer partners surrounds each mission worker. Our sending offices work with individual workers to set their budgets and help equip them to raise and maintain their prayer and financial support.

Who can work for SIM?

In short, anyone who shares our desire to make disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ in communities where he is least known and is part of a local church. Our workers come from a wide variety of denominational, socio-economic and experience backgrounds. SIM members are multi-ethnic and come from more than 70 countries. They also serve in a wide variety of ministries. The SIM family can use people of every country who have almost any skill imaginable!

How does SIM relate to other organisations?

We partner with many organisations and institutions around the world. This includes churches, denominations, educational and health establishments, NGOs, governments and more besides. A key component of any partnership we enter into is that we will not compromise our desire to share the gospel with communities who do not know Jesus.

What do the letters 'SIM' stand for?

They now stand for Serving In Mission, but first stood for Sudan Interior Mission. That was because SIM started in what was then known as the Sudan. That was in 1893, when three young men in their 20s pursued their vision to evangelise the 60 million people of sub-Saharan Africa (then known as the Sudan) who were living and dying without Christ. Unable to interest established missions—most of which said reaching the Sudan was impossible—the three set out alone, forming the Sudan Interior Mission.

How do I apply to SIM?

You would normally apply through the nearest SIM office to you. Contact us at the link below to find out where that is and how we can help you. We would love to talk with you about opportunities to serve with SIM.

Questions as you explore mission work and prepare your next steps

How do you care for your mission workers?

Caring for our mission workers is very important to us. We spend time training our mission workers before they go serve, preparing them for challenges ahead. We encourage them to build a network and care team among their church and supporters. We offer ongoing training and support online when they’re in country (including for personal development, conflict resolution training, trauma healing training and more). And most importantly, we have networks of people in place to help care for them while they serve. Our sending offices have care teams who can help provide care and debrief with workers as they experience challenges. Our international team also has a team of chaplains and counsellors available to care for individuals, couples, and families upon request.

How are children of mission workers cared for?

We are passionate about the children of mission workers (often referred to as TCKs- third culture kids). When mission workers are discussing the right ministry placement for their family, we include the children’s needs and education in our considerations of where they should serve. We have strong child safety training and protocols in place to help protect them. Care and counselling is available for them as needed as well.

What kind of support and training do you provide for my fundraising journey?

God has been providing for those serving in ministry since the days of the Levites, Paul, and even Jesus! We provide training to understand God’s provision and how to invite others to participate in what God is doing. Each of our sending offices gives training that fits the context where our mission workers come from. We recognise that what works in some contexts may be very different in other contexts. We praise God that He continues to invite the Church to participate in generously supporting the work He is calling us to do and we see Him actively providing for workers from everywhere including Africa, Latin America, Asia and even the Middle East!

How can our church partner with SIM?

Ultimately, SIM does not send mission workers, the Church sends mission workers and we help train and care for them and facilitate opportunities for mission workers to join us in making disciples where Christ is least known. Therefore, the Church is integral in all we do. We invite you and your church to begin praying for breakthroughs in specific communities where Christ is not yet known and asking Him to show you your next steps in supporting mission work and sending mission workers into His harvest field.

We invite you to check out our page for churches here.

We're here to help, so please ask us

Purpose, Mission and Vision

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