New England Mission Resources

Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM)

History of United Methodist Volunteers-in-Mission (UMVIM)
The United Methodist Volunteers In Mission movement arose spontaneously out of the local church, as United Methodists felt called to express their faith through hands-on mission. As time went on, conferences and jurisdictions organized to recruit, support, and coordinate projects for those wanting to make a loving difference in the world. The General Conference of 1980 officially sanctioned United Methodist Volunteers In Mission and directed the General Board of Global Ministries to “affirm Volunteers In Mission as an authentic form of personal missionary involvement and devise appropriate structure to interpret and implement opportunities for mission volunteers in the global community.” (¶ 1302.14, Book of Discipline 2004).

Christian Love in Action
Purpose of Volunteers in Mission
The 1996 General Conference established the Mission Volunteers Program Area (of which UMVIM is a part) within the General Board of Global Ministries, with instructions to enable the participation of Methodists throughout the world in global mission volunteer programs so that affirming, empowering, and trusting relationships would be established. The strength of this movement gains momentum day by day as the worldwide church prepares to send and receive those who want to make the love of God visible, meaningful, supportive, and redemptive.
 
The UMVIM motto, “Christian Love in Action,” is taken from 1 John 3:18, in which Christians are asked to love “not in word or speech, but in truth and action.” Living our faith is at the very heart of our Christian calling and reflects the purpose that has grown out of our understanding of who we are and what we want to be: those who express “Christian Love in Action.”
Support for Volunteers in Mission
The vitality of the UMVIM movement is attested to throughout The United Methodist Church. It was supported through the 2004 General Conference action leading to ¶247.12 in The Book of Discipline which requires the charge conference to receive annual reports on all UMVIM teams, forwarding the report to the annual conference and the general church. Additional 2004 General Conference actions ruled that each annual conference may set aside a Sunday to be declared Volunteers In Mission Awareness Day; that each local church provide for a celebration of the UMVIM movement; and that local churches draw upon resources of the Conference UMVIM Committee to help make the day memorable, one of “Christian Love in Action.” (1 John 3:18). The 2006 New England Annual Conference supported a resolution in support of the General Conference action that states: “That a Sunday of the local churches choosing (3rd Sunday in September is recommended) be set aside and declared Volunteer In Missions Awareness Day.”
 
UMVIM participants testify to lives transformed and congregations renewed as they become involved in this kind of mission outreach. New relationships are developed with persons from other cultures, and traditional walls of division are torn away as we risk involvement in response to God’s call to Christian mission.
Contacts:
New England Conference UMVIM Coordinator
David A. Stackpole (Dave)
72 Meadow Drive
Hollis, NH 03049-6230
(603) 465-7885, Cell: (603) 244-0713
 
Also find the UMVIM Coordinator in your District:
NHD – Howard & Joan McGlauflin jmhm@roadrunner.com
CWM –  soon to be named; contact Dave Stackpole
TRI – Pat Moore patti1089@aol.com
NME – soon to be named; contact Dave Stackpole
MBH – soon to be named; contact Dave Stackpole
MME – Susan Baker SBak@maine.edu
RIM – Skip & Mary Ann Danforth KiteSky@comcast.net
CMA – Calvin Carpenter pastorcarpenter@verizon.net