Understanding & Experience with Field & Leadership

Goal: Reliant standards for US staff give a green light when the applicant has had a ministry relationship with his/her leadership for at least one year. Reliant considers the need for international applicants to have a similar foundation of relationship and experience with their field leadership. At the same time, Reliant recognizes that distance could make this standard difficult to mirror internationally. Still, we need to see that the applicant knows their supervisor & field leadership before the stress of ministry adjustment begins.

• Acquaintance less than a year

• Only brief trips to field – lack of engagement in ministry

• Never traveled previously to field

• Never met supervisor or have spoken to only superficially

Impact of International Testing on Field Assignment

Goal: Reliant wants to screen for challenges to interpersonal & emotional health that would be detrimental to the field or team. Long-term staff transition periods typically last 2 years and staff usually experience a significant loss in their sense of personal worth & ability to contribute. Each staff member needs the perseverance to sustain contributing personally while these resources are diminished. Therefore, each staff member needs to recognize what weaknesses surface during seasons of severe stress. If an applicant is blind to the impact of their stress on others, there will be problems. We need to see that applicants are self-aware, receive correction easily from team (flexibility), can adjust to cultural differences (adaptability), and that they can function in health during stress.

• Lack of community or coaching around issues whose impact has previously surfaced

• Lack of awareness of potential weaknesses or their impact on others

• Current experience of emotional stress that inhibits work, income or healthy relationships currently

• Potential personality disorders combined with blind spots such that applicant is unaware of impact on self or others.

Impact on Family in the Field

Goal: Reliant needs to confirm that the applicant understands the impact of their mission field on their family, related to education, social connection, and other needs – and that those needs can be reasonably met in the ministry context. Spouses who are not actively serving in the ministry need relational and spiritual connection. Spouses who can’t adjust joyfully need to return to U.S. in 3-5 years.  Similarly, children need to have their educational needs met.   

Example:

1. If the staff member is a parent, they need to have a plan for education and care of the children while the parents are learning language and required to be outside the home.
2. If a child requires customized education, the applicant needs to know how that will be addressed on the field.
3. If a spouse is not going to be employed as a Reliant staff member, the applicant needs to know how the spouse will develop relationships, engage with the culture and address any professional aspirations. 

• Educational needs that require resources beyond family & local schools

• The needs for childcare or education would prevent one or both parents from learning the language effectively. 

• No knowledge of educational laws or local philosophy.

• No knowledge of educational options

•  Education needs that can’t be attended to in the local context