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Dangerous 2022 VBM Policies

Dangerous 2022 VBM Policies

The Spring 2022 edition of the VBM Missionary Handbook includes several dangerous and very concerning open doors for abuse of power by the Executive Directors. VBM missionaries were required to agree to the handbook by March 31, 2022, or risk being asked to resign and forced out. It was subsequently posted on the VBM website and dated April 21, 2022. Please note that in December 2022, around the time this website was discovered by the VBM Executive Directors, a retroactively adjusted May 2022 version of the Policies and Procedures was uploaded with minor modifications to address what had been identified as very concerning. It is not clear what prompted VBM to upload a "May 2022" version in December 2022 in order to replace the April 2022 version which VBM missionaries were required to sign by March 31 of the same year given that the VBM Executive Directors only update policies once annually in the Spring. Several of the updated sections of the May 2022 edition has been included for reference below. Please note the lack of local church authority or emphasis which can be seen throughout the handbook and the increasing amount of control VBM is attempting to exert over the missionaries with notes below regarding updated 11.3.6 and 11.3.7.a and 11.3.7.b of the May 2022 edition also.

Regarding Resignation and Grievances in the April 2022 edition:

Number one in red below (11.3.3) only provides 30 days of handling support (most organizations allow 90 days to contact and move your support to a new missions agency especially if you are trying to contact supporters from another country in an inconvenient time zone while still doing your ministry full-time eg. Japan), but the president and Executive Directors reserve the right to immediately stop the transfer of support the day after you resign (without speaking to the local church pastor of the missionary) without any objective standard or measurable reason why.

Number two in red (11.3.7) allows the Executive Directors the ability to cut a missionaries support (without speaking to the local church pastor of the missionary) to another missions agency of like faith and practice even though a missionary has not been morally disqualified, has not changed his/her doctrinal positions, continues in the same ministry/country, and continues with their same sending church. There is no reason for them to not transfer support but allows them to do so arbitrarily with no objective or clear reasons. This also allows for serious abuse of power by the Executive Directors and also provides clear incentives for people to not leave or to remain silent about mistreatment, abuse, or disagreements thereby silencing dissenters and whistleblowers.

Number three in red regarding “grievances” Chapter 13 subsection 6 means that you surrender your right to take any legal action against them and covers them protecting them from missionaries taking them to court.

The recently added subsection of VBM’s “Social Media Code of Conduct” on April 21, 2022 edition of policies (4.5) encourages silencing dissenters and more heavily controls the PR image of the org

Regarding Resignation in the May 2022 edition:

The modified subsection of 11.3.6 of the May 2022 edition is still concerning because of the ever-growing amount of control and rules that VBM is imposing on their missionaries without consulting the local church or local church pastor. This phrase "some of the work fund will be used to pay staff" is very ambiguous and allows the mission agency to keep as much of a missionary's work fund or family ministry support to "pay staff to handle these calculations."

  1. Work Funds:

a. If a missionary communicates his intention to resign and does not communicate that he is joining another qualifying missions organization (see 11.3.7 below) he must do the following with any remaining work funds:

  1. Use them according to their original designation within 30 days of his resignation.
  2. Transfer them to the work fund of another VBM missionary who is working in the same country with the same ministry focus.

b. Any unused work funds will be sent back to the missionary’s active supporters at a rate based on the percentage of how much they contributed to the missionary’s overall support. Because of the complicated nature of these calculations, some of the work fund will be used to pay staff to handle these calculations.

The modified subsection 11.3.7.a of the May 2022 edition is still concerning because if a local church and their missionary decide to go through a different missions agency that the local church prefers instead, VBM wants to reserve the right to deny the local church the ability to take care of their missionary. There are a lot of stipulations included in this Resignation section. Is this the mission agency's purview or responsibility to determine or control these things for the local church?

  1. Transfer of Funds to Other Qualifying Missions Organizations:

a. If a Missionary resigns from VBM to join another qualifying missions organization, VBM will only transfer funds designated for the missionary to their new missions organization if the following things are true:

  1. The missionary is continuing to serve in the same country/ministry with the same ministry focus and same doctrinal beliefs.
  2. The missions organization is an independent Baptist missions organization of like faith and practice as VBM.
  3. The missions organization has similar accountability and internal controls in place as VBM.

This subsection 11.3.7.b was also added in the May 2022 edition which is concerning for those who may not be considered "Active Supporters" but who may have donated a large sum(s) of money to a designated missionary family's ministry. (eg. A special project, love offering, Christmas or birthday gift, etc.)

VBM Executive Directors are attempting to exert control over designated funds without consulting the missionary's local church pastor.

If the missions organization does not meet the above qualifications, then any unused work funds will be sent back to the missionary’s active supporters at a rate based on the percentage of how much they contributed to the missionary’s overall support. Because of the complicated nature of these calculations, some of the work fund will be used to pay staff to handle these calculations.

7 Active supporters are those who have contributed consistently over the last twelve months.

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