Nothing is a substitute for people’s personal encounters. Only joint discussions, shared experiences and the opportunity to get to know each other can help people to understand others and their foreignness. For this reason one of the most important activities of the United Evangelical Mission (UEM) is the exchange of personnel between the member churches. However today the exchange of personnel takes place in a different way than in former times, with the previous organisations that now make up the UEM whose exclusive purpose was the sending out of missionaries.

Giving and receiving

Today the UEM provides the churches with experts for certain tasks. Their presence should also strengthen the co-operation in partnership between the churches. As far as possible all member churches should participate in the exchange of personnel. Every church has something to give, and on the other hand every church has needs in certain areas, which could possibly be covered by staff from another church in the same region (south-south exchange) or in another region (north-south or south-north exchange). Priorities of the UEM’s programme work, such as the fight against HIV and Aids or human rights work are increasingly being taken into consideration with regards to the exchange of personnel.

The number of long-term German staff in African and Asian churches has decreased considerably over the past 30 years. In place of it, there is an increase in the number of people travelling to serve in neighbouring churches within the African and Asian Regions.  Pastors from Asian and African churches are also called to serve in German churches and church districts.

Flexible employment

New forms of employment are coming into being: Over the past few years, besides sending personnel for one or two contracts of three years each, opportunities have been opened for short-term employment from six weeks up to two years so that a flexible response is possible to the needs of the churches.  An increasing number of people in Germany are prepared, during a sabbatical, or at the end of their active working life to put their knowledge and experience at the disposal of one of the member churches of the UEM in Africa or in Asia for a limited period of time.

In the meantime the ecumenical volunteers’ programme has also been internationalised further. For twenty years now, the UEM has been sending German volunteers for twelve months to serve in projects in UEM member churches in Africa and Asia.  During 2001/2002 there was also an exchange of volunteers at a south-south level between the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) and the Christian Church in East Java (GKJW). The catechist Henrisna Saragih is the first volunteer from the south serving in Germany. She comes from Indonesia and has been working in the Hagen church district since September 2002. In future more young people from Africa and Asia should be able to live and work for a year in the African and Asian Regions and also in the German region of the UEM.

Building up trust

In times of globalisation, when mistrust between people of different nationalities and different faiths is increasing in many parts of the world, we require bridge-builders. UEM exchange personnel are such bridge-builders. They can help to do away with prejudices between the different cultures and help to build up trust.