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Volunteers in Mission (VIM)

The primary purpose of the United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM) is to live out their faith by serving on short-term projects to create long term relationships with communities throughout the world.  Volunteers are lay, clergy, young, old, have different abilities and vocations.

Why serve?

  1. Jesus said, “Go and serve”. Get your feet dusty.
  2. Make a meaningful difference in the life of someone in need.
  3. Renew your faith.
  4. Work and worship alongside your brothers and sisters whose faith withstands the trials of poverty and major disasters.
  5. Expand your awareness of how other people survive in the world.
What UMVIM offers is the CONNECTION:
  • The connection with people and places that have asked for help.
  • The connection with other UMVIM teams and people who have answered the call to mission.
  • The link for us to build bridges, develop relationships, through cross-cultural experiences.
  • The training for teams to go and serve God where they are called.
VIM Teams SERVE by helping with:
  • Outreach ministries to people who are homeless, hungry, or in poverty;
  • Medical and dental needs
  • Construction, repair homes, schools, hospitals, churches especially after a disaster such as a hurricane or earthquake;
  • Assisting with programs for children and youth, e.g., Vacation Bible Schools;
  • Teaching and tutoring, vocational skills such as sewing, farming, or other school work;
  • Disasters both through Early Response Teams (ERT) and Long Term Recovery (LTR) Teams

Mission Opportunities

Links to national and international mission opportunities are:

or contact your PNW Conference Coordinators.

Sites where VIM Teams from the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference have served
  • International Sites:  Congo (DRC), Kenya, Liberia, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Mexico, Haiti, Jamaica, Cambodia, Philippines.
  • US Sites:  Alaska (Galena Long Term Recovery and Nomads), West UMCOR Depot, Sager Brown UMCOR Depot, Red Bird Mission, San Francisco, and Hawaii, L.A.S.T in Portland.
  • Sites within the Conference:  Our local communities such as White Swan (Yakima Reservation), Conference Camps, various Long Term Recovery Sites after a disaster including recent wildfires.

Disaster Response Menu

Disaster Response Contacts

Domestic 
Dana and Kathy Bryson
Disaster Response Coordinators
c: (509) 539-2978 | Email

Kathy Bryson
Early Response Team Coordinator
c: (509) 539-2978 | Email

International 
Cheryl Reagan, UMVIM Coordinator
p: (509) 280-0029 | Email 
NOMADS Tom Hager, NWJ Project Coordinator p: (509) 493-2445 | Email | Web

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