posted on January 1, 2024
aXcess: Help Build the Kingdom of God in Rural Portugal
We minister in a country of 10 million people where the number of evangelicals is less than 1 percent. Our strategy is to target the north of Portugal, the most densely populated and least-reached area, to plant churches that will multiply and develop strong Portuguese leaders through discipleship and ministry involvement. IWs coming here will need to be team players. They will serve in a local church on a multicultural team alongside Brazilian colleagues whose focus is on building relationships with people to see them become Jesus followers. Patience and perseverance are essential qualities.
Position Type
- International worker (IW)–aXcess–Clergy Track
- Church planting, community center, community development (rural), evangelism, leadership development
- Partially funded
- Single or couple
Responsibilities:
- Develop relationships and friendships with Portuguese people, building bridges to share the gospel
- Evangelize through creative means (e.g. The Alpha Course)
- Disciple and partake in leadership develop for Portuguese believers
- Integrate into a rural/semi-rural church-planting team
- Be a dedicated, continual listener and learner of Portuguese culture and language
Required Qualifications:
- A recognized bachelor’s degree
- Completion of at least 30 hours of Bible/theology/ministry and 15 hours of intercultural studies
- Spouse must hold a recognized bachelor’s degree and have completed at least 18 hours of Bible/theology, 12 hours of missions/ministry studies (with a minimum of 6 hours in cross-cultural or missions studies)
- Completion of Alliance Polity course
- Completion of Alliance ordination/consecration
- Minimum of two years successful Alliance Licensed Ministry Experience
- A minimum Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT) score of 40
Preferred Qualifications:
- Have experience in missional community development
- Have Christian counseling experience
- Have general administrative/bookkeeping skills
Biblical Characteristics Desired:
- Kingdom-minded
- Biblically grounded
- Spirit-dependent
- Competently skilled
- Self-aware
- Self-disciplined
Timeline for Deployment:
Summer/fall 2025. All appointees are required to attend a cross-cultural and language acquisition program and pre-field course/experience prior to deploying.
General Information:
World Factbook – Portugal
Joshua Project – Portugal
Language Expectations:
Language is an essential part of ministry. Those who do not know the language will attend a language study program. The goal will be to speak, read, and write the language at a functional level in order to mentor, teach, and train others.
Language students will attend a private language school/university course full time for the first year with a part-time language tutor for the second year. The goal will be to be able to understand, write, and communicate in basic Portuguese at a B2 level. Language learning and cultural intelligence are lifelong processes. Diligence, perseverance, and a humble spirit are required.
Health Considerations:
Private health care is good, and your health needs can be cared for adequately with over-the-counter and prescription medications. The prices for health care are reasonable, and most costs are within the limits of the health care provided by The Alliance. Social medicine is also available to the general population.
Expectations for Spouse:
Spousal roles vary based on the spouse’s gifts, training, and abilities as well as the needs of the team. It is expected that both spouses will be meaningfully involved in meeting ministry objectives depending on the nature of family roles, children, etc.
Children’s Educational Plan and Options:
Public education is available in Portuguese. There are a couple of private British schools in the Porto area. Private Portuguese schools are also an option, and the government has recently mandated that non-Portuguese speaking students be given classes that teach Portuguese as a second language to facilitate classroom learning. Homeschooling is possible but not during the process of the parent’s language acquisition. Note that the Portuguese government has imposed restrictions on this option. For high school students, there is the option of studying and boarding at Black Forest Academy in Kandern, Germany.
Compensation Package
The successful applicant(s) will receive a full compensation package with the expectation that, once appointed, efforts will be made to raise a portion of support costs through the applicant’s network of friends, family, local church, or other resources. Information on support costs will be made available upon application. Training and/or coaching in fundraising is available.
Whole-Life Health
As part of an evangelical denomination, we are committed to biblical holism, which is modeled and reflected through our work. Due to this commitment, part of the required qualifications includes optimal emotional, spiritual, and physical health. These will be assessed during the application process.
Importance Clarification
Applicant(s) should be aware that serving in the international world often requires a higher degree of grace and flexibility. For example, overseas teams can be suddenly and unexpectedly impacted by illness, government decisions, financial realities, team changes, or other factors beyond the team’s control. The challenge for applicants is that these factors can sometimes necessitate the sudden redefining of a position, which may take place before, during, or after the application/interview process has begun or is completed.
Questions?
Please email the IPO office at [email protected].