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Village Missions

Keep a rural church's pulpit filled

Village Missions places missionary pastors in small rural congregations across the US and Canada that could not otherwise keep a full-time minister. Churches apply for a pastor, and couples apply to serve as missionary pastors for the long term.

ProvisionalLocal church needsInterdenominational
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Why this is listed

Small rural churches often go years without a resident pastor, and this is one of the few groups that addresses that directly rather than as a conference topic. Placements are long by design — pastors are expected to stay in the town, not to use it as a step.

How to start

  1. Open villagemissions.org (opens an external site) and read what Village Missions says about itself before you read anything else.
  2. Check the time it asks for: years.
  3. Look at the filings below, then decide. Numbers are context, not a verdict.
  4. Tell your church. Going out is rarely meant to be done alone.

Close to this

  • Local church needsVerified

    Join a SOWER project crew

    SOWER Ministry

    Retired and semi-retired couples with RVs park for three-week projects at Christian camps, schools, children's homes, and mission offices, doing carpentry, plumbing, electrical, painting, and grounds work. Around 170 ministries in the US and Canada host crews.

    Time
    Weeks
    Where
    United States
    Area
    Local church needs

    Last verified September 8, 2026

  • Medical & public healthProvisional

    Crew a hospital ship

    Mercy Ships

    Hospital ships dock in West and Central African ports for months at a time providing free surgery — cleft lip, cataract, tumour, obstetric fistula, orthopaedic — and training local surgeons and anaesthetists while alongside. Crew includes cooks, deckhands, teachers, and engineers, not only clinicians.

    Time
    Months
    Where
    Global
    Area
    Medical & public health

    Last verified September 8, 2026

  • Skilled serviceVerified

    Design a hospital you will never run

    Engineering Ministries International

    Architects, engineers, and surveyors join a one- to two-week trip to survey a site and produce a real construction design package for a hospital, school, or water system, then finish the drawings at home. Salaried eMi project managers carry the work between volunteer trips so nothing stalls.

    Time
    Weeks
    Where
    Global
    Area
    Skilled service

    Last verified September 8, 2026

Before you go

Something to read, watch or listen to before you show up. From Ripened Harvest; the picks change each day.

  • PodcastsProvisional

    Faith Driven Entrepreneur

    Henry Kaestner

    Interviews with Christians in business about living out faith through their work and companies. Hosted by Henry Kaestner.

    Cost
    Free
    Time
    Ongoing
    Where
    Online
    Format
    Podcast · Introductory

    Last verified October 24, 2026

  • Certificates & diplomasProvisional

    Regent College — Graduate Diploma in Christian Studies

    Regent College

    A flexible graduate diploma in Vancouver where you choose half your own courses and take as long as you need. Its founding concern is theology for people who will stay in ordinary work, so the reading keeps returning to vocation, craft, and the shape of a working week.

    Cost
    Paid
    Time
    Years
    Where
    Vancouver, Canada · also online
    Format
    Certificate · Graduate

    Last verified September 8, 2026

  • PodcastsProvisional

    Going Beyond Ministries with Priscilla Shirer

    Priscilla Shirer

    The channel of Going Beyond Ministries, which posts Priscilla Shirer’s expository Bible teaching on calling, prayer and the Christian life.

    Cost
    Free
    Time
    Ongoing
    Where
    Online
    Format
    Podcast · Introductory

    Last verified October 5, 2026