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Human Resources

Service Missionary

Service Mission Purpose

The purpose of the service missionary program is to help others come unto Christ by serving them as the Savior would. The goal is to provide missionaries with transformative experiences through service. The service missionary program works with organizations to provide meaningful and spiritually uplifting service experiences tailored to the missionaries’ talents and skills.

Key objectives include:

  • Provide an opportunity for all willing young women and young men to serve the Lord and increase in testimony of Him.
  • Help each service missionary prepare for a lifetime of service.
  • Provide needed and valuable service to Church and community organizations.

Service Missionary Guidelines

  • Service missionaries may not engage in the following high-risk activities:
    • Unsupervised, one-on-one interactions with children or vulnerable adults.
    • Bathing, babysitting, or providing other similar kinds of personal services.
    • Operating machinery, equipment, or vehicles without proper training or certification.

BYU Volunteer Policy for Service Missionaries

As volunteers, service missionaries provide an invaluable service to the university and enrich the campus community. Volunteer service is substantially for the benefit of the individual who is volunteering, and is for civic, charitable, or humanitarian reasons without promise, expectation, or receipt of any compensation, academic credit, future employment, or other significant benefit from the university.

Service missionary volunteers may not, even on a temporary basis, displace paid employees or work in profit centers, which are university operations that generate revenue unrelated to an academic or charitable purpose, such as stores, laundry, dining facilities, etc. For example, a service missionary may not serve on campus to avoid hiring employee so that a department can prevent paying wages. Generally, service missionaries should not perform the same duties as paid workers.

While performing volunteer services on campus, all volunteers (including service missionaries) are required to abide by the Church Educational System Honor Code and the Dress and Grooming Standards, and to refrain from behavior or expression that seriously and adversely affects the university mission or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Church service missionaries, who are assigned as volunteers for the university, must be called through proper ecclesiastical lines.

Service Missionary Process

All BYU service missionary requests are coordinated with the BYU service missionary coordinator. Please do not contact any Church service missionary leaders to arrange for service missionaries. 

To begin the process, send a service missionary volunteer request form to the BYU service missionary coordinator.

  • Each service missionary request will be reviewed, and the requesting department contacted if additional information is needed.
  • For approved requests, the BYU service missionary coordinator will contact the mission support advisors for Utah South area.
  • The support advisors will send the request to the service mission leaders for Utah County (there are ~12 SMLs).
  • When a potential missionary is found for the BYU service missionary request, the SML and the missionary will visit the BYU site where the service will be performed.
  • When determination is made that the missionary and the BYU site are a good fit for each, the SML will contact the support advisors to assign the missionary to BYU.
  • The SML will regularly contact BYU and the missionary to ensure the service is going well for each.
  • When the service mission assignment is completed, the SML will contact the BYU service missionary coordinator with the end date.

Senior Service Missionaries

Senior service missionaries use their developed skills and experiences to provide service to the Church. When called, they represent the Lord and His Church through service that is expected to be transformative and meaningful.

General Information

Senior Service Missionaries:

· Live at home, serve 8-40 hours per week, and serve in local areas for 6-24 months.

· Are men & women 26 and older.

· Can be single men and women; also, one or both of a married couple.

· Are called by the stake president and serve under his direction.

BYU Volunteer Policy for Senior Service Missionaries

· As volunteers, service missionaries provide an invaluable service to the university and enrich the campus community. Volunteer service is substantially for the benefit of the individual who is volunteering, and is for civic, charitable, or humanitarian reasons without promise, expectation, or receipt of any compensation, academic credit, future employment, or other significant benefit from the university.

· Service missionary volunteers may not, even on a temporary basis, displace paid employees or work in profit centers, which are university operations that generate revenue unrelated to an academic or charitable purpose, such as stores, laundry, dining facilities, etc. For example, a service missionary may not serve on campus to avoid hiring employee so that a department can prevent paying wages. Generally, service missionaries should not perform the same duties as paid workers.

· While performing volunteer services on campus, all volunteers (including service missionaries) are required to abide by the Church Educational System Honor Code and the Dress and Grooming Standards, and to refrain from behavior or expression that seriously and adversely affects the university mission or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

· Church service missionaries, who are assigned as volunteers for the university, must be called through proper ecclesiastical lines.

Service missionaries may not engage in the following high-risk activities:

  • Unsupervised, one-on-one interactions with children or vulnerable adults.
  • Bathing, babysitting, or providing other similar kinds of personal services.
  • Operating machinery, equipment, or vehicles without proper training or certification.

Setup for BYU as an Operation

1. Contact the Church Service Mission Office (field manager or operations manager) to set up BYU as an operation.

2. Once BYU is set up as an operation, a senior missionary coordinator (SMC) will be assigned to BYU.

3. BYU will send service missionary opportunities to the SMC.

4. The SMC will post senior service missionary opportunities to the senior service missionary website.

Senior Service Missionary Process

1. A campus department will fill out the Senior Service Missionary request form and send the form to BYU Staff and Student Recruiting.

2. BYU Staff and Student Recruiting will review the request and notify the department of the approval status.

3. BYU Staff and Student Recruiting will send details of the service opportunity to the SMC assigned to BYU for uploading to the Church Senior Missionary website.

4. A Church member will choose a service opportunity from the list of opportunities on the Church Senior Missionary website and submit a recommendation for the missionary opportunity.

5. The bishop and stake president are notified and meet with the member to review the assignment.

6. The Service Mission Office is notified and will contact the BYU service missionary coordinator.

7. The BYU service missionary coordinator will set up a meeting with the BYU department and potential missionary to determine if the request is a good match.

8. If a good match, the BYU service missionary coordinator will contact the SMC to approve the calling in the Senior Missionary Management system.

9. The stake president will extend the call, and the bishop will set apart the service missionary.

10. The service missionary will notify the BYU service missionary coordinator when called and ready to serve.

11. The BYU service missionary coordinator will contact the campus department manager to arrange the start date.

12. The campus department manager will train and supervise the missionary.

13. The BYU service missionary coordinator will track the beginning and end dates of the missionary service.

BYU Service Missionary Coordinator Contact Information
Catherine Hendricks
ECNB 107
801-422-8650
catherine_hendricks@byu.edu

BYU Service Missionary Request Form