SCRIPT for “Personalizing Missions” slide
Introduction:
Dr. Louie Bustle, Director of Nazarene World Missions, recognizes that today people and churches want a direct connection with the mission field. It is no longer sufficient to give an offering and pray. People want to know mission leaders, and also know that their giving is making a difference. They want accountability and reports of accomplishments. We call this “Personalizing Missions”.
Start from the bottom up:
The blue ink for “FIELD” and “Field Directors” is the operating level of World Missions. The 149 countries outside US and Canada are grouped into about 30 “Fields”, and each Field has a Field Director (FD) who is responsible for overseeing all the Nazarene work in those countries. Recently the title was changed to Field Strategy Coordinator (FSC). Some Fields are one country, like Mexico; others have 7 or 8 countries like the South Asia Field, that has India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. FSC’s manage resources allocated to their Field, such as missionary personnel, WEF funds, Alabaster, W&W teams, NCM, and disaster relief. Each FSC has membership and church growth goals to meet for 2008. The FSC determines the best strategy to meet those goals.
Ways to get involved with Missions:
The red-lettered ovals are exciting ways in which churches and individuals can be involved with Nazarene missions, including:
· JESUS film – as a Harvest Partner that funds a film team, as a 360 sponsor, as a prayer partner, going on a JESUS Film team to deliver a new set of equipment.
· Education – teaching ministerial education courses of different lengths; instruction and orientation for church leaders such as district superintendents and boards; W&W teaching teams.
· NIVS/Mission Corps – volunteer for service from one week to two years, doing everything imaginable, including IT design and installations, computer classes, auto mechanics, elementary and high school teachers, tutoring missionary children, ESL, book keeping, auditing, construction, building maintenance, health professionals; nursing instructors, etc.
· World Mission Literature – donate from a few books to an entire library for distribution to more than 40 educational institutions world-wide.
· Nazarene Compassionate Ministries – disaster response and financial donations; child sponsorship; pack Crisis Care Kits, School Pal-Paks, and banana boxes of clothing; district container shipments; write grant proposals for Nazarene non-profits; help plan business enterprises for income generation; volunteer time at local Compassionate Ministry Centers; encourage your local church to have an on-going service ministry to your community. Some W&W teams can also go and assist with disaster recovery and repairs; medical teams are needed to conduct health clinics, administer de-worming, and do child assessments.
· Work & Witness – construction projects of all types; child and youth ministries, including VBS, puppetry, sports and music; medical teams; teaching teams; technical assistance on special projects; purchase and deliver sets of new JESUS DVD and video equipment; well-drilling teams.
· Field Partnerships – groups of people with a special interest in a particular Field, who band together to pray, go and give in support of the work and the leadership of “their” field. Their financial support is in addition to their tithes and offerings to their local church. There are currently 14 active Field Partnerships, and four more in formation, including Mexico, MAC Central Field, Central Andean in South America, and Brazil.
· Special Partnerships – One example is partnerships of large churches with a specific part of the mission field. This involves a three-year commitment and substantial monetary investment. JESUS Film Harvest Partners is another form of special partnership.
· Individual Mega-Donors – Praise God that some individuals whom He has blessed with financial success want to give large amounts back to the Church and to World Missions. They know that US dollars can go a long way in many other countries, and their investment will accomplish much more than it could here in North America. These individuals usually have a specific location or ministry in mind, such as the JESUS Film, a new country, or a large building, and often want to inspect the project before, during and after its completion. These donors are assisted by the World Mission Office directly.
Church Partnerships:
A new relationship that Dr. Bustle has made available to larger churches since 2005. The church must be willing to invest $30,000 or more per year for three years, in addition to their full support of World Evangelism Fund, Alabaster and other mission specials. They will be linked to a specific district or country where they can take on special projects in support of the mission strategy. They will often send volunteers and bring national leaders to speak in their church. They can target some of their missions giving, such as W&W, child sponsorship, compassionate ministries, and ministerial education scholarships. They can share their church growth experience and participate in strategy development for their partner area. This is an exciting hands-on missions experience for larger churches.
Field Partnerships:
We will cover this opportunity for “Personalizing Missions” in more detail. This is primarily for individuals rather than churches, and focuses on the needs and opportunities of a specific Field. The leader of the Partnership is the Field Strategy Coordinator, who comes to meet with the Partners at least once a year to report on accomplishments, share a vision for the future, and present opportunities for individual and group involvement. Trips are also arranged for Partners to visit “their field”. Partners are asked to consider a 3-year commitment to the Partnership so they can see the fruit of their prayer and investment, and to provide continuity for longer-term projects.
Prepared by Bob Prescott
WM Coordinator of Partnerships
for Latin America
5-05-06