In This Issue

So, what is ReachGlobal?

Faith is a verb; not a noun. More than ever before we have the chance to reach further… to touch lives deeper…to move beyond our boundaries…to multiply healthy churches among all people.

The quote above is written by EFCA’s new Senior Brand Catalyst who joined us April of this year. About a year and a half ago the EFCA Board of Directors asked the EFCA to initiate a refreshed and intentional focus on the way the organization communicates and messages its' “story” to the world. They also asked that we become more effectively aligned across departments regarding the EFCA’s mission of multiplying healthy churches among all people.

Responding to this call to action, EFCA's new Senior Brand Catalyst has joined us to help guide the EFCA through a brand integration process. In support of this important process, the EFCA International Mission has made significant strides re-branding itself so that it is more current in ministry effectiveness, in aligning with the goals and mission of the EFCA, and in communicating a clear message about what it is the EFCA International Mission does. The EFCA International Mission is committed to relevancy and intentionality in the way it positions itself as a global ministry: to REACH people globally, multiplying healthy churches among all people...supported by developing, empowering and releasing healthy leaders.

In the future, you will begin to see the phrase, ReachGlobal, as a “tag line” or “brand position” with ALL information regarding the EFCA International Mission. This tag line suggests a call to action aligning with our mission to multiply healthy churches among all people. ReachGlobal is not a name change; it is the new position the EFCA International Mission is embracing to clearly and “experientially” communicate what the ministry does. For example, when you see the statement "just do it," you know it belongs to Nike. Nike uses this tag line as a brand position to help communicate “the experience” of their products. It suggests action and the promise of potential. As we move forward, when people see the term "ReachGlobal" they will know it is the brand promise of the EFCA International Mission.

Thank you for your support as we work to be clay in the Potter's hands. The goal and vision God has given us for the EFCA International Mission is to multiply healthy churches among all people. We want to be as effective as possible in carrying out and communicating this message in all we do. Please continue to pray for the EFCA International Mission as we seek to be intentional, relevant and effective.

 

So, what is TouchGlobal?

EFCA Compassion Ministries has a new name! It will now be referred to as TouchGlobal. If you would like further information about this name change, please refer to the TouchGlobal website.

 

So, what is ConnectGlobal?

ConnectGlobal is a new area of the EFCA International Mission that exists to further the international mission work of our local churches in conjunction with the EFCA International Mission. ConnectGlobal seeks to partner and service the local church through five functions:

  1. Networking and Consulting
  2. Training as it relates to short-term missions, local churches and partnerships
  3. Resource Development
  4. Logistical Execution
  5. System Management and Utilization.
The ConnectGlobal staff now includes our Church Mission Consultants and our Short-term Ministry teams.

A big part of what ConnectGlobal will offer for services will be short-term mission opportunities. We want our stateside churches to be more closely aligned with what our mission is doing. The support for our mission will increase accordingly. Our goal is to be very responsive to our local churches and to have them look at the EFCA IM first for their short-term ministry needs.

Networking and Consulting will continue to be a focus. We want to serve our local churches and meet their needs for mission development and deployment. We are excited about strengthening the relationship we have with our partner churches and developing new partnership opportunities.

We have excellent trainers already within ConnectGlobal, as well as a wealth of training material available to our churches. Our goal is to multiply our trainers and provide the best in training expertise to our local churches.

When a church has a desire to expand their short-term mission opportunities, our Resource Development area will be there to help. Resource Development is charged with the creation or acquisition of material available to our churches that will fit their needs.

Logistical Execution will be the area that will tie everything together. We see this as an integral part of any short-term mission experience. These are the experts in knowing what, when, where, and how to make things happen efficiently.

The purpose of System Management and Utilization will be to develop financial models for implementation, communication, information technology, and marketing of our services.

ConnectGlobal is a new paradigm for our Church Mission Consultants and our Short-term Ministry teams, and as such, we will be going through a transition phase. We are excited about these changes and look forward to serving our fields and our local churches. If you have questions about ConnectGlobal, please email the Associate Executive Director for ConnectGlobal.

 

ConnectGlobal Update

It is exciting to be part of ConnectGlobal. Our goal is to assist churches develop global strategic partnerships that meet the needs of our churches and the EFCA IM through Networking and Consulting, Resource Development, Logistical Execution, Short-term missions Training and System Utilization.

We are currently surveying a number of our churches to see what their mission focus is and how we can come alongside them to grow their mission ministry. Our goal is to survey as many churches as possible making sure that we have a good demographic mix. Here are the questions we are including in our survey. Please send your responses to the below questions to the Associate Executive Director of Connect:

  • If there were no limitations with regard to resources, what would you love your church to do when it comes to missions?
  • When you have partnered with other agencies, what were the factors that motivated you to partner with them?
  • What has been the most meaningful mission experience you have participated in and why?
  • Are there obstacles that hinder your church from going to the next level in its’ mission ministry? Are there ways that EFCA IM could help you overcome these obstacles?
  • If you were developing a way for the EFCA IM to help your church, what services would you include?
  • How well do we (ConnectGlobal, EFCA IM) communicate ministry opportunities to your church?

Many other changes are underway in ConnectGlobal. We will continue to update you as we move ahead. As we get your feedback, we will develop and adapt ConnectGlobal to meet the needs of the local church. Thank you for this exciting opportunity to serve you.

 

ESL Opportunity

This ESL opportunity is a program that will be a Spoken English and Communication Skills Course to help assist students get jobs. We also want to provide Discipleship and present Tentmaking ethos through this teacher/tutor. We can take tutors for as short as one month and even 'tourist tutors' who visit for tourism to help voluntarily. Ideally though we would have tutors for three months minimum to present a full course.

This is located in a creative access country. If you have questions or are interested in pursuing this opportunity, please contact Graham from Good Word Communication Services Pvt. Ltd.

 

Missionary Candidate Induction Process

If you are interested in receiving a copy of the most current version of the EFCA International Mission's missionary induction process, please email the national office with "requesting missionary induction process document" in the subject line. This document reflects what the new process for missionary candidates will be when candidates desire to go through the EFCA International Mission as missionaries.

 

Suggested Reading

TrueFaced: Trust God and others with who you really are (2004). (Experience Edition) By Bill Thrall, Bruce McNicol and John Lynch.

Leadership and self-deception (2002). By the Arbinger Institute.

The way of the shepherd: Seven ancient secrets to managing productive people (2004). By Kevin Leman and William Pentak.

 

If there are mission leaders, mission pastors or mission board members that you believe would benefit from receiving this update, please forward this update to them. Below there is a link to subscribe to this ReachGlobal update.