{"id":7592,"date":"2006-06-17T15:19:51","date_gmt":"2006-06-17T20:19:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/?p=7592"},"modified":"2011-07-06T08:33:04","modified_gmt":"2011-07-06T13:33:04","slug":"4970","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2006\/06\/17\/4970\/","title":{"rendered":"New Mission Focus Responds to Changing World"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Don Meyer<\/p>\n<p>GRAND RAPIDS, MI (June 17, 2006) &#8211; A strategic realignment of Covenant  World Mission resources to respond to a changing global mission  environment was outlined for delegates attending the 121st Annual  Meeting of the Evangelical Covenant Church in Grand Rapids.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The plan calls for restructuring the Department of World Mission into  four new divisions: administration and finance, personnel, mission  mobilization and connection, and mission advancement and communication.<\/p>\n<p>Key objectives in the new focus include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Align mission with the realities of a changing world<\/li>\n<li>Achieve greater ministry effectiveness and enhanced stewardship of resources<\/li>\n<li>Increase leadership and support for mission personnel<\/li>\n<li>Mobilize and connect with the local churches and international believers through mission partnerships<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cThe way in which needs around the world are being addressed has changed  dramatically in recent years,\u201d notes Curt Peterson, executive minister  of Covenant World Mission. \u201cLocal churches are playing a more direct  role and various international ministries are partnering in new and  creative ways, which requires us to reconsider the most effective ways  in which we can invest limited resources to achieve the most effective  results.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The growth in local church-initiated mission activities was one key  factor in shaping the realignment. \u201cThe world is more accessible, and  knowledge has increased because of easy travel,\u201d Peterson observes. \u201cAs  people in local churches broaden their knowledge of various areas and  needs in he world, their passion for outreach to those in need similarly  expands.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Department of World Mission needs to serve these local church  initiatives as much as possible, as well as connect churches to  established mission opportunities and support,\u201d Peterson continues. \u201cOur  capacity to support local church missionary deployment must grow.\u201d This  will be especially important in helping to facilitate mission trips and  vision trips through partnerships and strategic staffing, he suggests.  \u201cWith this new mission focus, the Great Commission can be engaged more  effectively.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Peterson believes the new approach will enhance the synergy within the  team of leaders based in the Chicago offices, while also creating new  opportunities to creatively connect local church mission objectives with  international mission partnerships.<\/p>\n<p>The new focus also addresses a growing need for missionary recruitment,  assessment, training, care, and communications. \u201cWe have a gifted and  devoted team of missionaries,\u201d Peterson notes. \u201cIn the next 15 years, a  large number of our career staff will retire or resign for personal  reasons. We need someone to give full attention to missionaries and  their needs, as well as the development of future missionary staff who  will respond to the opportunities before us.\u201d The new mission strategy  calls for the sending of career, project, and short-term missionaries.<\/p>\n<p>The matter of stewardship of limited resources is another important  factor in the new equation. The Covenant World Mission reserve fund  currently reflects a negative balance of $1.5 million. \u201cThe shortfall of  income against all expenses in our department is at least $300,000 each  year,\u201d Peterson notes. \u201cThis restructuring plan will reduce our fixed  staff expenses,\u201d he notes, due primarily to the elimination of the  Church Relations initiative. Some of those Church Relations functions  will be incorporated into three of the four new divisions.<\/p>\n<p>Reducing expenses is considered a necessary, but short-term response to  the overall mission funding challenge. \u201cFunding must grow beyond our  current sources of income to include major donors, project partnership,  and new church plant partnerships,\u201d Peterson suggests.<\/p>\n<p>The work of Covenant World Mission has expanded significantly in recent  years, growing from seven to 25 countries that now have a Covenant  missionary presence. Ten additional countries reflect a Covenant  presence through active collaborative partnerships in mission.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToday, we\u2019re about evangelism that brings the whole gospel to the whole  person,\u201d Peterson says. \u201cWe are about fulfilling the Great Commission  and the Great Commandment with the good news of Jesus Christ that  transforms lives and communities. We are about the work of God\u2019s kingdom  in this world \u2013 his rule and his transformational work in lives. It is  about equipping and encouraging and partnership in the growing kingdom  of  God in this world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Four strategic goals are outlined in the new focus:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The planting of culturally relevant churches<\/li>\n<li>The spiritual formation and equipping of God\u2019s people for ministry and leadership<\/li>\n<li>The development of ministries that demonstrate the whole gospel  by seeking to address the spiritual, social, and physical needs of  people<\/li>\n<li>The development of vibrant mission partnerships with Evangelical Covenant churches and followers of Christ around the world<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The restructuring of mission support staff is designed to more  effectively pursue the strategic mission goals, Peterson notes. A  director and assistant director will administer each of the divisions,  to be selected in the coming months. Notification of available positions  will be published in the Covenant website along with instructions on  how to apply.<\/p>\n<p>The realignment of staff will not change the missionary staff in  international settings, however. \u201cRegional coordinators will continue in  their current leadership positions in the five regions of Covenant  missionary activity,\u201d Peterson says. \u201cWe will continue to have  coordination of that work through the country and regional coordinators \u2013  missionaries who serve in more administrative and pastoral care roles  in those countries.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Peterson made special note of the work of the Church Relations staff and  expressed his personal appreciation to Rose Cornelious and Keith  Tungseth who have served Covenant World Mission in the Church Relations  initiative for the past six years. As the Church Relations efforts have  been incorporated into other areas as part of the restructuring,  Cornelious and Tungseth concluded their work at the end of May.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese two gifted leaders led pastors on vision and ministry trips \u2013  Rose led two teams of African American pastors and leaders to Congo, and  others on ministry trips to Haiti and Jamaica and most recently a group  to Burkina Faso,\u201d Peterson noted. \u201cKeith led teams to Colombia and to  his deepest mission interest area, Russia. Both Rose and Keith have  raised awareness of world mission in churches through preaching,  teaching and workshops. They developed prayer ministries, networked  churches in mission projects, and assisted missionaries in raising  support. Rose carried an important responsibility of encouraging mission  among African American Evangelical Covenant churches. She also  facilitated many churches in their mission initiatives in the Caribbean.  Keith coordinated all of our efforts in mission into Russia and  Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe honor them today and thank them for their dedicated service to Covenant World Mission.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Copyright \u00a9 2011 The Evangelical Covenant Church.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-report-this\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire?moderation_action=report_form&#038;object_type=post&#038;object_id=7592&#038;width=250&#038;height=300\" class=\"thickbox\" title=\"Report This Post\">Report This Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Don Meyer GRAND RAPIDS, MI (June 17, 2006) &#8211; A strategic realignment of Covenant World Mission resources to respond to a changing global mission environment was outlined for delegates attending the 121st Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Covenant Church in Grand Rapids. Report This Post<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>New Mission Focus Responds to Changing World - Covenant Newswire Archives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2006\/06\/17\/4970\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Mission Focus Responds to Changing World - Covenant Newswire Archives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Don Meyer GRAND RAPIDS, MI (June 17, 2006) &#8211; A strategic realignment of Covenant World Mission resources to respond to a changing global mission environment was outlined for delegates attending the 121st Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Covenant Church in Grand Rapids. 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