As we near the end of 2019, we pause to reflect on God’s presence in our lives, how He has shaped our ministry, and to prayerfully consider what doors He is opening for 2020. What are the outcomes of this ministry-wide reflection?
First, we have rearticulated our core values—the expression of how God has molded us over our 34 years of ministry so that we can more fully reflect Him among the unreached. We pray that these will be our default position, how we operate in moments of crisis, our instinctive response to the vicissitudes of front-line ministry:
Committed: we depend on God for tenacious and grace-filled obedience to the Great Commission as we reach the unreached for Jesus Christ.
Caring: we value and love colleagues in ministry as Christ has first loved us, ministering to one another in grace and truth as Christ ministers to us.
Cooperative: we work together with the Adventist Church, donors, and each other to reach the unreached. Our default posture is to be a blessing.
Courageous: we offer sacrificial service and manifest holy boldness to reach the unreached because God’s character is good, His mission is compelling, and His promises are absolutely reliable.
Second, we redefined our core beliefs, the principles that underpin all we do:
We depend upon God. We believe that we are spiritual warriors for God in the great controversy between Christ and Satan.
We are committed to biblical truth. We believe that the Holy Bible (both the Old and New Testaments) is the written Word of God, given by divine inspiration through the Holy Spirit.
We are Seventh-day Adventist Christians. We proclaim the divine truths taught by the SDA Church.
We believe God empowers ordinary people. We believe that God accomplishes extraordinary things through ordinary people who surrender fully to Him.
We focus on unreached people groups. As a loving response to our own experience of salvation, we seek to reach the unreached with the offer of eternal salvation in Christ.
We communicate biblical truth with cultural sensitivity. We believe that people should not have to traverse unnecessary cultural barriers to come to Christ.
And finally, as we look forward to our future ministry at our front-line projects, what are the key ministry-wide objectives that God has impressed upon us to accomplish in 2020?
To put in place functional succession plans for our roles of President, Treasurer and departmental directors.
Give key personnel training in social media to implement our new social-media strategy.
Develop a concise explanation of our mission statement for our sister AFM offices.
Provide training for working in multi-national teams at all AFM regional meetings.
Update our definition of the essential knowledge, attitude and practices for missionaries to further refine our pre-launch and post-launch training program.
Develop training materials to help missionary kids (MKs) navigate their unique spiritual journey and to foster understanding of the MK experience among colleagues.
Develop recruitment and financing pathways for potential missionaries in South Korea and Australia.
Boost our in-person and online recruitment presence across the NAD and around the world.
Hold an annual “Meet the Unreached” day at the AFM Center to equip Adventists in the NAD to better reach those of other faiths in our own communities.
Is this all possible? By God’s grace and with His leading, absolutely! In His infinite love and mercy, He has shaped us, allowing the storms of yesteryear to prepare us for those of 2020. As we journey together into 2020, may God open our eyes that we may see Him going before us and manifesting His glory through our lives and ministry. Thank you for being an integral part of AFM’s mission!
