from August 7, 2011 prayer update

I invested this past week at our U.S. mobilization base in Orlando participating in a COP (candidate orientation process). Pioneers holds these five-day events five times annually. They are designed as an orientation to Pioneers for new missionary candidates.

Our August COP was one of our largest ever with 51 adults, representing 32 missionary units (singles and families) from the U.S. As you can see from the photo below, this group of candidates was composed almost entirely of 20 somethings (which is not always the case). A zealous and encouraging group of young adults with a heart for the nations and especially for unreached peoples.


The first two days were devoted to individual and couple interviews with teams of four Pioneers staff (I had the privilege of participating in six of these interviews) and private individual and couple interviews with licensed counselors. The end result was a thumbs up or thumbs down decision by Pioneers on formal admission into candidacy. 31 out of 32 missionary units were accepted into candidacy. All candidates were given a unique list of assignments to complete prior to participating in their five-day PFC (pre-field connection) a few months prior to leaving for the field.

The list includes unresolved character and relational issues that were identified in the interactions with the licensed counselors, to be addressed through reading, counseling, and / or mentoring. The list also included training and life experience issues that were identified in the team interviews with Pioneers staff like additional Bible / theological training, additional church ministry experience, additional cross-cultural experience, formal language acquisition training, formal cross-cultural sensitivity training, vision trips to specific areas of the world, etc.

Each candidate is then assigned a Pioneers coach who will walk closely with them as they move through the assignments on their list in preparation for departure to the field.

As one of four CPT (Church Partnership team) members participating, we met with individuals and couples during our meal times together to learn about the candidate’s sending church and discuss what partnership might look like with that church. I had the opportunity to meet with nine of the candidates one-on-one from Arizona, Iowa, Missouri, and Texas.

Also included in the five days together were:
• times of corporate worship
• personal testimonies from all 32 candidates
• an overview of each of the seven regions of the world (The Americas, Europe, North Africa / Middle East, Sub-Sahara Africa, Mid-Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia / Pacific) where Pioneers is involved in initiating church planting movements among the least reached
• BAM (business as mission)
• Pioneers mission and core values
• avoiding moral and relational pitfalls
• children
• fundraising and financial issues
• the development of a pre-field plan
• an assortment of administrative tasks
All this made for a very full week.

Participation in this event is one of the new components of my job as a new member of the CPT. What a joy to play a small role in the preparation of these near future front line workers among the unreached peoples of the world.

“Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.’” – Matthew 9:37-38.