from October 2, 2011 prayer update

I invested several days this past week in a trip to Phoenix to participate in the annual North American mission leaders conference . The theme of the conference this year was “RESET: Mission in the Context of Deep Change”. As is usually the case with these kind of events, some of the plenary sessions were excellent, and some were snoozers. Same could be said of the workshops. I think I most enjoyed the opportunities for one-on-one interaction with the folks there that I don’t get to see often (I had a pre-existing relationship with maybe 100 of the 500+ in attendance). And of the many new people that I met last week, there are a few that I can now call friends.

I found the theme of the conference to be very timely. On the evening prior to the conference’s start, 28 folks that have been associated with ACMC (Advancing Churches in Missions Commitment) met for four hours around a meal to share stories, laugh, cry, and to celebrate the retirement of this organization. In its 35 year history, ACMC has helped thousands of Protestant churches across the U.S. become more effectively engaged with global and local missions. As you know, I invested 10 years of my life in this organization, shifting from a role with it to my current role as part of Pioneers’ church partnership team back in May.

We had known for years that ACMC was on the downward side of its growth and relevancy curve. Like many organizations, we worked harder at what we had been doing in the past in an effort to turn the tide, rather than addressing the more challenging issue of identifying and making the deep changes needed in the organization. Back in December our staff began to earnestly seek God about ACMC’s future. And by April, with the help of a gifted outside facilitator, the majority of our ACMC staff (I held a minority perspective) came to the conclusion that we were not able or willing to make the changes we needed to turn ACMC around. A orderly and God honoring retirement of the organization was our best option. ACMC now serves as one of many case studies of what happens when organizations ignore for too long honestly grappling with these kind of difficult but extremely important change issues.

Toward the end of NAML conference we witnessed two organizations approaching the issue of resetting for deep change very differently. The Mission Exchange (formerly EFMA) was founded in 1946 and CrossGlobal Link (formerly IFMA) was founded in 1917. They are the two key North American mission agency umbrella networks. Each has a long and meaningful past. Pioneers has been a member of both networks for many years. Both organizations see the potential for greater kingdom impact and greater unity in the global outreach efforts of the North American body of Christ through merging. A merger that will not only bring forward the strengths of each organization, but also will lead to new structures and initiatives that neither organization has pursued in the past. A vote was taken by the member mission organizations that make up both networks on the last day of the conference. Merger was overwhelmingly approved by both organizations and will officially happen at the first of the year. This sets the stage for increased relevancy and impact for many years into the future.