Global Missions Council

Global Missions Council

THE MANDATE IN MOTION

One of the last things Jesus ordered the church to do before He ascended to heaven was to go - everywhere. Jerusalem, Jude. Samaria. The ends of the earth. Go! Go! GO! All nations. All creatures. Go, and preach the gospel.

If going and preaching the gospel is on God's mind, it most certainly should be on ours. Since its inception and for the 13 years we've been in existence, the Worldwide Pentecostal Fellowship has been hard at work to carry out the mission that clearly was and Is so dear to Jesus. After all, He said that He came to seek and to save that which was lost, and for Him to "come" to us meant imposing upon Himself a "go" - the laying aside of his divine prerogatives to stoop to become like the creatures He was willing to die to save.

Mission - both domestic and foreign - is a top priority for the WPF. As a relatively new fellowship, we have faced the enormous task of developing something from nothing, always seeking better and more efficient ways to accomplish our divine mandate. Visionary leaders such as Bishop Johnny King and Bishop Steve Buxton have labored arduously to birth a program to further the cause of missions and facilitate the efforts of missionaries and national ministers around the world. Without them, we could never have seen the significant accomplishments we've seen.

At this past Summit, the fellowship chose to hand the baton of leadership of the WPF's Global Missions Council to me - a responsibility that both humbles and challenges me. Two existing members of the council - Pastor Kevin Bradford and Pastor Douglas Walker- continued their service, while we added four new members: Pastor Steve Allard, Pastor Kelly Nix, Pastor James Townley, and Pastor Myles Young. The members of the Global Missions Council were chosen because they have a solid history of involvement in missional work and a passionate vision to reach the lost. Additionally, two members of the Council - Bro. Allard and Bro. Nix - are former missionaries. We believe the mission effort of the WPF that has been so carefully cultivated and developed by the preceding leaders is coming of age that we have been brought to the kingdom for such a time as this. We are convinced that the constituent body of the WPF is wholly committed to the Great Commission. The challenge of the Global Missions Council is to find the proper methods and vehicles to translate the generosity and passion of the body into action on mission fields around the world, and we are working hard to do just that.

New and exciting challenges lie ahead of us. Beyond the responsibility of wisely employing the proceeds of our annual Find and Facilitate Offering to best benefit the work of God on the mission field, we are seeking new ways to support our missionaries and further their efforts. A vital concern to us is ensuring that, beyond providing funds for them to build churches, engage in evangelistic efforts, and have reliable vehicles, we also provide adequate spiritual, mental, physical, and emotional care to our missionaries and their families. This means, among other things, making sure they have sufficient personal support

to live comfortably, receive competent health care, and have adequate housing. It also means providing outreaches to our missionaries to ensure they feel loved, supported, and connected to the body of Christ in their homeland.

We also face the challenge, of not only supporting existing structures and outreaches of global missions, but expanding our efforts. To do this, we need to find,

create, or improve ways of helping new missionaries get to the field. We are praying for a revival of missionary zeal in North America - that many Kingdom workers will feel and heed the call to go. And when they do, we must have a system in place to help them raise support and make it to their new fields of labor as quickly and efficiently as possible.

These are the priorities of the Global Missions Council, and I'm convinced they reflect the priorities of the Worldwide Pentecostal Fellowship as a whole. I believe each of our pastors and ministers is dedicated to reaching the whole world with the gospel, and the Global Missions Council intends to do whatever it takes to unite the passion and giving of the North American church with the "boots on the ground" efforts of our missionaries. So please expect to hear from us along the way; we have a job to do, we don't have much time to do it, and you are crucial to this 11'-hour push to work while it is yet day. It's getting dark outside.

In Christ's service,

Jerry Rowley. Jr.

Chairman, WPF Global Missions Council