Ten Year Goals - Part 2 (and half as long)

In Part 1 of this series we spoke about the first four goals in our ten year plan. In this segment we will discuss two more goals that relate to our missionary staffing.  Thanks to your feedback we will keep these videos under three minutes long - although this one goes a little longer - and we will also post a written version for those of you who find your attention drifting or simply prefer to read.




Trivia question: Where was this video recorded in Costa Rica?
Hint: Some great trout fishing is just steps away

RG LAC Ten Year Goals - Part 1

In our last video we introduced the vision for our division for 2020.  In this segment we will discuss the first half of our ten year goals that will help us achieve what God has set before us.



Your RG leadership team appreciate your feedback.  Feel free to contact any of us with questions, recommendations or concerns.

You may read this post instead.

Expenses - what was the policy on that again?

Sometimes digging up the mission policy manual and finding a specific item can be a bit much.  So to hit the highlights on expenses Wayne Anderson has provided the following "cheat-sheet".  Perhaps that is a poor choice of words when it comes to expenses.  Thanks Wayne!

v       Approved taxable compensation (should NOT run through pcard, verify a PCF sent to payroll

•       Adoption costs – up to $5,000 per child
•       Approved travel for bereavement or sick leave – policy specifically says staff are to pay for the tickets personally and be reimbursed through payroll
•           Relocation funds
•           MK education including home school curriculum
•           College child visits to field – 2 per year
•      Travel to help child enter college – one time
•           MK at boarding school – travel 3 times per year
•           Deacon fund grants/benevolence
•           Dependent travel for home assignments upon DBM approval
•           Foreign income taxes
•           Rent for field housing, also mandatory expenses required by rental contract
•           Renovation costs when missionary vacates field housing if required by rental contract

       Personal costs that are not allowed

• Pet expenses
• Payment of mortgage for field housing owned by staff when on home assignment
• Note: if staff is renting the field housing, it is allowable to pay rent to retain the housing while on HA and expense to IMA
•  Hotels and meals for any personal stops when traveling home for home assignment
• Utilities for housing
•  Mileage for commuting
• Travel for a spouse or child who do not have a specific ministry assignment
•  Moving due to personal preference (ministry expense if RG or landlord require it)
•  Extracurricular MK education costs e.g. music lessons, field trips, sports.
•  Child care
•  Base rate for primary telephone

v            Other

•       Ministry expenses are defined as those which are directly related to the goals and objectives in a missionary’s job description.
•            Pcard is default tool for reimbursable expenses – not personal credit cards
•            All personal advances (for MAP or unusual travel) must be processed by National Office
•          All giving for ministry projects or IMAs should be processed through National Office
•          Honorarium checks to missionaries should be made payable to EFCA (if possible), sent to National Office for deposit
•          Noncash gifts must be approved by Donor Services

Area leadership update - March 2011

Have you ever wondered what the Latin America area leadership team does?  Do you know who is on the team? Do you ever wonder if there is an overall strategy for the area?  Watch this video to learn more...

Leadership: Latin America and RG Directional team

Our Latin America / Caribbean area leadership team includes:

• Keith Anderson
• Miguel De Marco
• Michael Gunderson
• Omar Rodriguez

Bob Werntz serves as an ad hoc advisor, Arthur Ellison serves as the PrayGlobal representative, and Melissa Putney is our communications observer. 

This group meets twice a month via conference call and twice a year in person (our next face-to-face meeting takes place mid-February in Costa Rica) to review current work in Latin America and strategize for future endeavors. Each of these leaders brings a wealth of experience and a unique perspective to the table. They are available to you, so do not hesitate to contact them.

                                                                                                                                                        

The ReachGlobal Directional Team is the senior leadership of the mission. This team meets in person three times a year, and is comprised of the International Leaders from each of our five divisions; the associate executive directors for TouchGlobal, Personnel and Finance; and, of course, Tim Addington and Gary Hunter. 

The Directional Team met most recently in mid-November, and I would like to share a few highlights from that time:

• The ReachGlobal Sandbox states that we measure for effectiveness. In previous years, RG has focused on individual and team health, multiplication and holistic ministries – all important parts of the Sandbox. This year you will see more focus on measurement. While it is true that God is free to change our course in ministry and that spiritual advances are not easily measured, there are a number of indicators that can be tracked.
  
  Over the course of 2011, we will be implementing a new measurement process, beginning with the leadership. You will be hearing more about how it impacts your specific areas of ministry in the weeks and months to come.  Meanwhile, be sure to complete the little three question survey that Ken Warwick sends out at the end of each month.   

• One of our own staff, Linda Gunderson, presented a proposal to the Directional Team for improved care for missionary spouses who may not have regular check-ins with supervisors, KRAs or PRDs. We will pilot this program in Latin America this year, and we are praying for great participation on the part of our folks.

• ReachGlobal recognized that a “one-size-fits-all” approach to staffing can exclude valuable potential staff. In an effort to expand our impact in the world through non-North American and other “non-traditional” workers, RG will be implementing a five-level definition of RG staff relationship. This leveled approach will provide more flexible means of partnering with international and other non-traditional staff.  

If you have questions about our area leadership or mission leadership, please don't hesitate to ask.

Greetings, Saludos, Bendições and Bonjou

Greetings, Saludos, Bendições and Bonjou from Costa Rica. I trust that our loving God will bless you, your families and your ministries in this upcoming year. 

2010 was a fascinating year of changes for many of us. As you can see from the greeting above, although we live in a primarily Spanish-speaking world, we work in four languages in our area alone.

January 12, 2011, marks a year since the devastating earthquake in Haiti that resulted in a new field for our area. In 2010, we witnessed God’s hand and followed His leading in the immediate aftermath of the crisis. In 2011, we expect to see an international team of missionaries come together, committed to seeing healthy churches multiplied in Haiti – a country that has been without hope for so long.

Two veteran missionary families (the Hillis and Oates families) retired from ReachGlobal after many years of service. We rejoice in the testimony they are to God’s faithfulness.

At the same time, we welcomed a few new missionaries to RG LA – the Jenkins family, Melissa Putney, the De Marcos and the Wilsons. Others entered the on-boarding and support team building pipeline – the Ziels and Ashlee Nuest. God has been gracious in planting a vision for LA missions in people’s hearts. 

Roles changed in 2010 as well. A number of our staff have seen their focus move to new arenas and now serve from different places. Through these moves, we’ve extended several relationships with other organizations that share our heart for church multiplication. For example, as the Porters worked with a new partner ministry in the Dominican Republic, their relationship proved fortuitous as we launched into Haiti.

Communications became a new focus for the area. As Melissa Putney stepped into the role of Communications Coordinator for Latin America, she spoke with most of you as well as many supporting churches in the United States in an effort to better understand our communications needs. It was quickly apparent that we need to communicate RG work in LA better with you, our “on the ground” staff. Melissa and I have been strategizing about the best way to accomplish that, and we hope you’ve already seen some improvement. 

This year we plan to communicate with you more frequently, sharing area news and God-sightings. We will use this RGLA Staff Broadcast blog as the primary means of communication. It is important that you follow the updates. [Please visit the blog to set up an RSS feed. For more information on RSS feed and instructions on setting it up, go here.]

Ready, set, repost!

Please read to the bottom where we have only one thing we’re asking you to do!

Let’s face it… most of us don’t go to websites frequently to see what may be new. While ReachGlobal and the EFCA websites are updated regularly, they don’t reach the broad audience that may be interested in what is happening. 

These days, people are looking less at traditional news and more at news websites, blogs, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter feeds to see what’s happening in the world. 

Currently, Melissa Putney (area Communications Coordinator) and I receive most of the RG LA staff newsletters/prayer letters, and we have a unique opportunity to get a feel for what is being communicated back to our North American contacts. While many of these newsletters provide terrific information, we see two key areas that can help all of us improve the effectiveness of our communications as a region: breadth and reach.

Breadth refers to the scope of impact that we communicate as a result of our work in Latin America.  While each of us has individual areas of ministry, we are all also part of a broader mission in Latin America (and God’s broader story overall). It is important for our target audience to know that their support not only impacts your personal area of ministry, but that you are also part of a larger group committed to and accomplishing the work that is expanding the Kingdom across Latin America.

Reach refers to expanding the circle of people who will see and hear about our ministries. Reality tells us that a (sometimes large) percentage of our supporters never read our newsletter updates.

                                                     

But what if we could expand the number of people who have a chance to read the latest news beyond our current distribution lists? Instead of reaching a percentage of 200-400 people, what if we could reach that same percentage of 2,000-4,000 people? How might this impact our ministry? Increased support? Additional prayer? More people hearing and answering the call to missions? 

The purpose of this article is to get you thinking about the impact we could have in Latin America by increasing the visibility of our ministry and reaching a broader audience.

                                                                                                                       

How can we do that? Reposting articles/news stories online.

In December, Melissa began an experiment in increasing the reach of our LA news by asking us to use Facebook (and other social media) to repost well-written articles. The results were astounding. 

Without promoting it broadly, reposting has greatly increased online traffic for the RG LA website on EFCA.org. In fact, in December we broke our record for the most site visitors in the history of the RG LA site twice.

What is reposting? It is putting a hyperlink to the latest news article on your blog, Facebook wall, website, or Twitter feed. Often, it’s only a matter of clicking a button to “Share” the link. It’s simple and only takes a moment, but it multiplies the effect of our communications.

For example, between Melissa and my family alone there are probably two to three thousand people who see our blogs and Facebook statuses. Add the whole RG Latin America staff and just imagine how many people will see our stories/news!

Why does this help the division? It increases interest in the work that RG is doing in Latin America and reinforces that God is at work through the organization. It helps to remind people that Latin America is still very much a field of service and a region of need.

Although it’s too soon to tell, we hope that by sharing personal stories of the work God is doing, more people will be moved to join us in our efforts – not just financially but also as laborers for the field.

Why does this help you? Many of your blog readers and Facebook friends probably don’t currently support you. While the story you repost may not be your own, it is a link (literally and figuratively) to what is happening in your organization and your region of the world. It will likely peak people’s interest in what YOU do and may give you a platform to share more about your own work.

It also confirms that God is at work through your organization. For those who already support you, they can see that they aren’t doing it in vacuum.

One of the best ways to reach people, touch their hearts, and move them to action is through specific stories of individuals. In our case, we want to focus on individuals who are affected by the transformational power of the gospel. This gives glory to God and (again, we hope) moves people to action in Latin America – praying, giving, going.

One thing we would like you to do:  When you see a note from Melissa asking you to repost a link, PLEASE do it. She is ready to help you with any questions you may have about how and where to repost. 

Meanwhile, as we do repost, hundreds, perhaps thousands more people have a chance to be impacted by stories of what God is doing in Latin America. Will the next big impact story be yours? 

Prayers for Haiti & International Summit Meeting

A note from Brian:

Starting Monday, November 8, there will be a summit meeting at our Haitian center in Gressier (just outside Port-au-Prince). 

The purpose: To begin a move towards having a multi-national missions team in Haiti that is focused on multiplying healthy churches, using a broad spectrum of ministries to come alongside and develop, empower and release healthy Haitian church leaders.

The summit will include representatives of Congo, Brazil, Colombia and several ministry organizations, planning, praying and expecting God to do some amazing things.

Please pray:

• That Tomas, expected to be a hurricane by the time it hits Haiti on Friday, will have a mild and merciful impact on Haiti.
• For safety for me, my son Matthew (working with TouchGlobal), and the other RG/TG staff as they prepare for the storm and clean up afterwards.
• For unity among a very diverse set of people, cultures and languages during next week’s meetings.
• For health for all in a country where that is always a challenge.

Thank you for praying for us. You can check for updates on my blog (my Twitter feeds appear in the right-side column) as the next week develops: diggerduggan.blogspot.com

Lead Team update

May God bless you richly this Easter season!

Last week, ReachGlobal held its annual Lead Team meeting in Mt. Hermon, California, at a Christian camp and conference center in the midst of the beautiful Sequoia Redwood forests. The week was both refreshing and challenging as we worshipped together, studied the Word, prayed often, discussed ReachGlobal dynamics, and celebrated what God is doing around the world in and through our ministries.

The conference began with a full day of fasting, worship, and prayer. Throughout the week, we focused on discussing multiplication, vision casting, develop-empower-release dynamics, personnel health, and how we can be intentional about developing new leadership within our organization. Each ReachGlobal division shared a ministry report, and EFCA President Bill Hamel gave an update on the EFCA.

We were also privileged to hear from Tim Addington throughout the week. He spoke candidly on important teaching points from his soon-to-be-published book on deep influence – specifically, how leaders can develop a deep influence in the lives of others and what mistakes can result in the loss of that influence.

The overriding theme of the conference was the transformational power of the gospel in individuals, organizations, and communities. The ReachGlobal mission is to glorify God by multiplying healthy churches among all people, and we are gospel-centered in our very being. The gospel is the reason we do church multiplication, and this topic is part of an ongoing discussion within ReachGlobal and the EFCA.

In addition to the regular meeting schedule, the Latin America Leadership Team also took time apart to discuss various topics in our area. Although we meet regularly via conference calls each month, it was a pleasant change to be face-to-face, enjoying a nice meal in the outdoors and thinking through various aspects of ReachGlobal’s work in Latin America.

As your area leaders, we would like to express our appreciation for each of you, your work for the Lord, and your part in ReachGlobal’s ministry here in God’s continent. 

Haiti response

Many of you have been praying for the situation in Haiti and we are very grateful.  I got back from Port-au-Prince on Thursday and wanted to give you a brief update on what is happening and where it is going.

 

Port-au-Prince is the capital of Haiti with around 2-3 million people before the earthquake.  On January 12 there was a 7.0 earthquake that struck to the west of the city and devastated much of the surrounding area.  It is difficult to communicate how extensive the destruction is.  150 thousand victims have been buried but there are many thousands of others still entombed beneath the rubble of destroyed homes and buildings.  In the time I was there, there were 50 aftershocks of a 4.5 magnitude or larger.  This has created an overwhelming sense of fear on the part of Haitians, none of whom will sleep inside a building even if it is still standing.  The large majority of the few remaining structures have severe damage and could fall at any time.  Thus there are over 1.5 million people sleeping on the street each night, as far away from buildings as they can get.  Food and water continue to be scarce and help from many government agencies and NGOs is difficult to distribute.  If you would like to learn more about what life is like on the ground, read back entries in my blog: diggerduggan.blogspot.com followed by current entries by Steve Spellman at spellmanrio.blogspot.com.   

 

What we are doing:  TouchGlobal Crisis Response and ReachGlobal missionaries are working together to help meet immediate needs and to develop partnerships that will extend our work into our mission goal, “To multiply healthy churches among all people.”  The situation on the ground is changing every day, so a definite strategy is still under development.  However, God has opened some amazing doors for us to both meet immediate needs and to find new potential partners already working in Haiti.  At this point we are pursuing two houses in two different areas outside Port-au-Prince where teams can be hosted for ongoing work.  This work could take the form of construction, water projects, crisis counseling, and other areas.  We also have an exisiting partner in Cap Haitian whom many of you know, Henoc Lucien.  We have sent medical teams to Henoc to help with the many patients being flown to Cap Haitian for medical care.  We are working with Henoc to see if there can be a church planting strategy in the Port-au-Prince area using leaders and church planters from the Cap Haitian area. 

 

As you may have surmised, Steve Spellman is currently in Haiti.  He will be replaced by the Gundersons for a few weeks before he returns for another couple of weeks.  Brian and Sarah Bennetch (RG staff from Italy) are also there to help us get organized for future work.  We have been scouring the RG network for French speaking staff who could commit 1, 3, 6 months or more to this work.  If you know of former, retired, leave of absence or other missionaries who might be interested in this work, please let me know.  The work will be focused on both compassion ministry and church multiplication, a balance that Christ demonstrated in his ministry years. 

 

We anticipate many churches wanting to help with Haiti.  Although we are not yet ready to receive teams and in fact, there are no commercial flights into Haiti at this point, we do plan to have the processes and support systems in place soon.  There have been many instances of God opening doors and bringing us to people who are doctrinally compatible, missionally aligned and eager to partner.  Continue to pray for God’s grace and mercy as we seek the opportunity for the multiplication of healthy churches in Haiti.

 

Below is the official response we are giving to churches and individuals who are interested in helping or sending teams.  Thank you for praying for RG, TG, Haiti and God’s provision of workers for this ripe harvest.

 

Brian

 

 

Hi - great to hear from you.  I am replying from Port-au-Prince. It is devastating and chaotic. There is a school beside our base that has 60 kids entombed. We're reminded of this by the odor every time we walk by.

 

1.  Our greatest need currently is prayer and monetary donations. We have a giving link at www.efca.org  . We have a bulletin insert at www.efca.org/haiti  . Checks payable to EFCA can be sent to:
Earthquake Relief #3970
901 E. 78th St.
Minneapolis, MN 55420

 

Please use your email address list and Facebook friends to help in getting that word out. We will be updating our plans and reports via our Touchglobal Haiti email. To subscribe, email donna.burke@efca.org .

 

2.  The medical need has changed.  We NO longer need medical personnel in Cap Haiten and are switching our efforts to reconstruction outside of Port au Prince.  You can contact haititeams@efca.org for more information.  We need construction teams in Port au Prince. 3^rd world experience is prerequisite.  The work here is getting a base camp ready, and starting clean-up to reach PaP.  You must arrange your own flights to Port au Prince or arrive via Dominican Republic.  BUT FIRST connect with haititeams@efca.org.  These would be 6 man teams but let me know how many you can get together.  We prefer 6 skilled/semiskilled construction guys who have out of country experience.  The price will be $900 plus airfare to/from Haiti. Let me know how many can come, skill level, and your availability.

 

3. If you would like to donate medical or non-medical supplies to the efforts in Haiti, please send them to our TouchGlobal warehouse in Rockford IL (address below).  You can email haitiresponse@efca.org to see what donations are needed.

 

Warehouse Hours:

Mon – Fri   8:00 to 5:00

 

Address:

EFCA TouchGlobal

402 Kishwaukee St

Rockford, IL  61104

 

Tel. 815/969-0900

 

4. If you would like to give one of our "Big Asks" listed below please contact kevin.watterson@efca.org first! 

Big Asks!

• A Ford F-250 crew cab, long bed, 4x4 with 7.3 liter diesel engine in decent shape. If the vehicle’s reliability is questionable on American roads, it will never hold up to the rough terrain of Haiti’s unpaved roads. 
• 16” 10-ply tires, as flats are prevalent because of the type of roads in Haiti. Imagine rock climbing as well as driving through streams as high as the hood of the truck.
• Ford E-350 Diesel 15 passenger van
• Isusu cab over style diesel large box van
• Diesel pickup truck- Supplied by God – PTL!
• 250cc or bigger dirt bike- road legal with lights and turn signals
• Flat bed trailer, 14 -18 foot
• Chains and binders for trailer
• Backhoe and/or skid loader with backhoe attachment
• Grapple, jackhammer attachments
• Fuel bladders and 50 gallon tank with hose
• Generators- Diesel-5KW or larger
• Ford f-350 or 450/ or Isusu cab over style diesel dump truck,11,000 lb-.16,000 lb.
• Temporary housing – large military tents/mobile units
• Large air compressors and related attachments – jack hammers, hoses
• VSAT Communications system
• Concrete Tools and Equipment
• Cement mixer
• Mortar mixer
• Block press
• Power tamper
• Vibrator
• Hand tools and floats

We’ll keep you posted on details for future teams serving other needs as we get more details.

Thanks for your interest in serving.  Ml

 

Mark Lewis, Director

Touchglobal Crisis Response

 

 

 

 

 

2009: Remembering and anticipating

Dear ReachGlobal LA missionaries,

Greetings in our Lord Jesus Christ.  I pray that this note finds you well and enjoying the opportunity to be with friends and family. 

Many exciting events have occurred within our division this year:
    - It was almost one year ago that we all came together for our area conference, a first for the Duggan family and several others who have come onboard in the previous three years. 
    - The LA arrival of Bethany Kerr, the Johnson family and the Jenkins family (Bethany is in Peru, and the Johnsons and Jenkins are in Costa Rica for language study)
    - Acceptance of the Wilson family (Jim and Melanie) and Melissa Putney, both currently raising support
    - Transfer of the McGwire family from Connect to RGLA (ReachGlobal Latin America)
    - Transfer of Gene and Linda Wilson to a similar role for all of RG and the Gundersons into Gene’s previous role
    - Reorganization of our fields into four virtual (function-based) teams: 
        - Church-based Training – Omar Rodriguez
        - Church planting and coaching – Mike Gunderson
        - Theological education – Keith Anderson
        - Holistic Ministry – Brian until a leader is found
    - Increasing relationship with non-residential country partners
    - Five high-school graduate children of our missionaries who have headed off to college
    - New opportunities in each of our six residential countries for expanded ministry impact
    - Many national leaders from Latin America attending our annual church planting and coaching clinic in Costa Rica this past November
    - Our area leaders began meeting monthly to coordinate area direction and establish priorities

And in the mission as a whole:
    - God’s miraculous intervention in preserving the life of Tim Addington following his second life-threatening illness
    - The addition of Keith Rascher as International Leader for MENA (Middle-East/North Africa)
    - The move for Rick Burke from International Leader for Europe to missions pastor in St. Louis
    - Denny Morrow leading TouchGlobal
    - Ken Warwick leading Engage, Enhance and Equip
    - Launch of a new web presence for the area:  www.goreachglobal.org/latinamerica

In 2010 we can anticipate:
    - The retirement of long-term and faithful servants, the Hillis and the Oates families
    - Increased interaction with our USA-based staff and partner churches
    - Dave Rofkahr moving from International Leader for Asia to leading RG’s new recruiting division
    - Growing incorporation of holistic work into our various ministries
    - Increased use of virtual technologies (Skype, Communicator, blogs, etc.) to improve communications among our various teams and partners

As we look toward this next year I would like to encourage you to prayerfully evaluate your ministry, consider your KRAs and seek God’s direction with your teammates and leader on how the work we do can be used more fully to multiply healthy churches among all people.  I am convinced that God can use our small numbers as Jesus used the five loaves and two fish to feed a multitude.  He is able and desires to use us, his servants, to carry the Gospel to the many who have never heard it or have heard a twisted version that leads them astray. 

Much of our work is focused on developing national leaders, whether mentoring, teaching in a church environment, or through formal education.  It is clear that God has his hand on Latin America and we firmly believe that he has national leaders who will carry forward his work here and in other places in the world.  Let us continue to seek his direction in identifying and partnering with these current and potential leaders.  By equipping leaders we are investing in a healthy and multiplying Latin church movement.  This movement will be key in seeing RG impact 100 million people over the next eight and a half years.  Your work is critical to reaching this goal.  Thank you for what you are doing and your flexibility during the past five years of significant change in the mission.  God is honoring himself through your work for Latin America.

A note on communications.  The need for more and better communications is a constant theme not only within our mission, but within any organization.  We are blessed to have Melissa Putney joining us soon to take on this enormous task.  We anticipate that you will see an improvement this year in intra-area and intra-mission communications as well as developing resources to assist you in your own communications efforts.  In addition to Melissa, please pray for the Wilson and the Paz families as they raise support to join us in Latin America. 

One venue we will begin to use for intra-area communications is a new blog, ReachGlobal Latin America Staff Broadcast (rglastaffbroadcast.blogspot.com).  The purpose of this blog will be share area news, stories of praise, reflections from area leaders and RG updates.  I would like to encourage you to submit stories, news and reflections to share through this blog.  It will be set up in a way so that you will receive an email with each update (so you don’t have to remember to check the blog frequently). 

We are excited about the new RG recruiting division as well as the recruiting role for LA that Joyce Werntz has taken.  However, each of us should continue to ask the Lord of the harvest for more workers to join us in the work in Latin America.  There are opportunities in each of our teams as well as area-wide opportunities.  Please pray particularly for the right  leader for our Holistic Ministry team. 

Once again, thank you for your faithful service in 2009, a year of changes and great blessings.  May God grant us another year in his service that will result in seeing his kingdom grow in Latin America.

Together in His service,

Brian

Brian Duggan
International Leader, Latin America
ReachGlobal
Brian.Duggan@efca.org
www.goreachglobal.org
704.708.4507 - Costa Rica office (USA number)
506.8886.7128 - Costa Rica mobile
BDugganRN - Skype, AIM, MS Messenger