Volume 56 : Spring 2005 : Number 1

"If evangelical missions are to be a prophetic voice before the church and the world, our voice will be heard more clearly as we stand together."

Dear Board Member:

An open letter to those who so faithfully serve on the boards of the IFMA* member missions

by John H. Orme, Executive Director

In missions we write a lot of letters—to missionaries, from missionaries, to missions, from missions. This is a letter I have wanted to write for some time. This is to you who serve so faithfully on the IFMA agency boards. You serve sacrificially and well and are too often overlooked by us all, be we missionaries, senders, churches, schools or students.

First of all, Thank You. You have made and are making a rich contribution of your work, your wealth and your wisdom to each IFMA member agency in Canada and the U. S.

You directly affect the work of God on every continent through the ministries of the IFMA missionaries, numbering more than 13, 000 at last count, and that’s not counting the many national counterparts and associates around the globe. So, thank you for your labor for Christ as preaching and teaching, evangelizing and discipling and enhancing of ministry happens through a rainbow of tasks including MK educators, medical, computer, mechanical and administration, to name just a few.

We are deeply grateful to you for your prayer, your labor and your service, both individually and collectively. In a time when accountability and commitment to an unchanging gospel are flagging in some circles, the corporate partnership with other ministries forms a powerful synergy that multiples every individual missionary’s work and every individual agency’s task. You have no doubt heard of the two horses in a pulling contest. One horse pulled 9, 000 lbs. and the other 8, 000 lbs. We would think that together they would certainly be able to pull 17, 000 lbs. But, no, in synergy they were able to pull 30, 000 lbs! Thank you for your synergy—for pulling much more than 30, 000 lbs. many times and in many meetings enabling many endeavors.

Permit me to quickly review something of the IFMA and why and how we are so very pleased and privileged as an association to serve the IFMA member missions and and those of you who serve on the boards of the IFMA member missions.

Since 1917, the IFMA, the Interdenomi-national Foreign Mission Association of North America, Inc., has brought together like-minded mission agencies who believe Jesus Christ is Savior and Lord, and who are committed to obeying His command to take the gospel to all the world. Christians and the churches they represent trust IFMA member missions for their integrity in finances, in message, in relationships, and in moral standards

The primary focus in regard to IFMA membership is that the IFMA member missions are the IFMA. A membership, per se, is not something which is purchased, but each member mission through the application and voting process becomes an integral part of the association which forms the IFMA. Membership is a matter of the standing together of evangelical missions, shoulder to shoulder, to better perform the task of world evangelization. It is a matter of members helping members to carry out their work and in so doing, to achieve more together than apart. If evangelical missions are to be a prophetic voice before the church and the world, our voice will be heard more clearly as we stand together. Warm personal relationships are developed within the IFMA structure as members participate in the various coming together activities regularly held. By being together, agencies enlarge the vision, encourage, influence and exchange ideas that make the whole larger than the sum total of its individual parts. And—the relationships extend even further.

The IFMA Annual Meeting

The IFMA Annual Meeting is an important function for every member mission and for that reason attendance is required at least every two years. Most missions attend every year. In recent years the Evangelical Missiological Society (EMS), in large part the professors of missions in our seminaries and Bible colleges, have partnered with the IFMA thus formingeven closer bonds between mission agencyand school. This has helped us all to be alert to current issues. The networking and contacts at this conference are some of the more valuable aspects of these sessions. I am told repeatedly by executive directors of missions that the IFMA Annual Meetings are well worth the effort and expenditure of time, energy, and moneys, if just two or three significant, workable ideas are gathered for implementation in ministry.

The IFMA Mission Administration Seminar

The IFMA Mission Administration Seminar, sponsored by the IFMA Business Administration Committee, provides competent, professional help to member missions in the areas of finance, business, administration, and legal issues. The programincludes seminars on international accounting, donor funding, resource development, cost cutting, and legal matters affecting missions. Currently, 18 hours of CPE credit can be earned by CPA registrants. The next of these is scheduled in conjunction with the IFMA Annual Meeting in September 2005 in Minneapolis. The IFMA/EFMA Personnel Conference

The IFMA/EFMA Personnel Conference held each year in December has a distinct theme each year; recruiting and selection are always high on the agenda regardless of the theme. At this personnel conference, the potential for networking and relationship building for both interdenominational and denominational missions is extremely high.
The IFMA CEO & Spouse Retreat

The IFMA CEO & Spouse Retreat which was begun in December, 1992, is designed exclusively for IFMA CEO’s and their wives as a small group networking spiritual retreat. The IFMA Official Board considers this retreat so valuable that it is scheduledevery two years on a regular basis. Manyhave said repeatedly throughout the retreat, “This is what the IFMA is all about!” that is, that mission executives gather in a relaxed atmosphere, helping and encouraging one another in ministry, both by prayer and professional insight.
Standards of Integrity & Accountability

In today’s world of multiple, new entrepreneurial mission organizations, too often disconnected from the larger missions community, and too often without accountability, membership in the IFMA speaks to adherence to long-standing standards of integrity. Some areas of accountability are objective and specific. Government standards for religious non profits and FASB standards of accounting are accepted norms. In the IFMA, completefinancial audits are reviewed by the IFMA Business Administration Committee and fund raising percentages are monitored.The requirement that each member mission have a written Sexual Conduct Policy is, we believe, a needed standard in Christian ministry. The Conflicts of Interest Policy requirement is an additional IFMA standard for mission agency associations. Annually each member mission signs an Adherence Reaffirmation in regard to association standards.
LeaderLink

LeaderLink is the program of leadership enhancement. LeaderLink is for anyone within the missions community with leadership potential or currently in leadership, including general directors, mid-level managers and directors, and field and emerging leaders. While the administration and copyright are the property of the IFMA, we are pleased that the EFMA has adopted LeaderLink as its official program of leadership enhancement, as well. Sessions are held each year in Florida and international sessions have also been held in Kenya, Spain, Ecuador and the Middle East.

IFMA Canada

In Canada there are two IFMA board meetings each year which treat matters specifically Canadian, frequently in reference to Revenue Canada and Canada-specific issues. In past years we have had mission gatherings in Toronto with missionreps and others from the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. There have been other meetings in Calgary and Briercrest, as well. There is continuing interest thatthe IFMA ministry be expanded in Canada. CrossTraining, unique to Canada, is a partnership with Canadian Bible colleges and IFMA agencies.

And so we say a warm and heartfelt Thank You. Your board meetings are like the multiplying of the loaves and the fishes. Our resurrected and sovereign Lord takes into His mighty hands your time, your energy, your honed expertise, and support in so many ways. He multiplies all of this worldwide through the IFMA member agency that you serve. The IFMA member missions perhaps represent the baskets. Your loaves of boardmanship feed the multitudes for whom Christ died through the missionaries that we all serve. With our Lord, we give thanks for you and to Him for what He is doing in and through each one of you. Thank you.

Sincerely by grace,

John H. Orme, Th.D.
Executive Director

*IFMA is now CrossGlobal Link