5 Getting to Know SEND International

5Getting to Know SEND

To be an effective representative and mobilizer for SEND, you must be very familiar with our organization. In this chapter we will explore SEND’s…

• History • Mission • Values • Nature • How SEND Works • Elevator Spiel

A B O U T S E N D

About 1.3 of the world’s population lives outside the reach of the local church – they have no opportunity to hear the gospel. SEND International, an evangelical mission, mobilizes missionaries to engage the unreached with the gospel and establish reproducing churches.

SEND is an inter-denominational, multinational Christian mission organization with about 600 missionaries in more than 20 areas in Asia, Europe, Eurasia and North America.

H I S T O R Y

SEND International, an evangelical mission agency, was started as Far Eastern Gospel Crusade (FEGC) shortly after World War II by a group of young men and women. Many of these had, as enlisted soldiers, been involved in gospel meetings from Australia to Manila to Tokyo. After the war, they returned to Asia, burdened for the spiritual needs of the Filipinos and Japanese.

The early years of FEGC were marked by rapid growth and expansion into new areas in the Philippines and Japan. In the 1960’s, FEGC missionaries moved into Taiwan and 1971, Central Alaskan Mission, with its multi-faceted ministries Alaska, merged with FEGC. in in

In 1981, FEGC became SEND International to better represent the geographic scope of the mission. In 1986, SEND missionaries began work in Spain, followed by new ministry in Hong Kong in 1988. Starting in the 1990s, SEND expanded into Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, Ukraine, China, and Central Asia.

From the very beginning, SEND International members were international and interdenominational. Coming from many evangelical church backgrounds, they agreed on fundamental doctrines and sought to proclaim the gospel together, discipling new believers and establishing churches that would best meet the needs of each new culture.

M I S S I O N

SEND International’s Mission is to “Mobilize God’s people and engage the unreached in order to establish reproducing churches.” You will see this shortened in many places as “Mobilize, Engage, Establish.” SEND’s end goal is to see reproducing churches established to the glory of God.

V A L U E S

SEND’s values are very important to its members, including its mobilizers. These values influence the way that we mobilize others and live out our ministry. Our core values are as follows:

Dependence

We believe in the principle of complete dependence on God for the supply of our resources and enablement of our ministry. We are dependent on the ministry of the Holy Spirit as He uses the written and spoken Word of God. We, therefore, hold the Bible to be our guide for faith and practice.

Urgency

In light of the urgency of the hour and the lostness of people, we are committed to a life of obedience which calls us to endure hardship as soldiers of Jesus Christ in order to proclaim the Gospel and see His Church established.

Servanthood

As servants of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are committed to a life of giving ourselves for the sake of our brethren, co-workers and the community we serve, incarnating Christ's love by word and deed.

Belonging

We seek to develop an ethos which stresses the importance of each member of SEND and builds a spirit of teamwork and goal ownership so that each member has a sense of belonging.

Integrity

We strive to live morally above reproach, embracing honesty and fairness in all our relationships. We are committed to the highest standards of ethics throughout the organization and all aspects of ministry.

Unity In Diversity

We incorporate missionaries of many nationalities in the task of discipling the nations. Our desire is to have a multinational membership working together in harmony towards the fulfillment of the Great Commission.

T H E N A T U R E O F S E N D

• MULTI-NATIONAL – SEND sends missionaries from SEND offices in various countries around the world. Each of these “sending” countries has a council that sets the direction of their ministry. They do their own mobilization, selection and training1 . • CROSS-CULTURAL – SEND’s focus is doing cross-cultural ministry. • INCARNATIONAL – SEND’s missionaries go to live among and be among the people that they desire to reach. This means that they typically live in their target country and learn the national language. In some locations, missionaries need to learn multiple languages. • ENGAGING THE UNREACHED – SEND does ministry in locations or amongst people groups where only 2% or less of the people are evangelical believers. • ESTABLISHING REPRODUCING CHURCHES – The goal of SEND is to establish reproducing churches amongst unreached peoples. SEND desires to see new churches multiplying themselves and reaching out to the nations.

1 The Members Orientation Program (MOP) is a function of the International Office and not the sending countries.

H O W S E N D W O R KS

Incarnational -- SEND missionaries live out the gospel in front of their neighbors. To do this, they learn the language well and live among the people they hope to reach.

Multinational -- SEND is intentionally multi-ethnic and multi-national because it takes people from all nations to reach all nations. Some of SEND’s earliest missionaries were Asians who returned to their home countries to share the gospel with their war-ravaged fellow countrymen. SEND members are recruited and sent from sending offices and partner agencies around the world.

Teams -- SEND believes strongly that teams are a highly effective way to engage unreached people. While all SEND missionaries serve on a team, the way the team functions depends on the team’s assignment and location. Some teams work very closely together on the same project and ministry while other teams work more independently but check in with each other regularly..

Member Care -- SEND is a mission agency committed to the overall well-being of its members and we go to great lengths to make sure the whole family is supported and cared for. SEND’s member care includes:

• Pre-field training and coaching • Ongoing education and resources • Missionary children services including educational consulting and resources, pre-field training, kids’ programs at conferences, debriefing and care for children and care for college MKs • Debriefing and retreats for missionaries returning on home service • Personal coaching while raising support and between field and home assignments • Counseling assessment and referrals for those who need extended debrief or professional counseling.

Historical References

Through Open Doors

A History of SEND International By Mildred M. Morehouse

Brought To A Place of Abundance

A Brief History of SEND Canada By Leander Rempel (with Laverne Fehr)

SEND ELEVATOR SPIEL

In the course of your work representing SEND and mobilizing prospective missionaries, there will be many instances when you will be asked: “What is SEND?” Very often, you will have only a short window of time to speak – usually 1-2 minutes maximum – about the length of an elevator ride, hence the name “elevator spiel.” There are many possible variations, depending on the objective and what you want to emphasize. Here is a sample “elevator spiel.”

At its core, SEND is a church-planting organization. SEND exists “to mobilize God’s people and engage the unreached in order to establish reproducing churches.”

By “church” we mean “local assemblies of real people who love God, and are rooted in biblical truth, while caring generously for people in need.” SEND is committed to see the incredible potential of local churches expand into cities and towns and neighborhoods and individual lives.

SEND’s goal is not just to share the Gospel, but to gather believers into Godglorifying, lost-reaching communities. All of SEND’s outreach activity, from making contacts to evangelism and discipleship, to the education and training of pastors and workers, lead to healthy reproducing churches among the unreached.

SEND affirms that the church is the primary stakeholder in the Great Commission. At SEND, we are working hard to understand and fulfill our role as a secondary and supportive stakeholder to churches here in Canada.

SEND has about 600 missionaries working in more than 20 countries in Asia, Europe, Eurasia, and Northern Canada/Alaska. SEND ministers to more than 30 Unreached People Groups in its various mission fields.

I N D E X O F A B B R E V I A T I O N S

As a member of SEND, you will receive and read communications from ministry fields and sending offices. Many of these use abbreviations which are currently in use or have been used in the course of SEND’s long history. Familiarizing yourself with some of these abbreviations will enhance your understanding of the communication, as well as with the breadth of the organization.

ABC Alaska Bible College ABCOP Assoc. of Bible Churches of the Philippines ABCCOP Alliance of Bible Christian Communities of the Philippines ARC Application Readiness Checklist ARES Asia Regional Equipping Seminar ATS Asian Theological Seminary

BIBAK Baguio Tribal Training Ministry

CAJ Christian Academy in Japan CAM Central Alaskan Missions CLC Christian Literature Crusade

DC Director’s Council

EE Evangelism Explosion ECFA Evangelical Council on Financial Accountability ESL English as a Second Language

FEBC Far Eastern Broadcasting Company FEBIAS Far Eastern Bible Institute and Seminary FEGC Far Eastern Gospel Crusade FER Far East Russia FIFCOP Fellowship of Independent Fundamental Churches of the Philippines

GIGH GI Gospel Hour

HTR Harvest Time Response

IC International Council ILT International Leadership Team IO International Office IXC International Executive Committee

JECA Japan Evangelical Church Association JEMA Japan Evangelical Missions Association

L&O Language and Orientation

LT Long-term

MT Mid-term MTI Missionary Training International

NCE North Central Europe NLN Northern Lights Network

OBC Okutama Bible Camp OCS Okinawa Christian School OCSC Overseas Christian Servicemen’s Centers

SCE South Central Europe ST Short-term

TESOL Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

USO United States Office (SEND US)