03 May Global Ministries Unveils Strategic Plans

Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries

In early April, the Global Ministries Leadership Team met in Guelph, Ontario, to continue work on a number of strategic measures. These measures include:

• Conduct a series of one-day regional training events in 2012, to provide a broad overview of what God is doing around the globe and how we can be involved.. These will be done in partnership with the US Center for World Mission.
• Train and coach church planters in other countries to operate small business endeavors, which will provide funding for ministry and opportunity to penetrate Gospel-resistant areas. The first training event will take place in Sierra Leone in January 2012.
• Continue collaborating with sister national conferences eager to send their own missionaries and participate in the broader world of United Brethren missions. Already, Honduras has participated in a short-term endeavor in Haiti, and Jamaica has received several offerings to benefit Haiti and the Philippines.
• Develop a global prayer network to strengthen God’s hand to act among United Brethren ministries around the world through focused prayer. We’ll let you know more about this as plans develop.
• Hire an additional associate director at the Global Ministries office. This person will focus primarily on all matters related to missionary personnel (recruitment, training, support, etc.), plus small business development and other areas.

29 Apr UBs Give Over $11,000 for Tsunami Relief in Japan

To date, Global Ministries has received over $11,000 from UB churches and individual donors to support tsunami relief efforts in Japan. As we promised, this money has been forwarded to Samaritan’s Purse, an organization with which we partner for disaster relief.

The evangelical Christian community in Japan represents less than 1 percent of the population, but undaunted, they are eager to help their countrymen. Samaritan’s Purse is working with churches in Japan providing tangible help with blankets, kitchen kits, and hygiene kits.

In addition to buying supplies locally, Samaritan’s Purse airlifted 93 tons of emergency aid to Japan on a 747 jumbo jet just a week after the tsunami. Their team continues to work with local church partners to distribute essential items to tens of thousands of people in the hardest hit communities.

Transportation remains a big challenge on the road to recovery. Nearly every car in the affected area was destroyed, and the country is facing a fuel shortage. In response to this need, Samaritan’s Purse has purchased hundreds of bicycles that they are giving to churches and evacuation centers, so people can borrow them when needed.

To help displaced families return to their homes, Samaritan’s Purse is providing pastors with small, inexpensive pickup trucks, each one loaded with a generator, power washer, and clean-up tools. Their team is training Japanese Christians in how to do “mud-outs,” and are setting up tents to serve as bunkhouses for volunteers coming from churches elsewhere in Japan.