MOBILIZATION
THE MOBILIZATION
INITIATIVE
“I am now in the act of arranging for the eventual opening up of the whole of this province to the Gospel as the Lord gives us men, open doors, and means. Pray for these three things.”
J. HUDSON TAYLOR
JANUARY 26, 1874
THE VISION
In late 2011, as we were dreaming about what would become FAI, we chose three words to convey what we felt the Lord was marking us with as a missions family moving forward:
Frontier. Alliance. International.
We would prioritize the Frontier— where the Gospel hadn’t gone yet (Romans 15:20). We would work in a family spirit, within our own organization and in a collaborative spirit with other ministries and organizations: an Alliance. And we would, by the ten-year mark, be a multinational and multilingual organizational family—not a ministry comprised of mostly white, mostly English-speaking Americans. We believed the Lord wanted to illustrate His global purposes within our own family itself. Our living rooms and prayer meetings themselves would be International tapestries.
As recently as the last several years, the center of the global Body of Jesus has shifted from what missiologists refer to as the “Global North” (North America, Europe) to the “Global South” (Central & South America, Africa, Asia). In the last few years, we as an organization have seen the Lord mobilizing laborers from the harvest fields of the Global South to the Middle East in a concerted way. And the Gospel soil in the Middle East is more enriched for it.
Our sisters and brothers who’ve joined us on Middle Eastern soil from South America and the South Pacific have been some of our greatest strengths as we’ve moved into unreached areas under exceedingly difficult circumstances (like building a delivery room under barrel bombs).
Yet this great asset nearly can’t come overseas.
Due to the devaluation of Central & South American, African, and South Pacific currencies, many of these willing, able, and qualified laborers cannot be sent from their local fellowships simply because they don’t have the resources. They have the manpower. They don’t have the money.
THE STRATEGY
In the spirit of the global Body of Jesus “working together with what every joint supplies” (Ephesians 4:16), we are introducing THE MOBILIZATION INITIATIVE.
Much like the work of the Allies in the Second World War, those on the home front were deeply invested in and connected to the work of those on the war front. The war could not be won without the commitment and participation of both parties—all the resources in the world can’t serve as boots on the ground, and all the boots in the world can’t hit the ground without the support of a sending community.
THE MOBILIZATION INITIATIVE is a coordinated effort between FAI and the global Body of Christ to intentionally and strategically raise the required resources to send those who can “go,” want to go, and need funding, and provide an opportunity for those who want to serve and are called to send.
THE SENDING
Consider adopting THE MOBILIZATION INITIATIVE as a family, small group, church, business, trust, foundation, or organization. Here are three pipelines to invest in:
01. TRAINING & TUITION
Language acquisition is not for the faint of heart, and neither are its costs. Put a laborer through our Al-Raed Arabic Program. When they graduate at the end of the year, they’ll be thrust into an unreached community to preach the Gospel—and they’ll pronounce it properly when they do.
02. A WORKER IS WORTH HIS WAGES
Join the financial support team to send and keep a Global South laborer on the harvest field of the Middle East. Contribute to their monthly and annual salary, and gain a relationship with this member of your global family.
03. THE STANDBY FUND
There is no shortage of Global South workers willing to move to the Middle East to engage the harvest, and they’re a tremendous asset when they do. Prioritize The Standby Fund in your monthly giving to propel new workers onto the field without delay.