2012 in Review

Preparing Paraclete’s 2012 Annual Report has encouraged me. God is moving powerfully, and Paraclete associates have been blessed to participate in what He is doing around the world.  It is impossible to tell our whole story in a few pages.  To summarize it, I used three tools—numbers to show the scope, stories and quotes to reveal the heart, and photos to capture the flavor of Paraclete ministry.

Paraclete associates are senior missionaries and ministers who work as trainers, coaches and mentors.  We define ourselves by whom we serve, and the methodology we use.  We are not limited by geography, tool, or demographics.  In 2012 Paraclete associates served on five of the seven continents.  Our ministry recipients ranged from Muslim background believers, to missionary kids; from national missionaries in the Balkans to missions committees in the U.S; from big American mission agencies to tiny Asian house churches.

Our “toolbox” is a big one—stemming from the experience of more than a thousand collective years of field work.  Paraclete associates have broad expertise and they offer help in 78 specialty areas.  Some of the most popular are cross-cultural themes, leadership development, pastoral counseling and spiritual formation.  Associates also work in areas as dissimilar as administration, girls education, IT planning, fund raising, nursing, and clean-burning stove design.  If it can bless God’s kingdom, we will use it.

Regardless of the area of our service, our work is characterized by values that come into play with everything we do.  Sometimes the values contribute as much or more than the content.  Paraclete associates often hear that it was their presence that ministered the most.  “We are so thankful for your friendship,” one associate was told last year.  After teaching a group of ministry leaders, a Paraclete couple heard, "It wasn't just the content you brought to us, but your lives and experiences.”

I hope you'll read through this report to our "share holders" or use these links to on the right panel to link directly parts of the report that interest you the most.

Together in the work,

Glen Volkhardt, CEO