Looking Back on 2010

By Glen Volkhardt, CEO

A “perfect storm” of converging factors was brewing in 2010.

• The Church around the world continued expanding. In fact, Christianity’s “center of gravity” has now shifted to the Majority World – developing, non-Western countries. While only an estimated 17% of the world’s Christians lived in Africa, Asia and Latin America in 1900, the 2010 estimate is now 63%.* All of this growth in terms of new churches, fellowships and Christian institutions means lots of organizational “growing pains.”
• The Gospel continues to take root among some of the world’s least reached people groups. “In many cases, peoples with no known believers ten or twenty years ago now have churches within them...”** These new churches need nurturing.
• The Baby-Boomers reached a milestone: On January 1, 2011 Kathleen Casey-Kirschling turned 65 years old. She was born one second after midnight on January 1, 1946 – and represents 78 million Americans who will follow her “into retirement” over the next 19 years at a rate of 10,000 per day.*** Among the millions are many experienced missionaries and mature believers ready to come alongside the growing global Church.
• An alarming number of American missionaries are returning home from their career assignments overseas. One pastor to missionaries believes as many as 3,000 will leave the mission field and come home in the next three to five years.**** This experience base need not be lost to industry and retirement.

This is the world in which we minister and the world in which we mobilize. Our calling is to glorify God by coming alongside the global missions community to enhance Kingdom effectiveness. Our heart is to serve the growing global Church. We are convinced that a generation of mission experience can be focused on that goal.

As you read this issue of Perspective, you will see the numbers, stories and photos we use to paint a picture. The statistics give a quick view of the scope and breadth of who we are, where we serve and what we do. The stories give clues about the power of what God is doing. Glorify God with us for how He has provided and where He is leading!


* Jason Mandyrk, Operation World, (Colorado Springs: Biblica Publishing, 2010), 5
** ibid. Mandyrk, 6
*** The Baltimore Sun, Nation’s First Baby Boomer Turns 65, http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011- 01-08/business/, January 8, 2011
**** Jim Feiker, Barnabas International, meeting with author, August 16, 2010

What are you doing the rest of your life?

The needs are great – and so are the opportunities!

Perhaps someone like YOU will be the answer to the prayers of a mission agency, church, counseling center, non-profit humanitarian group or Christian school somewhere in the world. They are looking for experienced and spiritually-mature individuals to “come alongside” and help them with all manner of projects and challenges. From accounting to website development, from coaching and mentoring to staff relationship-building and conflict-resolution, from strategic planning to church planting – the list of needs is long and varied.

Are you a Baby-Boomer at the beginning of a new chapter in your life? Would you like to explore joining our team as a Paraclete associate? Do you know a retired business executive, a school administrator, a consultant or a returning missionary who may be interested? For more information and to schedule a telephone interview, please contact Glen Volkhardt by email at glen@paraclete.net or by phone: (719) 302-2500 ext. 20

2010 Ministry Portrait

Paraclete associates average over 20 years of missions experience each, having served with OC International, HCJB, TEAM, Frontiers, and Mission Aviation Fellowship to name a few. Some have held executive and director-level positions in major mission agencies, while others have worked as evangelists, pastors, counselors and managers. Expertise in media, local church leadership, medicine, music and technology allows Paraclete to offer a great diversity of service. But one thing unites our team: Each Paraclete associate is sold-out to Jesus Christ!

The Associates...
 
30 -- Number of Paraclete associates
38 -- Specialty Areas
10 -- Languages Spoken
61 -- University and Advanced Degrees
645 -- Combined Years of Experience in Mission Work


Their Work...
 
36 -- Countries of Service
123 -- Organizations Served
23 -- Mission Board Service Positions
553 -- Missionaries and other Christian Workers Counseled, Coached or Discipled
2364 -- Missionaries and other Christian Workers Taught or Trained
1449 -- Other Individuals Counseled, Coached or Discipled
7414 -- Other Individuals Taught or Trained

Reports from the Field

Although Paraclete associates sometimes take long-term assignments, they frequently find the Lord leading them to be part of a more pressing concern that requires immediate attention. Many times they hear, “The Lord has brought you here ‘for such a time as this!’”

Larry & Jean Rus: Their 15-month assignment in Southeast Asia was filled with the unexpected. The ministry director wrote, “They provided much-needed administrative help at many levels. From their expertise with finances, accounting, and organizational policies, to standardizing office procedures and taking care of a myriad of details, we were blessed beyond our expectations. We would never have been able to achieve this level of organization without their help. They came after a period of growth in our ministry which led to our need for a greater level of struc¬ture.”

Shelly Volkhardt: “At a women’s retreat last autumn, two single moth¬ers accepted Christ and others found release to lay their burdens down at Jesus’ feet. During the testimony time, one woman declared that she had pre-decided to divorce her husband after the retreat – but that God got hold of her heart and she was now going home to ‘make my marriage work!’”

Bill & Marty Sturdivant: “Along with two other pastors from the United States, I taught and encouraged persecuted pastors in India for ten days. One evening, we felt led to wash the feet of the Indian men. As we knelt at the feet of each Indian pastor, tears of joy and grace streamed down in appreciation for this act of service. From that moment on, God seemed to break into their lives in very powerful ways – bringing forgiveness for all they had suffered.”

Carey Childrey: “Moments before a I climbed the stairs to the stage to preach in Austria, a missionary told me, ‘Brother, I just want you to know that there are Muslim refugees here today from Afghanistan.’ I later found out there were also Iranians in the service. The next Sunday, at least one received Christ when another Paraclete associate brought the morning message.”


David Bochman: “After coaching an African church association (104 churches, primarily in poor rural areas) through the design of a micro-credit ‘savings and loan’ entity, what a joy to see it of¬ficially launched in the fall of 2010!”

Jim & Leta Van Meter: “A missionary couple serving in Central Asia wrote, ‘After nine years in missions, and the majority of that living in a war-torn country, we both were in need of healing and renewal. You came alongside and gave us the necessary direction, coaching and sensitive care to help us during this much-needed sabbatical.’”

Doug Goins: “Our Bible-teaching team traveled to Colombia for a prison ministry’s national leadership training conference, where we taught from the Gospels on Ministering in the Authority of Jesus. The host ministry’s national director said publicly, ‘We invite you back year after year because you are our plumb line of truth. We trust you teach to us biblical theology.’”

Robin Brennan: “What a privilege it was to teach 150 children’s ministry workers at a conference in the Middle East – in the areas of Discipline, Setting Limits, How to Deal with Hyperactivity, and Listening Skills. Many were counseled individually on behavioral and psychological issues seen in the children they serve.”

Welcome New Paraclete Associates

Tom and Bonnie Kopp
Tom was born and raised in Africa to missionary parents. He and his wife, Bonnie, served for 27 years in Africa, before returning to work in the US office of Africa Evangelical Fellowship. They both currently teach at Multnomah University in Portland, Oregon. In 2011, Tom and Bonnie will begin ministry as Paraclete associ¬ates in the areas of member care, coaching, consulting and missions training.

Byron Hurlburt
J. Byron Hurlburt was born in Belgian Congo, now Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where his parents were missionaries – as were his grandparents. At the age of twelve, he prayed to trust in Jesus Christ as his Savior. Two years later he began doing evange¬lism, which he has continued to this day. He began his education at Wheaton College in 1951, where he met his wife, Carol. Together they were involved in mission work in Chicago for nearly fifteen years. Since 1979 they have been serving primarily in Africa, coaching and mentoring Christian workers in the DRC and Uganda.

New Chairman of Paraclete

Gary Ginter re-joined the Board of Directors as Chairman, effective January 1, 2011. As one of the founders of Paraclete, Gary has faithfully served several terms as a board member. He is Chairman and Interim CEO of VAST Power Systems, Inc., and a Principal/Member in three other commercial companies.

Thanks and appreciation go to Keith Butler and Claudia Sinclair, who completed their terms of board service at the end of 2010. Please pray for the “behind-the-scenes” work done by the members of the Paraclete board. Currently there are seven board members; their names and affiliations are listed inside this edition of Perspective.

Paraclete Associates: Prayer Focus

Your prayers for “traveling mercies” are always appreciated, and never more than in these turbulent times in the Middle East. Please also pray for the preparation times and logistical details involved with each ministry opportunity below. As Paraclete associates minister around the world, thank you for your consistent and faithful support!

Gordon Rohn
May 16-20 Go Ye Fellowship committee
meetings – Pasadena, California
Sep. 12-16 Go Ye Fellowship committee
meetings – Pasadena, California
Oct. 20-23 Planning & Strategy conference
for a Muslim region – Michigan

Jim and Leta Van Meter
April 29- Latin America Training Network
May 7 retreat – Costa Rica
Oct. 4 - 7 Pastors-to-Missionaries conference
– Glorieta, New Mexico

Larry and Jean Rus
April-Aug St. Paul Cultural Center – Turkey

Dick and Pat Worden
April Leading “God’s Global Glory”
seminar – Illinois and Wisconsin
June 6 Return to Austria from furlough
July Training “God’s Global Glory”
seminar leaders – Varna, Bulgaria

Bill and Marty Sturdivant
May Ministry trip to Middle East

Robin Brennan
June 22-July 5 Breathe Conference – Switzerland

Carey Childrey
May/ Hosting India leadership
June/July New Leadership curriculum team – SE United States
August development for promoting
church-planting movements

Mike Garner
April 28-May 9 Teaching/training lay counselors – Moedling, Austria
July 9-26 Leading trainers – China

Doug and Candy Goins
May 11-18 Doug: Teaching pastors of Rural
Fellowship of Churches – Haiti
June 19-26 Doug: Pastor in Residence – Mount Hermon, California