
Mission Frontiers Vision Network Update November 1992
Praise the Lord, He is "adding daily" those who are needed to reach our short term goal of a coordinator in every state of the US and one for every province in Canada. We have only a few in Canada so I hope you Canadians will realize that you too can have an important part in this very special ministry. Let's set those Canadian provinces on fire with the vision for the unreached peoples. We are thankful that the Alberta World Mission Center has also joined ranks with us.
What more glorious occupation could anyone have than being part of bringing forth in the earth that which is the heartfelt desire of the Lord? I sure don't know anything else I would rather be doing. It is so exciting to see people realize that there is something that they can do to help complete the great Commission even if they cannot go overseas. It is wonderful to feel the excitement they have as they tell others about the need for the other half of the world to hear the gospel. When they find out that even today 90-95% of our mission resources and personnel are still going to the reached, it really makes them want to do something about it. Does that not pull at your heartstrings too?
Our next medium range goal is to have every 3 digit zip block and every Canadian zip block covered by an area coordinator. Will you pray that this may be so by the end of 1993? Many people have responded this last month, for which we thank the Lord, because now we have only three states that do not have even one coordinator. These three are Nebraska, Missouri and Rhode Island. Surely there are some persons in those states who have this vision for the unreached and would be willing to do what is necessary to start the mobilization in their state. We are so thankful to the Lord for everyone of you who is even now mobilizing in your area.
Many people from overseas have responded, including people from Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, India, Liberia, and Taiwan. Praise the Lord for these, but there are many more around the world we hope to hear from. We all need to be praying for each other and especially for these international coordinators because most of them have a whole country. Their enthusiasm and dedication to spreading this vision overseas is so great.
I do feel that it is time to ask all of our networkers to put forth a real effort to start having prayer and sharing meetings at least once a month. This is, after all, our vision. Contact those in your area who have said by phone or on the questionaire that they are willing to meet in the groups to pray. We have received back many profiles from ones who have expressed this desire. When you begin to meet you may write to us to receive a specific people group to pray for so that the final and highest goal we have of reaching all the unreached by AD2000 will be fulfilled. As Dr. Winter says, "It is possible!" And I say, as Dr McGavran said while still with us, "I will take many Frontier Fellowships coming together to pray and mobilize for all the unreached to reached."
If you happen to be following these updates and are not yet involved but feel the Spirit prodding your heart please let this be the month you will yield to His promptings and become involved for His honor and glory and the furtherance of His Kingdom to the "uttermost parts" of the earth.
For every tribe, people and nation. Arlien SpringMission Frontiers Vision Network P.O. Box 340, Winchester CA 92596 or call 714-926-3168
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Vision Network? Where we are heading
Eighteen months ago we took a sober look at our use of the Lord's money to print and mail Mission Frontiers.
1. We concluded that it costs too little (31¢) to try to collect that amount of money from each person, even on an annual basis ($1.86 to $3.72). The professional houses which handle periodicals find that it takes about $5 per person just to send subscription notices and assist people to renew annually. We felt that would be an undesirable use of the Lord's money.
2. On the other hand we did not know anyone who would like to pay the $23,500 it costs us each issue to print, label, and mail to all 70,000 in the USA.
3. Nor did we think going with advertising pages would be a good idea, simply because the tone and power of ads could readily destroy the objectivity about the work of different agencies which we seek so earnestly to maintain.
Our conclusion: we ought to try to divide the 70,000 into 1,000 groups of roughly 70 people, and see if they could together cover the cost of 70 copies of Mission Frontiers (that's 70 times 31¢, or $21. 70 Perhaps only a dozen would be interested in helping. If one could cover one issue per year, that would do it
We also immediately realized that these local groupings (the Mission Frontiers Vision Network) would possibly engender an interesting group of vital people who would like to get together and share, plan and pray for their area churches.
In the last eighteen months Arlien Spring has done a marvelous, faithful job of picking up the ball of the Vision Network and running with it. The Lord has prospered her efforts and answered her prayers, and she has been flooded with almost three new "Networkers" per week, giving a total today of 210 (including 19 in foreign countries). We have shipped out a "ton" of materials to those who have responded. We now have 19% of our goal of 1,000 local networkers for the United States itself.
I have added in this background note by way of reminder, lest anyone be upset who has come in recently, and not understood the financial dimension of the Vision Network, which we have never tried to disguise. What this really boils down to is, to encourage 12 people in each of 1,000 areas to give $21.70 to provide Mission Frontiers to 70 people in their area. The Vision Network has many other urgent purposes for being, in addition to the financial one.
Ralph D. Winter
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