August 01, 1984 by

Cover Story in Christianity Today

Tim Stafford, who wrote this article, has been a professional writer for years with Campus Life. Later in Africa he set up a Christian magazine in Nairobi, all the while doing work for Christianity Today.

We'll be printing this article in its entirety next issue. One comment right now: also, journalism tends to glorify or vilify. We appreciate the fact that since we haven't yet quite failed, vilification is not yet in order. But the one in as artificial as the other. Neither is deserved. Tim is very kindly, but God is the one that enables us, and who will ..his other. as well. You don't have to he "an unusual person" to be considered so by an enthusiastic writer!

To believe that there really are enough people in America today who are right now prepared to accept new HOPE for the world . . . people like Simeon In the temple (Luke t25 38) who can see with the eyes of faith what other people cannot see.

Such people, with clean lives and pure hearts, are able to believe that America is on the verge of a major new thrust to the ends of the earth. They are able to believe that America will survive ONLY if a staunch and substantial minority is willing to bestir itself and make massive new commitment. to the and. of the earth, for the glory of the Lord.

Largest West Coast meeting!

Never before have as many mission executives planned to be in the same place on the West Coast as is the case at the three way meeting Sept 24 28 on our campus. They represent what i. today the mainstream of American missionary outreach.

These people serve and vitally influence about 25 million people in the U.S.A. We are receiving the final registration data on some 400 of these executives, who will arrive in a few days.

The oldest of the three organizations is the Interdenominational Foreign Mission Association (IPMA), which serves Canada as well as the USA. Them. are often called "the faith missions" but are more accurately the new generation of "inland" missions which came into being at the end of the last century to push into the interior of China and Africa and Latin America.

Then there is the younger, more diverse, Evangelical Foreign Mission Association which includes both denominationa and interdenominational agencies, and both "charismatic" and non¬charismatic agencies.

These two agencies together have over 200 member agencies, and over 20000 missionaries on the field. Probably 400 executives will represent them.Finally, there is an exciting group, the Association of Evangelical Professors of mission., which represents hundred, of men and women who man the strategic teaching posts in Christian colleges and seminaries today.

Our students are finding other places to stay during these five days. We have volunteers swarming all over the campus painting, cleaning rugs, putting in a raft of temporary phones, moving mountains of linens, dishes, etc.

We are not a 'sending" mission. (True, about 80 of our staff have left for the mission field, just as perhaps a 1,000 have gone to the field through one of our training programs.)

But they have gone out under OTHER, standard sending mission.! We don't send them ourselves, thus we are not "another mission." We try to assist ALL missions.

That means our over 300 home staff" here, deriving from 70 mission agencies we serve, are not the headquarters staff of a major sending mission. We have been called a mission "Pentagon' where think tank research, church level mobilization and student training takes place.