January 01, 2000 by

Join with us in building a mission information system for the new millennium.

In the new millennium accurate and up-to-date information on the peoples of the world will be essential if the Body of Christ is to succeed in bringing the Gospel to every people, tribe and tongue. The missionaries of the global Church will need high quality, up-to-date information on who and where these peoples are, who is working with them (if anyone is), their status of evangelism, and other related information necessary to see disciples among every people.

The vision of "HIS" (Harvest Information System) is to provide this information directly with links to information through a standardized system of coding for types of information such as peoples, languages, religions, geographic areas, etc.

The ultimate goal is to provide the whole Body of Christ with as close to real-time information as possible. In order to fulfill this vision, HIS requires the establishment of a worldwide network of informational sources which can provide accurate information from the mission fields of the world.

Patrick Johnstone, author of Operation World, has commented, "I am delighted with the HIS initiative and fully endorse the need for such. We should bequeath to the Church of the 21st Century the full challenge. I believe we now have the attention, interest and concern of many Christians, and we now also have a commonly agreed set of terms and categorizations to make the complicated analysis more practicable."

The HIS database is in the early stages of development. A prototype is currently being built with the goal of providing a demonstration model for early this year. For the HIS database to work as envisioned, it will take the involvement of the whole Body of Christ around the world.

We are not yet ready to accept information from thousands of sources. We do, however, want to encourage people around the world to begin learning about the "HIS" vision and partner with us, both in developing this tool and in developing a network of cooperation. The quality of the information that "HIS" will contain will directly relate to the number of individuals, churches and agencies worldwide who will work together to set up the database and provide the information that is crucial to coordinated efforts toward completing world evangelization.

To help you become involved with the "HIS" vision, we want to invite you to become a part of the current discussion group on-line to learn more about the "HIS" vision and how you can help. You can join the on-line group by sending an E-mail to:

        Ron Rowland
        7650 Hwy. 1390
        Scurry, Texas 75158
        Phone: 972-486-4913
        E-mail: <[email protected]>

(E-mail is the preferable form of contact.)

When you write, please provide the following information:

    1. Your contact information (address, telephone, E-mail, Website) and a statement either that:

        a) you are interested in partnering with us in supplying information or

        b) you just want to learn more.

    2. What kind of information could you provide for the database?

Another Way You Can Help

Would your agency be interested in staffing specific positions on the database team? All applicants must speak fluent English. (Please contact us for more information on our open positions. You may E-mail Tom Wood for more information at <[email protected]>.

The AD2000 and Beyond Movement is currently sponsoring the database development effort. For now, any seconded staff or volunteers would work at the Colorado Springs International Office in Colorado.

We look forward to hearing from you.

More Details on the HIS Database

A common information system is needed to superintend the diversity of organizations and ministries which are working to reach the unreached peoples. The Harvest Information System (HIS) would support these initiatives by providing information on the harvest field, the harvest force and the harvest yield.

A. What is the Nature of the Harvest Information System?

1. HIS will have common information
   A coordinated global effort to collect accurate data regarding all peoples is required so that all global, continental, national and local initiatives can work off the same page. This will help to eliminate confusion and foster partnership efforts.
2. A common information system
   The development of an information support system is underway through an alliance of Christian entities committed to the stewardship and maintenance of inter-linking information sets related to either the harvest field, harvest force or harvest yield.
3. A common database
   A common information database is being constructed that will make available non-secured, interrelated, user-friendly information that will be distributed by CD-ROM and hard copy. Security aspects will be handled separately.
4. A common purpose/goal
   The HIS project is working to cultivate a common purpose/goal that expresses the mandate of Jesus Christ and the common conviction of His people throughout the world today to reach the unreached peoples.

B. How Will the Harvest Information System Work?

1. Summary functions:

    a) It encompasses all peoples, places and persons--by language, culture, religion and physical location. It identifies who a person is both individually and collectively by languages spoken, country and state/province of residence, religion and physical location to the level of neighborhood within a community/district within a city.

It is based upon:

    b) The perception of how people see themselves.

    c) The information sets or registries that unite and/or divide people.

    d) A relationship and relational information system.

    e) Effectiveness: A change on one line will change the information of that item throughout the entire system.

2. Contents:

    a) The Harvest Field--There are five principal descriptors which cause a people to be seen as the same or different: cultural, linguistic, religious, political and spatial.

    b) The Harvest Force--This includes mission organizations, mission ministries, mission networking, and individual persons, skills, and mission products.

    c) The Harvest Yield--This reflects the results of the Church's efforts as it seeks to reach out to the peoples of the world.

You may obtain more information on the HIS Database at the AD2000 website at: http://www.ad2000.org