• FEATURE: A small church contributes to reaching an entire people
• GREAT IDEAS Keys to choosing an appropriate focus
• TOOL: Map Your Church's DNA and discover latent global potential
• Share Your Ideas

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Glenside Bible Church (GBC) is a congregation of approximately 170 people in suburban Philadelphia, PA. In the early '90s, John Kless, GBC's pastor, read a brief article that revolutionized his thinking.

"It was about a missionary who had served a people for many years. But when he had to leave the field, he discovered that his supporters quit caring about the people because their focus was on him and his family.

Loved Missionaries but Not Lost People
"I suddenly realized that was true of us, too. We loved our missionaries but we did not care deeply about the lost people they were reaching!

"The implications were far reaching, and only a few months later I shared with our missions committee that I believed our church should adopt a people group. We began to pray for God's direction. A missionary presentation on what God was doing among the Kyrgyz convinced us we should find out more, and in late 1995, I set out to learn all I could about these people of Central Asia."

Kless discovered that at that time there was estimated to be less than 300 ethnic Kyrgyz believers among Kyrgyzstan's four million people, and he was able to identify just four other North American churches with interest in the Kyrgyz. The missions committee was soon convinced that these were the people God wanted to knit to the hearts of the people at GBC, and the elders solidly supported the idea.

Adoption Demanded Creative Methods
On November 3, 1996, they stood together and as a congregation made a public vow to God to do everything within their ability to plant the church among the Kyrgyz. But this congregation had no available funds to budget. Their strategic involvement in reaching the Kyrgyz would have to be more creative.

The initial research had revealed that there was no central place to go for information and no communication between churches. "As pastor," Kless says, "I took the adoption covenant seriously, and so I launched The Kyrgyz Chronicle, a monthly two-page newsletter distributed via email."

Today three different Kyrgyz-related email communiqués providing networking, information and prayer requests, are moderated by GBC. Kless invests up to half an hour per day to maintain a communications hub that connects the field workers to each other as well as to interested individuals and churches.

In the past eight years, GBC has sent many church members on short-term trips, with participants raising their own funds. On-site ministries have included construction, VBS and the development of deep relationships with believers and unbelievers.

Other projects presented themselves: Children were matched with Kyrgyz pen pals who wanted to practice English. Christian books were gathered and sent to fill a specific need. School supplies were collected for a college where a short-term team had taught, and a shipment of winter coats went to the needy. Recently the children raised $1,200 toward the printing of My First Bible in Kyrgyz. The church also has hosted one of the consultations that bring together representatives of the churches, agencies and other organizations which participate in the Kyrgyz network.

GBC has also welcomed a number of Kyrgyz including a key pastor and a music group on visits to the US. Glenside folks not only have been able to meet and talk with "real live" members of the people group for whom they have prayed, but they also have hosted them in their homes. When an immigrant Kyrgyz family settled in their community, they helped furnish an apartment and assisted them in learning English.

Dying while You Wait
Kless would encourage churches not to agonize over the selection of a strategic focus. "I've watched churches take three years," he says ruefully. "People are dying while you wait. But do make sure that you begin with a dedicated 'champion' for your project and a congregational commitment to prayer. You don’t have to have a lot of money. God will bring opportunities for involvement.

"Look for at least one person on the ground who can communicate with you," Kless recommends. "That was a deciding factor for us. Ask the Lord to provide you with a personal contact directly to your focus ministry. A steady flow of information will help keep you involved in up-to-date prayer issues and keep it exciting.

"Decide you are going to love people you don’t know!" Kless summarizes. "It's a great way for a smaller church to make an impact. No one knows about Glenside Bible Church here in the US, but," he adds with a laugh, "lots of people know us in Kyrgyzstan."

GREAT IDEAS ON CHOOSING A STRATEGIC FOCUS

Would you like to consider adopting a strategic global focus? How do you go about making a choice? What resources are available to assist you? Download this month's Great Ideas full of helpful ideas for the church contemplating the launch a global initiative.

MAP YOUR CHURCH'S DNA

Spending some time identifying your congregation's God-given characteristics is a great way to begin exploring where God would have you invest in significant global outreach. We call this process "Mapping Your Church's DNA," and DualReach has developed a tool to guide you through that process.

SHARE YOUR IDEAS

What helpful hints could you share with other churches for approaching the task of developing an annual missions budget?

An upcoming issue of Synergy Newsletter will introduce the best ideas suggested by our readers. Email us at comments@dualreach.org, and tell us how you exercise wise stewardship through careful budget preparation.