April 01, 1985 by

Saturday, May  11

After months of confusion, uncertainty and ambiguity. ., the 4B page Jan/Mar issue of MISSION FRONTIERS went to press. Our new arrangement with the former owners of these properties was clarified   still higher interest (now $135,000 per month), balloon payments (total $0 million) postponed two years, until October 1st 1087, if we can even make the July 1st payment of $300,00[i'

Tuesday, May  14

McGavran and his own GIANT STEP proposal. He is the most widely respected mission strategest in the world today. In the MrGavran Center (upper floor of our library building) in the evening a very curious gathering took place. He had invited six leaders in the world of missions. The purpose was to discuss the implications of his Giant Step proposal. (Which was printed in full in the last issue of Mission Frontiers He simply and dramatically proposed that missions in this country (air only take a Giant Step forward if 100,000 new 'missionary societies' are formed in local churches. He mean, fellowships not sending agencies. Next time, June 3rd, at his initiative, the discussion will cover specifically the Mission 2000 plan to accomplish that goal.Weci Fri, ?vlajr 15 17

Washington, D.C. National Church

Growth Conference, 3rd year. Amidst the likes of Paul Yongi Cho and Richard Halverson, I was the only speaker (one plenary talk, one workshop   in the main auditorium) on the subject of the church going where it isn't (instead of merely growing where it is). About 300 pastors were there. About half came to try workshop. Following my presentation of the Mission 2000 plan, 50 turned in their names in order to get a copy of the plan.

Sunday May 19

The Commencement at our small, specialized university. This gathering absolutely packed out Franson Hall, with about 250 people. Dr. letsunao Yamamori, Director of Food for the Hungry, was the main speaker, Dr. Purnell giving the charge to the graduates, challenging the group to further growth, discipline and quality. Yamamori, as an outsider did a superb job, articulating the challenge of the world of today's world. Two other commencements have taken place on our campus this year  theInternational Theological Seminary, and the Armenian Bible College, both highly significant.

Academic relations with Food for the Hungry. Afterwards we had ample opportunity to talk to Yamamori, being invited by Dr. Olson to dinner with other members of the WCIU staff. Being a former academic leader, he now has a significant grasp of the essential relationships bet weer, the colleges and the agencies of mission. He has 43 college grads working all around the world in development activities of various kinds, and he would like them to get credit on the )ob. I have no doubt we can hammer out something that will attract other Missions, and that Yamamori will enable us to get this going. His is a small agency, like our University. Neither has a lot of red tape to deal with.

Monday May 20

50 pastors in the morning I met with the pastors of the so. Calif. District of the foursquare Church. This denominatin is struggling to fulfill the 'iOU' Unreached Peoples goal which, back in 1979, they set for 1990.

Wednesday May 22

Does World Christian Magazine have to leave? Are we already running out of space? We toured the campus. We may move all our books into the two uppei floors of the library, and move the rapidly expanding GLOBAL MAPPING PROJECT to the lower floor and there would then still he root fur World Christian."

Mission Frontiers. The Jan   Mar issue came from the press and was hustled into the mailing process Our new 'college design". Over two years ago our WCfl board underwrote the Plan of stressing internship for all student;, so that we would in effect have no .t'4dents who were not tied in somehow, even as 'student interns', with existing mission hoards. Ibis was part of a larger configuration involving an expanded func lion for the phrase, institute of [nIp, national Studies, which is an attempt to hold in creative tension four dimensions of or I ountability home, church, agency and school. A new step forward was made this day 

Elders Council: an adjustment of salary provisions. At 4 PM I presented to the Elders a tentative proposal for including office far i lit ies (in addition to living facilities) as something we would expect to cover from the support being raised by our staff. All missions "charge' personal support funds for at least some of the overhead of the mission. We have charged about 3% in the past, using undesignated gifts to cover the costs of work space. We have expected our staff to raise additional Work Related funds to cover the expenses of their prayer letters, special studies, and other work related expenses (going on trips), but never their office space.

Interest = rent As long as our property is not completely paid for, the unpaid balance brings down upon us what is in effect 'rent' on that unpaid balance

The essence of my proposal is to charge all or some of this cost to the people who utilize the facilities.

Payment priorities. Basically this means that we will begin formally to consider our project and its survival above our own living allowances. (This is like a college in hard times postponing or slashing faculty salaries to survive. Perhaps some faculty will leave. More likely the supporters will rally to replace that loss.)

July let and the food on our tables. Also see below under hay 31st. believe we must intend to pay this coming payment (arid subsequent payments) even if we have to cut deeply into the living allowances of our staff.What we are talking about is in the neighborhood of $100,000 per quarter, of newly recognized cost of ministry of each of our staff members. I believe our Personal supporters will quickly make this up, and then when the crisis is suspended (in a few months, hopefully) much of the additional support will no doubt continue for those who are already below the intended level. It is interesting that the usual deficit in our support accounts overall is almost exactly the same amount a s this additional charge for office rental   $33,000 per month,

Thus we hope that although those who have long been painfully short will he worse off right now (we'll have to share more than ever or some will starve), they will be better off in the long run. It is though we are saying to our supporters, 'You must help us get up to full support so we can in turn make the necessary sacrifice to save this project.' Here is a new source of $400,000 per year, It is in fact the amount our staff has been short changed all along! Now is when we need it. Now we must spend it on payments no matter how much it hurts. This is not an easy step of faith.

ACMC and Mission 2000.

We have teen offered wonderful opportunities at the July 16 19 meeting this year at Wheatorr. They expect at least 800 They will give us a 15 sin slot in the Thurs P11 plenary and then a 2 hour workshop the next morning. Ours is the only 2 hr period People can come in either hour if another workship is also important to them. ACMC will pass out M2000 material to everyone as they go into the Thurs PM plenary. They can take up to 1200, so there is still room.

We will use our July Mission Frontiers rover picture and rover story for the magnificent work of the ACMC and now its "Adult Urbana" National Conference. We'll devote the theme space of the issue (this issue) to the derails about their conference and the background of the ACMC etc. We can rejoice that here is one more "Neutral Crucial' organization that is promoting everyone else and not merely its own needs. Our own staff will send out a leaflet about the conference to the 7,000 or so who get our personal support letters. Our materials will all tell late registrants who hear (late) through us that they can have a special discount. Reader' Don't miss this superb conference at Wheaten July 16 19' ' Why not just pick up the Phone and call Ken Campbell at ACMC at May' 27 31

Massive student debts devastate mission (or other Christian) service.. Or. Buswell, our Dean of Graduate studies, and I attended the Wheaton Conference on "Christian Higher Education'. Perhaps the most prestigious gathering of evangelical leaders in the Christian college world. We went to check current attitudes concerning the massive problem, getting worse every day, resulting from deeper and deeper student debts. (Few Christian organizations or mission agencies can pay a college grad enough to help him out of $15,000 or $35,000 of education¬incurred debt. By the time such loans are paid off it is really too late to move into Christian service).

Turns out there was a lot of concern at Wheaton. Our "college design' (see above under May 22) will allow students to emerge debt free.