May 01, 1986 by

With all due humility, I really believe we and many others have worked at the FIRST THING FIRST: the first thousand frontier missionaries that's already done and now the Last Thousand dollars to secure this campus. That, we pray, is only a few months away.

l am deeply indebted to the two very keen men who have contributed to the BOLD STEP FOWARD in which we find ourselves.

On this side of the page. III talk about our new Executive Vice President, Greg Livingstone, and the array of challenges he faces: basically building on the 'The First Thousand New Volunteers"  a thing of the past. On the other side I'll talk about what Bob Coleman is up to. He is another precious person, who has given a great deal of himself to get this "Last Thousand" plan into shape. But I'll also mention a few other cliff hanger "games" we need to to be watching.

Greg's Opportunities

Who knows what will come of the new energy brought to our university by Greg Livingstone, now Executive Vice President. Owned and operated by missionaries, WCIU is the world's only university established exclusively for the advancement of the mission enterprise. That is why it is so crucial that a mission executive like Greg Livingstone should have a hand in the certification process of those involved in the mission world. What would you do if you had something like that in your hands?

A MISSION UNIVERSITY CAN DO ALL THIS: On the undergraduate level:

1. Offer a completely redesigned college program for young people who want to emerge from school with CONSIDERABLE overseas experience. (Now in its 3rd year)

2. Develop a work study pattern which will allow students to get out of school at any level with no debt whatsoever, and with specially enriched experience.

3. Offer a solid 4 unit college course to students isolated from the Christian movement on secular campuses, one they can take and transfer into their

own curriculum without losing money or time in their normal program. (Now in its 12th year, at 63 locations in the coating months. Over 6,000 have already taken the course!) On the graduate level:

1. Develop a special M.A. program, by extension, for mission pastors and mission committee members.

2. Offer a special MA. program for those who wish to teach English as a tentmaking vocation. (Now in its 7th year)

3. Develop a graduate degree program which will fulfill the requirements of ministerial ordination (using existing seminaries) but confer a degree recognizable and acceptable in foreign countries that are reticent about theological seminary training.

4. Offer a field based PhD. program which will allow missionaries and national leaders, unable to take off years for study in another country, to pursue high quality, standard requirements without leaving their families, work, etc. (We have 32 Ph.D. candidates in 28 countries already and two graduates.)

5. Most mission agencies now have a number of Ph.D.s on their staff. In many cases it will be possible to decentralize the administration of this program to the level of the agency itself, assuring the maximum adaptation of it to the specific needs and circumstances of each organization and candidate, missionary or national leader.

(Note: the world has by now gone crazy with a mania for "degrees". This is not something we can wave away with a wand. Missionaries and national leaders all over the world are being held back due to the lack of the "magic" degrees. IF IT WERE NOT TRUE that we (a group of experienced missionaries) literally own and control a fully authorized university corporation, we would not be so terribly eager to promote these goals. Graduate education for its own sake is a massive waste of note in countless thousands of cases. Such schooling unintentionally POSTPONES true education! But the opposite is also true, carefully designed and supervised educational programs give the crucial encouragement and enlightenment and certification which can be highly important to the international cause of missions. We simply have to keep the basic standards firm and at the same time take full advantgage of all the flexibilities which nowadays are possible!

Now, Bob Coleman and the Last Thousand

As we have noted, the coming of so exciting a person as Greg Livingstone to take a hefty role among us is itself a BOLD NEW STEP.

The second major part of the new step forward is the new plan called "The Last Thousand.' And another exciting person, Bob Coleman. He has been with us from our first year. Recently married, he has developed this new approach in the last few weeks.

Word has already gotten out on this, and one friend is willing to make available as much as $100,000 to help us with the publicity necessary to make this plan work. (This is not a gift toward the property, but a gift to help bring in gifts.)

The special element, as I see it, in this "Last Thousand" approach is this: People can give whatever they can, but they can do so without a shadow of a doubt about others failing to give enough to prevent this project to go down along with their gift. (All such gifts will be held under separate trusteeship and will be returned with interest if not enough funds come in.)

Its sort of like a matching gift: "I'll give $1,000 if you can find 7,999 others who will do the same!"

We will be able to report further next issue. We are contacting some very well known people to serve as trustees of this fund until it reaches the total necessary.

But Will It Work?

Wouldn't you suppose that amidst some 53,000 people who receive MISSION FRONTIERS, 8,000 would be willing to give the "Last Thousand" under these very secure circumstances? However, even if there are not that many who would give one $1,000 unit, perhaps others could give more than that, so that the full 8,000 units would corns into the escrow fund.

Also note: no percentage of this money coming in will be spent not a penny of it on raising money. All of it, every penny as with all property gifts in the past will be turned over against the remaining debt.

Even current on going interest (which is like a very modest rent on the amount of floor space we have) will cease when the "Last Thousand" is paid. And, joyful thought, if this is done by our TENTH BiRTHDAY (Nov. 6th this year), it will save as much as half a million dollars of interest/rent.

Let's Get it Over With!

One day, a frustrated friend of the Center called and said: "Why not try to find 8,000 gifts of $1000 each, and be done with it?"

The staff member receiving the call responded: "A thousand dollars is a lot of money! Would you give $1000 to the Center?"

There was a long pause on the other end of the line. Finally the caller said, "I don't have a lot of money. But even I would give $1000  if it were the lastS 1000 and I knew it would complete your payment I'd gladly do that! Maybe you could find 8,000 people to each pledge the last $1000..

What about the Center's pledge never to ask us for more than a onetime $15 gift?

Those who have been following the Center for many years know we have pledged to people who have already given that we will not ask them for more than a one time $15 gift. We believe this property should be funded by a million Christians who have been awakened to frontier missions.

At the same time, we have discovered that we could not survive in the short run if we depended entirely upon one time $15 gifts. Close to 12,000 people have recognized this same fact and, on theft own initiative, have given more than $15. In fact, nearly 80 percent of all the funds we have received in our 9 year history have been in the form of gifts larger than $15.

We intend to pursue the small gift program until all larger gifts have been reassigned.

We still believe the most honorable thing is to pursue the small gift program until all larger gifts have been reassigned. But we face high interest payments, plus an $8 million balloon payment in just a year. And more and more people are begging us to "just get it over with!" We have begun to wonder: could this "Last $1000" idea be God's way forward at this time?

A thousand dollars is a lot of money. But it's also within range for many people IF they are sure that the property won't be lost. We want people to know their money will be used well in the expansion of God's kingdom.

One man said be was relieved to know that his money wasn't going toward a "sinking ship" that it would only be used if the ship was sure to float and begin achieving all God meant for it.

Another said: "God won't let the Center sink. But I am very happy to encourage you in your decision to finish paying off the campus and get on with your main job." (This man pledged to fund almost 300 of these "Last $1000" units or about $300,000!)

Almost everyone contacted said, "You don't need 8,000 pledges. You only need 7,999because I'll give the last $1000."

One pastor pledged to find ten $1000 donors in his church; another pastor is seeking "live or more" pledges. Several suggested that many churches could handle $5,000 or moreespecially knowing that it would pay for the campus or be returned, And one man has now offered to fund $100,000 worth of national advertising for the "Last $1000" plan.

In view of this response, we are asking many of our followers to join our staff in praying that the entire 8000 pledges ($8 million) will be in hand by the Center's tenth birthday, November 6, this year. That would eliminate three, and potentially four, of the five remaining quarterly payments  a savings of about half a million dollars in interest!

Surprising progress has already been made. After only informal contacts, we already have almost 500 pledges.

But to jump from 500 pledges to 8,000 will still take a real miracle.

Experts tell us our mailing list is too small to generate 8,000 gifts of $1000. But we're praying that the many who share our eagerness to finish the campus payments will help us multiply pledges from churches, Bible studies, Sunday school classes, or friends.

What do you think? If you KNEW that the Center lacked only $1000 to finish paying for the campus, would you, your church or Bible Study be willing to give that$ 1000? If you KNEW that otherwise it would be returned with interest, could you give such a gift by the end of this year? Let us know of your interest by returning the response form. One final note:

We are still in the hole financially from our March 1st payment. Any plans we make to finish the payments are academic unless we can clear the July 1st payment hopefully the last quarterly payment. And so we ask you once more to patiently pray for us. Pray that many people will participate in the "Last Thousand Dollars" Plan but also pray that we will make the July 1st payment so that we can go on to implement the "Last Thousand Dollars' Plan.

How the "Last Thousand Dollars" Plan Works

Because time is of the essence, and because it is difficult to collect pledges even weeks after they have been made, we intend to establish an ESCROW fund similar to what is used in purchasing a house. The escrow will be held by a nationwide escrow company. When a person places Cunds in the escrow, account, the instructions to the escrow company will read in part something like this:

"You are instructed to accept the enclosed payment in the amount of $ on behalf of the U.S. Center for World Mission. This deposit represents a conditional gift. We are donating this amount to the USCWM on the condition that it, together with other deposits, is sufficient to pay off the Center's campus. In the event that the full payment necessary to obtain clear tide is not received, this deposit, together with accrued interest, is to be returned to me."

Thousand dollar units will be placed from donors' accounts into the escrow fund. If enough units are given, the escrow fund will be used to makt the final campus payment If enough units are not given, all funds will be returned, with interest. Donors are GUARANTEED that the payment will be COMPLETED or their gifts will be returned. In this way, each donor has the opportunity to give the "Last $1000."