This is an article from the March-April 2021 issue: Insider Movements

Direction—Purpose—Vision—Hope

Direction—Purpose—Vision—Hope

As he shared with our worldwide staff recently, Frontier Ventures’ General Director Kevin Higgins summarized our overall organizational direction:

Our board of directors and lead team see Frontier Ventures with a renewed clarity of apostolic purpose tied to a deep commitment to spiritual formation and community—a multi-centralized future in which most of our hubs are not in North America, and most of our members are not North American…. This is an intentional ‘re-investment of social capital’ with a different return on investment: a more diverse missiological voice, more microphones placed close to more voices in more languages, and more breakthroughs among more of the least-reached peoples of the world.

That direction is expressed by our latest statement of Vision, or Hope: The fullness of God’s blessing for all peoples and the reconciliation of all things in Christ.

That works its way down into our particular Mission, meaning what we try and do ourselves, and alongside and through others: To nurture new ways for least reached peoples to experience the fullness of life in Jesus.

Much of what Frontier Ventures will be doing is similar to the past, but how we pursue that vision and mission is changing. Some are organizational changes, which includes the expectation that within one-two years Frontier Ventures will relocate from our current headquarters in Pasadena, California and reallocate resources to a network of hubs (including a hub in southern California).

These Global Hubs will serve as centers of our staff—in community—working alongside key national, regional and local leaders to identify, initiate and foster new efforts. These efforts are seeking to both overcome the barriers that inhibit movements to Jesus, and to share what we learn for reflection, by us and others.

Our Core Functions revolve around the idea of being “alongsiders” with others as we serve:

• We seek to love and follow Jesus alongside followers of Jesus to be mutually formed in Him for the sake of all peoples. (Formation)

• We foster discernment and innovation to lead alongside leaders to nurture innovation at the edges of socio- religious peoples. (Innovation)

• We shape environments to learn alongside learners to grow our collective understanding of the work of Jesus at the frontiers. (Missiology

• We communicate alongside communicators to give wider voice for ideas from those “on-the-ground” at the edges of the kingdom. (Mobilization and Publications)

In many ways, this won’t change things in terms of what you see us producing. For example, we still:

  • Publish books and resources through William Carey Publishing (missionbooks.org)
  • Encourage prayer for the unreached—the Global Prayer Digest is now part of another ministry of ours, Joshua Project. You can get a daily email or phone notifications to remind you to pray for a specific group each day. Go to joshuaproject.net/pray/unreachedoftheday to sign up.
  • Produce Mission Frontiers, and (as usual) talk about what God and others are doing around the globe.
  • Challenge people in their approach to mission strategy through the International Journal for Frontier Missiology. (See: ijfm.org)
  • Mobilize and mentor many through a number of things, including the Perspectives Study Program (perspectives. org), both here and in more than 20 other nations (perspectivesglobal.org)
  • Serve others in everything from innovation workshops through our Winter Launch Lab, to medical professionals seeking health for all nations (through healthforallnations.com).
  • Network with many other partnerships and global bodies, including WEA–Mission Commission, NEXT Move network—serving within global migration, the Lausanne Movement and many others.
  • And that doesn’t include our sister organization William Carey International University (wciu.edu) and its degree programs. Did you know you can get an accredited MA and never leave your home? (Well OK, you might want to go out and do some research or outreach!)

FRONTIER VENTURES

Since its inception in 1976, Frontier Ventures has served initiatives to increase momentum for the breakthrough of movements to Jesus among the remaining unreached people groups of the world.

We expand missiological insight.

Joshua Project | Mission Frontiers and Global Prayer Digest | International Journal of Frontier Missiology.

We foster environments for collaboration and innovation.

Ralph D. Winter Launch Lab | Alternative Funding | NextMove

We shape spaces for training and mobilization,

Perspectives on the World Christian Movement | NextGen | Insight | Commission Training

We share ideas with the world

Mission Frontiers and Global Prayer Digest | William Carey Publishing | International Journal of Frontier Missiology

Our aim is unchanged after 40 years: movements to Jesus within every people.

Coming out of a rebranding in 2015 and a refreshing of our Board and leadership in subsequent years, Frontier Ventures is positioned for continued service to pioneering leaders and organizations.We are executing a multi-year transition from a single North American hub to a multi-centralized network of hubs that are closer to the frontiers. This will posture our community to be more diverse, closely engaged with practitioners, and connected to the contexts we hope to influence. We will continue to shape environments for pioneering leaders to engage the emerging world with missiological insight, collaboration, innovation, training, mobilization, and publishing to see breakthroughs of the gospel and movements to Jesus among all peoples.

Join the movements! frontierventures.org/partner2020      

THANKS to many of you who are already engaged with these ministries or are praying with and for us. Many also give sacrificially to support specific projects and people (keep it up!). Perhaps you or someone you know would like to joint our team and part of our missiology, innovation and forward thinking. Write to me and let’s talk about opportunities to serve with us!

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