September 01, 1984 by

One way to determine the health of an enterprise is to find out what its participants think about the future. What is the confidence level? In . recent survey, I sought to determine how the leaders of LEMA missions view the future of their ministries. I will share the partial results which are in.

Forty one responses are included in this summary. These support 8.108 missionaries out of the 10.783 sponsored by all EFMA missions. Thus, the survey covers about 75% of the EFMA¬related missionary force.

To keep the survey simple, we asked just two questions of each EFMA member mission:

1. 1. Under your normal retirement rules, how many missionaries will retire during the 10 years 5955 1990 inclusive?
2. Under your projected plans, how many missionaries do you expect to appoint during the 50 years 1985 19914?

The results indicate an attitude of faith and anticipation that the work will grow significantly during the next decade.

The results show that missions, which have aba missionaries, expect to retire 1,297 of the during the coming decade a total of 16% of the present force.

(The study does not include any projection of persons who may not continue until retirement age because of health or other considerations. There will he some additional tots of personnel because of these factors.)

The exciting part of the survey is the optimism of the executives. White projected retirements number 1,297. projected appointments number 7,661 during the coming decade, allowing room for healthy growth.

This survey dealt only with personnel, but from other Information which reaches me through contacts with mission executives. I sense that exciting growth is taking place in the churches which have been planted by this missionary effort. It is not uncommon for denominations to have more members and adherents outside North America than on this continent. 

The Assemblies of red reports 10,599,391 members and adherents worldwide    a number almost a times greeter than the constituency in the U. S.

The Church of God (Cleveland, TN) reports a membership of about one million overseas, contrasted to a U. S. memhership of shout one half million.

The Christian and Missionary Alliance, with a constituency of 215,157 in the Ii. S.. has around 1.5 million in overseas churches.

While the post war missionary force is retiring in significant numbers, aggressive new leadership is hot just planning for replacement. They are planning for growth. By this bench mark, the missionary enterprise is committed to roving ahead with its Biblical mandate in the coming decade.