Missions FAQ

I wanted to post some FAQ answers about our new ministry endeavor.  Of course, you can always contact me directly if you have questions, but this post may answer a few of them.

Are you moving to the Philippines?

At this point, we have no plans to move to the Philippines. Of course, we are willing if the Lord makes it clear to us to take that step. The work of which we are a part is a mature ministry as much of the leadership responsibilities has been handed over to Filipino leaders. The national leadership is running the day to day work in both the institute and seminary as well as the church association (ACCPHL). They are doing a great job overseeing the day to day ministry needs. Bill Ebert, another missionary with CTMF is onsight and assists them with any daily needs that should arise. Much of our work is not in day-to-day management operations but strategic planning, expansion build out, and reorganization. These are things that need to be done, but neither the national leadership nor Bill can do because of their daily commitments. Along with tasks mentioned, I will be teaching courses in the seminary as needed and preaching while in the country. I expect to make four to five trips a year to the Philippines and stay a term of about two weeks each.

Are you accountable to anyone?

Yes, we are accountable to our mission board and our local church. We are doing mission work under the Christian Training and Missionary Fellowship (CTMF) mission board. The story of CTMF grows out of the missionary legacy of Dan and Dot Ebert, who served for over fifty years in the Philippines. During that time, Dan lived in the jungle to enable him to create a written language for a people group on which a New Testament translation would be based for them. Later, Dan moved his family to Manila to plant churches and eventually build a Bible institute and seminary to train national leaders and plant churches. It is upon that legacy that we will be creating an educational model for the future to continue to train Christian leaders and plant churches.
As with all believers, we are accountable to our local church. We are actively involved and support our local church. We are under their authority and guidance in our ministry efforts.

What precisely will you be doing?

I will be doing several tasks related to building up national leadership and church planting initiatives. 

• First, I will be working with the Bible Institute and Seminary to attain several accreditations. During my August trip, I attended the Asia Theological Association conference in Manila. This group has an accreditation process for colleges and seminaries. Gaining accreditation through this agency will allow graduates to quickly move into graduate and postgraduate programs both in the Philippines and throughout Asia. We are also looking into other accreditations that will be important to consider for the future.
• Second, I will be working with the Seminary to create satellite learning centers. These centers will allow theological education to those who cannot travel to the location of the seminary. Creating these satellites will require curriculum reevaluation, securing a place, and building out the satellite location. 
• Third, I will be working with the national pastors to build a strategy for church planting. The mission in partnership with the association of churches (ACCPHIL) has planted over two hundred churches throughout the last twenty-five years. We now need to focus our attention on strategically using resources and planning out future stages of church planting in Metro Manila and throughout the Philippines.
• Fourth, I will be preaching and teaching in churches and the institute and seminary. The association of churches (ACCPHL) has special meetings throughout the year. While in the Philippines in August, I spoke at one such event, the day of prayer. I will have opportunities to speak at the other events as I travel over there throughout the year. I will also be teaching in the institute and seminary as needed. 
• Fifth, I will be creating a strategic plan for CTMF mission to assist them in their efforts to support the training of national leadership and church planting (see above for some specific responsibilities, other missionaries have other parts not listed).
• Sixth, I will be doing some theological writing. Over the years I have started some book ideas that I believe will be useful for the church. There are also existing resources that need to be refreshed. The existing resources were created by Dan Ebert III as a discipleship church resource for national pastors. These resources need some format and application to accompany the excellent exegetical and theological foundation already contained in them.

How are you raising financial support?

The strategy of raising mission support has changed in the past several years. Historically missionaries established support primarily through local churches and denominations. While some of this structure still exists, much of missions support now comes from individuals and entities outside churches and denominations. We are looking for churches, individuals, and other entities to support our ministry, however, we realize that most of our support will come from individuals who share our passion for church planting and developing national leaders.

We are interested in getting in front of mission committees in churches, small Bible study groups, individuals, and organizations that want to invest in global missions through prayer and awareness or a financial commitment. You can help by hosting a small group presentation, recommending us to your church mission committee, or as the Lord leads you, to give personally. At any time one can support us with a one time gift or an ongoing monthly amount through the CTMF mission board website or by mailing a financial gift to CTMF P.O. Box 1128, Madisonville, KY 42431.

What are your support needs?

We have two funds that we are looking to secure funding. 

• The first is a monthly support fund which has several tiers to it. We are concentrating on the first tier of support that would offset my income from adjunct teaching at two colleges. This would allow me to focus on doing missions full time. The first tier goal would fund my salary and all taxes, four budgeted trips to the Philippines a year, and misc. office expenses. Our monthly support goal is $3500.00. This is our most significant need to be able to transition to full-time ministry quickly. 
• The second support need is an initial transition expense that would be used during the interim of our monthly support need to fund deputation travel costs, trips to the Philippines during deputation, and equipment needed to do ministry. We realize that some may not be able to take on a monthly obligation but still want to financially invest in the ministry; this may be the way to financially be a part.

Ways you can partner with us

Abells for the Philippines

Anthony & Julianne Abell have been accepted by the Christian Missionary and Training Fellowship (CTMF) board to work with them in the Philippines.   We are rejoicing about the new ministry that God has provided for us. We are ready to begin the deputation process so that we can focus all our time contributing to the needs of the work in the Philippines.

You can help make this happen Here are several ways you can participate in our ministry Read about what we will be doing here on this blog. This will provide more details than a newsletter can provide. Read about my August trip to the Philippines in links below. Sign up for our prayer newsletter. Pray for us as we begin to raise the funds needed to accomplish ministry and begin doing some ministry. To continue to receive updates about our ministry, you must sign up to receive them here. Partner with us financially to plant churches and train national leaders. Make a one time gift toward transition expenses such as deputation travel, equipment, and interim trips to the Philippines. Make a monthly commitment to support us. Provide opportunities for us to present our ministry. I will be traveling after the first of the year to present our ministry to churches, small groups, and groups of friends and family. If you would like to be involved in hosting a group or presenting at your church, contact me at anthonyabell@ctmfonline.org.

Missions to the Philippines

It has already been over a month since I returned from my visit to the Philippines. The past month has been full of times of prayer, fruitful discussions, and long contemplation about the work that impacted me so significantly in such a short visit. As I reflect on the trip, I remember several moments that both excited me and gave me pause. One such time happened as I sat in Coron captured in my thoughts before preaching to look up and see the young pastors huddled together. These men, now pastors were the fruit of the institute and seminary.

Another time happened as we returned from Coron, we were on approach to land, and the national capital region of Metro-Manila was in complete view. As I viewed the city, I recalled an earlier conversation that informed me that the institute and seminary had about thirty pastors in the city. I was overwhelmed by the need for more churches led by trained pastors that could proclaim the truths of the scripture.

The Christian Training and Missionary Fellowship Mission Agency (CTMF). has graciously offered to take us to be missionaries under their oversight. We have accepted their offer. This opportunity is a process for us. We don't have a complete picture of how this will unfold, we believe this is the next ministry for which God has been preparing us. For the immediate future, I will start raising support for our transition expenses and monthly support.

I am excited to fold into their mission of developing national leadership through education and church planting. I am delighted to join a team that is committed to entrusting kingdom work to national leadership. 

As it stands now, my responsibilities will include these projects.

• First, I will be involved in the planning and implementation of projects related to the Bible Institute and Seminary, specifically in areas of accreditation and future extensions beyond the current physical campus.
• Second, I will be assisting in developing and implementing a missions strategic plan to clearly and directly fulfill a mission of raising up national leaders and planting churches.
• Third, I will be teaching courses for the seminary as well as preaching and teaching for special days hosted by the association of churches.
• Fourth, I will be editing existing discipleship materials and writing materials to assist with leadership and church planting efforts.

I will fulfill my role by primarily working from our current location in Florida while being in regular (daily/weekly) contact with leadership in the Philippines. I anticipate making about five trips a year over to the Philippines upon gaining full support. I ask you to join me in prayer for this ministry and our family as we make this transition. I already have some speaking engagements scheduled and I am looking for others. Also, I would ask you to consider a role as a financial partner to make this ministry happen.

Contact me: anthonyabell@ctmfonline.org

Giving: Christian Training and Missionary Fellowship

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