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.