Thanks
to our Sponsor for this Second Edition of The
Bridge!
Wycliffe Bible
Translators
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Sponsoring Info
Wycliffe has been a partner since the
inception of Finishers. We find it to be one of the most
prolific and cost-efficient methods of mobilizing Boomers into
global impact for God. Our desire is to work with you to
find God's place in
ministry. |
Meet the Staff
Don & Ele
Parrott
Don and Ele Parrott have been married for 34
years; they have four grown children and two grandchildren
whom they greatly enjoy. Don serves as the President/CEO
of
Finishers.
They were involved in church pastoral ministries
here in the U.S. for 18 years after which they joined One
Challenge International and served in Latin America for 11
years, then 4 years in Colorado Springs at the One Challenge
headquarters.
Don and Ele are also members of Paraclete (www.paraclete.net) with Don serving
as President and Ele as Director of Member Care. Ele is
a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors
(AACC) and does extensive mentoring of younger women.
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The Bridge serves to keep you connected with the
amazing ministry and impact of Finishers Project.
We welcome your feedback, so please call or
write.
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| God's Type of Type Designer
By Don
Collingsworth
At a mission's conference in San Jose I was
introduced to a group, called Finishers, which
specializes in helping people like me who are called
into missions later in life.
Later, while visiting
my family in Texas, I visited Wycliffe Bible Translators
in Dallas and was introduced
to Mike Gallagher, a Wycliffe recruiter who works in
cooperation with Finishers. After the second stage of
application he noticed I had been a type
designer.
The mission of
Wycliffe is to translate the Bible into the
language of people groups who do not yet have the
scriptures. Many groups have a handwriting system which
has never been developed into a type settable
format. I will be working in Wycliffe's Non-Roman
Script Initiative to develop workable type in these
specific languages so Bible-less people groups can have
the scriptures in the language that speaks to their
heart. I'm looking forward to the Lord providing
the support of believers and churches who will partner
with me and Wycliffe so I can begin serving our Lord in
Dallas.
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Finishers
Forum: A Time to
Connect With Mission
Opportunities
Fort Wayne,
Indiana
Sept.
28-29
Pack your bags and join us at the
next Finishers Forum in Fort Wayne,
Indiana! The Finishers Forum on September
28-29 will be a very unique gathering of
mid-life adults who are exploring how they can invest
their future years to make a lasting impact for
God. The
breakouts will answer the questions we
commonly face in this journey. The plenary
sessions will clarify the larger issues of purpose and
direction. You'll have
time to interact with men and women who have
contact with worldwide opportunities for applying the
skills and passions you possess.
More than 24 mission
agencies will join us in Ft Wayne, Indiana at the
Finishers Forum, to be held at Blackhawk Ministries
from Friday 6 p.m. to Saturday 5 p.m. If you have not
attended one of these helpful and encouraging weekends,
this is your opportunity to see what God has been
preparing you for in your next phase of life. If you have
attended in the past and are still on the journey, we
invite you to take another step, explore some new
opportunities, and share your story with others
searching for God's best.
The senior leadership of
Finishers will be present and active during this
Forum. You
will have opportunity to spend one-on-one time with
them, as well as with those who represent global impact
roles for your consideration. As you take a
moment to seriously consider taking advantage of this
unique event, know that all of the Finishers staff is
praying that God will use this weekend to shed light on
your next steps.
We exist to help you connect with the significant
role God has been preparing you to play in these quality
years of your life.
You can register for the
Ft. Wayne Forum by going to www.finishers.org/indiana/city_in.php
The early registration fee
is good through September 16, saving you $15 per
person. If
you come to the Forum from out of town, there are hotels
listed on the registration pages. If you have any
additional questions, contact us at headquarters@finishers.org .
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Boomer
Byte
By
William Stearns
Malcom Gladwell in The Tipping Point
suggests that small changes have little or no effect on
a system until a critical mass is reached. At that
tipping point, change comes quickly-like a tiny virus
that bursts exponentially into an epidemic. Evangelical
Boomers-one of every ten Americans-making small changes
in our lives can eventually release a maelstrom of
solutions, positive trends, boons and blessings in the
name of Jesus Christ. We Boomer believers can fulfill
the promise God has invested in our generation-if we
will.
Fulfilling our Boomer promise isn't
contingent on our brains, skills or pocket books-but on
letting God tap into the heart of our generation. This
isn't about doing deeds of token charity-helping the
helpless by ladling soup once a year at the homeless
shelter, taking tax write-offs for charitable
contributions. This is about opening up our hearts to
God's big purpose to be exalted in all the earth, to
bless the nations-our own
included.
When your next generations talk
about your life, they'll mostly remember your last days.
The smell of hospitals in winter. Catheters. Medication.
Beverly Manor invoices -- or this:
- "Your
great-grandfather died drilling a water well in
Chad. That's here on the globe. They named that
well after him. Probably a hundred thousand
people are alive today because of his water."
- Or:
"She wore a burkha, just like the widows. Yes, in
Kabul.Yes, it was a dangerous place in those days.
Well, she was an extraordinary woman!"
- Or: "He
helped build 56 houses for the Appalachian poor and
started twelve churches. She rocked babies at
that women's shelter till the day she died. He trained
the supreme court judges in the new Sudan. They
started a campaign to eliminate hunger in the whole
city. She began a 24/7 Internet prayer circle
that's still praying around the world today."
- Or:
"No, he wasn't a soldier; just a great man who gave
his life so they could be free. He spent those last
years serving God as a tithe of his lifetime.
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| Measuring the Bridge!
Finishers
serves as a bridge to help connect Boomers with
opportunities to make a global impact for God. So -- is that
really happening? How do we measure our
effectiveness?
Last summer
we surveyed people who had completed a profile
on our website.
To our wonderful surprise and to the glory of our
Lord, we learned that in an eight year period, to
end next June, Finishers has helped connect
approximately 3000 people with a missions ministry! Not
all of those have made "the move" as yet, but they will
be connected within the next 10 months.
A
"connection" for us is anyone serving for one year or
more. We
strongly support shorter-term trips, but do not count
them in our connecting goals. Our Big Holy Audacious
Goal (BHAG) is to connect 5000 people
in five years, over the period of
January 2007 through December 2011. Join us in
praying about this!
As it turns
out, we were not completely prepared to measure our
effectiveness.
This ministry grew rapidly from the idea stage
into a movement and we found ourselves thrilled, but
feeling a little behind with the systems and
critical infrastructure. We are now
catching up!
One of those "catch up" steps is to insert
measurement tools into the various components of our
ministries, getting regular reports from agencies, from
churches, and from the connectees
themselves.
As those systems begin to function well, we
will have accurate updates on how we are doing as a
connecting bridge.
Here is what
we know today:
According to the survey results, for the
first eight months of 2007, so far 698 people have
made successful connections with a global impact
ministry for God!
Only 4,302 to go!
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Questions that need to be
asked!
Q. I've recently
accepted an assignment with a mission agency! Is there
anything I need to do with
Finishers?
A. Yes,
and thank you for asking! It is very helpful to
let Finishers know when you have accepted an
assignment.
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First, we
want to share in your joy and excitement about moving
forward with your desire to serve through missions.
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Secondly,
since our goal is to help connect people with ministry
roles, it is encouraging for us to know we have played
a part in helping you make a connection. Even if
we played only a small part, we want to hear from
you.
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Thirdly, it helps us keep our information
accurate for the partner agencies who are continually
trying to help people like you find a place to invest
their lives.
Please take a brief
moment to click on this link and send your name, address and the
organization you have connected with, whether you are
serving short term (under one year) or longer term (one
year or more) and a brief description of how you
connected with Finishers.
Thank you for helping
us stay current and accurate. For those reading
this who have not yet taken an assignment, please keep
this request in mind and be sure to let us know through
the Finishers website or through the agency you connect
with once you confirm a new ministry assignment.
Thank you for your consideration of this important step
in your journey.
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