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The Finishers Forum helped boomers in our church catch a vision for missions in their second half.
Surprisingly, we found that many of them started by looking for a more significant way to plug in right here.
A U.S. Missions Pastor
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A FINISHERS FORUM IN MY CITY?
To provide you, your family, your friends, and others in your area,
insights into options in missions that are suprisingly suited for your skills and passions.
Imagine an Urbana-like conference locally for you!
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How can we have a Finishers Forum in our area?
The Finishers Project does not initiate bringing a Finishers Forum
to a local area; rather, we respond to individuals and churches that express an interest in having a forum in their area. Generally, a city and its metropolitan area of over one million will qualify. If you wish to receive a Finishers Forum Preliminary Manual that will provide you with more information, please email us for a copy.
Once it has been determined that there is interest from a number of local churches, a Finishers Project representative will come to your city to facilitate an informational meeting. The meeting is held at a church facility and is set up by someone locally. The meeting should be attended by pastors, church leaders, and missions committee leaders from about 20 area churches. If, at this meeting, there is agreement to proceed with a Finishers Forum, the next steps will be to:
| Urbana is the name of the triannual missions conference for 19,000 collegians by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF) at the University of Illinois at Urbana. Click the "Urbana" name above for some great resources.
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- Find a volunteer to serve as Forum Coordinator and head up the local committee
- Find a church that is willing to host the event at their facility* (should be able to host about 400 people, provide rooms for workshops, plenary sessions and have a dedicated exhibit area.
- Establish a local committee made up of members from participating churches to facilitate the promotion, coordination, and preparations for the event.
- Enlist 20-30 churches to participate in and sponsor the event.
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How will our church benefit from a Finishers Forum?
Your promotion of and participation in a local Finishers Forum will help you, your staff and your leadership team in several ways:
| Middlescence is the time, at approx 45-52 years of age, when the quest for significance outweighs the drive for success. The nest empties and individuals turn their attention to the second-half of their adult life.
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- Provide a challenge to singles and couples who are moving through middlescence to consider a second career with eternal impact, rather than the world's conventional retirement thinking.
- Receive insights into how you can engage mature generations to get involved locally and globally by learning from national research and sharing best practices.
- Revitalize and re-energize your boomers as they begin to consider where God would have them serve for the next half of their adult years.
They will appreciate your attention to their special needs and interests.
- Raise the quality of your local ministry as your church begins to think outside its walls.
- Enhance the ongoing mission focus of your church (or even a country-specific focus you may have).
- Provide options for your people. A Finishers Forum enables you to bring the worldwide missions initiative to their doorstep. Our partner organizations offer more than 20,000 opportunities around the world and in the United States, with time commitments from short-term trips to a full-time career.
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How will a Finishers Forum serve our people?
| Adults see this as a safe place to explore alternatives to the world's conventional retirement thinking. There is so much more to be gained by offering their remaining years wholly for the Kingdom of God.
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- Connecting them with peers
Forum attendees will meet peers who are asking the same life questions as they are. They will also have a chance to talk with those who have already made a transition from their first career. This is an opportunity for them to discuss how they can creatively use their life skills and experience.
- Exposure to significant opportunities
Mission agency representatives will help people to quickly learn about a wide array of real life options for service either here in the States or overseas. Delegates can investigate organizations where their skills can be utilized in part-time ministry, short-term assignments, or a full time career.
- Solution-Finding
The breakout sessions focus on key issues, such as learning to identify spiritual gifts and passions, drafting a second-half mission statement, and assessing the type of ministry that best fits them. They can compare real opportunities for ministry service.
- In Process
Above all, the Finishers Forum is a place where it's OK to be "in process." It is a safe environment where they can investigate opportunities at home and abroad without pressure. Wherever they are in the process, these tools and breakout sessions are designed to help them.
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If you would like to investigate the possibility of a Finishers Forum in your metropolitan area, contact us with us your questions or to express your interest.
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