By Jennifer Taylor
New Missions Systems International
(Founded 1989)
2701 Cleveland Ave., Suite 7, Fort Myers, FL 33901
www.nmsi.org
Laura Clancy, President/CEO
Every word of NMSI”s name is intentional: the organization looks for new ways to help people fulfill the missions they feel called to, while using systematic approaches to planning and implementation and maintaining an international focus across the ministry.
People worship at a church planted by Impacto Latino (impactolatino.org), an NMSI cross-cultural church planting team in Pachuca, Mexico.
“Our niche is supporting missionaries to fulfill their calling,” says President Laura Clancy. “We look for ways to support people who can identify and articulate their call, and we focus on opportunities where we can add unique value. This might be church planting, business as mission, community development, health and education, or another ministry.”
This could also mean NMSI may not be the best organization for every missionary.
“If other groups are doing something well, we encourage you to join them,” she says. “For instance, one of our projects in Chile is working with urban students, because no one else was reaching that group. But if someone wanted to work with students in England, we would suggest a conversation with CMF, who is already doing that very well.”
NMSI”s unique focus has led to a range of mission initiatives around the world. YouthHOPE works in 13 countries to equip the church to reach the needs of young adults. New Missions Systems also partnered to develop AfricaHope to provide holistic help for the Maasai people in Kenya, and ImpactoLatino as a growing ministry in Pachuca, Mexico.
“Each story is different,” Clancy says. “The team in Pachuca was an independent ministry that joined with us. They have planted three churches in the city and will begin work on the fourth this year. In Africa we”re expanding water wells and agricultural projects and training farmers in techniques that yield a greater harvest during rainy seasons. In Myanmar, YouthHOPE is opening the Opportunities Now Entrepreneurial School to offer education to underprivileged youth. Students will attend a 20-week program that will equip them with skills to join an existing company or start their own business.”
A focus in 2012 will be developing an emphasis on business as mission, a strategy that includes training and supporting missionaries to enter the Muslim world as employees of secular businesses instead of church workers.
Although the projects are different, the “systems” in New Missions Systems remain consistent: orientation, training for fund-raising and placement, and help with raising support.
“We”ve also divided the work by both region and demographics,” says Clancy, “so people can work with leaders in both areas.”
NMSI also offers short-term trips and eight-week internships. Other students will participate in yearlong apprenticeships designed for both their specific interests and missionary needs.
“We want to walk with you in the ministry God”s given you to do,” Clancy says. “Our strategies must constantly adapt, but our unchanging mandate is spreading the gospel.”
Jennifer Taylor, one of CHRISTIAN STANDARD”s contributing editors, lives in Nashville, Tennessee. Read her blog at www.seejenwrite.com.
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