What are we doing?
As one might expect from our focus on "the hard job", a lot of our people are in places where another religion or ideology is so dominant that most people have no knowledge, experience, or access to any Christian witness. Consequently, they labour away in evangelism, discipleship, nurturing leaders, etc. — the usual missionary stuff.
However, in some places, there are sizeable populations of Christians, but, for whatever reason, they are not growing, not reaching out. Sometimes it's because there's a lack of teaching and training of all members of the church. Sometimes there are barriers to reaching out because of race or tribe. Sometimes leaders have blind spots, or they know what the problems are but simply don't have the energy or resources to make changes. There are many situations where church leaders will welcome a missionary's help, not to take charge and run the show, but to work together to move forward. Often, it's simply a matter of sharing knowledge and experience. Wherever possible, we seek to strengthen the hands of national believers to reach out to their own countrymen.
In addition to the above bread-and-butter, there are some other, substantial ministries within WEC.
- Rainbows of Hope - In many large, urban areas around the globe there are thousands of street kids and orphans — "children in crisis". We have a ministry to these kids of the world that nobody wants and nobody is taking care of. For more information, click here.
- Radio Worldwide - We can get the gospel to places and people as yet unconnected to any Christians. Click here to go to their site.
- Betel - Imagine churches of recovering addicts. It's happening across the world in this faith-based drug rehabilitation ministry. More information here.
- Missionary training colleges - Equipping men and women to be effective overseas. WEC has a number of them, including one in Canada, of all places! Gateway Missionary Training Centre is located in Langley, BC. Check out their site.
- Helping overseas churches with training, outreach, and mobilization - Just like in Canada, young, growing churches need solid leadership training, theological education for everyone in the church — children included — and seminaries for would-be pastors. And it often takes a while for new churches to sense the need and opportunity they have to reach out to those around them, especially if it means crossing barriers of race or tribe. WEC missionaries are playing a vital role in many parts of the world by teaching in Bible schools, or working alongside national leadership to better nurture the flocks under their care.
- Operation World - The book has helped countless Christians to learn about and pray for the unreached peoples of the world. It's been a WEC ministry since Patrick Johnstone produced the first edition — a mere 32 pages — in 1964. Jason Mandryk, from Winnipeg, is currently leading the team producing an updated version. (They have their own site here.)
- Schools on the field for missionary children - Thanks to these, missionaries can work in tough places without shipping young children off to another continent for education. There are many families out on the field who could not be there if such schools didn't exist.
- Writing/Translation - In any language that is written down there is a need for the Bible and other Christian literature, tracts, stories, radio programs, etc. Producing materials that are clear, comprehensible, and captivating is a difficult task, often requiring teams of talented and committed workers.