Home Office Ministry

By Dr. Michael G. Loftis, President of ABWE

"I had no idea that so many people helped missionaries in so many ways in a mission agency office.” We hear these words often as visitors walk the hallways of our offices here in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. In fact, we decided to devote an issue of the Message Magazine just to give you a peek into our workday and let you know precisely the kind of assistance that is going on quietly here day and night, month in and month out, to help our growing family of missionaries worldwide.

Our military leaders sometimes describe the totality of the armed services in various theaters of the world in terms of “tooth to tail.” This phrase describes everyone from the front lines who carries a weapon (the tooth) to those in the rear guard who are organizing supplies and sending postal mail (the tail). The phenomenon of modern times has caused the tooth to require a longer tail, which includes transportation, communications, logistics, data management, maintenance of all the high-tech equipment, medical teams, education and training and much more. Depending on who you talk with, the number of persons needed to back up every soldier with a gun can vary from 10 to 20 or more.

You will find as you examine the ministry of ABWE that we have far fewer personnel in our tail of support than the military could ever imagine possible. In fact, we serve our missionaries in an almost opposite ratio. For every person working here in our home office we support 15 or more missionaries in various stages of ministry. Yet we work with all our hearts to support every colleague on the front lines of missionary work around the world with our best in financial services, legal counsel, strategic planning, communications, data management, equipment, media, family and personal counseling, medical advice, recruiting and training and coordination of volunteers.

Take a few moments and walk our hallways through the pages of this issue. We think it will help you to understand why so many people are blessed by what they see when they visit. We constantly remind our staff here that we are all part of the global team seeking to get the gospel to the lost and broken peoples of the world. Some serve on the front lines and some serve in the back rooms getting out the mail. All are serving the Lord in obedience to His command to “Go into all the world.” Perhaps God will lead you to pray more effectively for us, or better yet, to volunteer to join our support team in some strategic way in the near future.

"When I think of the ministry of the home office at ABWE, the first thought that comes to my mind is 'partnership.' I really sense that people serving in the home office view their ministry as that of partners with the local churches. The home office of ABWE does not just serve as a 'clearing house' for funds, but as a 'caring house' for the members of our church serving through the mission. The home office staff sees themselves as teammates with our missionaries and with us as a sending or supporting church. From the candidate process, through the pre-field ministry, to the service on the field, the home office team has consistently shown that they are there to help our church and help our missionaries. 'The Miracle on the Hill' is more than just the buildings; it is also the people serving in those building."

Sam Polson
Pastor, West Park Baptist Church
Knoxville, Tennessee
ABWE Board Member

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