Leading the Team – Implementing the Vision

By Shirley Brinkerhoff

President Michael G. Loftis may be the first name that comes to mind when you hear ABWE mentioned. But what, exactly, does the president of a mission agency do?

As this article was being written, Dr. Loftis was in Africa, ministering to the needs of missionaries there. He usually makes two such trips annually, meeting with all the missionaries and MKs (missionary kids) in each region he visits. As the first MK to become president of ABWE, Dr. Loftis, whose parents were missionary church planters in Jamaica, has an intimate understanding of the joys and challenges faced by missionaries. He also chairs the ABWE Board, which meets five times annually. He leads the Missionary Administrative Committee (MAC) in strategic planning, and frequently represents ABWE in local churches and on college campuses.

Administration

The Missionary Administrative Committee oversees missionary care and implements ABWE’s vision on fields around the world. The Executive Administrator for MAC, explains that the administrative team is composed of those who have “served for a significant number of years as missionaries and have been recognized for their character, experience and relational skills.” He emphasizes the fact that each MAC member is still very much a missionary – one who now assists other missionaries.

Today, each of ABWE’s more than nine hundred career missionaries is represented by one of the twelve missionaries on MAC, which meets three times each year at the Harrisburg office. To make the best use of the travel time and expense involved for these meetings, other programs involving regional administrators, such as Field Preparation Seminar, are now held immediately before or after MAC meetings.

Single Missionaries

Carol Bibighaus, former missionary to Hong Kong and the Philippines, now serves as the Director of Singles Ministry for ABWE’s 124 single missionaries. “The fact that ABWE has this position shows we value our single missionaries, and would like to ensure their longevity and contentment,” Carol explains. She communicates with the missionaries through email and visits, and works alongside the regional administrators to provide special help and support. Carol finds great joy in "spending time with one of the single missionaries as she shares from her heart, and then using the Word to bring encouragement.”

The Administrative Team

A leader never functions alone. Barbara Shuff, Executive Administrative Assistant to Dr. Loftis, describes her job here as doing “. . . what others are not equipped or able to do as they serve on mission fields or in local churches. . . . Our ministry is not about careers or wealth, but about being willing to be servants in God’s plan of worldwide missions.”

An ABWE pastor wrote this in a note to Barbara:
“. . . When I hear an ABWE missionary talk about finishing a successful church plant or leading a neighbor to Christ, I rarely think of those at the home office helping them with their paperwork or providing them with essential information, resources and training. You stand behind them and have a part of their ministry as well. Whatever blessing the missionary brings to churches is a blessing you had a part of.” —ABWE pastor

Also part of the president’s office staff are Jean Shawver, Administrative Assistant for Missionary Correspondence and Special Projects, Lois Cunninghame, Secretary for Board Affairs, and Elsie Miller, who keeps the board records and archives, and is secretary to the president’s wife.

To learn more about Dr. Loftis and read articles he has written, click here.

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