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F.A.Q.s
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How can I get involved ? |
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There are basically three ways 1) Go 2) Send 3) Pray. All three are effective. Whatever, you decide to do depends a lot on what you can do right now. You might not be in a position to go, so send. If you are not in a position to send, then pray. Everyone can do something. The nice thing about giving (or sending) is that our money can be working even when we can not. And it can work day and night…even while sleeping! |
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What do you mean by "Focus on the Finish" ? |
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Good question. There are many people that start and never finish. Wisdom says finish what you start. Jesus once said that the gospel of the kingdom would be preached in all the world as a witness to every nation and then the end would come. This is probably the clearest prophetic mandate in the Bible.
We get tired and discouraged like the next guy. This statement also serves to encourage us to stay the course.
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Why focus on North India ? |
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Louis Bush, Founder of A.D. 2000 and Beyond once said that North India is the most challenging area in the world (based on depth of poverty, percentage of illiteracy, total unreached population, and presence of spiritual strongholds) among those yet unreached with the gospel. It is in this area and among those people groups where the most desperate needs converge. |
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How much time do you spend in India ? |
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Visa’s only allow us to stay up to four months at a time. But, because we love India we spend as much of our time there as possible. During the first 10 years we were never out of India more than a couple of months at a time. Our process has always emphasized empowering nationals to carry the vision. With a strong national team in place it allows us to spend time gathering resources to propel the Five Level Harvest Strategy. |
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Do your children travel with you ? |
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Yes. A long time ago we had to settle this issue. Basically we realized that if we were called, then our whole family was called. We come and go, so we knew God could provide for two tickets. If He provided for two, then He would certainly provide for four.
Although it has not always been easy our children have a rich heritage in cross cultural experiences and fondly refer to even some of our roughest trips, as their favorite memories!
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How do you provide for their education ? |
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Our daughters have spent time in both local Christian schools and in various home schooling programs. In the beginning lugging loads of books from village to village was quite a challenge. Not to mention Laurel had to be the teacher in the morning, a preacher in the afternoon, and wash all our laundry by hand in her spare time! Now our home school program, Switched on Schoolhouse is on CD Rom and is a great deal easier to carry. Oh, we also found someone we could pay to do the laundry! |
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Who are you accountable to ? |
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We have a number of structures in place and put a lot of priority on this area. It has probably saved our lives a few times! It goes without saying that we are all accountable to the Lord. But He expects us to have in line those who we submit to and identify with here on earth.
The most important ones that we answer to are our Pastors. They know how to ask the hard questions and are willing to spend the time to do so. At this juncture in our lives we made sure we were in a place where this was possible.
We also have two separate boards for Supreme Task International; one here in the United States the other in India. They are both critical to what we do and serve in a totally different capacity.
Thirdly, as husband and wife we hold each other accountable. We never make important decisions without being in agreement and NEVER go forward unless we are. We are each others best friend and know how to encourage growth in each other.
Finally, we have a good network of friends and family who know how to voice concerns. We have learned over time to listen!
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Why the name Supreme Task International ? |
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We were trying to come up with a cutting edge name, tossing lots of names around. Then, while sitting in one of the VWMTC missions training classes something stuck. T L Osborn, a missionary statesman, was pouring out his heart. He quoted Oswald J Smith saying, “The Supreme Task of the local church is world evangelization.” ‘Supreme Task’ immediately struck a chord with both of us. It summed up what we felt we were all about. |
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Why did you decide to go to India ? |
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We both knew we wanted to go where the least number of Christians lived but didn’t know where that was. Since Laurel had a dream of the map of India with a deep urgency to reach that country we thought that would be a good place to start. Good friends invited us to go with them and we thought it was the perfect opportunity. Later we were told by a well known Missionary friend of ours not to go to northern India because “it’s too hard, it’ll cost too much, and you’ll have too little fruit.” In a strange way that became our reason to go! |
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How do you fund what you do ? |
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Pretty much like most missionaries. It’s the people who know you, trust you and care about what you are doing who are the most likely to support you. That’s true with us too. There are some churches a few businesses but mostly generous individuals who help us do what we do. Supreme Task International is a 501C3 non-profit organization that was set up to provide tax-deductible receipts for any pledge or donation. |
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Is it legal to spread the gospel in India ? |
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India is known as the largest democracy in the world. Its constitution provides for freedom of religion. However, making converts is greatly frowned upon. Therefore, persecution of Christians is not uncommon. You can learn more about India’s system of government by going to www. ..... |
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How did you come up with the Five Level Harvest Strategy ? |
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Well, it was a process that came over time. After spending several years building leaders through the one week Seminar of the Spirit (SOS), we began to see a weakness. It was good to build existing leaders but not sufficient to train new leaders. We then started STBTC, a full time ministry training center. We were making a major investment but found that many were not spiritually ready for full time ministry so we adjusted again. That prepared the way for the 30-Day Discipleship Training a very cost-effective way to train new believers locally. We began to see a pattern which, eventually turned into the Five Level Harvest Strategy. |
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Does Supreme Task International do any humanitarian work ? |
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Yes. Recently a 7.6 Earthquake hit northern India and Pakistan where an estimated 80,000 people lost their lives. We immediately sent an assessment team into the area followed by a 12- member S.T.A.T. team. They met with local leaders who opened the door for us to bring in much needed supplies. In that one outreach we were able to help over 3,000 people in the villages that were the hardest hit, with tents and blankets. That has opened the hearts of this Muslim community to receive like never before.
In the fall of 2005 we were also able to start a Literacy School in New Delhi. See Humanitarian Outreaches.
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One out of every four Indian children does not go to school. |
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