When Pastor Telemaque and Laurence Burn, AFM’s training director, became acquainted in a missiology class, neither one guessed that their shared passion to reach the lost would result in a collaboration that would provide more workers for the frontier harvest.

Pastor Telemaque is the Global Missions Director for the Inter-American Division (IAD). Like Laurence, he is currently working on a doctor of missiology at the Theological Seminary at Andrews University. In his conversations with Laurence, he learned about AFM and was very interested in our mission to reach the unreached. When one of his professors, Dr. Bruce Bauer, repeatedly encouraged Pastor Telemaque to extend his mission concerns to the 10/40 window, he felt a calling and took the vision back to his field. As the IAD considered how to include the unreached of the 10/40 window in their evangelistic efforts, Pastor Telemaque approached Laurence about partnering with AFM. The IAD would open the opportunity to their unions to send pastoral families to the unreached living in the 10/40 window, and AFM would provide the specific calls along with training and ongoing mentoring for the missionaries.

This plan is part of a larger strategy to reach the unreached living in countries located in IAD territory. There are large pockets of Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus in this region who could be better reached by workers who have been trained for this purpose and have had experience working in unreached areas with these religions. When the missionaries have completed their tasks abroad, they will be equipped to return home and continue reaching the unreached in their own countries. New believers could then be trained to return to their original homelands as missionaries and even more effectively share the gospel with their own people.

After almost two years of meetings, careful planning and much prayer, the plan became reality. The IAD, in conjunction with local unions and conferences, selected the first missionaries, and we are delighted to introduce them to you. We look forward to sharing their personal stories in upcoming issues. God has been at work long before now preparing them for such a time as this. Please cover them with your prayers as they join God in this important work.

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