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In Reply to: GN posted by Nomen Nescio on February 17, 2007 at 17:53:03:
The goals
28. Mama and I have desperately sought the Lord concerning where we're headed. What is the Lord's vision for us as a Family? What goals should we be aiming for, and what should we do to achieve them? How can we use the progress we have made over the last two and a half years to propel us into our future destiny? In praying about this, the Lord made clear what our direction is supposed to be.
29. In brief, He gave us two goals. The first goal is to prepare the Family for the future through continued spiritual and practical training.—In short, to get the Family ready to successfully fight an offensive warfare. In order to achieve this, we must continue to consolidate our gains and to train so that we become the elite forces we need to be in order to successfully fight any battle the Lord sends us into.
30. As a second and more long-term goal, He clearly stated that it is His desire and will—once the Family is spiritually strengthened and prepared, as well as better trained with more tools and know-how to do the job—that we launch a major attack in preaching the Gospel, witnessing, disciple winning, building our church, and preparing our new converts and disciples to also become elite troops, so that we can truly win the world. That's where we're headed.
31. As is the case on all board fronts, Mama and I feel that there has been great progress made on the CGO front over the last few years. New outside levels of membership have been established and you've been working toward winning and feeding those members. The Link magazine has also proven to be a great tool for not only feeding the Active members but making them feel a part of the Family as a whole. CGO board members at all levels have done a terrific job in praying about and implementing new initiatives, seminars, retreats and other programs, and the message is getting out, thanks to their efforts and to all of you, our Family missionaries around the world.
32. As with all boards, the CGO board will continue to promote witnessing in each region, along with providing what assistance and training it can to help you do the job during these 18 months and beyond. And while the primary focus of these 18 months will be for each Home and winning team to be strengthened, trained, and prepared for the witnessing and winning offensive, that doesn't mean you should stop or pull back on your witnessing now, thinking that you need to give all of your attention to building your Home, improving in the areas that the Home review showed need improvement, etc. That's not the message we're giving. The primary focus is strengthening, training‚ and building your winning team during this time, but witnessing and reaching the lost is still an important part of your daily lives, and shouldn't be neglected.
33. And remember, a major factor in having a stable Home is having a stable base of financial support, and this is achieved through faithful, uncompromised witnessing, active tool distribution, and the more labor intensive but very rewarding fruit of diligent follow-up.
34. Many Homes are presently in the "fledgling" stage of building a church, and if you keep at it during this time, even if your progress seems slower than you would like, due to the fact that you're investing more time in building a stable Home, giving your Steering Council time to get on their feet, get organized, and have time to study the training that's been provided for them, etc., you'll be ready when, in 18 months‚ the Family shifts more focus and priority to winning the world. Continuing to witness and get out Activated and the meat of the Word during this time is what will propel us into the greater works and more abundant fruit the Lord has promised will be ours through activating, discipling, and training outside flocks and churches to help us to win the world for Jesus.
35. The Lord also said that the tide of battle in the future can change, depending on world conditions, outside attacks, persecution, and other factors. Therefore, over these next 18 months we must work to achieve our first and shorter-term goal—that of training, strengthening and preparing the Family across the board for any battle the Lord calls us to fight. The Lord said, "Not only will this [18-month plan] prepare the Family to be the sharp point of the witnessing and Activated spearhead that I'll thrust into the Enemy's side, but the Family will also be strengthened for any eventuality—persecution or a sharp decline in world conditions—which would make it more difficult for them to do their job and would require that they be stronger than they are now."
36. To achieve the second goal, which is the most important one, we must first reach our first goal, that of getting ready. Our present focus must therefore be to further train, equip and prepare Family members at all levels for the offensive. Once this goal has been reached, our Husband said that we'll be prepared to fight any battle that comes our way. But He clearly stated that the main thing He'll want us to do when we've achieved this first goal is to build our church. New factors may come into the picture in the future that could require us to shift some of our efforts and energy toward other things—for example, persecution or dire world conditions—but regardless of what we're faced with in the future, this is the Lord's overall plan and goal for the future of the Family: to witness and to win like never before.
37. So how are we going to reach that first goal? All of us are going to have to work toward it. Reaching this goal is going to have to be the number-one priority at all levels of the Family.
38. (Question:) The coming "offensive" and "launching attacks on the Enemy's strongholds" sounds thrilling! It's pretty clear that this offensive centers around witnessing, reaping the harvest, and learning to effectively train and manage the large flocks the Lord has promised to bring us, but are there any specific details about this offensive and exactly what it will be, how it will happen, and through what means, and whether there will be any new directives or pushes to bring it to pass?
39. (Peter:) The Lord has given a number of promises and some initial information about the upcoming offensive, but He's mostly focused on what we're supposed to accomplish during the next 18 months. Often the Lord leads us step by step, and expects us to take the steps He's shown us before explicitly showing us what's next. In this case, He has said we must focus on further strengthening for the next 18 months, and He's established the goals we're to aim for. He's given us the reason we need to get strengthened—so that we can launch a witnessing, winning, training offensive. At this point that's what we know for certain.
40. During this next 18–month time period, while individuals‚ Homes and regions are growing stronger, Mama and I, along with the international CGO board and others, will be praying desperately about the details of the outreach offensive and all that it means. We will be seeking the Lord for the specifics and detailed instruction that is necessary to put skin on this offensive and to guarantee that it's a success. You can be sure that we'll pass those details on to you as the Lord reveals them to us. In the meantime, however, Mama and I wanted to give you the Lord's counsel and instruction for the next 18 months, while at the same time inform you that the Lord has said that after that time our focus will shift.
41. While this GN gives us specific goals to focus on during the next 18 months, we realize that it may also cause you to wonder what is going to happen after that time. Some of your questions might be: "Is there going to be an entirely new outreach method that we will be doing? Is that what the offensive will be?" "How will this 'offensive' affect our children's training and schooling‚ and will raising them to serve the Lord continue to be one of our main goals?" "How will we have time to focus on a new push when it seems that maintaining a winning team, meeting the board criteria, and doing all the things that we already have to do takes all of our time?"
42. Those are good questions, and we're sure there are many more. We have the same questions and more, and will be seeking the Lord about these and many other things. We know that the Lord has the answers, and He's already promised that He will give them. At this point, there is a lot more we don't know than we do know. But that's okay, because we don't need to know the details today. The Lord has given us the direction for the next 18 months, and Mama and I are sure, without one iota of doubt, that if we obey what Jesus has told us to do, He will give us all the instruction and guidance we need for the next step. It's a step-by-step process, so let's follow what He's shown us to focus on now‚ and then let's trust that when we need to make the next step, we'll know exactly what to do.
43. As you read this GN, please understand that we're passing on to you the big picture focus of the next 18 months. Beyond that, the Lord has given us a glimpse of what He has in store for us, but at this point it's more like "seeing through a glass darkly" (1Cor.13:12). I believe the Lord has shown us some of what's ahead in order to help us have the vision so we'd be willing to go through this last phase of strengthening. For many of us, the thought of spending another 18 months working on building our winning teams‚ strengthening the structure‚ and focusing somewhat "inward" isn't really what we want to do. We want to start reaping like never before! As the Word tells us, "without a vision the people perish" (Pro.29:18), and some of us might have felt like perishing if the Lord hadn't shown us that after these 18 months we'll be moving much more to the offensive!
44. So‚ folks‚ your job right now is to focus on the strengthening, the training, the building of your teams. Our job is to seek the Lord for the answers and guidance we need for the next step. To this end, we will be working closely with the CGO board and the other boards, so that when these 18 months are up, there will be a thoroughly prayed-through plan that will help us to keep the ground we've already gained, and to move forward to gain even more ground, with the goal of becoming all the Lord has said He wants us to be.
45. So please do your part during these months ahead, and please pray desperately for Mama and me and Family leadership as we work together to plan and prepare for the not-too-distant future—a future which we believe will fulfill the many promises the Lord has made to us over the years! Thanks!
At the RS level
46. At Summit 2006, which was held in March of this year, we explained to the RSs that their roles are changing and that they need to prepare themselves spiritually and practically for the future. About ten months ago we asked the RSs to begin pulling back from being so intimately involved in the running of their Homes, so they could focus on the jobs that only they can do. They have all been working on this with the goal of eventually being virtually free from day-to-day involvement in the Homes in which they live so they will have the time they need to attend to the multifaceted job they have. In order to achieve this, they need to work on stabilizing their Homes. Just as you need to have a solid, well–functioning Home, so do your RSs.
47. They are also evaluating the personnel makeup of their Homes as well as those who help them to run the regional services, so they will have a well-rounded and sufficiently staffed team to work with, which will help them be effective in their ministries. The RSs have a number of jobs‚ including being members of the Family Policy Council, which helps Mama and me in the formulation of Family policy; they are responsible for their region; they head up the Regional Council; in most cases they are regional board chairpersons (RBCs), so they are responsible for their board within the region. In order to be able to do the work they are responsible for, they need others to help them. We have commissioned them to make sure they have a team of capable folks to assist them, and have asked them to train those helpers to really help carry the load.
48. We've also asked them to make sure their Regional Council is an effective body. We've instructed them to strengthen and stabilize their regional desks and their shepherding desks, as both of these desks are relatively new but play a big role in serving the Family at the regional level. In their role as regional board chairpersons‚ they will be working hard to carry out the decisions made by their respective international boards—decisions that are working toward helping the Family achieve the goal of getting ready for the witnessing and winning push in 18 or so months—as well as of course carrying out regional initiatives.
At the board level
49. At the recent international board meetings, each board made plans to create or implement training programs that are geared toward helping the Homes progress in the pillar of Family life that their board focuses on. The boards will be working hard throughout this year and next to provide you with the tools and the training to help strengthen your Home in the boards' criteria. Board initiatives will, Lord willing, be coordinated more through the RC and the NCCs so that they are spread out more and don't put too much burden on your Home. For example, the timing of meetings or camps or seminars will hopefully be coordinated on a regional level, so that all the boards aren't pulling on your Home's personnel at the same time, etc.
At the WS level
50. For the past year WS has been working to rearrange its structure in order to align its publications more with the needs of the boards, as well as to beef up the boards' ability to follow through on their decisions. In order to accomplish this‚ we have created "board teams" within WS. The idea has been to build teams of people to work with the international board chairpersons (IBCs), enabling them to better carry out the decisions made by their boards. The goal is that each team will be well rounded with secretaries, helpers, and those gifted in writing and the use of prophecy. Among other things, these board teams will be responsible to produce the publications needed for their boards, including the regular monthly magazines which are sent out to the Homes, with the exception of the GNs (which have been and will remain Mama's and my responsibility, and are worked on by us and our secretaries).
51. What this means is that the content for almost all the publications which WS sends out will be created by these board teams. Those who presently create the content for these pubs will soon become members of the various board teams. In practical terms this means that pubs for the JETTs/teens, such as Xn, will now be created by the JT board team, in counsel with the international board. Those who presently work on Xn will become members of that team. Pubs for children and/or parents will be created by the CP board team, etc. Since each board is in touch with the needs of those the board serves, the Lord has confirmed that it is best if they are the ones who determine the direction and content of the pubs which fall under their jurisdiction.
52. Please pray for the board teams. Some of them are pretty much fully formed or will be shortly, as new personnel have recently joined WS in order to be board team members. The JETT/teen and CGO teams thus far only consist of the IBC and a secretary, so they are in need of more team members. Please pray that the Lord will raise up team members, those who have the gifts and are willing to join WS.
53. The oversight of music production for the Family and GP is also being aligned with the boards, with the respective boards determining the direction for the music for the audience they are responsible for, as well as approving the lyrics and recordings that are produced for that audience. A new Family Audio Department has been formed within WS to maintain responsibility for coordination and communication with the musicians‚ producers‚ and the respective boards, and to facilitate the music production.
54. WS is also beginning to prepare a Home Managers Training Course in order to offer training to the Home managers. At the Summit, some of the RSs spent a considerable amount of time helping us plan the course topics that would be most helpful for the Home managers. Like the Home shepherds‚ the managers play a major role in the running of the Homes. The Home manager job is a relatively new position, but is an extremely important one. Much of the success or failure of a Home revolves around the way the Home is managed, and therefore we want to give the managers training to help them be successful. Creating this training course is a major undertaking. Our goal is to get out at least the beginnings of the course by the beginning of next year. Please pray that we are able to achieve this. (In the meantime, Home managers, please check the eight audios of the HSTP that are available to you, as those provide good training that you can avail yourselves of immediately. You can get these from the Home shepherds of your Home.)
55. Mama and I will continue to give spiritual and practical training through the GNs. Throughout the next 18 months we will focus on topics that will help train and strengthen you as disciples and winning teams. We will also continue to train Family leadership through our communications and shepherding of the RSs, the IBCs, and in time, the Regional Council body, Lord willing.
At the Home level
56. Over the next 18 months the Homes need to stay focused on the goal of building their winning teams. You will need to continue making progress in implementing the criteria, specifically targeting any areas where you need improvement, so that by April 2007 you are passing your Home review, and from then on, maintaining that level of professional discipleship. As I said earlier, this is vital‚ because in order to be successful in our offensive witnessing attack, our Homes must be spiritually strong, well shepherded and managed, and able to withstand the extra weight of ministering to new converts and members.
57. Our and the boards' goal is to provide you with the tools and training so that you can get prepared. I believe we will be able to provide you with the training material as the months go by. However, just receiving this training material doesn't mean that you will be trained.
58. The success of the Family's future hinges on whether our Homes can do the job of winning and teaching new members. We can't truly win the world unless we have more laborers. As Jesus said, "The harvest is plenteous, but the laborers are few" (Mat.9:37). The harvest of the world is getting riper by the day, but it far surpasses our ability to reap it. We need help, and thus we must win and train that help.
59. The winning and training of that help is going to have to be done by you, by your Home. It's going to take a concerted effort by every Home and Home member to make that happen. In order to successfully make that effort, each Home is going to have to be ready and well trained so the Home will be strong enough to continue to run well while being focused on winning and feeding your flock. In fact‚ it must run professionally, so it can take on the coming much bigger job of reaping, training and discipling.
60. To get prepared for this you will need to make a commitment as a Home to put forth the effort to get trained. This means studying the training material. It means implementing it, experimenting with it, and making it a part of your everyday life. It's hard to study, it's hard to implement new ideas, and it's hard work to change and grow. But if we, as a Family‚ are going to be a success, then we are all going to have to work at it.
61. We have this time ahead of us for training. But unless we each apply ourselves to this training during this time, we won't be ready for the future; we'll miss the mark. This is where you, as a Home, must make the decision to study, to progress, to strive toward professionalism. This isn't just studying for the sake of getting smarter; it's studying so you can do the job, so that together we can launch a successful attack, so we can win! The only winning armies or winning athletes are those who train, who apply themselves and who work toward winning. And they train with a vision. They want to win and they know that all of the work of training brings them closer to winning. We need that same vision and determination.
62. Translated into practical terms‚ this means making time and taking the effort to study. It means applying what you study to your everyday lives. It means reading, studying and applying GNs and series like "The Art of War," "Training Winning Teams," "Show Me the Money," etc. It means continuing to target the weak areas within your Home, going to the Word for the answers on how to strengthen those areas, and then applying that Word until your weak areas become your strong areas.
63. It means pulling the newly arrived board handbooks off your shelf and having your criteria monitors and others who are involved in that area of Family life within your Home read them, study them, and make suggestions as to how to apply them. Those handbooks contain a wealth of information which, if applied, can help to make your Home successful. But they won't do any good if no one studies and applies them. The same will hold true with any future training materials that you receive.
The stability factor
64. I want to highlight the importance of putting continued focus on building a strong, stable winning team. When I and several of my counselors studied all the mitigating circumstances reported by Family Homes throughout the world during the October 2005 Home review, it became clear that something that made it difficult for many Homes to pass the review was the fact that so much movement was taking place within Homes—frequent personnel changes in a short period of time, resulting in Homes needing to spend time, manpower and resources on finding new personnel and new accommodations, not being able to fulfill the criteria, feeling overwhelmed, etc.
65. Building a successful winning team that is able to carry on a fruitful work and live the FD standard requires a measure of stability. And in order to have that foundation of stability from which you can launch your Home's goals and initiatives, you need to find where the Lord wants you to be, bond as a team‚ and make a commitment to the Lord and each other to stick to the place and work He's called you to.
66. We understand that many of you are still working on forming your winning teams and finding the place the Lord has for you, and we realize that there will always be some measure of change taking place. But it's important to understand that a lack of stability in our Homes works against us. It creates hardship in your Home when your personnel are in a state of flux. It causes a lack of continuity in almost every aspect of your Home, and makes it difficult, if not impossible, to live the board criteria, which then just seems to become an extra burden in your already busy lives.
67. To achieve the goals the Lord has given us for the next 18 months, you've got to not only build, but stabilize your winning teams, so that you have the strong base you need to launch out into the victories the Lord has for your Home.
68. We only have about 18 months for this training period. This is time the Lord has given us to "sharpen our scythes." We must apply ourselves to the task so that we will be ready to reap. As a Home you need to invest in the future by studying and applying the training that you have in your hands today, as well as that which will come in the future.
