"Everything the church is sent out into the world to do is missions...we all have a missional mandate."  To find out what this is about, as well as a proposed vision, we invite you all to watch this video and read the proposal below.

We are looking for a Team Leader and for a few people to join the Missions Equipping Team for this season. Questions? Interested? Contact Jeff.

Proposed Mandate of the Missions Equipping Team

The Missions Equipping Team has four connected roles that we would encourage engagement in, at a level they are able to: either praying for, encouraging, initiating, or actively running. We do not expect this team to be “hands on” in each area at all times.

To visualize this, it may help to imagine four concentric circles:

1. At the centre is the idea of encouraging, supporting and equipping ECCers to walk out their missional calling. This could look like everything from: praying for our active missionaries or those working in charities, reviewing requests for support and allocating funds to and connecting the church with people going on short term missions, and connecting ECCers with training opportunities as you are made aware of them.

2. The next circle is utilizing the gifts ECC has “at home” to carry out our missional calling. This is really about how are we as a congregation best using our assets, the gifts that we’ve been given - whether that’s the physical building or our community or everything in between - to reach the world around us?

3. The next circle out is how can ECC partner with another organization or organizations in the community to better reach our neighbourhood? This may come in the form of a partnership with a local charity or community group; it may be monetary but it likely won’t strictly just be cash, hopefully leading to a deeper connection.

4. The final circle is how can ECC support and reach the global neighbourhood? This almost certainly would be in the form of a larger financial partnership with a charity doing international work abroad and also hopefully contain some deeper connection beyond just finances.

Again, we would not expect you to lead or even be a part of each aspect of these roles but rather play a connecting, equipping and encouraging role particularly in some of the key parts of it (below) along with support from the leadership team.

For 2020 the Leadership Team proposed the idea of theming the circles 2 through 4 around the cause of Refugees as a trial - in an effort to give some underlying structure to this new format and unite the church around a common vision. We’re happy to revisit this at the end of the year.

Together we can engage ECCers, the neighbourhood around us, and our global community to welcome even more into the Kingdom of Heaven.

KEY PARTS

The scope of this Missions Equipping Team could look like the following:

• Being the 'intake' for requests for short term missions sponsorships: create a basic google form (or literally could be an email) that people interested/ wanting support from ECC for Missions would fill out, meet, then come up with a way for mutual support (so that we can pray, follow up, encourage etc).

• Try to come up with a bit of a roster (bonus) perhaps of those who are actively involved in 'formal' ministry roles in some capacity and then perhaps touching base in some intentional way say 1x a year and even just asking them if there are other ways they need support right now.

• Working with Leadership Team to determine strategic focus for the Missions Equipping Team for the year (if we have one)

• Helping annually to decide on partner charities

• Being point of contact between ECC Missionaries and ECC (updates)

• Encouraging “ECC Missions At Home” where possible alongside Leadership Team (ie: together we would look for leaders to lead initiatives to help us utilize our resources) like a Meal for International Students (as an example)