I often get blank looks from people when I start using some of the different terms to refer to missions inside the Christian & Missionary Alliance.

Great Commission Fund (GCF) … CAMA Services … IFAP. What are all these terms and why should you care?

These three terms all define different kind of Alliance missionaries (now called international workers). Here is how it works:

Great Commission Fund Worker – These are the more traditional missionaries who must get a Bible college education before going to the mission field. They don’t go out and raise their own support, the Great Commission Fund is what supports both them and their new ministries. Around 75% of Alliance workers are GCF workers spread out all over the world.

You should care because its churches like ours that give money to the GCF to fund these workers. We have a number of workers from our own church that are supported through this fund like Mike & Sue Farho and Carolyn Thorson.

CAMA Services Worker – CAMA stands for Compassion and Mercy Associates. These workers are focused on relief and development efforts around the globe. For example, when there was a large earthquake in China last year, CAMA Services put people on the ground to provide relief and they are still there today helping them rebuild in the name of Jesus. About 5% of Alliance workers are with CAMA and these workers raise some of their own support.

You should care because its people like you and your giving that make these relief efforts possible. CCC has several workers who are involved with CAMA Services such as Stephen & Lori Albright who work at a hospital in Guinea, Africa.

IFAP Worker – IFAP is the tentmaking arm of the Alliance. As motivated and led by God, lay professionals (medical, engineering, business, ESL and other professions) seek secular employment overseas with the specific purpose of being an effective witness. Dusty and Julia Reynolds who are starting a T-shirt factory in Mali are with IFAP. About 20% of Alliance workers are now with IFAP and they must raise their own financial support.

You should care because IFAP is the fastest growing sector of Alliance missions and the key to reaching people in creative access countries where sharing the gospel is illegal. In fact, CCC is in the process of sending out Graham and Carrie Frank through IFAP to work as an engineer and nurse in India.

I’ve been wondering to myself how the people at CCC would respond to the new Missions Catalog we released on November 22nd. Will we raise all the money that each field is hoping for? Will our people sacrifice above and beyond their normal giving? Will this catalog be the beginning of something great? Will real people be impacted by our sacrificial giving?

We’ll have to wait for the answers to most of these questions, but I am confident I know the answer to that last question. The answer is “Yes, real people will have their lives impacted by our sacrificial giving.”

I know each of the 5 fields we chose for this first catalog are very excited and very hopeful that their projects will receive funding. You see, the money you give to this will not just go into some black hole never to be seen again. And none of the money you give will be going to administrative overhead. This money will go right to the mission fields to fund the projects listed in the catalog. Real people will benefit! Real people will be impacted for the Kingdom.

Let me give you just one example about how one of these items will be used. Its item #13, a $35 food box, listed on page 7. This isn’t just a box of food given to the poor with a handshake and a hug. This box of food is used to build relationships and reach out to Jordanian people with the love of Jesus right at their homes. You see many people visit the medical clinic at the Amman Community Center and most of them are desperately poor. So our brothers and sisters at the Alliance national church who assist at the medical clinic will take food boxes right to the homes of those that are the poorest. This outpouring of love is vital to build relationships and be a light for Jesus Christ.

Our workers on each field chose the items for this catalog very carefully. They chose items that will serve as an important part of their ministries. So be assured, when you give your gift for this Missions Catalog, this money is being well spent and impacting the lives of real people.