Of course I don’t mean getting a piece of paper from an accrediating institution strengthens the church. But the process of accrediation certinaly has the potential to do so.
I wear many hats at the Evagelical Academy in Vienna. Some jobs at the Academy are high profile like the president or regular teachers. The president speaks at a lot of churches, raises funds and is well networked in the evangelical community in the country of Austria. Many times teachers are what people think of when schools are mentioned. Teachers have group time with many students and their names can be recognized through publications and advertising certian classes.
A lot of the things I do are behind the scenes, not flashy or public and I am more than fine with that. Let me tell you why.
- I see the big picture as I do my daily tasks. Right now in preparation for the accrediation visit, I am spending a lot of time in meetings and talking with the staff and faculty. I document how we do things and why we are doing them, it is lot of paperwork and administration. Not particulary my primary strength but one that is needed and I am willing. How can I get excited about this? I realize that the better we understand what we want to accomplish as a school (Serving the Church by equipping Christians for leadership positions in the church and beyond) the better we will strive to align our curriculum, and structure learning experiences so the students are truly learning and growing in knowledge, ministry skills and character development. When these things are continually improving the greater potential and effectiveness the students will be in the ministries they lead. I realize the things I do are important. The report I am compliling today, ultimately helps the health and growth of the church in Austria and beyond.
- I want to enable people, mainly Austrians or Europeans, to do the ministry. Austria has roughly a forty year history of evangelical missions in the country. We are standing on the shoulders of previous missionaries and have many churches and minitries because of their pioneering and faithful work. Many missionaires that are currently in Austria won’t be in ten to fifteen years for various reasons. Because of ever increasing residancy restrictions, the amount of new missionaries coming in are few and far between. I find this to be a good thing because current and future ministries will need to be lead by Europeans. I find it strategic to invest in training and equipping Austrians and Europeans. I am excited that what I am doing is exactly this and it is a combination of Matthew 28:18-20 and 2 Timothy 2:2, what more could I ask for?
These are some thoughts I have been thinking these past two weeks. In the coming months I am spending a lot of time preparing for the accrediation visit in 2013. All the paperwork will be turned in before the end of the year and since this is my main focus right now I wanted to share why I believe it is important.
