“Make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.” (Philippians 2:2, NASB)

“The Great Commission is too big for anyone to accomplish alone and too important not to try to do together” (Steve Moore).

When asked to be ISMC president over two years ago, I initially said no. ISMC wanted me to work on shifting the mission’s organizational culture to the intentional development of leaders. But I had my own Canadian charity with global operations, one I had founded; I was already doing a similar work.

That is when the Lord used precious words from a mentor, Doug Carter, to pierce my soul: “For a long time the kingdom of God has not advanced as it should because of egos and logos.” That is a sad reality in today’s missions, when really, the only ego that should matter is the glory of God, and the only logo we fight for is the cross of Christ!

Yes, I am certainly glad I accepted the position. I had no idea that International Student Ministry (ISM) was in God’s next chapter of missions and that He wanted to not only leverage His gifts in me but also the experience and curriculum of The HuD Group1 to benefit the kingdom.

A new wind of networking, partnership, and collaboration is blowing in the ISM part of the body of Christ. Late in May, for example, I met with fellow national directors of ISMs of Power to Change2 and InterVarsity3 to talk about collaboration and partnership, to ensure that ZERO international students in Canada are unreached with love and the gospel over the next decade.

We want to go beyond networking, we want to partner. Why? Because we share a common interest. We need to regularly communicate, plan, and work together to achieve this common interest, this common vision. The vision—reach EVERY international student in Canada—is far beyond the capacity of any one partner.

In October we want a follow up meeting. Not only do we realize we truly are better together, we are humbly acknowledging what Steve Moore put so succinctly, “The Great Commission is too big for anyone to accomplish alone and too important not to try to do together.”

Dr. Yaw Perbi

President

ISMC

—————————————

1. The HuD Group—The Human Development Group: a not-for-profit Christian movement that focuses on the holistic leadership development of emerging leaders.
2. Power to Change seeks to change the world by helping students discover Jesus.
3. InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, an evangelical campus mission, works with students and faculty. “We love students, the world of higher education, and what God does through our alumni around the world.”