Evangelical Friends Church - Mid America

Evangelical Friends Church - Mid America Yearly Meeting Website

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From the Desk of Dan Cammack

Many of you know that after almost 20 years of missionary service with EFM (18 of those in Rwanda) David and Debby Thomas and their children are moving this summer to Newberg, Oregon to support Breanna, Aren, Gwen, and Alandra, in their educational endeavors during the coming years.  Debby is about to complete a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership and will be looking for ways to use that degree, hopefully in the field of education.  David, however, does not feel released from the call that the Lord laid on his heart many years ago to serve him as a missionary in other parts of the world.
After much thought, prayer, and discussion the EFM directors and board have approved David to stay on as a missionary with EFM, based in the US to do the following:
  • danRemain a part of our missionary team in Rwanda as they work with Rwandan Friends leaders to firmly establish the Discipling for Development (D for D) movement in their yearly meeting.  The team is also working towards transitioning out of a full-time missionary presence in Rwanda and into a new regional role in Africa that will probably include partnerships and ongoing training with African Friends in mission-sending, as well as D for D expansion.
  • Become a non-resident member of the teams that will be developing on our new fields, especially northern India and Ecuador.  David will be able to help these teams develop effective strategies for evangelism and whole-life discipleship that will lead towards the planting of new regions (yearly meetings) of Evangelical Friends churches.
  • Help raise up a new generation of missionaries among Evangelical Friends “who seek first the kingdom of God, planting churches that live and die to carry out the Great Commission in the spirit of the Great Commandment” (EFM’s mission statement).  This will likely include spending time in educational centers here in North America that are training Friends for ministry.
If that looks like a lot, it is!  As you can see, there will be quite a bit of travel as the various pieces of this plan unfold, but it will also be possible to do much of the work from Newberg using Skype and other communication tools.  It will be crucial for David to have the kind of structure that will free him to give his family the attention they need as well as his teammates.

Please pray for the Thomas family as they make the move to Oregon.  They will have some time to rest and settle in this fall.  Then, in the winter, spring, and summer of 2016 David will be doing deputation around the US to give more details about the plan described above, as well as to raise the prayer and financial support he needs.  His new responsibilities begin in the late summer of 2016.

How does David feel about the upcoming chapter of his ministry through EFM?  In an update that David and Debby will be sending to their supporters he says, “I have been working my dream job for the last 19½ years with EFM in Rwanda. Despite all the difficulties, it has been so worth it, and God’s grace has been abundantly poured out on us! Now I’m moving into a new dream job with EFM that will benefit from all God has given us these last years, and allow me to focus on mentoring others and joining other teams.”  I’d say he’s excited, wouldn’t you?

– Dan Cammack, Executive Director of EFMefm_logo_final_2014

Ellane Wade
Author: Ellane Wade