The Way Forward
Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you … men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. Acts 6:3
As the Orality Institute changes and grows, it is important that our support grows at the same time. This month the Orality Institute Board extended invitations to Paul Kneeland and Nathan Monseth.
Paul has been part-time with the Orality Institute for the past two years and will now be full-time as of August 1st. He will continue to promote the ministry of Orality Institute and encourage people to become partners with what God is doing through the ministry. This is a strategic move because we desire to continue to use the Ugandan leaders as missionaries around Africa. They can travel more easily and relate more quickly with those that they are teaching in Malawi and soon Ethiopia. The reach of the Orality Institute is expanding and bringing Paul on full-time can help meet the expansion.
At our June board meeting, Nathan Monseth was asked to join the Orality Institute board. He will be replacing Wayne Hjermstad who has served for five years. Nathan has a heart for bringing the gospel to the world through creative means. He and Julie lived in the United Arab Emirates for their first years of marriage while Nathan taught at a school there. He has served as a teacher for the Edina School District, been on multiple mission trips, and always shines the light of Christ through his life. His father, Francis Monseth, served on the predecessor Ambassador Institute board when it originated. We are excited about the ministry that will take place yet this year with continued training in Malawi through our Ugandan Ambassadors, the launch of work in Ethiopia, and the continued support of work in the Dominican Republic and the Baja of Mexico.
The Challenge Ahead
“For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints”
2 Corinthians 8:3-4
We have found that some people prefer the consistent monthly support and other people prefer supporting annually or for specific causes. Both are needed to carry out what the Lord has put before Orality Institute.
There are two areas of special focus this year. The first is sending the Ugandan partners to teach the Orality Institute curriculum in Malawi for an extended period of time. The second is introducing the Orality Institute to the Tabor Evangelical College in Hawassa, Ethiopia (a school that serves the nine southern districts of the Makena Yesus church body.) It is exciting to see these wide-open doors for ministry and challenging to consider how we can reach these goals with the limitations of our current budget.
This year we are planning three fundraising / awareness events. We are calling them the Hike and Bikes. If you are interested in participating, contact Kevin at the address below or PaulK@oralityinstitute.org.
- Paul is leading the third annual Grand Canyon Hike on October 15th. He already has 10 that are committed to the event and eight others that are considering. These hikes have been a bonding time for those that have participated (Nathan Monseth was on that first canyon hike.)
- Kevin is leading the second annual Bike event. This year it will be held on September 10th and will be 50 miles long.
New this year, Mark Antal will lead a motorcycle trip through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The trip will begin in Minneapolis on September 17th and travel through the picturesque landscape of the UP, stopping to visit several AFLC churches located there.
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