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A Missions Alliance - Organizational Structure: Responsible Autonomy
- Alliance – an agreement to cooperate for specific purposes. A merging of efforts or interests. The Alternative Missions alliance is based on shared purposes and goals / doctrinal statement / personal & organizational standards
- Responsible - Your responsibility to the alliance is… AMU / Financial Policies / Reporting
- Autonomy - Each staff member & location is autonomous in vision, goals and execution. The board of directors provide oversight for the alliance. (emphasis on standards and legal & ethical practices)
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Participation in the Alternative Missions Alliance by an individual or “operating location” depends upon agreement with the following…
Shared Purposes and Goals:
Why does Alternative Missions exist?
Our mandate is the great commission and the command to love our neighbor as ourselves. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: “Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 10:30&31
Why the name Alternative Missions?
The name implies choices, creativity, flexibility, and relevance.
: offering or expressing a choice
: different from the usual or conventional
: existing or functioning outside the established cultural, social, or economic system
We want to facilitate new ideas, new ministries and provide creative opportunities as a mission. God can do a lot of things a lot of ways. The Gospel is relevant to the needs of each and every person and people group.
What does Alternative Missions do?
We pioneer and run ministry projects…
- Ministry locations in various countries with multiple ministry departments.
- Ministry departments like short term missions, medical, dental, education, music, etc.
We coordinate resources related to missions…
- Teams, equipment, supplies, etc..
We recruit, train, and facilitate missionaries…
- Alternative Missions University (AMU)
- Staff support and project donation bookeeping and distribution
Statement of Purpose
Alternative Missions exists to…
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Express the love of God in ways that are relevant, creative and tangible in order to influence people of all cultures to come under the lordship of Jesus Christ.
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Seek out and partner with others who are wanting to commit to the long term process related to influencing people for Christ.
- Network resources to missions projects around the world.
Doctrinal Statement
Because Alternative missions is committed to working interdenominationally we do not emphasize a specific denominational doctrinal statement but in it’s place affirm that…
The Bible is God’s inspired and authoritative word, revealing that Jesus Christ is God’s Son. We believe that man is created in God’s image and that He has created us to have eternal life through Christ. Although all men have sinned and come short of God’s glory and are eternally lost without Christ, God has made salvation possible through the death on the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We believe that repentance, faith, love and obedience are necessary and fitting responses to God’s initiative of grace towards us and that God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. We believe that the Holy Spirit’s power is demonstrated in and through us for the accomplishing of Christ’s last commandment: Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).
Personal Standards:
In the spirit of 1 Corinthians 6:12 “Everything is permissible for me - but not everything is beneficial…” In each operating location there are social norms and customs that need to be taken into consideration when setting personal and team standards of conduct. We want to be committed to what is “beneficial”. If a person or team conduct become an issue then the board of directors will help resolve issues. If issues become detrimental to the mission then action can be taken to dismiss a person or operating location from the alliance.
Organizational Standards:
We will be legal, upright, excellent and safe in all that we do.
AMU:
Active participation in the AMU process and program.
Financial Policies:
All funds go through AM books and are subject to 5% administration fee.
Reporting:
Each individual and/or location will be required to turn in an annual report to coincide with the annual board member meeting.
