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PROJECTS
Pioneers- Africa Headquarters
Introducing the “Ted” Orville Fletcher Memorial
Center for World Missions.
Solomon Aryeetey, Director.
He was a veteran United
States Marine. But more importantly, He was a soldier of Christ
of the highest order. The acuity of his missionary vision ensured
for him a place among a very select group of Generals within the
Body of Christ around the world!
And yet, for us in Pioneers-Africa,
what singled him out from his peers was his heart! What an extraordinary
passion for God and for the gospel of the Lord Jesus!
Nobody loved the African like Ted Fletcher
did! And nobody believed in us like he did! It was an open secret
that his inspiration to go for broke in missions was made in Africa.
That visit to Nigeria which he describes in detail in his book,
“When God Calls”, was the pivotal moment of his entire
career in missions. Perhaps, that explains why he was so generous
towards us in Pioneers-Africa and so sympathetic to our cause.
In a certain sense, Ted
was my father and my mentor. Under the tutelage of the environment
of encouragement and confidence that he so freely exuded, we were
made to believe that everything was possible! He was our ultimate
coach, cheer-leader and inspirer all rolled in one.
Ted saw clearly what so
many western Christians still fail to see: that the Body of Christ
is a far more complex organism and certainly much, much bigger
than the Church in the West! He discerned rather quickly, where
others hesitated, that the center of gravity in the world of missions
was rapidly shifting. I vividly recall seeing a naughty glint
in his eyes the day he heard me make the following statement in
a paper I presented at a Leadership conference of Pioneers which
was held in Orlando about a decade ago: “The complexion
of Christianity is getting darker”. Ted was beside himself
with joy and sheer excitement. He attempted to communicate to
me that he was on the same page with me and that we were allies
in a ‘coalition of the willing’ to raise an army of
African missionaries to preach Christ where the gospel has still
not been heard.
And so when we in Pioneers-Africa considered
what name to put on our Headquarters building, the choice was
incontrovertible, clear and unanimous: The Ted Orville Fletcher
Memorial Center for World Missions. What a worthy, befitting tribute
to the memory of a true, peerless soldier of the Lord Jesus Christ.
WHY DO WE NEED THIS
CENTER AT THIS TIME OF OUR DEVELOPMENT AS A MOVEMENT?
1. A vision of this nature definitely needs
a launching pad to make it happen.
2. Our fighting force of around 164 soldiers
calls for a project of this kind that will facilitate our serving
God’s servants adequately.
3. Owning our own property will drastically
reduce the on-going costs of our operations.
4. There is simply no place like home!
WHAT
WILL THE CENTER BE USED FOR?
Training. Missionaries in the 21st century
need to be adequately trained and prepared for the new kinds of
challenges that they will definitely face in these our times.
The proposed facility will offer us the opportunity to bring various
segments of our missionary force home for on-going training and
re-orientation all year round.
1. Administration. Pioneers-Africa
is a rapidly-growing movement. We need to strengthen our ability
to organize and order our operations in such a way that we keep
pace with our rate of growth. It is important
that we establish clear accountability structures and mechanisms
to ensure that we are adequately providing
care for our precious missionaries. The facility will also
help us keep our friends and partners sufficiently informed about
what is going on within our ranks.
2. Hospitality. Every now
and then, our missionaries should be able to take time off for
some much-needed rest and relaxation
away from their fields of service. Again, we have realized how
important it is to have a place where we can take care of our
ever-increasing number of partners
and visitors who pass through our mission each year. Missions
in the 21st Century will demand
the coming together of the Body of Christ around the world, and
we need to position ourselves to
offer the right hand of fellowship to our visitors.
3. ICT self-supporting
Business. The facility will afford us the opportunity of helping
ourselves by raising much-needed income
from an Internet Café Business that we intend to start.
This idea will also allow us to teach
business skills to some “special forces” missionaries
whom we will have to deploy in creative-access
situations around the world.
HOW MUCH WILL THE CENTER COST?
Our highly esteemed architect and engineer,
Ralph Prince of Barrington, IL., (the Prince of Barrington), estimates
that we will need around $450,000 total to complete the project.
The following pictures tell the story of what we have done so
far with the $109,000 that have already come in.
AN APPEAL
FOR MORE FUNDS TO COMPLETE THE PROJECT.
In Africa, a little goes a long way. We
are calling on our friends and partners around the world to “come
over to Macedonia and help us!” What we have seen so far
is but the tip of the ice-berg. Pioneers-Africa is loaded with
potential. We are poised to play a major role in World missions.
However, our financial resources are extremely limited. We are
asking you to pitch in and help us raise this end-time army for
the Lord Jesus Christ.
The time for His appearing is near. There
is no time to waste. We are in the very center of God’s
will for the Church in Africa. Our cause is as noble as it is
just. We dare not fail, and indeed, we cannot fail. We are committed
to staying the course until the last man has heard the gospel.
And so, with the full assurance of faith and a keen sense of the
leading of the Spirit of God and in JESUS’ NAME………………
WE PRESS ON!!!
Ghana Project
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