AGENDA FOR THE IFES GENERAL COMMITTEE 2015

Transcription

1 AGENDA FOR THE IFES GENERAL COMMITTEE 2015 IFES vision is to see students built into communities of disciples, transformed by the gospel impacting the university, the church and society for the glory of Christ. OPENING EVENING SESSION 1. Chairman s welcome 2. Affirmation of objectives and doctrinal statement THURSDAY, 23 JULY 3. Confirmation and welcome of new member movements 4. Proposal for the minutes of General Committee Report of the Chair 6. Report of the General Secretary 7a. Introduction: Proposal for amendment of IFES Constitution SATURDAY, 25 JULY 8. Treasurer s Report 9. Election of International Executive Committee 10. Election of Honorary President and Confirmation of Honorary Vice-Presidents 11. Welcome of new IEC 12. Location of World Assembly 2019 TUESDAY, 28 JULY 7b. Discussion and vote: Proposal for amendment of IFES Constitution WEDNESDAY, 29 JULY 13. Approval of the minutes of General Committee Vote of thanks 15. Formal closure of the meeting 6

2 REPORT OF THE CHAIR OF THE IEC JULY 2015 Māori Mihi Ko te rangi me te whenua Ka pāhemo Engari ko tana kupu ka mau tonu Tihei mauriora E ngā mate haere atu ra Haere, haere hoki atu ra A kia tātou E hui nei Ngā kanohi kitea Tēnā tātou katoa. Traditional Māori welcome The sky and earth will change, but His word will remain true. To those who have passed, rest with those who have gone before. To us who have gathered here,the many faces I greet you all. It is a privilege to serve with colleagues from around the world on the International Executive Committee (IEC): representing the wider fellowship of IFES and contributing in a small way to our global ministry. Higher education is undergoing significant changes in many parts of the world. The effects of these changes are far-reaching -impacting funding approaches, teaching and learning delivery models (including the growing use of emerging educational technologies), growth in student numbers, with more seeking access to higher education across the globe, internationalisation, international student recruitment, and commodification. In many settings, campus community dynamics have undergone such paradigm shifts that life as an academic, academic administrator, or student, is very different from that experienced by more recent generations. Of course there has always been change; but perhaps what is different is the speed of change and the similarity of shifts that are sweeping across much of the world. Of course our campuses both reflect and contribute to the wider issues and trends evident within the societies and communities in which they are situated. Increasing secularisation, intolerance towards the expression and practice of religious beliefs, issues of justice and inequity, and increased issues of campus violence have led to our campus communities becoming increasingly challenging environments in which to build and maintain an effective Christian witness. Nevertheless, we remain convinced that the gospel message, with its challenges and hope, is needed as much in this generation of staff and students as it ever was. We must strive to ensure we are engaging students, staff and campus communities in a relevant and meaningful way - effectively communicating the hope of the gospel to our generation. We face the challenge of ensuring that the message and essence of the gospel informs and contributes to the discussions, debates and interchange of ideas that occur in the academy. It is essential that the faith of Christian students and staff informs and engages their field of study and thinking, shaping the way in which they live, move into careers and engage in a world in need of hope, justice and transformation. 32

3 These are all aspects of the integral mission of IFES proclaiming the message of the gospel as we live as Christians in our campus communities, seeking to engage in the meaningful and transformational change that the gospel brings, and participating in dialogue and debate within the world of academia. These are reasons that I remain committed to the mission and vision of IFES, and I am thankful that I am able to contribute to this, in a very small way, through my role on the IEC. I confess that sometimes it is a challenge to juggle my role as Chair of the IEC with my commitments as fulltime CEO of the Eastern Institute of Technology (a public tertiary institution in New Zealand). As far as I am aware, it is the first time someone in fulltime secular employment in a tertiary institution has taken on the role, and of course, being located in New Zealand also poses challenges of distance, time-zones and long-haul travel. On behalf of my IEC colleagues, I wish to thank all those from the different movements who helped to organise and support our IEC meetings in their countries. Without such local support it would be very difficult to hold IEC meetings in different parts of the world. It has been encouraging for IEC members to learn about the ministry of IFES in each different context. Thank you again for hosting us so well and for the care and attention you have provided. While IFES is a Swiss registered association, much of the operational administrative activity occurs within the UK legal jurisdiction. For legal and technical reasons, IEC members also serve concurrently as trustees of the IFES UK registered charity. This enables the work of the Oxford International Service Centre to be carried out more efficiently and with some charitable tax benefits. In our meetings we have to comply with the legal requirements of trustees in the different jurisdictions of Switzerland and the UK. INTERNATIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE The IEC serves to provide an oversight and governance role on behalf of the IFES General Committee over the activities and operations of IFES during the four years between World Assemblies. The purpose of this report is to provide a brief overview of the work of the IEC over the last four years. Given the constraints of distance and travel, the full IEC meets only once each year usually in a different part of the world. The current IEC had its first gathering immediately after the last World Assembly in Poland. Since then, it has met in the following locations: 2012 in Portugal; 2013 in Nigeria; 2014 in South Korea; 2015 in the USA. Each time, we had the opportunity to meet with local board members, staff, and students - to share in fellowship, and to discuss the local context, with its challenges, issues and joys. In Nigeria we were also pleased to meet with the Nigerian president and members of his government. We took a leading role in a church service attended by the president, his family, and several of his advisors and ministers. We were delighted that our General Secretary was given the opportunity to preach at this service, and to articulate a biblical perspective on some of the challenges facing leaders within the African context. IEC STEERING COMMITTEE AND FINANCE COMMITTEE In addition to the annual full IEC meeting usually held in June, a smaller IEC Steering Committee (comprising the Chair, two Vice-Chairs, Treasurer and one other member) meets in April and November each year. This enables more regular oversight and consideration of operational matters such as budget and accounts, risk, updates on field matters, and overall strategic direction and activities. For logistical reasons, the Steering Committee and Finance Committee meetings often occur at the IFES International Service Centre in Oxford although meetings have also been held in Germany and Norway in the last four years. During these times, the Finance Committee also meets to receive financial reports from the IFES administration, IFES/USA, and independent auditors and advisors, as appropriate. The Finance Committee is chaired by the treasurer and includes non-iec members with specialist financial and business expertise. The committee provides oversight and gives independent advice and recommendations to the IEC on IFES financial matters. I would like to express my thanks for the work undertaken to support the activity of the Finance Committee by Beverley Joshua (Company Secretary until 2014), Nick Addo (Company Secretary from 2014) and other members of the IFES staff. Also, my thanks, on behalf of IEC colleagues, goes to members of the Finance Committee for their time, expertise and service - and in particular to our treasurer, ØisteinGarcia de Presno, who has chaired and led this committee for the last eight years. 33

4 IEC ANNUAL MEETING FOCUS At each full IEC meeting, the General Secretary presents a ministry report, which comprises updates from each IFES region, a review of progress towards the Living Stones vision, and any other strategic matters that may arise. Time is spent focusing on specific issues that impact IFES ministry in particular countries or regions. We also hear from the General Secretary regarding his visits to different regions- considering and discussing his upcoming commitments. Daniel has a particularly heavy travel schedule as he responds to the many requests from different parts of the world for visits and speaking engagements. There are far more invitations than it is possible for him to accept. Wisdom is required to maintain a balance between active engagement with movements and regions, attending to IFES organisational leadership and management tasks, supporting his senior leadership team, and meeting the needs of his own family. Your ongoing prayer and support for Daniel and his family are important as he fulfils this demanding role. We are most fortunate that God has given us a General Secretary with such commitment and calibre. My thanks also goes to Daniel s wife Halimatou for the support she provides to enable Daniel to engage in this ministry; this has involved significant sacrifice on her part - both professionally and in the time Daniel spends away from family life while he travels. The IEC also receives and discusses reports around operational, administrative and legal matters. One significant commitment over the last four years has been the completion of the purchase (jointly with UCCF), renovation and relocation of the IFES International Service Centre to 5 Blue Boar Street, in the heart of Oxford city. The location is easily accessible from Heathrow airport with the airport bus literally stopping within metres of the IFES office. IFES occupies one floor of the building and shares meeting and seminar rooms and other common facilities such as kitchens and social spaces with UCCF, who occupy a separate floor for their administration activities. The building is used regularly by the Oxford University Christian Union (OICCU) and outside organisations can hire meeting facilities which brings some income. We are thankful to God for his provision of funds to make this purchase possible. An important element of the annual IEC meeting is discussion of major issues that have an impact on our ministry. Over the last four years, we have addressed the following: decentralisation how to provide for growth in IFES by decentralising our administrative structures; legal structures issues related to our Swiss registration and trademarking of the IFES name and logo; review of the IFES Constitution a proposal for amendment has been presented to the General Committee; issues of nationhood and their implications for IFES ministry; ministry impact: considering how we can effectively assess and report on progress and achievements; decisions related to the preparation of World Assembly 2015 and the location of World Assembly Twice in the cycle of four years we arrange joint meetings of the full IEC and the Senior Leadership Team (SLT). These meetings occurred in 2012 and 2014, providing time for IEC and SLT members to interact and to discuss together substantive topics which are relevant to the global ministry. The joint discussion topics over the last four years were: sexuality and personal identity (2012); Islam and the issues it raises for IFES ministry in different parts of the world (2014). STUDENT MEMBERSHIP For the first time, this IEC has intentionally included two student members, Timothée Joset from Switzerland and Havila Jupudi from India. In the past, there was hesitation to appoint students to the IEC for pragmatic reasons: the students would be likely to graduate within the four year term, and there was concern about whether the student members would be able to find their feet quickly enough to be able to contribute in the annual meetings. I have asked Timothée and Havila to provide a short report on their experience of being on the IEC (see appendix) and will provide them with opportunity to speak briefly about it in the General Committee meeting. From my own perspective, which I know is shared by other IEC members, their presence has been invaluable and greatly appreciated. It is our strong recommendation that this practice should continue. 34

5 I wish to acknowledge and thank my colleagues from the South Pacific and East Asia who relinquished their right to replace outgoing regional IEC members in 2011 in order to make space for two students to be appointed. FINAL THANKS My thanks go to all the retiring members of the IEC: Choong Chee Pang, Øistein Garcia de Presno, Stefan Gustavsson, Jiries Habash, Timothée Joset, Havila Jupudi, Sheyla Ramos, Josephine Romain, Gernot Spies and Sergiy Tymchenko. Thank you for the service you have given, the long hours of travel you have endured to get to meetings, and the commitment, goodwill and enthusiasm you have contributed to our proceedings. Each of you has made an important contribution. Discussions and issues have always been approached in a constructive way, with willingness to listen to the perspective of others and to work together towards a process of collective decision-making. My special thanks are due to Vice-Chair, Gernot Spies and Treasurer, Øistein Garcia de Presno who, being closer to the UK, attended to various tasks I was not able to take on for reasons of distance. I thank Gernot also for accepting the task of chairing the IEC nominating committee. It is truly a challenging exercise to ensure a balance of age, gender, experience, geography and background when recommending names for nomination to the IEC. My plea to you, endorsing Gernot s communications, is that regions should put forward more than one potential nominee, both men and women, as well as potential male and female student representatives. This would greatly assist the nominating committee to propose a strong and well - balanced list of nominations to the General Committee. I have so much enjoyed working with Gideon over the last 20 years, first as regional secretaries together, then latterly during my time on IEC. The many friendships and fellowship we enjoy with friends across the globe is a particularly special privilege of being part of IFES. I want to especially acknowledge the sacrifice made by IFES staff and their family members the frequent travel and the absence of husbands, wives, mothers and fathers, alongside the financial challenges that often exist for IFES families can put people under a great strain. It is not easy and I pray that you will all experience God s blessing over you and your families. Finally, and most importantly, I thank God for his sustaining provision over the last four years. The global economic climate has been challenging, but God has provided through the generosity of his people. We are very thankful for the resources graciously provided and for God s guiding presence as the IEC has gathered each year to carry out the task entrusted to us. Thank you again to all of you - students, staff, board members, supporters - for the part you play in the ministry of IFES across so many countries and regions of the world. We are privileged to have the opportunity to serve together, ever conscious that without the empowering work of the Holy Spirit we will achieve little. We are thankful to God for his ongoing journeying presence. Chris Collins International Executive Committee Chair My thanks also to the staff of IFES who do so well in providing excellent support, advice and assistance to the work of the IEC. A special thanks to Kirsty Thorburn for the work she does corralling us all, managing to take such excellent minutes from our lengthy meetings, organising agendas and preparations of papers, and staying on top of all the things we need to attend to. You do a great job which we greatly appreciate. A special thanks and acknowledgement also to staff who maybe finishing with IFES around the time of this World Assembly thank you for the sacrifice and commitment you and your families have given to the ministry. On a personal note, I want to note the contribution of Associate General Secretary, Gideon Yung who will shortly be retiring from IFES ministry. 35

6 Karakia Tēnei to mātou īnoi i runga i te īngoa o te Matua te Tama me te Wairua Tapu kia tau ki a tātou katoa te atawhai o te Ariki te āroha o te Atua me te whiwhingatahitanga ki te Wairua Tapu āke, tonu atu Āmine Mā tē Atua koutou katoa e manaaki, e tiaki i ngā wā katoa Prayer This is our prayer in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit descend on us all the grace of our Lord the love of God and fellowship of the Holy Spirit for ever and ever Amen May the Lord bless you all at all times Tēnā tātou katoa. 36

7 APPENDIX TO THE REPORT OF THE CHAIR REPORT OF THE STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES ON THE IEC These last four years have been a tremendous learning experience for us as we have met and discussed with intelligent and gifted people from all around the world who share a common passion for student ministry, but who also show amazing humility, exemplifying servant leadership to a very high degree. Some may think we were only token students on the IEC. However we definitely were not seen this way and we were privileged and honoured to be warmly welcomed and to be able to modestly contribute in several ways. We were able to bring feedback from the field in a number of ways: we informed the IEC about trends amongst IFES students that we were aware of through social media and personal contacts; we emphasised the need to make big concepts such as engaging the university understandable for the students; we pointed out that while some challenges may have been very important for IFES in the past, they are hardly noticed by today s students. We did not always find it easy to contribute in a relevant way, given the complexity of making decisions which have global implications. We definitely learned a lot about decision making. We saw how good deliberation of issues can occur in a peaceful and respectful way between people from different cultures, church backgrounds and professional and ministry experiences. We did not have to fight our corner, nor did we revolutionise IFES, but we simply tried to pass on what we understand about the things that preoccupy students in the rapidly changing student world of today. In this context, we strongly encourage national movements that do not yet include students in all their decision making bodies to take on the challenge of doing so. This is not about student power, but about student leadership. This has to be constantly renewed if IFES is to increase ownership by the next generation of students who maybe less committed to institutional loyalties than former generations. Attending World Assembly provides a unique opportunity for students to experience what IFES is, how it is run and how it can serve as an example for national movements. We hope that leaders who may hesitate to allow for more student participation will take on the challenge of allowing students to grow more rapidly into responsibility for their movements. The experience at World Assembly 2011 proved that it is really worthwhile to have meetings like the Student Gathering. This created a real and incarnated sense of the IFES family for the students, not just on paper or in reports, but in reality. Since then, many students have kept in contact with each other, at least four have married, and this connection is a tangible way of experiencing the uniting power of the Holy Spirit beyond boundaries, ethnicities and languages. In times of struggles, we students were able to directly share thoughts and prayer requests within minutes after terror attacks, natural disasters and so on. This must be continued in future and we look forward to seeing how God will use the next group of students attending World Assembly 2015 the largest in IFES history for His kingdom. Havila Jupudi and Timothée Joset July

8 REPORT OF THE GENERAL SECRETARY JULY 2015 It is with a heart full of gratitude to the Lord that I submit to you this report for the period between World Assembly 2011 in Poland up to this year s gathering in Mexico. I hope that this overview will first of all encourage us to celebrate the Lord for his blessings, to renew our commitment to do even better, and secondly that it will help us to get the measure of the task ahead of us and the challenges that will face us. It is impossible for me to tell you in detail about all the activities of the past four years in such an extensive and diverse organisation as ours. The heart of our activity plays out from the grassroots, the student groups and local groups, in more than 160 countries around the world. Despite the inevitable limitations, I dare to hope that this report will be a source of encouragement for all of you who are involved in this strategic IFES ministry and that it will inspire you to commit all the more wholeheartedly to continue your service for the Lord through your national movements and IFES. In my role as General Secretary, it has been a great privilege for me to witness what the Lord is doing through our Fellowship and to gain a global perspective as I have read reports and visited different regions, meeting students as I travelled. During the past four years I have been able to make at least one visit to each of the 11 IFES regions. I can tell you that, despite the many challenges we encounter, God continues to bless the student ministry. These last four years have been marked by some very positive developments. Amongst other things, God has continued to open doors for pioneering where we least expected them. I see renewed commitment to evangelism amongst national movements with many people coming to faith. I also note a growing interest in the study of God s word, and an enthusiasm for establishing solid foundations, as evidenced by the fact that half of the national movement boards have received training in governance. Let me share a story which is but one example among thousands of what God is doing in our movements. Three years ago in the state of Jharkhand in northern India, a non-christian student was suffering from a heart problem. The local UESI staff and graduates clubbed together to cover the costs of her medical treatment. They prayed and God healed her. As a result, her whole family believed in Jesus. God later spoke to this student about the need for ministry among students and today she serves him as a staffworker in UESI. 1. THE STATE OF THE FELLOWSHIP I want to give you some statistics. I do this cautiously and with some care. The data comes from various sources and the figures are by no means as precise as would be obtained from a structured census. We all know that data only has meaning when it is correctly understood in its context. However, I think that these humbly gathered statistics, properly interpreted, can at least give a general picture of the scope of the Fellowship. In 2011, IFES had 139 affiliated national movements in 133 countries. We were present in 157 countries with a total of 163 national movements - remember that four countries have more than one movement, namely Belgium (two), Canada (two), France (four, including three Caribbean movements) and Switzerland (two). In 2011 we had identified 26 countries with institutes of higher learning where there was no IFES ministry and where we had no formal contact. The majority of these countries were in contexts where access for Christian witness is difficult. We committed to pray for open doors in these countries according to God s will. In 2015, nine new movements will be affiliated to IFES. We will then have 148 affiliated movements in 142 countries. Some level of contact has been made in eleven of the 26 countries listed in 2011 as not having any IFES related ministry, and of these, five can now be considered to be in a pioneering stage. Although the work is still very fragile, we have a real presence, either 38

9 open or underground. We rejoiced at being able to offer two training events for 20 student leaders from one of the closed countries for the first time. For security reasons, the training took place outside their country. In summary, we now have some level of IFES-related ministry in 168 countries. In many of the 26 countries that do not yet have an affiliated movement, the work is quite new and not yet sufficiently well established to request affiliation. I also want to give you a general overview of the numbers of staff around the world at the start of I have grouped the international staff in categories, but for national movements, I could only give a general indication of the number of staff. We can give more precise data for international staff because we have access to the statistics. I share this with you to give you a broad idea of the number of staff who are servingin IFES around the world. National movements National movement with more than 1500 staff: InterVarsity/USA; National movements with between 200 and 500 staff: UESI India, Perkantas Indonesia; National movements with fewer than 200 staff: all other national movements Staff working internationally (regional teams, IFES Interaction teams, International Service Centre, international ministries) Region Number of staff Full-time Part-time Seconded to IFES Caribbean East Asia EPSA Eurasia Europe Europe Interaction teams Francophone Africa Latin America MENA International Service Centre International Ministries IFES/USA North America South Pacific South Asia Total In addition to the staff employed by IFES and those seconded through partner organisations, we are blessed by the invaluable service of many volunteers so many that we cannot even estimate the number! They give their time to lead student groups and serve in other ways, such as board members, volunteer trainers, speakers and supporters. I gratefully acknowledge all these people, with a special mention for our donors who play an important role in the work. At the senior leadership level, let me mention in particular our two volunteer regional secretaries: Richard Chin, the director of AFES Australia in the South Pacific, and Tom Lin, Vice-president of InterVarsity/USA in North America. They both represent their respective regions on the IFES Senior Leadership Team. I am thankful to these two brothers for their sacrificial service. 39

10 The figures above demonstrate that, compared to other organisations of a similar size, IFES does not have a culture of maintaining a large staff team. Most IFES movements work with a very limited number of fulltime staff. It is true that in some places it is difficult to raise funds locally to be able to employ staff. But beyond that, many movements are guided by our underlying philosophy of ministry that seeks to release student initiative. Their goal is to maintain a balanced level of staffing which will ensure that students are in the foreground of the ministry without being dominated by an excessive staff presence. The balance is always difficult to maintain because, on the one hand, as a movement becomes older it tends to become more professional, to lose the spontaneity of the students, and instead to depend more on the competence of the staff. Over time this erodes and reduces the level of initiative taken by the students who tend to become more passive spectators. On the other hand, there is a need for a minimum number of staff to be able to train the students, stimulating them, and ensuring a certain continuity of vision in the light of the rapid turnover of the student generations. Our staff are invaluable for the life of our ministry and we must always strive to improve our care for them. With this in mind, in 2014 we gathered all the staff who serve on regional teams and internationally at an event in Thailand. It provided an opportunity to thank them, to listen to them and also especially to give them opportunity to get to know each other. IFES Vice President, Jonathan Lamb, gave a series of deeply pastoral Bible expositions, bringing spiritual refreshment to all the participants. The challenge of improving pastoral care for our teams is one that we must take seriously. We want to make this a priority in the coming years. 2. IFES: OUR UNITY AND PARTNERSHIP IN CHRIST How good and pleasant it is when God s people live together in unity! (Psalm 133:1) The theme of this World Assembly Together. In Christ. In Mission. In the University. gives us opportunity to celebrate our unity in Christ and reminds us of the importance of maintaining this unity as a powerful witness to the world. In John 17, we read that our Lord Jesus put a strong emphasis on unity in his ministry. This unity in Christ, the basis of our reconciliation with God and with our brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, must be visible in our lives. Paul tells us to exercise grace to one another when he writes: Work to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the peace that binds you to each other. We live in a global context where evangelical communities are increasingly fragmented, often along ethnic and sometimes sectarian lines. These divisions serve to mute the message of the gospel and to reduce the effectiveness of our partnership in mission. We thank God for unity in the IFES family. Our Fellowship of more than 160 national movements is rich in its diversity: geographic, racial, cultural, theological and more. When I ask people as I travel around what draws them to IFES, the great majority point immediately to our rich and unique diversity. Partnership is expressed through the exchange of resources, staff and ideas. For example, some movements in East Asia give financial support for the MENA region, some European movements support ministry in Francophone Africa, while the North American movements send staff through their mission agencies to serve in other regions and national movements. May the Lord help us to work together, to accept each other s differences, showing tolerance and generosity towards each other accepting and respecting our differences. The opportunity to live out Christian unity in the midst of our diversity and differences is a gift given by God which needs to be cultivated and nurtured. We must therefore continue to work at it, incarnating it in our attitudes and promoting it in our relationships. We must vigorously resist the temptation of any extremist attitudes that will destroy the very roots of our precious unity. 3. PIONEERING MINISTRY Where possible we have continued to work towards our goal of seeing student ministry established in every country of the world. In East Asia the region has taken the initiative to pioneer ministry in Cambodia. The work is currently quite stable and leadership of the Cambodian movement will be handed over to local leaders during IFES Malaysia has made progress in pioneering in Timor Leste. Following several visits to this country, two people have committed to moving there to continue to engage in pioneering outreach. Gideon Yung, as he prepares for his upcoming retirement, reports that the local staff in China are in a position to organise themselves so that the ministry will go forward. The movement in this 40

11 country, one of the founders of IFES, continues to thrive despite daily challenges related to security. The IFES door remains open for them. It will be for the movement to decide when the time is most favourable for them to return formally to the IFES family. Work is under way in two pioneering countries in South Asia. Several camps have already been held in each of these two countries and a structure for the movements has been established.there is some further underground work in another country in this region, while contact with yet another unpioneered, closed country ceased following the murder of our local contact. In the MENA region, work continues to grow in the North African countries. We have established contacts in two other closed countries in the Middle East. In one of these countries a local board has already been appointed and in the other we were encouraged to see around 50 people attend a first meeting to introduce the idea of student ministry. Three new movements from the MENA region will be affiliated during this World Assembly: REC Algeria, SIM Syria and CSPU Palestine. In the Caribbean, the movement in Grenada has been relaunched. Further pioneer ministry has been started in St Martin (French Antilles) and in the Cayman Islands. Let us continue to pray for the countries around the world which remain closed to the gospel. 4. LIVING STONES VISION: STRATEGIC PRIORITIES The Living Stones strategic priorities continue to provide orientation for the priorities of national movements. The formulation of the global strategic priorities has given us a common language within IFES, providing a clear direction for the future and helping us to be more intentional in our mission to the University. The strategic priorities have not changed our mission, but they have focused it and given it more intentionality. Our mission remains that of making students into disciples of Jesus for life by means of evangelism and formación. Many national movements have chosen to emphasiseone or more of the strategic priorities according to their context and particular needs. Between 2007 and 2011, top priority was given to the communication of the Living Stones vision. In the last four years the focus has been on the implementation of the strategic priorities. In a fellowship such as ours where decisions are made at the grassroots, it can take time to light the flame of an idea and see it catch fire. Some movements have rearticulated their national plans, taking inspiration from our Living Stones vision. For example, TCS Thailand has seen renewal following a review inspired by the Living Stones vision. Many national movements have demonstrated a real desire to release student initiative. There have been significant signs of student initiative and student involvement in all the regional events that I have attended in the last four years. And once again this year we expect to have a record proportion of students attending World Assembly despite the visa challenges. The presence of two students on the International Executive Committee has been valuable and there has been growth each year in student participation in the IFES World Student Day, held annually in October. But there is still a long way to go and we must continue to make space for and to encourage student initiative in our movements. I suggest that in the coming years we should be even more intentional towards releasing student initiative. 4.1 Strategic priorities: goals for growth We set ourselves the challenge to see growth in the Fellowship, both in quality as we deepen the level of discipleship, and in quantity by doubling the number of students involved in movements by Qualitative growth as our roots go deeper will allow us to have a bigger impact, while quantitative growth will enable us to be the answer to Jesus call to pray to the Lord of the Harvest to send more workers to the fields. Our goal, expressed in the Living Stones vision, to double the number of students involved by 2020 may appear ambitious. But if we see it as a prayer, a cry from the heart that expresses our profound desire to recruit more workers for the harvest (Matthew 9:35-38), if we are concerned about and anxious to see more students reconciled with God, this goal will become our motivation. I am personally concerned about the increasing number of students who go to university and our lack of capacity to ensure that we offer them the chance to hear the gospel. God has granted us modest progress in the area of growth. We do not have current statistics from each national movement about the exact number of students involved. On one hand, the mobility of students and on the other hand, our organisational culture with a reluctance to count or to make any kind of systematic inventory, hinder us from having precise global 41

12 statistics. But, on the basis ofthe assessments that we have been able to do, even being very cautious, we estimate that between 550,000 and 600,000 students are regularly involved in national movements around the world. If we were to count all the students who occasionally participate in activities, the number would be much higher. For example, in InterVarsity/USA (one of the member movements that does keep such statistics), there are 40,000 student members in the movement, while they would count 120,000 if they were to include those students who participate in events without any level of commitment to the movement. These students, numbering more than half a million regularly involved in IFES movements, represent a significant missionary force if they are truly motivated and mobilised for evangelism. It is they, rather than the staff, who share the gospel each year with many millions of non-christian students. We have seen remarkable numerical growth in some national movements. In EPSA, (English- and Portuguesespeaking Africa) the total number of students in the region has risen from around 100,000 to 155,400. Movements in the following countries in particular have spearheaded this growth: Ethiopia (41,000), Kenya (40,000), Botswana, Malawi, Liberia and Nigeria. In North America, InterVarsity/USA has also seen remarkable growth in recent years. The rate of planting new chapters has risen and the rate of conversions has increased by over 57% compared to the rate of years ago and 97% compared to the rate of 10 years ago. In the MENA region, the number of student members has risen in countries such as Algeria (currently more than 400). I have already mentioned UESI in South Asia. In East Asia we do not have data for countries such as China which have therefore not been included in our estimates. We praise the Lord for these good surprises that he has given us over the last four years. Such encouragements should motivate us to continue to boldly take the gospel to the university world, whether the openings appear favourable or not. We can count on the Lord s strength and his faithfulness. The desire for numerical growth must always be counterbalanced by the desire to go deeper, to be developing true disciples who will have more impact and will be able to bring about transformation. Impact is a concept which is often difficult to measure. After 68 years of history, we must at least be able to illustrate some of the impact that our ministry has had on the Church and society. We have therefore produced a small booklet telling the stories of the lives of some former and current IFES people who trace the start of their discipleship to IFES. On my travels I often meet graduates who are making a difference in society. I also hear testimonies from partners who express their appreciation of the quality of the people who come from IFES movements. We must therefore tirelessly continue to train students to be well grounded and to live as true disciples of Jesus Christ, prepared to influence all spheres of society. In addition to the quality of the leaders we produce, our movements also contribute useful resources through books produced by the publishing houses linked to many IFES movements. This is another example of how we participate in the life of both Church and society. 4.2 Global initiatives to build our firm foundations We have continued to invest in strategic areas deemed to be of interest to a large number of national movements. These include good practice in governance, indigenous support development, Scripture engagement, engaging the University, and evaluation of ministry impact. We anticipate that strengthening national movements in these areas will help to improve their effectiveness in their mission to the University. Some of the projects touch on the firm foundations and core commitments of the Living Stones vision (good governance, research and innovation, measuring impact, Scripture engagement) while others (indigenous support development, engaging the University) are among the six strategic priorities. Let me give you a glimpse of what has been happening Scripture engagement Sabine Kalthoff has criss-crossed almost all of the regions, getting to know them, identifying their specific needs and helping them to model a love for and use of Scripture in the lives of all their members. She has given Bible expositions and led Bible study training seminars. Amongst the places she has visited are Togo and Cameroon in Francophone Africa, Nigeria in EPSA, Singapore in East Asia, India in South Asia, Australia in the South Pacific, Mexicoin Latin America, Egypt in MENA, and North America and Europe. The fact that Sabine is almost swamped by invitations from national movements demonstrates the interest in this global ministry. In Francophone Africa, Sabine s support has helped the region to strengthen the place of Scripture in the ministry. Some countries in the region have started Bible study radio programmes which have 42

13 been very well received by both Christians and non- Christians. I had the privilege of participating in one such radio Bible study where the listeners could call in to ask questions and join the discussion. Sabine has been on the program team that shaped the Bible expositions at this World Assembly. She has also set up a support team which meets at least once a year. The members represent the diversity of our global family and bring different perspectives to the group. Sabine regularly publishes a newsletter in which she shares examples of what is being done around the world in Scripture engagement, and she and her team have worked on a booklet which will be available at the World Assembly. I am very encouraged by Sabine s outstanding contribution, and for the interest that national movements have shown in developing the area of Scripture engagement. I want to take this opportunity to thank Sabine for her leadership in this area Engaging the University At the last World Assembly, this strategic priority appeared to be a huge challenge for many movements. Some did not clearly understand what was meant by engaging the University and asked whether IFES was even developing a new and different vision for ministry. However, four years on, after much communication and work, especially by Vinoth Ramachandra whom I mandated to help us explore this strategic priority, more and more national movements now have a better understanding of this priority and its importance in our mission to the university. Vinoth outlines the goal in the following three points: 1) to provide spiritual and intellectual formación to our students so that they will be able to hold the meaningful conversations, both academic and other, that are part of the life of the university; 2) to equip Christian post-doctoral students, researchers, teachers and everyone who works in the administration of the university so that they will be prepared to bear witness to Jesus Christ in the university; 3) to seek thus to influence the university, to make it more just and to ensure that it will truly contribute to human flourishing. Developments over the last four years have been very positive and encouraging. Since 2011, movements in a number of countries including Hungary, Brazil, Thailand, Singapore and India have addressed the topic in national student conferences. It was also addressed in a leadership training event for national movement and student leaders from the EPSA region in Accra, Ghana where Terry Halliday was invited to facilitate the discussion. In 2014, the Latin America region arranged its first consultation for professors and research students in Saõ Paulo, Brazil. FES Singapore published a book on the topic which is currently being translated into French, Spanish, Chinese and Indonesian. Some movements have set up networks amongst Christian faculty and research students. Vinoth has continued to model the concept of dialogue and meaningful conversations within the University through public lectures in universities in the USA, Denmark and the Netherlands. During this World Assembly there will be a track over three days for faculty and research students. These areas of investment will undoubtedly bear more fruit in the future. Ongoing discussions, sometimes very robust, continue actively via an online discussion group with around 300 members and on facebook with about 400 people. I regret, however, that these discussions occur in just one language, limiting the perspectives that others could bring from other linguistic backgrounds. It is very difficult to contribute to discussion at this level if English is not your first language. I want to thank Vinoth for his leadership in this area and Terry Halliday for his active involvement. However this strategic priority presents us with a serious need for staff who can work at a sufficiently high academic level to be able to engage with professors and research students. Perhaps movements ought increasingly to give attention to this, investing resources and developing appropriate strategies to ensure that we have more staff who are able to engage the University at a higher intellectual level Governance When we started the governance training programme at the request of the national movements, we never imagined the level of interest that it would attract. After having developed the materials, trained the trainers, and having had the material translated into at least seven languages, we publicised the 43

14 programme and invited movementsto request the training. We were swamped with requests. David Acierno, Director of IFES/USA who was in charge of the programme had to expand the team with a second cohort of trainers. A total of 24 trainers have been trained to serve the national movements. At the time of writing this report, around 90 movements have received the governance training programme. This is well beyond our expectations. The second phase of the programme will be led by Mirek Pieszka and will consist of follow-up and evaluation of phase one, while continuing to work with the national boards that have already received the training. Our long-term goal is to see good governance become regular practice in all the national movements. The formal evaluation of the first phase has not yet been completed, but already positive effects can be seen in more ways than one. For example, the chair of one board resigned after the training because he realised that this was not the right role for him. In another country, the board realised that it had made some mistakes in the way the staff were being treated and this was causing confusion between the management and the board. They recognised that the confusion about roles had led to frustration and a lack of understanding. In another movement, the training helped the board to manage a smooth transition as they appointed a new general secretary. In yet another training session, the interpreter was so impressed by the content of the session that he, himself, decided to become more involved in the movement. He then became a board member. In Liberia the governance training, combined with training on indigenous fund development, has virtually revolutionised the life of the movement, leading to huge growth in the movement despite the challenges brought by Ebola. Another positive effect of the governance training is that it allows us to contribute to good governance practices beyond the IFES family. When board members have received the training from IFES, they can pass on their knowledge to be of benefit in their workplaces, churches and denominations. As a result of the success of the programme, we are now receiving requests for training in governance from other partner organisations Indigenous support development Kehinde Ojo has continued to train national movements in developing a biblical spirit of generosity. He has worked especially with the EPSA, Eurasia, Latin America, Caribbean and Francophone Africa regions. As a result of Kehinde s work, some movements have substantially improved their local funding. In Latin America, two new regional team members have both committed to raise their own support, while the movements are making an increasingly significant contribution to fund regional activities, for the first time covering their own costs in full to participate in training events. In Eurasia some movements are working hard to break the circle of total dependence on external sources of funding. Movements in the Caribbean have made good progress in fundraising. For example, GBU Martinique has managed to cover almost all of their rent with locally raised funds. They are now fundraising amongst their diaspora in order to appoint a new staff member. In Francophone Africa, a full-time staffworker has been appointed to support the movements in indigenous support development and the regional secretary reports that they are beginning to see some local support. EPSA has raised more than $20,000 from local sources to support the global ministry of IFES. The region has raised this money to contribute towards the support of the Francophone Africa and EPSA regional secretaries, two other staff serving internationally and the IFES general secretary. In the MENA region, the movements in Egypt, Palestine and Jordan have all participated in a matching grant program that offers $1 from IFES for every $1 raised locally from new donors. Around $14,000 has been raised locally in the region from new donors. It will take time for all movements to fully embrace a lifestyle marked by generosity because there are still social and cultural challenges and a lack of biblical teaching on generosity. But the early results of the program are already encouraging and Kehinde can share many stories of the radical transformation he has seen in national movements Research and Innovation In July 2013, we launched an innovation project called Inspiring Evangelism. The goal was to encourage innovation by giving opportunity to national movements to engage in original projects in the area of evangelism. We made some funds available that movements could request for innovative and original evangelistic initiatives. The project has been led by three young staff: Israel 44

15 Ortiz (Guatemala), Mombinou Dorichamou (Benin) and Caitlin Ormiston (UK). After 12 months, we had received 65 requests from 33 countries in seven IFES regions. More than $60,000 has been allocated in grants to more than 28 movements. You can read about some of the innovative and creative projects on the IFES website. In the second phase of the project, we plan to share the ideas and lessons learned with the whole Fellowship. While it has led to many good outcomes, there have been some challenges. In particular many proposals were submitted for projects such as plans for a mission week or printing of tracts that did not meet the criteria of being innovative Evaluating our ministry impact How can we tell if our ministry is making a real and lasting impact on the community that we serve? And if it is making an impact, as we sincerely believe it is, how can we intentionally increase the impact? We asked Marcia Wang, former staff of InterVarsity/USA to help us develop some tools to evaluate impact which can be made available to movements. Marcia has been working with a team from various regions to bring a global perspective. This is a sensitive ministry question as different cultures approach the question of evaluation in different ways. Marcia has also consulted other organisations to learn from their wisdom. Some perspectives from the work of the ministry impact team will be presented briefly during the World Assembly. Personally I am very enthusiastic about the idea that we can, by the grace of God, be in a position to develop and make these tools available to national movements. Marcia has also assisted three regions in the area of organisational development. She worked alongside Latin America, the Caribbean and Eurasia in their strategic planning processes. Two years on, the results of her support are already noticeable. For example, in Latin America the region is already implementing the strategic priorities that they have agreed. For example, the appointment of new staff to the regional team has been guided by the strategic choices that have been made for the future development of the ministry Decentralisation Our ministry priorities and strategies must be guided by God. This is why, as the sons of Issachar (1 Chronicles 12:32), we must be able to discern the time in order to know what we need to do. In view of the missiological development that sees the centre of gravity of Christianity shifting from the western world, we want to respond appropriately, trying as much as possible to site more of our services close to the largest student population in need of evangelisation. The largest student population in the world appears to be in Asia, with China and India at the forefront. Even today, the student ministry in China is still an underground ministry although China Inter-Varsity Fellowship was amongst the founders of IFES. In order to respond to this missiological concern, we intend to set up a service hub in Asia. Having consulted with national movements in the region, as well as with other ministry partners, and following much prayer, we have decided that the hub should be located in Malaysia. The hub will focus on the use of new technologies as a tool for ministry. We envisage being able to develop tools such as e-learning and to put in place resources which will allow us to better share and communicate worldwide. We envisage a modest beginning that will develop gradually once we see how it is running and we identify areas of need. There has been a delay in getting the hub started but we hope to make the first staff appointments very soon Organisational structure During the last few years we have reviewed our organisational structure to ensure that it is solid and fit for purpose. IFES is registered as an international organisation in Switzerland, but we are also a registered charity in the UK. Since 2010, there has been a partner organisation, IFES/USA Inc, registered in the USA that helps us to mobilise resources and to manage some projects such as the governance programme. We have worked, with the assistance of advisers and consultants, to identify how we can best legally maintain connections between the various structures while protecting the objects and the vision of the organisation. One of the steps we have taken is to legally protect the IFES brand as intellectual property by trademarking the logo and the name International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. This means 45

16 that anyone who wishes to use the branding, will have to request permission to do so. This will permit us to keep a level of control over the organisation in an environment which is becoming increasingly complex. 4.3 Other priorities from the Living Stones vision Communicating the good news of Jesus Christ As I have already said, I have been pleased to see a renewed passion for evangelism in the IFES family. This revival and intentionality in evangelism are increasingly visible in different parts of the Fellowship. We have chosen to communicate the good news of Jesus Christ in a holistic way, in word and deed. We believe that proclamation and demonstration must go hand in hand. Proclaiming the good news of Jesus has been done in different ways according to the context: evangelistic Bible studies, apologetics, public debates, compassionate ministries, friendship evangelism, etc. There have been creative ideas such as boat trips, distribution of tracts, art exhibitions, drama, campus discussions about social justice issues and sexuality, comparative studies of the Bible and the Qur an with Muslims, hospitality to international students, and many more In Europe, the Uncover materials originally produced by UCCF in Great Britain in collaboration with Becky Pippert have provided an easy-to-use tool which has been welcomed by movements in many countries including Denmark, Germany, Spain, Italy and the Faroe Islands. The material has been translated into 15 languages: the French translation was done by the GBEU in Frenchspeaking Switzerland while an Arabic translation was produced by FCSI Israel for use in the MENA region. Uncover was launched by AFES Australia in the South Pacific region in December In Eurasia, Uncover is being used by CCX Ukraine and to a more limited extent by CCX Russia. There has also been an emphasis on public proclamation evangelism in Europe with training through the FEUER network for people who wish to engage in this type of ministry. Lindsay Brown has led this initiative which is seeing more and more evangelists being equipped in Europe to engage in public preaching in the universities. More than 700 Bible study groups meet each week in Latin America. Many movements in Latin America are using art as a means of sharing the gospel while the Mark drama has been well received in a number of countries and more movements are beginning to use it. We also see an increase in the number of missions conferences. Urbana in North America is one of the oldest. In Latin America Compa Mexico holds regular missions conferences, attracting more than 500 participants. Missions conferences have multiplied in Francophone Africa in recent years.in EPSA, more than 3,000 people attended the last missions conference, Commission, held by FOCUS Kenya in 2014 and a smaller event is regularly held in Ghana. The NIFES missions conference in 2013 gathered more than 6,000 students. In South Asia, a first subregional conference was held in 2014 in New Delhi, India with 430 participants from India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. In the Caribbean, students have made mission trips to other countries in the region. We see encouraging results from this renewed passion for evangelism, even in the places that are considered particularly difficult. GBU Italy reports more than 70 conversions while UCCF reports more than 1,000 professions of faith in Great Britain; UESI in India has seen 103,776 conversions over the last four years (29,023 in , 25,670 in , 28,591 in and 20,492 in ). In the USA the number of conversions has risen by 57% in comparison to five years ago and the number of new chapters continues to grow. We live in a world full of challenges: persecution of many kinds, conflict, and religious fundamentalism. Christians are specifically targeted in some parts of the world. Students are imprisoned in places such as Eritrea. It is increasingly difficult for us to carry out our work in the universities because of growing secularisation. The MENA region is in turmoil because of conflict following the Arab spring. Despite these difficulties, we see encouraging signs of growth. We should therefore take heart from the doors that God is opening for us despite the difficulties, and we must continue to follow the example of the Apostle Paul and not be ashamed of the gospel. 46

17 4.3.2 Leadership training Numerous leadership training initiatives have been held in the various IFES regions. The MENA region has recently launched a young leaders training program, having identified 25 young people within the region in whom they want to invest intentionally. They hope that from among this cohort some people will emerge who will play an important role in the regional leadership in future. Europe continues to invest in leadership development. We already see a number of young leaders who received training as student leaders and then moved on to become staff of their movements, joining the regional young staff network. Some of them have gone on to become general secretaries, moving into the regional network for new general secretaries. Latin America and the Caribbean regions have well-established programmes of regular training events for young leaders. Some regions have established formal training programs for staff of their movements: the Institute for Staff Development in EPSA, the Eurasia Institute, and the Centre Africain pour Christianisme Contemporain (CACC) in Francophone Africa. These regional initiatives complement the many training initiatives run by national movements themselves. At the global level, we are working on an initiative to develop around 25 young leaders from around the regions. The program will be launched as soon as we have identified facilitators to lead it. The development of young leaders must continue to be a concern for IFES at all levels of our ministry Global issues How can we better understand the Muslim world in order to better serve Muslim students? With globalisation, more and more Muslim students are travelling abroad for study. The students in our movements are not always well prepared to develop friendships with their Muslim colleagues. One of our Associate General Secretaries has served as a resource person to raise awareness within IFES about ministry to Muslim students. A consultation on Islam took place in Thailand where most of the regions were represented, another in Singapore, and one in Sri Lanka for South Asian countries, and most recently a further consultation in Indonesia, the country with the greatest number of Muslims in the world. In 2014, the Senior Leadership Team and the International Executive Committee discussed Islam, seeking to discern how we can help both movements and students respond to the issues it raises for our ministry. We must, above all, raise awareness amongst movements and provide them with resources to help students take seriously the need to share the gospel with their Muslim friends. Some of the consultations bore fruit of a very practical nature. In the MENA region some movements have sought to develop friendships with Muslim neighbours by initiating honest dialogue around comparative studies of the Bible and the Qur an. China has also been a ministry priority for IFES and a number of IFES staff have made regular visits to the underground ministry in China, developing networks and encouraging the students and staff. 5. FINANCES The report of the Treasurer will give you more detail about our financial situation. The last few years have been a period of economic and financial crises in the world. Some movements have suffered, especially those who receive the majority of their funding from external sources. At the global level we can thank the Lord for his provision. God has provided for our needs beyond our expectations. However we still have to repay the bank loan that we took in order to complete the purchase of our office in Oxford in Currently we still owe around $600,000. I want to thank our donors and each national movement for your generosity to IFES. 6. STAFF CHANGES AND ADIEUX STAFF CHANGES Over the last four years many changes have occurred on the IFES staff team. I am thankful to God for each person he calls to work with IFES. Whether they serve with us for many years or just a short time, they all have a vital part to play in our mission. I have listed below the comings and goings from the IFES staff team: 47

18 Eurasia Christy Jutare stepped down from her role as regional secretary at the end of Sergei was appointed as the first Eurasian national to serve as regional secretary. Brian Welch joined the regional team as a resource person for pastoral care and international student ministry. Dorothea and Corinna both returned to their home country after many years of pioneering ministry in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Latin America Ziel Machado stepped down as regional secretary at the end of 2011 and was succeeded by David Bahena from Mexico. The regional team has been strengthened by two new staff appointments: Marina Medina from Panama and Carmen Castillo from Chile. returned to work part-time on the regional team. Space does not allow me to list everyone who has served with IFES Interaction in Europe over the past four years, but I would like to record my thanks to them for the part they have played in sharing the gospel with students across the region. MENA Freddy left the North Africa team in 2012, and Kurt Morrill has been seconded from InterVarsity Link as PA to the regional secretary. International Service Centre We have seen many staff changes in the International Service Centre. EPSA Joseph Morennamele from Lesotho left the regional team in 2012, and George Taban from South Sudan and Emmanuel Ahilijah from Ghana left in Simon Masibo from Kenya and Samuel Gokuum from Nigeria have joined. Francophone Africa Barka Kamnadj from Chad stepped down after more than 20 years of service on the regional team. Mombinou Dorichamou has joined as regional administrator. Europe Several members of the regional team moved on: Edith Vilamajó (associate regional secretary), Helen Troup (PA to the regional secretary) and Thomas Moesgaard- Christensen (part-time high schools coordinator) all left IFES while Mirek Pieszka has moved to a new role with the international governance programme. Carrie Marlow and Millie Sherwood both left, their roles being taken on by Jo Rogers and Sophie van Houtryve who currently provide part-time administrative support. Martin Haizmann stepped down as regional secretary in 2013 and Igors Rautmanis has been serving as interim regional secretary for the past 12 months. Tor Erling Fagermoen from Norway has been appointed as the new regional secretary and will take up the position on 1 August Former IFES staff Charlie Hadjiev has Administration Tim Adams was appointed as Associate General Secretary. Ruth Mounstephen was appointed as Chief Administrative Officer. Caitlin Ormiston, Antonia Searles and Lea Ringler have all joined the team. Finance Beverley Joshua and Erika Wolska left. Nick Addo was appointed as Head of Finance. Jonathan Rowlands and Colin Wilcock provided short-term cover for two staff on maternity leave. Global Communications Sandra Zaragoza and James Docherty left. Mélanie Dessouroux, Philippa White, Grete Bauder and Carli Lewis (intern) have all joined. Supporter Relations Chris Woo left. Tim Johnson and Jill Bain have joined. Human Resources Elizabeth Willis has joined. General Secretary s department Peter Hart left and Kirsten Lillie has joined. 48

19 International Ministries (IFES General Secretary and staff serving internationally). Associate General Secretary, Femi Adeleye stepped down in 2012 and Gideon Yung will retire this year after the World Assembly. I have appointed Martin Haizmann and Tim Adams as Associate General Secretaries, respectively responsible for international ministries and operations. During the past four years, Sabine Kalthoff was appointed as Secretary for Scripture Engagement, Marcia Wang as Strategic Planning Officer and Mirek Pieszka as Director of National Movement Governance Training. ADIEUX Several of our dear brothers and sisters have gone to be with the Lord in the past four years. We remember them fondly and give thanks for their faithful service in IFES. Professor Isaac Zokoué, former General Secretary of the GBUAF regional movement and former IFES IEC member and honorary Vice President. Reverend René Daïdanso, one of the founders of UJC Chad and former honorary Vice President of IFES. Dr Dietrich Bauer, former IFES Treasurer and member of the Finance Committee. Sir Fred Catherwood, former IFES Treasurer and member of the IEC and Finance Committee. Dr Oliver Barclay, former IEC member and General Secretary of UCCF. Miss Yanna Terris, staffworker of ISCCF St Lucia. Rev Steve Hayner, former President of InterVarsity/USA. 7. LOOKING TO THE FUTURE: THE CHALLENGES AHEAD In the next four years we will have to put our energies into strengthening the implementation of the strategic priorities as we see growth in both depth and size. I would like to suggest some key pointers to achieve this: We must continue to work to release student initiative as we intentionally seek ways to involve students in our structures and decision-making We must not lose momentum in implementing the strategic priorities of the Living Stones vision. I especially want to encourage even more emphasis on communicating the good news of Jesus. We must continue our initiative to engage the university as an integral part of our holistic witness to Jesus Christ in the university. We must invest in capacity building at the organisational level in order to sustain and improve the rhythm of our current growth. Some regions and some national movements are operating below capacity, possibly because of a lack of staff, insufficient infrastructure, or minimal financial resources. However lack of money is not always the root cause: sometimes it is a symptom of poor leadership that is unable to identify and mobilise resources. In future I would like us to address the question of building capacity in IFES. Development of capacity must go hand in hand with the development of a culture which gives space to evaluate the impact of what we are doing; that is not satisfied to simply count the number of activities that we undertake without measuring the scope and the fruit that come from those activities. The appointment last year of an Associate General Secretary with responsibility for operations is a first step in this direction. I would like us to engage in an in-depth evaluation of our strategic priorities during the next World Assembly in 2019 with a view to adjusting our priorities as necessary at that time. CONCLUSION Allow me to conclude with some personal comments. It has been a privilege to serve the worldwide family during the last four years. I have certainly received more from you than I have given. Your lives - staff, students, graduates, supporters - have been a source of inspiration for my walk with God. You have inspired in me a sense of sacrifice for God, piety, lifestyle, and especially the spiritual significance of what it means to be a family of God and to serve in this family. Thank you for your inspiration and your friendship which has been ever-present. In preparing this report, I have only done the work of the reporter. The real work has been done by my colleagues, the regional secretaries and their teams, the staff at 49

20 the International Service Centre and by my Associate General Secretaries. I have had the privilege and the joy of serving with this team of men and women who are both competent, but above all devoted in their love for the Lord. I thank each one of them for their contribution. I also want especially to thank the members of the International Executive Committee who have supported us and provided advice and counsel. Thank you to the Chair of the IEC, Chris Collins for the great sacrifice of time he gives to support us despite his busy professional life, and to the Treasurer Øistein Garcia de Presno for the skilled way in which he has given direction in the area of finances during this period of general economic recession. May God bless our efforts as we seek to serve him and to proclaim his name in all the universities of the world. Respectfully submitted Daniel Bourdanné General Secretary 50

21 REPORT OF THE TREASURER JULY 2015 THE LORD S FAITHFULNESS Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve IFES as Treasurer for the last eight years. It has been a privilege and a joy, but not without challenges. When I took on the role in 2007, it was a significant time of transition in IFES; within months many financial institutions were hit by a crisis which badly affected many IFES donors. But looking back I believe we can say with great thankfulness thus far has the Lord brought us (1 Samuel 7: 12). Key highlights over the past eight years include: The arrival of a new General Secretary Daniel Bourdanné The adoption of the Living Stones vision to help focus our ministry to students Working with two capable accountants serving as Head of Finance: Beverly Joshua, who led the finance team for seven years, and Nick Addo the current incumbent who joined us in December 2013 Regional secretaries and regional staff teams taking greater financial responsibility for the ministry in their regions Increased partnership from national movements through direct giving to IFES and secondment of staff to serve in IFES The establishment of IFES/USA to promote and co-ordinate communication and fundraising in the USA The launch of the Indigenous Support Development (ISD) program - now active in five regions - to help national movements and regions raise more funds locally God s provision that enabled IFES to purchase a shared office in Oxford, UK, where our International Service Centre is located Through it all, the Lord has stood with us and sustained this great work. Let us give thanks to the Lord. Great indeed is his faithfulness. FINANCIAL RESULTS So how have we fared financially since my last report in 2011? The financial information in this report combines the figures from IFES Switzerland and IFES, the charity registered in the UK US$ US$ US$ US$ 000 Income 8,911 6,296 7,586 7,538 Expenditure (8,202) (5,943) (6,462) (6,878) Surplus for the year , Total funds held at start of year 3,728 4,437 4,790 5,914 51

22 Below is a graph showing the income, expenditure and total funds held at the end of each year (funds carried forward). We had exceptionally high income in This was both a World Assembly year and the year that we purchased the office property in Oxford. The figures reflect the significant fundraising efforts and God s amazing provision for those key needs. The figures and the related graph highlight three other crucial facts: 1. Financial discipline: over the last four years, together with the IFES senior leadership, we have taken a cautious approach with our finances as we have responded to the challenges of the global recession, keeping expenditure just below our income. 2. Building our reserves: the cautious approach to our finances, has enabled us to rebuild our reserves year on year. We have specifically sought to rebuild our general reserves: a fund available for the general work of IFES, which we relied upon largely to see us through the years of recession. The reserves are now back in the target range, standing at 20% of our annual core costs. 3. Good communication: I think this financial discipline has been possible because of the good communication between the governance bodies (International Executive Committee and Finance Committee) and the management of IFES, with openness and quick responses to our advice. 52

23 NOTE: The figures and graph above do not include: IFES/USA running costs: IFES/USA is a legally separate organisation that makes grants to IFES for ministry. These grants are included in the income figures above, but not the costs associated with the running of the organisation. Seconded staff: many of our international staff are seconded and funded through their national movements or other organisations. These costs are not included in the figures. Donated time: our trustees and many national movement staff who serve on various working groups, and volunteer their time for activities at regional and global levels. INCOME PATTERNS AND ANALYSIS Looking more closely at our income patterns and sources over the last four years, a number of observations can be made: Over the last four years, between 78% - 86% of our income came from the US and the UK, with the US element increasing from 35% in 2011 to 63% in Voluntary giving remains our main source of income, accounting for over 98% of the total income. The exception to this was 2011, when income from World Assembly conference fees and gifts to purchase the office property distorted the proportions. Voluntary donations from individuals remain our main source of income, increasing from 57% in 2011 to 65% in At the same time giving by national movements hashalved from 14% in 2011 to 7% in Giving by trusts/foundations and churches over this period has remained largely unchanged at 22% and 6% respectively. Between 2011 and 2014, the actual number of donors who gave towards our ministry remained stable at around 5,100 per year. EXPENDITURE PATTERNS AND ANALYSIS The table and corresponding graph below give an analysis of expenditure by fund type: 2011 US$ US$ US$ US$ 000 Funds for core costs 2,717 1,949 1,984 1,538 Project funds 2, ,160 1,381 Transmission/ national movement funds 2,106 2,062 2,154 2,222 General funds 926 1,032 1,164 1,737 TOTAL 8,202 5,943 6,462 6,878 53

24 Core funds are the funds given for staff support and office costs in the IFES regions. Project funds are raised for specific ministry programs run by IFES. They can only be used for that purpose. National movement funds are funds raised by national movements from their supporters around the world, received by IFES and granted by IFES to the relevant national movement. General funds are funds given with no restriction and can be used where they are needed most. It is important to note the following: Except for 2012, when expenditure fell, the amounts expended for projects, grants to national movements, and the general fund have all increased in the last two years. Over the four-year period, no less than US$2 million of the total expenditure (averaging 31.5%) has gone directly towards the work of national movements. This amount has been rising, particularly over the last two years. Over the four years, 137 national movements and their staff benefitted from the transmission funds service. Considering this within the context of the Living Stones vision, there has been a steady increase in the share of expenditure going towards our strategic priorities from 7% in 2011 to 23% by At the same time, the share of expenditure going towards regional operations and salaries has fallen from 50% in 2011 to just 32% by This is partly because more staff are now being supported directly from funds within their regions. 54

25 The table below gives more detail: 2011 % 2012 % 2013 % 2014 % Regional operations and salaries Living Stones - strategic priorities Living Stones - firm foundations & core commitments Grants to national movements through transmission fund service REGIONAL ANALYSIS OF EXPENDITURE The charts below show the breakdown of expenditure by IFES region in 2011 and In proportionate terms, expenditure at the regional level (including money passed on to national movements) increased from 57% in 2011 to 68% in Correspondingly the International Service Centre s share of expenditure (excluding International Ministries) fell from 34% in 2011 to just over 24% in

26 SO WHAT IS THE CURRENT HEALTH OF IFES FINANCES? Our ministry has been able to expand significantly over the last four years, regional ministry budgets have grown, and in addition we have been able to take forward a number of new international initiatives such as the National Movement Governance Training program, the Indigenous Support Development program, Innovation in Evangelism grants, and the Scripture Engagement initiative. At the same time, the combined balance sheet of IFES has increased from US$4.4 million in 2011 to US$6.6 million in 2014 an increase of approximately 48%. The graph below breaks down the balance sheet at 31 December 2014 into the different categories. The free reserves are back to the appropriate level, and in addition we have acquired a significant asset in our office property. Together this means that our finances are healthy, and we have a good foundation for future ministry. I thank God that we are in a strong position to continue moving towards our mission. 56