Greetings New Friends!
I write to you with a sense of gratefulness and excitement as I begin the new work to which God has called me. I cannot think of a greater privilege than to serve the gifted men and women CISF supports. I had the opportunity to personally meet five of the scholars during the process of exploring this role and came away with a tremendous appreciation for their passion and sacrificial hearts as they apply their leadership gifts to building up Christ’s church in their home countries.
I and my family have felt nothing but the warmest of welcomes into the CISF fellowship in the short time I have been aboard. We live in the Seattle area and are blessed at the moment to have all four of our children and a daughter in law either living with us or nearby.
As you have read in recent newsletters, CISF has grown tremendously in size and scope under Mike Woodruff’s gifted leadership. We all owe a large debt to Mike for his many, dedicated years of service through which this ministry has prospered. Because of this, we inherit a solid foundation on which to build an exciting future. I am grateful to have his rich experience to draw upon as he remains on the Board of Directors.
In addition, I am fortunate to have Evan Hunter in place as our Director of Operations in Chicago and Gwyn Hoyt working in development in California. I look forward to learning much from them as we plan together how to increase the level of support available to more scholars.
Here are a few highlights from my perspective as I begin:
· Thanks to the generosity of one of our board, I will accompany Evan Hunter, Mike Woodruff and several other board members on an already planned trip to Africa in August to attend important meetings hosted by NEGST (Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology) about several new doctoral programs now offered in Africa. I will also meet with ten CISF graduates and get to see the work they are doing first hand in Kenya.
· Following the meeting at NEGST, Evan and I will be visiting the University of Kwazulu-Natal in Durban where we will meet with four CISF scholars who are studying at the School of Theology there.
· Evan and I recently spent time with CISF board members, Drs. Tim and Kerry Dearborn in Seattle, receiving valuable perspective regarding these two visits. The trip to Africa and its particular timing affords me an early opportunity to gain first hand knowledge of the value of CISF’s work on the ground, and the immense impact it has for the church around the world.
· In the coming months, we will establish goals and objectives for increasing the foundation’s resources to support a larger number of scholars. Other initiatives, including deepening our support of scholars in PhD programs closer to their homelands show promise to stretch the gifts to CISF even further. Your continued prayers are very much valued as we take on new challenges to accelerate the growth of the ministry.
· As my friends and associates learn of my new responsibilities, I have natural opportunities to tell the CISF story. I find it resonates particularly with those who appreciate the unique role of strong, Christian leadership in bringing people to Christian maturity and in ministering to the physical, social and spiritual needs in the Majority World.
· Psalm 127:1 has resonated in my own spirit since my first exploration of this role. “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who labor, labor in vain”. It reminds me that, first and foremost, this Christ’s work and not mine. CISF directly strengthens Christ’s church in the very areas it is growing most rapidly. I am deeply grateful to have been called to this work at this time in my life.
Thank you for your continued support of CISF, particularly as we close out our fiscal year end. As mentioned previously, donations made by August 31 will be matched dollar for dollar.
I look forward to meeting many of you personally in the coming years!
God’s best to all of you,
Chuck Orrestad
President, CISF
