The holiday season brings so many opportunities to reconnect with loved ones far and near, and this issue of Mission Frontiers is our way to introduce you to Frontier Ventures through our family of ministries. Lean closer and let Ed McManness, our General Director, begin the introduction. Our initiatives are organized through four functions: Missiology, Formation, Innovation, and Publishing. I feel confident that you will find an initiative about which you have not yet heard.

As a mission organization, Missiology is the water we swim in, but we are happy to swim with others through the RDW Lectureship, an annual event shared between William Carey International University and Frontier Ventures through the RDW Research Center. We also have a podcast to introduce to you. Finally, the International Journal of Frontier Missiology is part of our Missiology team, but we have exciting developments that are not quite ready for this issue. More on that another time.

Spiritual Formation is a deep well of living water as we abide in Christ so that in overflow others can encounter the living Christ. There is no substitute for living water, and our Formation team offers many different initiatives to allow others to drink deeply. Second-Half Collaborative is a 10-month cohort for experienced mission workers. Perspectives USA and Perspectives Global offer our well-known, 15-week paradigm-shifting class. The Institute for Community Transformation provides a wealth of undergraduate classes. Our NEXTGEN initiative offers a cool drink of living water a week at a time.

Innovation is essential for bringing the good news of Jesus to the least reached peoples, and our Winter Launch Lab team fosters an ecosystem of

innovation with initiatives including Health for All Nations geared toward health care professionals. This team also interacts with various networks comprised of people mostly outside of Frontier Ventures. Two of these networks include a central focus on Bitcoin and Nomadic Peoples. Earlier this year, an event was held for network innovators. Equipping others through innovative design experiences is highlighted in this issue.

The words you are reading are evidence of our Publishing function. Mission Frontiers has been producing thought-provoking magazine issues for 46 years, and William Carey Publishing has been creating mission books for 55 years, moving the missiological conversations forward within the global body of Christ.

Finally, from our new Development department, we have a free opportunity to assist you in creating your own will to streamline logistical details for your family when the Lord calls you home to glory. There are creative ways you can protect your assets for your family and provide charitable generosity. We hope you will consider FV for this legacy giving.

This issue of Mission Frontiers is a snapshot of our family of ministries. Each initiative invites your participation through prayer and active involvement. (I am aware of at least one specific administrative support role for a volunteer to work with the MF team. Email editor@missionfrontiers. org if you are interested.) We might have instead introduced you to Frontier Ventures through the view of our values, or our aspirations driving us to grow into closer relational connections with global leaders, or through our almost 50-year history. (We turn 50 in 2026, and we plan to celebrate with you all year long!) We might have introduced you to Frontier Ventures through our many terrific staff people. In fact, we have a new Editor of Mission Frontiers, DUKE DILLARD, who is taking leadership as I relinquish my Interim role. Reading these articles will introduce you to some of our staff as authors of this issue. I am honored to be associated with this fine team of people for the past 42 years. So, pour yourself a cool, refreshing glass of water and meet the family! Or perhaps I might borrow a line from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol:

“Come in,—come in! and know me better, man! I am the Ghost of Christmas Present. Look upon me! You have never seen the like of me before!”

Dickens, Charles. A Christmas Carol; (London, England: Chapman and Hall, 1843)

I hope your holiday season is filled with all God’s blessings.

Warmly in Christ,

Sue Patt

PS: We regret that one article in the SEPT/OCT 2024 issue of MF had errors with how the Hebrew language words appeared backwards. Extra credit goes to the sharp readers who caught our mistake and wrote or called to bring the error to our attention. Thank you!