Finishing the Task Movement

Avery Willis proposed the Finishing the Task Conference to Table 71 of which he was a founding member. Table 71 sponsors the movement to reach the 639 unreached people groups of over 100,000 people that do not have anyone implementing a church planting strategy among them. The Finishing The Task vision will be carried out initially by American local churches each embracing one or more of these UUPGs.

The initial Finishing the Task conference was organized by Table 71, a partnership of several of the largest mission agencies. During Amsterdam 2000, an event hosted by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, an ad hoc group of mission agency leaders committed to begin a strategic relationship together for the purpose of seeing all people groups engaged with church planting initiatives. They named the group “Table 71” after the particular table number where the leadership met at in Amsterdam. Over the past several years they have learned to trust one another and offer anything they have to any of the other organizations. In the fall of 2004, several of the partners in Table 71 felt led of the Holy Spirit to come together under a unified strategy called Finishing The Task.

The major mission organizations are:
• Campus Crusade for Christ International (CCCI) is committed to translating new language versions of the Jesus Film for evangelism efforts as well as providing introductions for strategic relationships in the target regions. President - Steve Douglass & Table 71 Executive Director- Bob Varney

• The International Mission Board (IMB) of the Southern Baptist Convention will be focused on training local church volunteers to develop strategies for launching Church Planting initiatives, provide training of local church UUPG Champions as well as provide introductions for strategic relationships in the target regions. President – Jerry Rankin

• Wycliffe Bible Translators (Wycliffe) will be providing scripture translation for these groups where virtually no scripture is available as well as providing introductions for strategic relationships in the target regions. President – Bob Creson

• Youth With a Mission (YWAM) will be focused on training, entry opportunities, providing additional manpower to mobilize virtually anywhere as well as providing introductions for strategic relationships in the target regions. International Director of YWAM Impact World Tours - Mark Anderson

• DAWN will provide regional contacts and training for the UUPGs. Ted Olsen represents the DAWN president.

• Walk Thru The Bible (WTB) will provide regional contacts (near the UUPG) from their World Teach Network. Vice President—Terry Sparks.

• Mission Spokane - will provide intercessory prayer support. Director—Bob Cochrane

More than 10 mission organizations have joined the Finishing The Task Initiative and are committing major resources of manpower and tools, to serve these local churches as they launch church planting movements among all of these remaining groups. Each of the primary partners will be contributing from their area of expertise to the effort from a base of more than 50,000 full time staff. Most of the targeted UUPGs are Oral Cultures. The strategies that will be used are designed for these oral cultures where in many cases no scripture yet exists in their mother tongue languages and there are no known church-planting initiatives underway. Marcus Vegh, Progressive Vision, represents Finishing the Task on Table 71

At the initial conference in November 2005 forty-one of the largest mission churches in America committed to engaging 70 of these UUPG groups and the other 19 churches are consulting with their church leaders to see how many they will take. Twenty of these churches committed to conduct a Finishing the Task Conference of their own within the next couple of years to spread the vision to the churches and pastors that they influence.

This burgeoning movement will need continual leadership and training as it moves from the United States and becomes rooted in the indigenous churches and overseas missions agencies. We anticipate that this will become a movement that reaches the 639 over 100,000 and then goes after the 3000 others below 100,000 who have no church planting strategy being implemented among them.

See www.finishingthetask.com