In the intricate tapestry of global mission work, every thread matters — every child reached, every local leader resourced, every Scripture shared becomes a potential catalyst for transformative change.

Just as a single raindrop can ripple across a pond, a carefully placed resource in one community can spark spiritual awakening that spreads far beyond its original context, touching lives in ways we might never fully comprehend.

Our mission isn’t about conquering continents, but about empowering local churches and organizations with the tools they need to speak hope directly into their own cultural landscapes. And this must be a nuanced effort that takes into account an ever-changing global youth culture.

The “butterfly effect” is a whimsical but mathematically rigorous (and experimentally proven) theorem showing that a butterfly flapping its wings in the Amazon rainforest can and sometimes does control the weather in Chicago a few weeks or months later.

The complex systems presently at play in regard to missions include market-globalization, migration, diaspora, urbanization, connectivity, and technological impact, to name a few. Each of these factors are highly unstable, unpredictably changing, and forcing us to try to strategize and “plan” in the midst of chaos.

This is why we have shifted to an adaptive plan with directives rather than a strategic plan with global objectives.

The world moves and ideas that were once good are not always good. –Dwight D. Eisenhower

In planning for the long-term, it’s the short-term steps, decisions, and our responses to the unpredictable “external” complexities constantly shifting the terrain of our journey.

The destination remains our true north — God’s Word. Every Child. doesn’t change. However, each step of the journey requires us to be willing and able to remain agile and adaptable to the unknowns and unpredictable variables we encounter along the way.