Luke 10 Initiative

What is the Luke 10 Initiative?

The Luke 10 Initiative is how EFM will determine where the five new fields will be started for our Five-Year Goal! EFM depends on the regions/yearly meetings, churches, and individuals that EFM serves as their missions’ agency to engage in this discernment process. The Luke 10 Initiative requires four types of participants who gather for Luke 10 Think Tanks and discern, based on EFM’s CAN GO criteria, what locations and people groups to visit via exploratory teams called Luke 10 Exploration Trips. Out of these trips ​and the think tanks will come recommendations to the EFM Board about where to launch new fields, where all five of EFM’s CAN GO Criteria has been identified.

EFM CAN GO Criteria

During the first Luke 10 Think Tanks that were held the following criteria for where to launch new fields was set based on a study of missions history, especially how decisions were made about where to pioneer new fields.  The CAN GO Criteria was specifically developed for discerning where to EFM ‘can go’ to work at launching new fields, not for discerning who should be on Luke 10 Trips or who should serve on missionary teams to launch the field.

Four Types of Participants

1. Future Missionaries. These are persons who may already be feeling led to become career missionaries or are simply exploring the idea and are open to taking next steps. These next steps might include participating in a Luke 10 Trip or visiting an existing mission field (or more than one field).
2. People with Missions Experience. These are persons who have served as short-term or long-term missionaries or have extensive involvement in missions and cross-cultural work.
3. Influential Church Leaders. These are persons at the local church and/or regional levels who are passionate about missions, known for their ability to discern the Lord’s will, and who are eager to help guide their church(es) in actively engaging with this Five-Year Goal.
4. Voice of Friends from Other Continents. The areas of the world where Evangelical Friends churches are multiplying the fastest are in Latin America, Asia and Africa. Not only do we need to listen to their perspectives when we consider possible new fields in their regions of the world, but we also may find ourselves joining forces with them to launch these new fields.

Luke 10 Think Tanks

Luke 10 Think Tanks help discern where to look for potential new fields and also what steps to take in launching those new fields once they’ve been approved by the EFM Board. During the think tanks there is lots of prayer, reading Luke 10, looking for themes voiced by the four types of participants, and discerning the leading of the Holy Spirit in regards to how to move forward with plans.

Our last Think Tank took place on November 8, 2023. At this think tank, seventy-five leaders met, including the EFM Board and Staff, potential future missionaries, missionary applicants, and people with missions experience representing seven regions/yearly meetings in the U.S. and seventeen Luke 10 Exploration Trip teams. After an incredible day of worship, prayer, and discernment, the Think Tank made the recommendation to begin the launch process for six new fields which the EFM board approved the next day!

Our 2024 National Think tank will be taking place in November, details coming soon.

Luke 10 Trips

An important part of the Luke 10 Initiative are trips that groups of individuals take to explore countries, regions, and people groups where we are or might be starting a new field! There are three types of trips EFM is currently taking: Luke 10 Exploration Trips, Luke 10 Pre-Launch Planning Trips, and 10:2 Prayer Trips. For more details on these trips and how to get involved, visit here.

Here are the Seven Fields that EFM has Committed to Launching so Far!

1. Mexico
2. Shuar People of Ecuador and Peru
3. South Sudan
4. Greece
5. Northeast Brazil
6. Persian Gulf States
7. The Balkans

The Two Fields EFM is Continuing to Explore

1. Tanzania
2. Unreached People Groups in Southeast Asia