CrossWorld

Crossworld is an international non-profit organization that works to bring Christian faith and values to unreached marketplaces of the world and to make disciples of Jesus Christ.

Vision

Crossworld’s tagline “There’s a better way” communicates a “better way” to do Christian missions in a rapidly changing world by training and equipping men and women of all professions to go into the unreached parts of the world and use their vocations to share God’s love. The Crossworld vision is summarized in the ministry’s dream statement: “disciple-makers from all professions bringing God’s love to life in the world’s least-reached marketplaces.”

History

In 1931 a group of 36 missions workers serving in Brazil and the Congo formed a Christian agency called Unevangelized Fields Missions (UFM). Originally headquartered in London, UK, UFM—now Crossworld—predominantly served as a sending organization for missionaries. The same year, UFM also opened an office in Toronto, Canada. In 1941, however, that office relocated to the U.S. when Canada entered WWII. The first U.S. office was in Lancaster, Pa., but moved to Philadelphia and then Bala Cynwyd, Pa.

In 2004, UFM began a series of transitions. The first was an official name change to Crossworld—a move that reflected the ministry’s goal of taking the message of the cross of Jesus to the world. In 2010, Crossworld established a Shared Services partnership with Avant Ministries in Kansas City, Mo., and relocated its headquarters there as well.

The last of Crossworld’s major transitions took place in 2011 at the time of its 80th anniversary. Under the leadership of President Dale Losch, Crossworld recalibrated its vision in two significant ways. First, it began seeking ministry workers from all professions in addition to workers from traditional religious professions. Second, it began emphasizing disciple-making. As of 2014, Crossworld had grown to include more than 350 cross-cultural workers in 30 different countries involved in disciple-making, education, medicine, sports, ministry outreach, translation, and other professions.

Crossworld President

Crossworld President Dale Losch began his work with the ministry in 1988 as a disciple-maker in France. In 1997, after serving overseas for nine years, Losch and his family returned to his home country of Canada to take over as Crossworld’s Canadian director. Twelve years later, Losch accepted the position of Crossworld President and began working to develop Crossworld into the disciple-making ministry it is today. His book 'A Better Way' has been used in Crossworld ministry initiatives and has gained popularity among other Christian ministries including the Navigators and Intervarsity’s Urbana.

Losch, who became a Christian at age 6, earned a bachelor's degree in Missions from Christian Heritage College (Ca.) in 1981 and a master's degree in Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary (Texas) in 1987. He and his wife Jerusha have four adult children. In addition to serving as president of Crossworld, Losch also writes, speaks and preaches on the topics of discipleship, missions and God’s heart for the world.

Global Impact

As of 2014, Crossworld served 26 regions of the world on five continents with approximately 350 cross-cultural missions workers.

The ministry maintains a current list of service opportunities on its website. Among Crossworld’s key ministry fields are Asia, the Balkans, Italy, Senegal, Thailand and the Canary Islands. Missions workers from almost all vocations including English as a Second Language teachers, engineers, business professionals, medical personnel and university student ministry leaders are welcome to apply.

Global opportunities range in duration from one week to career, and long-term workers are given training and assistance before being sent into the field.

Media Coverage

In more than 80 years of operation, Crossworld (or UFM) has received national and global media attention. The 1964 Congo massacre, which included the slaughter of dozens of hostages—19 from Crossworld—at the hands of Simba rebels drew international coverage. American, Belgian and Cuban forces waged a successful rescue mission, but not before casualties were accumulated. The story headlined world news and was featured in the Dec. 4, 1964 issue of 'LIFE Magazine'. Later, the reunion of now-Christian Congo citizens with families of the martyrs made headlines again.

UFM (Crossworld) returned to the public eye in 1982 when a family of UFM mission workers were featured in the cover story of the December 27, 1982, issue of 'TIME Magazine' in an article called “The New Missionary.”

Books

In 2012, Crossworld President Dale Losch released the book 'A Better Way: Make Disciples Wherever Life Happens' to outline and illustrate a “better way” of reaching the world. The book gained endorsements from Christian leaders including Luis Palau and Steve Moore, as well as a collection of pastors and teachers from across North America.

The book’s synopsis states that 'A Better Way' is about Jesus’ way of impacting the world with His “life-revolutionizing” message, and how a “fresh commitment to His way and fresh—yet at the same time timeless—approach in our methods can change the world.” This approach involves disciple-makers from all professions bringing God’s love to life in the world’s least-reached marketplaces.

Opportunities

Crossworld provides opportunities for men and women of many vocations to deliver Christ’s message to the unreached parts of the world. Interested parties have two options: signing on to go to one of the available regions or helping others achieve their goal of going themselves. Crossworld lists the process steps for both going and staying on their website.

Current opportunities are also maintained in an online list that is updated weekly by Crossworld staff. Trips range in duration from one week to a career with long-term workers being trained at the Crossworld headquarters in Kansas City, Mo.

Nonprofit Status

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Crossworld is authorized in the U.S. and Canada to issue tax-deductible receipts for gifts that advance its purposes. Crossworld is an accredited member of the Evangelical Council of Financial Accountability (U.S.) and the Canadian Council of Christian Charities (Canada).

External links

References

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