From Our CEO

Dear Friends,

This issue of the Ethnos360 magazine features another ministry of Ethnos360 that has personally touched my own life. After the death of my father, my mother moved to The Homes of Ethnos360 where she lived and served for her final 30 years. Our family is very grateful for this facility and the staff who served and cared for our mother.

Just a couple blocks from our house in Sanford, Florida, is a beautiful and beautifully maintained property with 51 duplexes, 12 staff homes, plus an 18-room assisted living facility (ALF). Between the 51 duplexes and the ALF, there are currently more than 130 retired residents at The Homes of Ethnos360. More than 130 heroes of the faith! More than 130 men and women who have spent the majority of their lives serving the Lord in far-off lands!

Some of these servants pioneered and opened new regions so that others could come along behind them. Many invested years and even decades learning the language of an unreached people group, and they were the first in the entire history of that people group to share the gospel and translate Scriptures. Some served in support roles that made it possible for others to learn languages and translate Scriptures. If we could calculate how many unreached people groups now have the gospel and thriving churches in their language because of the faithful service of these, our retired co-workers, I think we would be blown away. Many of these servants, though “retired,” continue to serve in vital support roles at the Ethnos360 Home Office.

Back in the early 1980s, the Executive Committee of New Tribes Mission (Ethnos360) made the decision to build a retirement community for our returning missionaries. This was not motivated by a desire to provide a comfortable retirement for missionaries. It was motivated out of a sense of duty and respect for servants who have earned that respect. From the 1940s to the 1980s, missionaries went to the mission field with no thought of retirement. In fact, my own father, who served in that era, told me that back then it was considered a lack of faith to save for old age. These servants who went out in that era were coming home from the mission field without the resources they needed to even have a place to live in their final years of life on this earth. The Homes of Ethnos360 (originally NTM Homes) was built to meet this need. Larry Brown (our former CEO) and Dan Taube were the project managers who led dozens of volunteers to make it happen. Personally, I am honored to be associated with an organization that cares for those who have gone before us in such a meaningful way.

Please pray with us for the Lord’s provision of needed staff to keep this vital ministry alive and well.

Yours in Christ,

Steve Sanford, Ethnos360 CEO