News from EFCC

by | Jan 20, 2025 | News

Important Announcement from EFCC Board of Directors

Last week, we received this email from Bill Taylor and the Evangelical Free Church Board of Directors. It concerns any church that supports or has interest in EFCC missionaries.

From: Bill Taylor <billt@efcc.ca>

Subject: ServeBeyond Announcement

Date: January 16, 2025 at 11:00:18 AM MST

Dear EFCC Churches,

We are reaching out to you regarding an EFCC Board of Directors decision that will have a significant impact on our international ministry, ServeBeyond. Our insurance company had advised us during the previous coverage cycle that, because we have personnel and projects overseas, they would not renew the Abuse, Harassment, and Molestation Liability insurance covering the entire EFCC, both overseas and in Canada. In order to keep our general liability insurance active, our insurance company, with our agreement, removed the Abuse, Harassment, and Molestation Liability portion of our policy.

 

As you can imagine, this has left the entire organization in a very vulnerable position. The entire organization — including all mission projects and personnel, Home Office, and the Board of Directors — could be in jeopardy if a valid uninsured claim were made in the future. After much prayer and lengthy discussion, the Board of Directors determined that the EFCC can no longer maintain an employment relationship with our salaried ServeBeyond missionaries.

 

We greatly value the work that each of our ServeBeyond and ServeCanada missionaries carry out on our behalf. EFCC leadership and the Board of Directors have investigated and pursued any option that might have allowed us to re-acquire our Abuse, Harassment, and Molestation Liability insurance. As we have considered our options, we have consulted with our insurance broker, with the Canadian Centre for Christian Charities, with other insurance companies that insure overseas projects, and with other mission organizations. In the end, the only workable solution is for ServeBeyond to move forward using contractor agreements and Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) to facilitate overseas charitable activities. Unfortunately, CRA regulations restrict the use of such Agreements to those who are not employees of the organization. 

 

As a result, as of April 30, 2025, ServeBeyond will no longer be able to have missionaries who are salaried employees of the EFCC. This decision impacts about twenty of our ServeBeyond missionaries. We will continue to partner with other Free Church organizations across the globe through MOUs and to contract with those who carry on charitable activities on behalf of ServeBeyond as long as they are not drawing a salary as Canadian employees.

 

We are sad to have had to make this decision, but the Board of Directors must protect the integrity of the entire EFCC. We greatly value each missionary who has labored on our behalf. We encourage you as churches and donors to continue supporting those you currently support. We have spoken to numerous mission agencies that have expressed openness to supporting the project and caring for each affected missionary. We have provided our missionaries with information regarding mission organizations that are open to adopting them and the project they serve into their mission family. Some missionaries will have connections to mission agencies that they will prefer to join. We will work with them to ensure as smooth a transition as possible to the agency they choose. Our concern is that they will have the best support available in a new mission agency.

 

This decision does not only impact ServeBeyond missionaries who receive a salary; ServeBeyond will also cease to have Mission Associates and Mission Affiliates. All missionaries who wish to carry out EFCC ServeBeyond charitable activities will need to enter into appropriate contractor agreements.

 

We recognize that this is a huge change. Please know that we will be praying for affected missionaries during this transition and we will be working hard to make this transition as smooth as possible. Again, we ask that you continue to care for and support the missionaries that you currently support.

 

May our God bless you as you continue to serve Him and may He grow our desire to carry out the Great Commission in the spirit of the Great Commandment across our movement.

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