Strategic

The true meaning of being strategic comes from two Greek words: stratos which means “in line” and agein which means “to lead.” Together they carry the idea of aligning ourselves or leading all our resources into alignment with what God is seeking to accomplish.

Being involved with God in missions is no accident. It is hard, soul-searching, life changing work. EPIC is committed to being strategic in that we want to align ourselves with what God is doing and lead others to make their lives count for eternity.

We have chosen to work among unreached people groups that we define as “strategic.” By that we mean, if a church planting movement were to be birthed among a particular people group, the other people groups around them would also be affected by the Gospel. We believe that cross-cultural missions work is best done by those from similar cultures.

Church-Planting Movements

A church planting movement is a rapid and exponential multiplication of indigenous churches within a population segment (people groups, city or country). EPIC is focusing on initiating these movements through evangelism and discipleship resulting in dynamic, self-propagating churches with a missionary passion.

These movements traditionally have six key components:

1. Worldwide Prayer - believers all over the world praying by name for a specific people group that is unreached.
2. Word of God - the Scriptures are made available in both written and oral forms in the mother tongue language of the group.
3. Evangelism focused on church planting - when a church planting movement is to be the end result, the methods of evangelism are pre-determined.
4. Training - formal and informal training of leaders from the grassroots church pastor, evangelist, and church planter to the leaders of the movement.
5. Strategy - a comprehensive plan for how to reach the people group involving “end-visioning” and prioritizing the “making of disciples.”
6. Resourcing - the networking and synergy of people, funding, tools, and the sharing of information and personnel.

Low Profile...High Impact

Working behind the scenes is a trademark of EPIC. We seldom publish our name or seek to own property, buildings, or equipment. Our goal is catalytic missions. Get in, get done, and get out. The best work will be done by those in the culture so we work quietly assisting them for rapid exponential growth of churches. We see ourselves as “shadow missionaries” who instruct, encourage, “coach,” and shape local leadership. Some call it the “See one, Do one, Teach one” approach.

Innovative and Flexible

EPIC uses innovative means to gain access and minister effectively among unreached peoples. We consider ourselves to be flexible and sensitive to the unique needs of each unreached people group. There are no “cooker cutter” approaches and always-successful methods. We attempt to find where God is working and join Him there and be ready to adapt.