I recently read through the pledge/covenant that the founders of New Tribes Mission wrote and signed for reaching tribes with the gospel and found it very encouraging and challenging at the same time. This is what it says:
I. We hereby pledge ourselves:
A. To work for the completion of the bride of Christ until death
B. To measure all of our effort in the light of this task
C. To refrain from doing even the good things if they do not contribute to the most important thing; namely, reaching the last unevangelized tribe in our generation
D.to do nothing that would hender or detract or render us powerless in the accomplishment of this goal
II. we pledge ourselves:
A. to pray daily for all the necessitites needed to reach this goal
B. to pray unceasingly for the following objectives until the Holy Spirit complete the job in Christ comes for His bride:
1. for guidance to the last tribe
2. For fivethousand new tribes missionaries on pioneer fields doing New Testament missionary work mainly building an indigenous Church
3. for 100,000 prayer members who are out and out for Christ
4.For 5 million dollars annual missionary revenue from the prayer team
5. For five thousand lives or five percent of prayer team members to go to the mission field under all boards or independent each year
6. for an ever increasing burden and personal prayer ministry
7. to pray in love for each others lives in ministry
III. we pledge ourselves to make no decisions relative to the project of the new tribes mission and the prayer team or even in our personal lives where it would effect the interests of another member of this covenant without all three of us recognizing it as from the Lord and in His will
IV. in order that we might be most helpful to each other, we will frankly report the Victories and confess defeats in a quarterly circular letter
V. in the event of a possible misunderstanding, we pledge ourselves to maintain the attitude of perfect love, to take the humble attitude before God and one another and never harbor ill feelings to other and to find the victorious solution at any cost
we hereby enter into this covenant without desire for personal glory and knowing that the goal can be successfully reached only when Christ himself gets all the glory. We shall consider victory for one of us as victory for all, ascribe all praise to God. All our effort shall be as a team with no thought of any personal competition. We know also that the job is possible and will be done by the Holy Spirit; nor will we hesitate to faithfully minister to each other’s weaknesses in the flesh.