{"id":604,"date":"2017-06-22T11:08:29","date_gmt":"2017-06-22T16:08:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/john-kerstetter\/?p=604"},"modified":"2019-07-12T11:10:14","modified_gmt":"2019-07-12T16:10:14","slug":"a-new-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/john-kerstetter\/2017\/06\/22\/a-new-name\/","title":{"rendered":"A New Name"},"content":{"rendered":"

A New Name\u2026<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

2017 marks the 75th<\/sup> year since New Tribes Mission was founded and we\u2019re thankful for what God has done and continues to do in missions around the world. Other big news is that our mission has a new name. New Tribes Mission is now Ethnos360. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The NTM USA Executive Board made the decision to change our name to Ethnos360 after years of discussion and input from a variety of individuals and departments within the mission, and from a professional company that has assisted numerous Christian organizations with their name changes. While the name is changing, it is significant to realize that we are the same organization with the same vision of seeing a thriving church for every people group. Below our leaders explain the vision behind the name change:<\/p>\n

New Tribes Mission<\/strong> presents some challenges in our changing world:<\/span><\/h4>\n

New<\/em><\/strong>:<\/span> By itself it\u2019s a great word. But \u201cnew\u201d is not a good definition of the people groups we would work with. We\u2019re looking for peoples who do not have a clear gospel understanding or a functioning church in their language. In today\u2019s world, almost every one of these groups has had at least a minor degree of exposure to Christian work. Some even identify themselves as Christians. So it can be offensive to them, and to the people who have worked with them, when \u201cNew Tribes\u201d wants to work with them.<\/p>\n

Tribes<\/em><\/strong>:<\/span> This is a people group with its own identity, culture and language, so it seems like a good fit for us. And while this was a perfectly good word when the mission was started, nowadays in some areas it\u2019s like calling people uneducated. In that sense it has been an affront to some people and their governments. We sensed a need to change our name if we want to live among these people and share the gospel with them.<\/p>\n

Mission<\/em><\/strong>:<\/span> This word in our name clearly identifies us as an organization that seeks to proselytize and encourage religious conversion. This has already hindered our access in some places, and that problem seems to be increasing around the world. A new name can help us avoid that in the future.<\/p>\n

Ethnos360<\/strong> is a good fit for our mission because it is an expression of the Great Commission as stated in Matthew 28:19: \u201cMake disciples of all nations.\u201d<\/span><\/h4>\n

Ethnos<\/em><\/strong><\/span> is the Greek word translated there as \u201cnations\u201d, and it literally means ethnic groups, people, or people groups.<\/p>\n

360<\/em><\/strong><\/span> is shorthand for 360 degrees—a full circle—and is meant to symbolize both the whole world and the entirety of the Great Commission—establishing a thriving church among a previously unreached people group.<\/p>\n

So you could \u201ctranslate\u201d Ethnos360 as \u201cmaking disciples of all nations\u201d or \u201ca thriving church for every people\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Our new home office<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A New Address\u2026 \u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

After more than 40 years at 1000 E First St in Sanford, FL as New Tribes Mission, our mission’s home office has moved just down the street.<\/p>\n

Ethnos360 is now located at:
\n312 W First St, Sanford, FL 32771-1231<\/span><\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

A New Update\u2026<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

As we celebrate this special anniversary year with our mission, we are so thankful for you, our partners! We so appreciate your continued support these past months. We have been distracted and a little overwhelmed with treating our health needs, some extra ministry matters, and personal and family issues. Thank you for your faithful prayers in the midst of our lack of communication!<\/p>\n

John & Melanie<\/strong><\/span> are both treating Lyme disease. In October we made a trip to Idaho for Melanie to receive treatment for her chronic health issues. The doctor diagnosed her with Lyme disease (that seems to have been the root of her problems for over 20 years) and she began a regimen for healing and recovery including a detox procedure, lots of supplements and a strict diet. There have been a lot of ups and downs over the months, but she seems to be slowly seeing some improvements overall. While there for Melanie\u2019s appointments, John received a complimentary test and was also diagnosed with Lyme. We were a little surprised due to the fact that he has been pretty asymptomatic. One attributing factor to this is that his body seems to detox and heal better than Melanie\u2019s. We made appointments for his treatment at the same time as Melanie\u2019s check-up in March, which have both happened. So he has joined Melanie with the same regimen of the detox, lots of supplements and strict diet. Both of us have seen improvements and are hopeful to see more in the months to come.<\/p>\n

Charity<\/strong><\/span> is continuing treatment for her Lyme disease and has had ups and downs with it but we are thankful as she is also seeing improvement overall. She continues to nanny for a family in Chicago where she has lived now for over 2 years since finishing at Moody.<\/p>\n

BJ & Carissa<\/strong><\/span> returned to Israel right after Christmas to do the modern Hebrew language course that was abruptly interrupted last summer with the tragic death of her brother. They are in transition now as they are traveling and support raising for their ministry with Israeli backpackers. More recently Carissa has been experiencing some extreme health problems which they are trying to get answers for. And both of them continue to treat their Lyme disease.<\/p>\n

Bethany & Zach and Mason & Evalynn<\/strong><\/span> are still living in Waukesha, WI. Zach does IT for a local company and Bethany is enjoying being a stay-at-home mom. Mason (almost 3) and Evalynn (1) continue to bring so much joy to all of us.<\/p>\n

Josh & Sarah<\/strong><\/span> have finished up their time at the Bible school in Waukesha, WI, with their responsibilities in IT and the coffee shop and they have moved off campus to an apartment in town. They both continue driving busses for the local bus company and they plan to continue their education by attending local colleges in the fall so they are also in transition with that.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Graduation from Moody Bible Institute<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We were privileged to be able to attend Charity and BJ\u2019s graduation ceremony from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago on May 13th<\/sup>, which was also BJ\u2019s 26th<\/sup> birthday! Charity actually finished her classes earlier but this was the first ceremony in which she could participate. We are so proud of them for all their hard work in their studies, especially while both dealing with Lyme disease.<\/p>\n

We also got to see all our kids and grandkids while we were there in Chicago. We are extremely blessed by all their lives and are so thankful for each one of them.<\/p>\n

This past year we have enjoyed being involved in mentoring a group of students at the Training Center and being involved in their lives. In May we saw another group of students finish up their training. We count it a real priviledge to be involved in sending out missionaries into the fields that are white for harvest.<\/p>\n

So, in sharing the latest with you, please be praying for:<\/span><\/h4>\n
    \n
  • Lyme treatment and healing for John, Melanie, Charity, BJ and Carissa<\/li>\n
  • Answers for Carissa\u2019s other health issues<\/li>\n
  • All our kids in their lives and transitions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Thank you so much for standing with us! We so appreciate your continued prayers and support.<\/p>\n

    Because His Mercies Are NEW Every Morning,<\/p>\n

    John & Melanie Kerstetter & family<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A New Name\u2026 2017 marks the 75th year since New Tribes Mission was founded and we\u2019re thankful for what God has done and continues to do in missions around the world. Other big news is that our mission has a new name. New Tribes Mission is now Ethnos360. The NTM USA Executive Board made the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[448],"class_list":["post-604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-family","category-ministry","tag-ethnos360","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/john-kerstetter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/john-kerstetter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/john-kerstetter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/john-kerstetter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/99"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/john-kerstetter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=604"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/john-kerstetter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/john-kerstetter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/john-kerstetter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/john-kerstetter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}