It has been said that a great team makes an average leader look better than he is.  I am a living example of this truth.  ICM has a great team.  Whether you talk about the unsung heroes of the Bakersfield office or the ICM team members in the various countries, ICM is blessed to have wonderful men and women committed to the mission and committed to one another.  A young aspiring missionary asked an old seasoned mission veteran, “What is the most important lesson you have learned in all the years of your mission experience?”  Without much hesitation the old missionary said, “It is not the field you play on, but the team you play with that matters most.”  Over the past 30, years Debbie and I have been blessed to be part of some wonderful teams.  Whether it was Israel, Bakersfield, or Africa, God has allowed us to be part of teams that focused on their mission, but cared for one another.

We often focus these e-Newsletters on our teams in Africa, Europe or the Middle East.  That is as it should be.  But our work in these far off places would not be possible without a core team committed to serving the greater vision.  The Bakersfield team is small and often goes unrecognized for what they do to make the work in those far off places possible.  While the teaching, training and equipping make the ICM news, it is the Bakersfield staff that makes it possible.  These faithful men and women go about their business day-in and day-out with little recognition.  Yet, without them, our work would grind to a sudden stop.  Please keep them in your prayers as they face the challenges and frustrations that come with keeping the wheels of ICM turning.  Each member of the office
 provides a critical function that makes the work possible.