Thank you for the input that many of you have given as we have considered the possibility of a transition from TEAM to the Paraclete Mission Group. The switch is on!
Effective August 1, we will be sponsored by Paraclete. The website for Paraclete (note the spelling!) is http://www.paraclete.net/. If you want to contribute to our ministry going forward, we ask you to send a check to "Paraclete Mission Group" (or Paraclete or PMG), PO Box 912576, Denver, CO 80291-2576, with a note indicating that your gift is preferenced for account 7675-D (or preferenced for the Spinella's ministry.) If you wish, you can also put your preferred name and contact info on the note for Paraclete's operations team, Missy Thedford and Bill Eckerd. And yes, we definitely invite you to do this. We need ministry partners going forward just as we have for so many years now.
There will be some good changes and some challenges ahead as we make this transition:
-Our administrative overhead will drop. Yea! Both TEAM and Paraclete work to minimize costs of operation, but Paraclete's costs are lower (roughly 10% vs 13%).
-Right now TEAM, Paraclete, and I are completing "MOU"s that will cover my ongoing work with team beginning August 1. The Memorandum(s) of Understanding lay out the partnership arrangements and helps to ensure we are in agreement about how we are working together. Both Paraclete and TEAM are recognized non-profit ministry organizations in the US, and these agreements also ensure that our ministries are above reproach and in compliance with government requirements for this status. This covers such things as compatible statements of faith, how funds are handled, and even job descriptions and supervision arrangements.
-We will be transitioning between health plans, retirement arrangements, and so forth.
-We will need to make new ministry budgets and learn new operations and accounting systems.
-Paraclete may be a more unique name than TEAM, but it is also a lot harder to spell. It's a smaller organization, not so well known, but with a cozier feel.
-We have already begun to build relationships with the staff of Paraclete, and we will continue to build relationships in TEAM. Still, there is some grief in making this change as well as some excitement and anticipation.
Here is also some background on the change process, if you're interested...
Some of you may remember that when we went to Taiwan, we were jointly sponsored by MTI.org, for whom we had been working here in Colorado (5+ years), and TEAM, which was active in Taiwan (more MOUs!). When it became clear we would be staying longer than a couple years in Taiwan, MTI released us fully to that ministry and TEAM as a sole sponsoring organization. In Taiwan, TEAM was our sponsoring organization, but my work (Steve) was fully directed by the Center for Counseling and Growth and its board (another MOU.) When we transitioned back to the US (after 15 more years), we looked in depth at three or four sponsoring arrangements for ministry going forward. One of those was Paraclete, but because God led us to work with TEAM's Counseling Office and Global Care Team, no change of organization was necessary and not changing organizations definitely simplified that transition. We've been back now 4+ years, serving in several capacities within TEAM's Counseling Office. My (Steve) latest role is Coordinator of Readiness Assessment for the TEAM Counseling Office. Looking ahead, we believe this is the right time to make the switch to Paraclete as a sponsoring organization, even though I will continue my current role with TEAM. Again, we believe changing sponsoring organizations will be easier because we are not also changing ministry roles at the same time.
Because we are a partnership--we only serve in ministry through the partnerships of people and churches as well as organizations like Paraclete and TEAM, we have sought extensive input and gotten lots of feedback about this change. Some people even filled out our online Google survey, while others met with us personally and some gave us input virtually, mainly by email. One person just wrote on the survey "nice survey dad". (I definitely also met with that person!) Almost everyone liked the change, but some said that they trust our judgment but have concerns. The most common reason expressed for liking the change is the fit between Paraclete as an organization and our personal ministry focus and style. The biggest concern expressed was that we would lose ministry partners. Other concerns in order of frequency included that TEAM provides better benefits, TEAM is better known, TEAM is larger and has more funding, and ministry with TEAM was more clearly focused and thus easier to communicate.
Those who have walked most closely with us in the journey usually at some point get to the question of passion--why take on the effort of making a change and why now? I would tell you that in any change there are always many factors, some easier to express and others more difficult. After all, in our ministry we walk with a lot of people in transitions. So far the best way I've been able to express this to a diverse audience, like might actually read this far, is that as we look ahead to the future, we see this as a strategic change to promote a longer, more effective ministry in changing circumstances, both in the present and as we look toward the future. Factors include our family situation, TEAM's journey into a new future through great change, the changing face of international ministry and our own culture, changing financial challenges, and of course our own life journeys. I will turn 59 five days into August, and this was the age at which both of my parents died, so naturally these past few years have been a time of a lot of reflection and prayer.
If God is gracious, these changes will extend and enhance our ministry both with TEAM and beyond, and that is our desire.
Thanks for journeying with us, in the past, in the present, and into the future,
Steve and Laura
PS If you are a current TEAM donor, you are getting notices about the change in TEAM's donation address effective in August. Don't worry about this for our ministry! You will also get a letter from TEAM announcing our switch to Paraclete and thanking you for your contributions.
Steve and Laura Spinella
US: 1930 Springcrest Rd, CO Springs 80920mail: 9685 Otero Ave, Colorado Springs, CO 80920
Steve cell 719.355.4809, Laura cell 832.755.4261
<spinella@alumni.rice.edu> <lauraspinella@alumni.rice.edu>
<spinella@alumni.rice.edu> <lauraspinella@alumni.rice.edu>
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