History and Background
The Global Network of Mission Structures (GNMS) was initiated by the late Dr. Ralph Winter and organized by a group of mission strategists in 2005 for the purpose of bringing together mission agencies from every sending country in the world to cooperate more effectively in finishing the task of reaching the remaining least-reached peoples. Its first assignment was to plan for a follow up consultation to Edinburgh 1910 and 1980, which is scheduled for May 11-14th in 2010.

The three distinctives of Edinburgh 1910 and 1980 were that they 1.) Brought together leaders of all the major mission sending nations and agencies, 2.) Focused on the frontiers of the Great Commission, 3.) Organized follow up cooperative efforts to implement plans made to finish the task of world evangelization.

Edinburgh 1910 gave rise to the International Missionary Council, which helped mission agencies work together at the field level for at least half a century. Edinburgh 1980 gave rise to the AD2000 and Beyond Movement, which brought together a large coalition from around the world to see a church for every people and the gospel for every person by the end of the millennium.

In keeping with this tradition, the overall purpose of the GNMS is to develop and coordinate a global alliance of at least 2,000 mission agencies around the world working together to finish the task of reaching all the remaining frontier people groups. Towards this end, the GNMS will act as a forum for developing and stewarding a global strategy to recruit, train, deploy, and empower a new wave of church-planting teams among the least-reached such that the goal of “full engagement” will have been achieved by the year 2020, or at the latest by the year 2025. The infinite, incalculable value of developing a global strategy with specific objectives and outcomes will be that existing networks, associations, partnerships, sending agencies, training programs, etc., will be able to plug in and take responsibility for a particular component of the strategy. As this is done over the months and years ahead we will be able to more accurately assess what is missing and propose the creation of any new structures required to fill the gaps.

Task Forces
For this reason, the GNMS commissioned specific task forces at Tokyo 2010 to look into various areas related to the overall task of reaching the final frontiers to prayerfully examine and assess where we are in relation to where we need to go as a global mission community.

Thus far, 15 task forces have been commissioned in areas such as research, training, media, intercession, crisis response, UPG engagement and missionary care. Each of these task forces will continue to make critical assessments of their area of focus relative to the question, “What’s it going to take to reach the remaining least-reached peoples of the world, and what is our unique role in this effort?” As part of this critical assessment, task forces will examine five components of a global mission strategy:

1. •What is presently being done in this area relative to the frontier mission task?
   •What remains to be done?
   •What specific strategies and projects should be implemented over the next decade that will help bridge the gap between the current and projected need and our current and projected efforts?
   •What existing expertise in this area can be recruited as part of a network of consultants who can assist agencies in participating in the proposed strategies and projects?
   •What is required in the area of web-based collaboration tools, software development, or other technologies to move these projects forward?

   In preparation for Tokyo 2010, each task force was assigned to summarize their findings and recommendations in a global strategy paper which will become the basis for an ongoing working document and assessment process over the next ten years. Following Tokyo 2010, these strategies and working documents will be revisited and updated annually through the year 2020. Each one will be translated into the major languages of the world and distributed to every mission agency.
   
   The immediate role of the GNMS following Tokyo 2010 will be to help facilitate and coordinate the recommendations made through these task forces to the global mission community. The GNMS will invite existing networks and partnerships to evaluate the proposed strategies and projects, and to consider what part they might be able to play in their organization and execution. If no existing network or partnership is able to carry out these projects, new structures may be proposed and developed to carry them out through the cooperation of participating agencies that have a shared interest in them.
   
   

In addition to task forces setting decadal goals for the year 2020, participating agencies will also be encouraged to set visionary 2020 goals in relation to reaching the remaining least-reached peoples. As these decadal plans are compiled and analyzed, we will have a clearer picture of what the Holy Spirit is leading us to do together over the next ten years. The critical months following Tokyo 2010 will involve much assessment, reflection, and dialogue with mission leaders about moving forward together to see all peoples fully engaged with church-planting and disciple-making teams in the most efficient and effective way possible.

A Firm Commitment
By the grace of God and the power of his Spirit, the GNMS as a vision and network commits itself and those it represents to doing whatever it takes to see the fulfillment of Revelation 5:9 in our generation. That we are very close to seeing this happen is the most exciting prospect of our time. But it also tells us that we are near to our Lord’s second coming, and we must therefore hasten to work while it is day, for “the night is coming when no one can work” (John 9:4). Beyond any doubt, an unprecedented opportunity lies before us to see the Great Commission fulfilled. If current world conditions hold stable, it is very probable that this could happen in the next ten to fifteen years. Remarkably, this is almost exactly two thousands years after this assignment was given! Dare we not give it our all in this final stretch?