(815) 639-0145 nelshp@cs.com 3419 Grant Ave Rockford, IL 61103

Dr. Howard Nelson                            > return to staff page      Missions Consultant                                                        I was born and raised in Rockford, Ill. I received Christ into my life during meetings with a children's evangelist when I was 10 years old. While in middle school, during a missions conference, I felt God's call to missions, to share God's saving love with a lost world. I graduated from the U. Of Illinois with a B.A. in anthropology; from Rockford College with an M.A. in Teaching; and from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School with a Doctor of Missiology. Patricia and I were married in 1959. We have 5 children and 12 grandchildren. We left for Congo in 1968 with our 4 children at that time. We served there until 1987 in a ministry of forming lay and pastoral leadership for the church. We held village Bible classes and taught on staff at the Bible Institute and Theology School. From 1987-1992, I ministered in the GLD as a missions consultant. Then in 1992 we went to France as church planters where we served until 2003.  In 2003 I returned to the ministry of a missions consultant. As a missions consultant, my goal is to help our churches achieve their vision of local and global evangelization. I help by providing networking and resources to enable the church to achieve its objectives in a strategic and pro-active manner. Here are some ways I have helped churches:     * Helping to sharpen mission policy statements     * Evaluating and assessing current mission budgets     * Presenting short-term ministries     * Presenting seminars: Design Your Impact and Global Access Planner     * Speaking at mission conferences, Sunday School classes, etc.     * Helping churches understand the process of growing and sending their own       missionaries     * Meeting with missions committees on a topic of their choice I am excited about what many of our churches are doing in missions. The picture in missions has changed in the last 20 years. Our churches need to be aware of these changes in order to respond in a way that is strategic and effective. The good news is that many churches are understanding this. Many more churches need to adopt their strategies to the opportunities that are open to us. The fields "are ripe for harvest." (John 4:35). God is calling His church to sow and reap. I want to help your church define and reach its vision.