Shocco welcomes international guests | The life
TALLADEGA — When Oli and Judy Jacobsen were looking for a venue to hold Global Partner board meetings, Judy remembered the camp and conference center their grandchildren had recently attended in Talladega: Shocco Springs.
The visit was soon scheduled and representatives from 10 countries registered to attend. Leaders of global partners from the Philippines, Africa, Indonesia, Brazil, Colombia, Germany and other countries gathered in Shocco Springs to discuss strategies on how to reach people groups unreached and unengaged in the world. This involved issues such as church planting strategies, cultural language acquisition, literacy, Bible translation, and general oversight.
Shocco Springs is a Christian camp and conference center located in Talladega and is open to churches, schools, civic organizations and non-profit organizations.
What is Global Partners? The organization was founded in 1942 as New Tribes Mission by Paul Fleming, whose purpose was to reach people with limited or no access to the gospel. Since then, the ministry has grown to include more than 2,500 career missionaries in more than 35 countries around the world. Global Partners is a network of ministries, including ETHNOS360 and others, united in doctrine, purpose and methodology, with training programs in 10 countries.
“Our mission is evangelism and our heart is church planting,” said Oli Jacobsen, president of International Ministries.
Because our partners are committed to working with groups of people in their own languages and cultures, missionaries spend approximately two years learning the national language of the country where they minister, after which they will begin to learn the language and culture of the particular group of people for whom they will serve.
“We are committed to translating the Word of God into the vernacular of the people and teaching them to read and write when necessary,” Jacobsen said. “Missionaries also find themselves involved in areas such as community development and medical work.”
Global Partners’ goal is not to establish denominational churches – only matured local churches. According to the ETHNOS360 website, “Missionaries learn their culture and language in order to understand and be understood within the context of that culture, to present the gospel clearly, and to plant a church effectively.”
A little about the Jacobsens: Originally from the Faroe Islands off the coast of Denmark, Oli came to the United States in 1965 to begin missionary training with NTM at their Pennsylvania campus. Oli met Judy who was also in missionary training in 1967. They married and served 15 years at the Missouri Missionary Training Center. Later, Oli was appointed ministry director of NTM in the Philippines where they served for 10 years. They eventually returned to the United States when Oli was named to the board.
He is now president of International Ministries for Global Partners, a network of more than 35 countries working together to plant churches in unreached people groups. Oli and Judy, while pursuing their ministry, currently live in Montgomery, Alabama, where they enjoy being closer to their children and grandchildren.
For more information about ETHNOS360 or Global Partners, and to learn how you can get involved in ministry, visit www.ethnos360.org.