People for Care and Learning Announces New Leadership
(NOTE: The following is an interview with the new director of People for Care and Learning, or PCL, Travis Johnson. Johnson addresses many topics of the transition, the most important of which is the exciting future ahead for PCL).
First of all, I am incredibly grateful for the phenomenal decade of passion and excellence poured into PCL by my friend and mentor, Dr. Fred Garmon. He is a force of nature. The strong community of people that coalesced in the U.S. and in Asia to make the work in Cambodia possible is a testament to Dr. Fred’s heart and ministry. It is a privilege to serve our ministry family in Cambodia and in the US. We are all very thankful for Dr. Fred’s great work. I am also thankful to officially have him continue along the journey with us a Special Advisor to the Director. What a blessing!
Secondly, we are right in the middle of a very substantial transition. Some of it was planned. Some of it wasn’t. No one could have ever known that only a month after completing a planned leadership transition from Dr. Fred Garmon to myself, we would also lose Dr. Bill George, our long-term chairman of the board. On a personal level, that was very difficult. On an organizational level, Dr. George’s passing was also a great loss.
I am not going to overdramatize or understate the challenge. But, the challenge is clearly there for us to tackle as we move forward our work of inspiring hope and empowering potential, particularly in SE Asia.
L-R: Immediate past director Fred Garmon, in-country Cambodia director, Julie Martinez, and new executive director, Travis Johnson.
Here is what I know. We have a phenomenal team of Western missionaries. They are godly, excellent, and full of passion. We have a very robust team of Cambodian leaders. They are the best of the best, brimming with potential. We have incredible stateside thought leaders, pastors, champions, donors, and partners.
When challenges confront us, true leaders rise to the challenge. This is who the PCL family has proven to be for over a decade. God did not bring us to this place to abandon us. Dr. George’s passing did not catch him off guard. We, as an organizational family and network of supporters, will rise to the occasion. It will happen. It’s already happening.
Here are some of the things in the pipeline that give me confidence:
1.The BUY A TREE. CHANGE A LIFE network of churches just completed their 2016 season. These incredible people raised over $400,000 to help children globally and locally. 10,670 families in 12 states and 38 cities rallied around the cause of helping children globally and locally by buying a Christmas tree. We will be benefitted by that incredible work that took place.
2. Churches and donors will rally in with us as we do our part in communicating the need and the opportunities.
3. Dr. Fred Garmon and Dr. Bill George laid a strong leadership pipeline. It isn’t an empty pipeline. They leave PCL with a network of leaders in the U.S. and abroad ready for their moment to steward the next season of ministry.
Now, we are presently rolling out vision for the next leg of the journey. Bob Pace was our first director. Fred Garmon was our second. Going into the third leadership season, I guess you could say we are rolling out PCL 3.0.
In this season, we have a few things taking place:
1. We are making a big move in Cambodia that we are calling, “Cambodians for Cambodia.” Since PCL’s founding, we have been raising up strong young leaders who are now coming into their own. We are focusing on moving them into increasing scopes of leadership with our Cambodians serving as “Heads of Departments.” Our very competent western missionaries are beginning the process of moving from being pillars of PCL to being the scaffolding. Their developing roles focus on coaching our Cambodian leaders as they lead. The Cambodians will be most prominent. And our missionaries will coach and disciple our leaders.
This is extremely exciting. With God’s help, the expertise of our missionaries, and the competence of our Cambodian leaders, this transition will consolidate the gains of well over a decade of incredible work. It will set PCL Cambodia up for generations of continued productive ministry.
2. We’ve hired Dr. Fred Toke as our Chief of Operations. He is based out of Singapore where he has close contact with our Cambodian team for the purpose of encouraging the development and health of this transitional leadership. He is also spending time in the U.S. as critical opportunities present themselves. Dr. Toke is a dynamic Gospel communicator, having spoken in a broad swath of venues ranging from churches to government to Ted Conferences.
3. We will be exploiting the great work that has taken place in Takam Village at our Integrated Farm in Cambodia. In five years, the Integrated Farm has produced five pastors/farmers. The farm has produced a church, a school, and a youth soccer team. It is one of the most sustainable ministries that we have in Cambodia.
At the spring board meeting, we will unpack this plan more fully. But, I envision land banking farms around Cambodia as donors make themselves available. A ballpark figure is that $10,000 will buy a 10 acre farm. A single church could focus on purchasing a farm. We will have farms all over Cambodia. And, based on our demonstrated track record, we can produce around five pastors and farmers that completely transform a village.
Cambodia is almost completely Buddhist. Yet, in this village of 200 people, 100-150 people regularly attend the Takam Church. The standard of living has improved. And, we are able to subvert some of the challenges that lead to children being orphaned.
I believe that this element is one of the great keys to the future of the Gospel in Cambodia. We have the leaders for it. And, the time to do this is now while land is affordable. In a rapidly growing economy like Cambodia’s, this will not always be the case.
4. While we are always looking for great donors (particularly for projects like the expansion of the Integrated Farms), we are pouring our resources into further expanding our partnerships where churches and communities have opportunities to give and to experience hands on work and contribution in their own communities, which will do two things: increase resources to advance the Gospel globally and grow the church by serving respective local communities.
As an initiative and as a community, BUY A TREE. CHANGE A LIFE. has been extremely effective both in terms of global mission and in terms of local church growth. In 2017, we will roll out a new initiative, which will be announced and made available to churches around the world later in the year.
I know that PCL has challenges. We asked for some of them. PCL has a history of dreaming big, a history of audacious ambition. But, we also have challenges we didn’t ask for. We did not want to lose such an incredible friend and mentor as Dr. Bill George.
But, in spite of those challenges, I believe we are set up to succeed at the mission God has given us. We have the team for it. We have the heart for it. And, we are determined to advance in our work inspiring hope and empowering potential. The greatest hope is in the Gospel. That’s the hope that will drive us.
For more information about People for Care and Learning, visit www.pcl.is or call (251) 264-9663.
