How Global Mission Work Is Organized
Adrian Pirness | The Voice of Zion October 2026 - Mission Work Field Notes --
The first mission trips to Togo in Africa and Ecuador took place in 2000. God has blessed and guided the work throughout the years. In 2022 and 2023, discussions were held about how to organize the growing work, and a new organizational model began functioning in 2024.
Kimmo Puolitaival, chair of the organization’s Steering Group, reflects on the work today: “We have experienced God’s great blessing in the work. God has bestowed many gifts for this work, which is carried out primarily by volunteers. More than 300 brothers and sisters participate in various roles. Most importantly, we have experienced how God’s Holy Spirit works: He calls people into His kingdom, opens His Word, unites God’s children in mutual faith, and comforts and advises us. We are sowers; God gives the growth. The future of the work is in God’s hands. Our prayer is that His will may happen.”
Steering Group
The Steering Group is responsible for overall coordination of the Global Mission Work of the LLC, SRK and SFC. Its members include board members from each organization and LLC and SRK staff members responsible for mission work. The group prepares an annual action plan and budget for approval by the boards of each participating organization and coordinates the Teams that support the various facets of Global Mission Work.
Did you know? The Steering Group also arranges international seminars and workshops. The second Ministers Camp for servants of God’s Word in Africa will be held in The Gambia November 28–December 2, 2026. The camp will also include sessions for congregation board secretaries.
African Reference Group
The African Reference Group is made up of brothers from Africa who meet to discuss doctrinal and spiritual topics that arise in mission work. They also provide important cultural context and guidance regarding organizational and practical matters in their countries.
Operational Team
The Operational Team supports the mission trips that take place each year. This includes supporting traveling ministers and communicating with mission countries about trip plans and budgets. Together with the Local Activity Support Teams, it also plans meetings, seminars and discussions held during each trip.
Did you know? Thirty mission trips are planned for 2026, each about eleven days long. About 55 ministers from North America, Finland and Sweden will participate, along with 5–10 ministers from Africa who will travel to another African country to serve.
Local Activity Support Team – Africa
The Local Activity Support Team supports activities arranged locally in each country. It works with local committees and boards that arrange services, Bible Class and Sunday school. Global Mission Work funds also support these activities, and the Team helps monitor and implement each country’s budget.
Did you know? The Local Activity Support Team for Africa assists with local operations in Benin, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Senegal and Togo.
Local Activity Support Team – Asia
The Local Activity Support Team for Asia supports local work in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Nepal. Individuals in this region have experienced the call into God’s kingdom and have personally believed their sins forgiven. This newly established Team supports the growing work in the region.
Did you know? Much of the work supporting believers in this region is done remotely. Sermons are recorded weekly and shared through various WhatsApp groups, where individuals and groups gather to listen. In one region of Pakistan, live WhatsApp sermons are also arranged each day to support believers and call sinners unto repentance and faith.
Facility Team
The Facility Team handles requests for facilities that support the activities of believers, including shelters, canopies and church buildings. A designated foreign facilities fund allows individuals to donate specifically to this area of work.
Did you know? Recent projects include the church in Accra, Ghana, completed in 2024, and the nearly completed church in Atimé, Togo. The LLC Humanitarian Aid Team also coordinated an individual donation that funded a community well on the Atimé church property.
Pastoral Work Team
The Pastoral Work Team supports ministers serving in Africa. Remote seminars and discussions are held four times each year. The Team also provides materials to support congregation life, Sacred Acts, weddings and funerals and is developing a series of short writings on doctrinal topics.
Did you know? Currently 23 brothers have been called to serve as ministers of God’s Word in African countries.
Learning Materials & Education Team
The Learning Materials and Education Team develops learning materials for use in mission countries and plans training for teachers who have been asked to serve. Teacher workshops are held in conjunction with mission trips. The Team is currently working on a three-volume series of Bible story lessons titled Friend of Children: Illustrated Bible Lessons.
Did you know? There were nearly 400 confirmation students in Africa this year. Four Confirmation Camps were arranged for adults – in Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Kenya and Togo – and three for youth, in Sierra Leone, Kenya and Togo. The Team is developing a standardized curriculum for Confirmation Schools in Africa.
Kingdom of Peace – Technical Team
The Kingdom of Peace – Technical Team supports the kingdomofpeace.net website and associated Facebook and Instagram platforms. Some website content is now available in French and Spanish. Work is also underway to refine internal AI tools that assist with translation.
Did you know? The Kingdom of Peace Facebook page was launched in February 2024. Its content has now been viewed 1.2 billion times, and the page has more than 1 million followers.
Kingdom of Peace – Doctrinal Team
The Kingdom of Peace – Doctrinal Team responds to contacts and inquiries received through the website and monitors social media comments. Through these communications, individuals have found God’s kingdom and believed their sins forgiven. The Team has also coordinated remote meetings, especially with a group of pastors in India and Nepal who have found God’s kingdom.
Did you know? When individuals wish to believe their sins forgiven, they are invited to a WhatsApp group with others who have recently repented. Recorded sermons are shared with the group each week. It currently has about 50 members.
Humanitarian Aid Teams
The SRK and LLC Humanitarian Aid Teams provide financial assistance to those in dire need. Aid supports health-related expenses, education, funerals and emergency subsistence needs. Most countries have a local Humanitarian Aid Committee that receives requests and distributes funds.
Did you know? Humanitarian Aid is funded and operated separately from mission work. This provides a necessary separation between gospel work and individual financial assistance. Donations to support Humanitarian Aid work are welcomed.
Communications Team
The Communications Team coordinates the sharing of information and news among the Teams supporting Global Mission Work. It publishes an internal newsletter five times each year and contributes to news articles for Voice of Zion, Päivämies, social media and Summer Services radio broadcasts.
Did you know? The Communications Team has helped the overall organization in exploring a name that could be used more broadly for Global Mission Work. The goal is a simple, meaningful name that reflects the spiritual purpose of the work, works well across languages and cultures, and can help give the shared work a recognizable identity in communications and publications.
Translation & Interpretation Team
The Translation & Interpretation Team is preparing a manual for African interpreters, coordinating interpreter and translator training, arranging workshops and communication training for ministers, and supporting language-specific groups.
Did you know? Members of the Spanish language group are planning to join the June 2027 mission trip to Ecuador. Plans include a weekend of large services for the Ecuadorian believers.