syn•er•gy |ˈsinərjē|

the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects

Greek Origin:

sunergos ‘working together,’

from sun- ‘together’ + ergon ‘work.’

A Letter from the Director

Make Us One: An Answer to Jesus’ Prayer

From my earliest years working as a rookie missionary and youth pastor, through years of higher education, professional and pastoral careers, and now as the Director of Synergy Initiatives, I have continually been drawn to the supreme importance of Jesus’ final prayer and last request from His Father.

In those final moments with his disciples, he eagerly gave them (and us) his final instructions about the cost of following him as servants. Unfortunately, his disciples were entangled in a argument about which one of them was the greatest disciple. Peter crowed like a rooster, campaigning the loudest by emphatically defending his high position as the most zealous follower of Jesus. In response, Jesus rebuked him harshly in front of the others and demonstrated real servanthood, beyond mere lip service, by disrobing and washing their feet.

The disruptive dinner debate is not unlike countless other fights for possessions, position, prestige and power in and out of the marketplace and church today. The fleshly passions that fueled the disciples desire for greatness still fuel disunity among Christ’s followers today. What made that conversation end so radically different than most was this; while Jesus sat in the highest seat of honor at the passover dinner table, he set aside his position in order to take on the lowest position. He took upon himself the most disgraceful task. Jesus, the greatest among them, took on the lowest position as an example of our highest calling as His followers—to look to the needs, rights and benefits of others before our own.

In their final moments together, Jesus—through a prayer—asked that all his followers would share a connected oneness in love. His final prayer request was, “Father... may they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them in the same way you have loved me.” Yet just minutes before, Jesus told his bragging followers how completely disunified and disconnected their friendship would be as they would scatter and hide behind locked doors that very evening. A far cry from the “complete unity” he was asking His Father to bring about. Philip Yancey writes in reference to this final request, “Disunity virtually defines the history of the church. Pick at random any year of history—pick today—and you will see how far short we fall of Jesus’ final request. The church, and the watching world, still awaits an answer.”

Synergy Initiatives is an attempt to become part of the answer to Jesus’ prayer. We desire to be brought together and work together with other like-minded individuals and organizations in order to display God’s connecting love to a waiting and watching world. But as Jesus made perfectly clear, unity will never happen if we continue to fight and compete over who wins, gets the credit or controls the outcomes.

I’m drawn to Jesus’ words because they are filled with faithful obedience and enduring submission to His Father, despite the faithlessness of those with him. I’m drawn to the hopeful expectation for God to move in his followers, despite their distracting quarrels and self-centered agendas. And I’m drawn to Jesus’ persistent passion for the world to taste and see God’s love displayed through His followers, despite their utter failure to grasp love’s full expression sitting right in front of them. Jesus pretended about nothing... neither the gore nor the glory associated with following him. He doesn’t pretend about flaky-faithless-followers, or the long-suffering nature of hope, or the required sacrifice of love. His words smack with authentic struggle and a Father-obsessed focus.

Synergy Initiatives, along with its mother organization, Community Uplift Ministries, and two sister programs, Circle of Light and Children of Hope, seek to lay down our fight for greatness by bringing essential resources to underdeveloped countries rather than accumulating more excessive possessions. By serving the needs of the poor we find it easier to cease much of our striving for higher position and greater prestige. And by using our strength to empower the weak we find renewed courage and strength to press on. In this way we hope to let the world we encounter know the depths of God’s unfathomable love?

If you share a like-minded interest in the transforming power of faith, hope and love, then prayerfully consider joining us as we work together with God to transform rural communities in developing countries, beginning in Kenya, Mozambique and beyond. You can do so by helping us identify and connect with other individuals and organizations that have essential development resources necessary for daily survival. Or you can become part of the synergy story yourself by joining us on a vision trip, where we explore the many opportunities for getting personally involved in lasting transformation.

Grace & Peace,

Duncan Sprague

Director of Synergy Initiatives

Who We Are:

The HISTORY

of Synergy Initiatives

The VISION, MISSION

& Approach of Synergy Initiatives

The Core VALUES

of Lasting Transformation