Raising Funds and Building Faith: Applying the Experience of Anglicans in Mission

A.J. Pell is editor of the Canadian Evangelical Review and an instructor
of Liturgy, Anglican Studies Program, Regent College, Vancouver.

Although most persons outside of the Anglican Church of Canada probably never knew anything was happening, the 36 months from June, 1980 to June, 1983 saw the conception, design and implementation of the greatest national program ever undertaken by Anglicans. That program was Anglicans In Mission, or AIM for short. It was a major faith-and-mission study series and a massive financial drive rolled into one concentrated effort, and its success was seen in the fact that the goal of $40 million was surpassed by $16 million.

In this book, Richard Berryman, media officer for the Anglican Church of Canada, and David Busby, director of Leadership Training and Education in the Diocese of Toronto, examine the AIM program “from a very subjective, ‘people level’ perspective.” The first chapter is the author’s overview of insights they have gleaned from observing the program. The reflections of some key national leaders of AIM form the second chapter. The third chapter suggests ways in which the critical processes, which made up the overall program, can be applied to other activities in a parish, a deanery, a diocese, and at the national level of the church. The book concludes with a reproduction ofthe official final report on AIM prepared by the paid, outside professional director of the whole program.

The strength of this book lies in the first two chapters where the authors record almost all the insights they set out to share. They point out the weakness of scheduling events “at the last minute” and the strength in stepping outside the normal church structures and communication procedures in the running of any important and extraordinary program. Of particular note is the repeated emphasis on consultation at all levels of any ecclesiastical organization and on the integration of hopes, doubts, and details learned from such consultations in the on-going development of any special project. It was this built-in accountability of leaders to people and of people to leaders which made the success of AIM inevitable. Despite the weakness in the authors’ development of chapter 3, Raising Funds and Building Faith is a valuable resource for church leaders both within and outside Anglican circles.