What we are here to do.
Traditional missionary sending agencies have much to offer the church, and we do not wish to re-invent them. However, a number of limitations exist that we hope to supersede. First, out of a noble posture of humility, many organizations have pulled away from establishing new institutions around the world. Nobody wants to appear colonial. Everyone, rather, wants to affirm the abilities and wisdom of national Christians. Amen to that. However, affirming the wisdom and abilities of national Christians does not eliminate this missiological option. We hope that many countries come and start new institutions to revitalize Christianity in the West just as we intend to do outside the West. Second, we hire employees for on-field work. These are trained specialists with fixed contracts who are there to provide an overwhelming workforce at just the right moment to propel the school forward. Third, we establish hierarchical structures. We know the value that the leadership, comradery, and accountability of hierarchical structures bring. Sending organizations are ill-suited to provide this to specific endeavors, and here we seek to fill this void. Naturally, then, the fourth thing we do is to provide governance through these structures over a narrow missiological strategy. We want the expertise of our board of directors and staff to inspire and empower institutions in our network. Finally, we resource literature transnationally. Because we hold the rights to our own literature, we can have it printed in various countries across the world and avoid shipping expenses and import taxes, making it more accessible for our member communities.
We start institutions.
An institution is an organized effort among a community of people which can be built upon by future generations and which carries momentum towards a discernable goal. We aim to start institutions that are low in infrastructure and high in human resources. However, we are not afraid to take calculated risks when presented with opportunities to grow our infrastructure. Institutions can be repositories of wisdom to be accessed and built upon by future generations. The chief asset of an institution is that it provides a structure for retaining and reproducing the fruit of gospel work. Institutions harness the best of a collective effort for the sake of the Kingdom and, as such, can withstand the weakness of one individual. After all, a chord of three strands is not easily broken. The ACCS supports new institutions but is not in the business of starting them. Missionary agencies also shy away from starting institutions, even though historically some of the most helpful institutions were founded by missionaries (two examples are Hospital Vozandes in Quito, Ecuador and Hospital Clinica Biblica in San Jose, Costa Rica).
We establish hierarchical structures over schools.
To ensure quality, support, and longevity, we establish associations under which schools operate. Humanitas invests personnel and finances into founding these structures, ensuring similarities in mission and values. However, each association is governed nationally in its own country. The resulting plurality of national associations makes up the Humanitas Network.
We provide governance for startup associations and schools.
Humanitas schools attempt something unfamiliar and unpopular. Because of this, the likelihood that well-meaning individuals might attempt to co-opt the startup schools for other purposes is high. This risk increases because the effects of Classical Christian education take time. To mitigate this risk, we provide initial governance for schools and associations in their early stages.
We hire employees for on-field work.
Classical Christian Education is new to Latin America. Teaching at a traditional Christian school is, in fact, very different than teaching a Classical Christian School. Because of this, we will need to staff teachers and teacher trainers for a period of time. Since global workers raise their own support, the time for new workers to arrive on-field can range from 1-3 years. By funding employees to fill fixed-term roles in schools, we time strategically the hiring of qualified personnel to jump-start the institution to mitigate missionary burnout and loss of institutional momentum. The school can then shift to staffing local teachers.
We resource literature transnationally.
Print resources are expensive and difficult to find in the majority world. Humanitas will acquire and produce material to be reproduced inside network communities across borders. In many countries, high import taxes and insecure currier infrastructure makes sending print resources unpractical and uneconomical. The creation of a market for resources and a culture that consumes will progress simultaneously.