The new year marked a new chapter in the history of Friends In Action (FIA) in Middletown as members of the board of directors announced that Matt Durkee had been named executive director. FIA is a nonprofit organization supporting missionaries in six remote locations through infrastructure projects and practical service to enable more unreached people groups to hear the Gospel.

Durkee has extensive international project management, engineering, and ministry outreach experience. In 2008, he began his involvement with FIA through serving with The Water of Life project, which entails drilling water wells and supporting community outreach projects for West African missionaries and churches. Most recently, he was the organization's deputy executive director serving alongside FIA's longtime executive director, Tim Johnston. Johnston was at FIA's helm since its inception in 1992 and passed the baton to Durkee on the year commemorating the 30th anniversary of the organization.

Johnston is staying at FIA, stepping into the newly created role of director of partnership development. He will direct his full attention to thanking and updating current donors; developing relationships with churches, businesses, and individuals new to the organization; and maintaining and expanding FIA's efforts to obtain grant and foundational funding.

In FIA's 30-year history, its ministries have assisted more than 2,675 missionary partners through over 1,028 infrastructure projects to reach indigenous people from 79 language groups in six countries. FIA has hosted over 174 trips that have allowed more than 1,100 volunteers from North America to take part in behind-the-scenes and frontline Great Commission efforts.

Under Durkee's leadership, the organization is looking to continue to expand its work of reaching "the last, the least, and the lost" through practical service and tangible demonstrations of God's love. Initiatives slated for 2022 include trips to Africa and Vanuatu to support water project outreaches, community development projects to benefit the Rama Cay people of Nicaragua, and missionary support efforts in Moldova and at Ethnos360's training centers.

FIA is focusing this year on developing the capacity of the organization to engage in project work, both in the U.S. and overseas. By developing a group of people willing to take teams to serve around the world for one- to two-week work trips, the organization can multiply its efforts and its impact as a service mission in support of evangelical ministry work.

Local opportunities to get involved with FIA International include serving at the Middletown headquarters in shipping, human resources, communications, or event coordination, as well as getting involved with projects in Pennsylvania and other states throughout the U.S. Readers interested in volunteering or donating to support FIA's efforts can learn more at http://www.FIAintl.org.