The purpose of CTEN is summed up in this:

Helping Ordinary People Partner With God To Accomplish The Extraordinary

How Do We Accomplish That?

By removing hurdles so both "traditional" and "non-traditional" missionaries can follow the call they sense from the Lord to serve Him.

“Traditional" and "Non-traditional” might refer to 

• what they are doing: normal church planting, Bible translation, reaching unreached people - jobs that are typically associated with missions work - or it might utilize creative/entrepreneurial approaches that could be very untraditional
• how they are doing it: they might be planting a church using conventional approaches, or perhaps by using surfing or vocational skills as a draw, or by reaching the unreached using soap-making as a platform
• who they are: extensively trained specialists in linguistics or theology, or no formal theological training, perhaps a “spotty” background, no ministry training or experience
• where they are doing it: reaching Muslims in Toronto or surfers in Costa Rica 
• when they are doing it: straight out of college, or retired and choosing to go from success to significance. 

As long as the why is straight - to make disciples of all nations - and if we sense an evident call of God and it is confirmed by others, then we want to be part of helping fulfill the call God has on their lives.