Presbyterian Mission Agency

Preview of the April 2015 Issue 

Sweat and fear

A spiritual and practical guide to fundraising

by Mieke Vandersall

The first time I had to ask someone for money I thought I was going to die.

I told myself I had nothing to fear. As an executive director of a religious nonprofit for almost a decade, I raised money all the time. This prospective donor, moreover, knew and respected our work. In fact, he had even asked me to ask him to give. What could be easier? And yet, there I was, riding the elevator up to his office, palms and underarms sweating, visibly shaking, and just wanting it to be over. I was convinced that he would be angry with me for the request.

Of course, not only was he not angry, he was grateful for my invitation.

It was at that moment that I knew, deep down, that I had some serious work to do, some unlearning and some relearning, both emotionally and theologically. I also was going to need some practical skills that no one ever taught me in seminary. And so I began. I began to learn that, as Henri Nouwen says: “We must not let ourselves be tricked into thinking that fundraising is only a secular activity. As a form of ministry, fundraising is as spiritual as giving a sermon, entering a time of prayer, visiting the sick, or feeding the hungry.”

Presbyterians Today’s
The Presbyterian Resource Guide for Ministry

A Comprehensive Reference Handbook for congregations

At last, here’s an easy-to-read, in-depth guidebook that puts loads of vital ministry information at your fingertips. The Resource Guide covers dozens of subjects, including disaster response, fundraising and stewardship, the ins and outs of building a website and using social media, children’s/youth/collegiate/young adult ministry, church planting, grant and scholarship sources, evangelism, worship… and much more. Packed with practical and useful tips, stories, articles, and contacts, this comprehensive, one-stop reference is an essential asset for congregations, presbyteries, and individual Presbyterians looking for creative ways …

‘I will tell you a story’

From pitching a story to posting on Facebook, we share our faith by sharing our news.

by Rick Jones, Emily Morgan, Kristena Morse, Emily Enders Odom, and Sara Otoum

» Media relations

» Digital communications

» Crisis communications

» Church websites

» Facebook and other social media for churches

‘Lifestyles of generosity’

Stewardship—it’s not just for autumn anymore.

by Pat Cole

In thousands of congregations, the brilliant colors of fall signal the season for annual budgets, stewardship sermons, and pledge cards.

For many congregations, it’s the only time of year they give financial stewardship high visibility. In the best-case scenario, the members pledge enough to meet the church budget, and the congregation is on its way to another year of ministry. Except for budget reports, talk about money is mostly set aside until the next autumn.

However, a growing number of congregations regard financial giving as an important part of Christian discipleship that deserves year-round emphasis.

Coming together

Fresh approaches to engaging neighbors of other faith traditions

by Christine Hong

A year ago, Simran Jeet Singh, senior religion fellow with the Sikh Coalition, and I sat down to share our personal experiences, he as a Sikh American and I as a Korean American Christian. As the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s associate for interfaith relations, I had had many conversations like this one. This time, however, we had an audience.

On three separate occasions in three different Presbyterian congregations, Singh and I held a public interfaith conversation that led into unstructured dialogue and fellowship time with community members. Hosted by the Sikh Coalition, the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations, the Presbytery of New York City, and my own Office of Interfaith Relations, the dialogues explored, among other things, the post-9/11 Sikh experience of hate crimes.

Children’s sixth sense

New approaches promise to deepen children’s faith and broaden congregational mission.

by Candace C. Hill

Shy and quiet, Vanessa often kept to herself. And for some congregations, that shyness might have meant seeing yet another child slowly drift away from the church—but not Vanessa’s congregation. They were determined to help Vanessa find her ministry.

After hearing the news of the earthquake that killed more than 230,000 people in Haiti, Vanessa was moved. She wondered what she could do to help. So she researched the needs, established a goal, and made a plan. She then asked adults in her congregation how she could involve her faith community.

‘The perpetual rule of love’

Creating effective, lasting social change is difficult; fortunately, you’re not alone.

by Rick Jones and Ginna Bairby

A year and a half ago, Colleen Earp sat in a room full of Young Adult Volunteers weary from an intense week of orientation and eager to start their year of service. Presbyterian World Mission would soon be placing each of them with a nonprofit or ministry somewhere in the United States or around the world. As Earp listened to her colleagues’ musings about a year of sharing the gospel and addressing injustice, she couldn’t help but laugh; she was thinking about planting trees. 

Over the next year, Earp worked with First Presbyterian Church of Bayou Blue, Louisiana, as a wetlands conservationist and advocate in the New Orleans area. Before becoming a YAV, she had never laid eyes on a bayou. A year later, Earp had come to know the wetlands of Louisiana—and the church working to protect them—as her second home. 

Preview of the MARCH 2015 Issue:
Presbyterian Resource Guide for Ministry

Top 14 ways the Presbyterian Mission Agency can help

Why we’re part of a connected church with international resources and relationships

1 Faith in action. We’re here to help you find the particular calling God has placed on your life. Maybe you’ll devote a year to service by becoming a Young Adult Volunteer, travel to the United Nations to help set global standards for gender equality, begin a ministry with veterans, or start a community garden.

2 Worship. Whether you’re looking for a daily devotional app, the new Presbyterian hymnal, or creative worship ideas, you’re sure to find what you need.

Prophetically reimagining the church

Moments of survival and resistance

A vigil for Michael Brown brings a young woman home to the church.

by Mihee Kim-Kort

We met for coffee one afternoon. 

Taylor Beck was a slight girl with wide eyes who furrowed her brows at everything I said during our conversation. She had grown up in a nearby town and studied at a community college before coming to the university where I work as a college minister. Her nontraditional path lent Beck a look of determination that suggested she would make the most of her short time here. After hearing about her art history major and keen interest in women’s studies, I asked what had brought her recently to a Presbyterian church.

Shortly after Beck had moved to Bloomington, Indiana, 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot dead by police officer Darren Wilson on a street in Ferguson, Missouri. Feeling a profound unrest, she looked for a vigil nearby to join with others in mourning this loss. 

Modern family

Adoption and foster care inspire the church to rethink love and family.

by Patrick David Heery

At age 35, Jo Haas had, by most standards, achieved significant success. In the span of just a little more than a decade, she had graduated from college, risen to the position of vice president of operations at Ohio’s Center of Science and Industry, held a high-powered position with the Ford Motor Company, and been named the director of the Henry Ford Museum. But something was missing from Haas’s life.

“I hit that great age of 35 and realized that I had thrown myself headfirst into a career right after college, had advanced incredibly well, but had no significant other in my life,” she says. “What I wanted was to be a parent.”

This was no sudden realization for Haas. “Ever since I was really little,” she says, “I have wanted to be a mom. And I wasn’t going to wait for Prince Charming or rush into a partnership for the sake of parenthood. So I said, ‘I’m going to do this.’ ”