Mission Matters
Presbyterian World Mission tackles 'the important things'
Global partners engage congregations in ministries that unite
Dear colleague in ministry,
The South American church leader seemed to choose his words carefully. “Thank you for sending so many short-term mission teams to visit us,” he said. “When we see their faces, we know that your church is with us.” The affirmation ended a bit abruptly and I wondered if there was something more to be said. I remained silent and waited. After a pause, he added, “But imagine if we worked together on the important things.”
Beginning in 2009, Presbyterian World Mission began listening to partner church leaders around the world to attempt to identify the critical global issues needing our response. During that listening process, World Mission also turned to PC(USA) congregation mission leaders like yourself and to our mission co-workers in more than 50 countries. While many global partners generally appreciated our congregations’ short-term mission trips, they named three critical issues that short-term initiatives are not able to address effectively. Out of those issues, three questions emerged:
- To address an important root cause of poverty, can we help communities in the U.S. and abroad to improve the quality of education for 1 million children?
- To help our partner churches around the world to grow, can we help them train 2,000 leaders for community transformation?
- To reduce violence against women and children, can we work together in the “Speak Up! Stop Sexual Violence” campaign and help the church find her voice around an issue that is often silenced?
These three campaigns provide an opportunity for Presbyterian mission leaders to proactively engage their congregations in ministries that unite. Pacific Presbytery, for example, has organized its global mission work around all three global campaigns—poverty, evangelism and reconciliation. Other presbyteries are identifying a single campaign around which their congregations can collaborate. Congregations in the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area, for instance, are collaborating to improve education in north Minneapolis and South Sudan. Each campaign is connected ecumenically and empowered by global church partners and Presbyterians in the U.S. who want to make a difference in “the important things”—the issues that matter to real families in real communities around the world.
Clearly, there is a lot more to Presbyterian mission than these three campaigns, but by collaborating together, Presbyterians can do what previous generations of Presbyterian missionaries and mission leaders have done so well—connecting God’s people around injustice, deprivation, violence and hopelessness to bring justice, peace, forgiveness and love.
I hope you’ll connect with our three catalysts who can help equip you to make a difference:
Shannon Beck, “Speak Up! Stop Sexual Violence”
Phone: 502-560-5041
Email: shannon.beck@pcusa.org
Campaign website: pcusa.org/reconciliation
Frank Dimmock, “Educate a Child. Transform the World”
Phone: 502-569-5039
Email: frank.dimmock@pcusa.org
Campaign website: pcusa.org/globalpoverty
Juan Sarmiento, “Training Leaders for Community Transformation”
Phone: 502-569-5262
E-mail: juan.sarmiento@pcusa.org
Campaign website: pcusa.org/internationalevangelism
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